How can I get “Automatically fill free space with songs” to reserve more space than a half gig

Question

On my iPhone 3GS (32GB) I want to keep more than .48GB free space when I tell iTunes to "Automatically fill free space with songs" for doing things like taking pictures/recording videos.

I don't want to create a playlist by hand to do the same thing. I like how it randomly comes up with new songs to put on there (and yes I'm aware of the "random"ness of iPods ;) )

Do I have any options?

Answer 1

Unfortunately no, the automatic filling takes place during sync, and only gets changed in size if you add/remove things that will also take place during sync.

If you want to limit it while also preserving some of that randomness, try creating a Smart Playlist that will select songs at random, and then tweak the "Limit to" feature until you have enough space free. It limits to number of tracks not size, so it won't be exact, but it will allow you to (roughly) tailor your size.

Edit: Actually I made a mistake, it is possible to limit to a GB amount

• Create a Smart Playlist
• Under "Match the following rule:", select something broad like "Media Kind", "is", "Music"
• Tick the checkbox next to "Limit to"
• Select "items" and change it to "GB" and enter your desired GB amount

Answer 2

Neth, you don't need to recreate the smart playlist to get a new random order : just select all tracks in it (command+A) then delete them with the backspace key. They'll get randomized, nothing gets "deleted".

Answer 3

According to this question it is possible. I don't have an iPhone to test with.

From what I read it's important that when you connect the iPhone/iPod go to the summary tab of the device. Click on manage music manually and then press Apply before going to the music option under the device on the left-hand side.