Q&A: “Unplaying” an iTunes Podcast

Q.

My iPod syncs only new audio and video podcasts when I connect it to the computer and iTunes. Sometimes, I’ll listen to the first part of a show or accidentally start it and before I transfer it to the iPod. Because it’s not new anymore, it doesn’t sync. How do I “unplay” a podcast so it copies to the iPod?

A.

Even if you have listened to part or all of an audio or video podcast in iTunes, you can reset the file back to its original status. Just right-click (or control-click on a Mac) on the title of the episode in the iTunes window and select “Mark as Unplayed” or “Mark as Unwatched” from the contextual menu.

The icon of the half-filled blue dot next to the title of the partially played file should change to a full blue dot. Once iTunes recognizes the file as new, it should sync it over to the iPod like any other brand-new file.

The iTunes program offers several options for syncing podcasts to iPods, iPhones and iPads. To see or change the settings, connect the device to the computer and click its icon on the left side of the iTunes window. In the middle of the iTunes window, click the Podcasts tab.

If you have the “Sync Podcasts” option selected, you can use the drop-down menu to select the number of fully unplayed or new podcasts in the iTunes library since the last time you connected the iPod. You can also choose to sync all the podcasts in the library, or just selected shows. If you adjust your synchronization settings, click the Apply button and then the Sync button in the iTunes window to make the changes.