How to Bring Back the Sidebar in iTunes 11

Apple made a lot of changes in their latest major update to iTunes, opting for an overall simpler and cleaner interface – but not everyone is thrilled with the changes, or the interface elements that Apple disabled in the update. One such element is the iTunes Sidebar, which lists all the devices you have connected, as well as providing easy access to your songs, videos, iBooks, and more with a single click.

Call me a Luddite, but I missed the sidebar immensely. Fortunately, for people who feel the same way I do, there’s a simple way to bring the sidebar back! Restoring the sidebar is a simple matter of clicking the View option from the menu bar, then selecting “Show Sidebar.”

With just a couple of clicks, you can bring back some of the familiar features that Apple cast aside with their new release! The above images show iTunes 11 with and without the sidebar, in case you’re concerned about how things will look visually when all is said and done.

That’s all there is to it! I hope you find this as useful as I did!

 

J. Glenn Künzler

Glenn is Managing Editor at MacTrast, and has been using a Mac since he bought his first MacBook Pro in 2006. He lives in a small town in Utah, enjoys bacon more than you can possibly imagine, and is severely addicted to pie.