How do I convert audio tracks in my music Library in iTunes to Podcasts or Audio Books so they don't play with my music?

So you have your iPod and you're excited to take advantage of its many uses: not only can it be used to play music, but you can also play podcasts as well as tracks from audiobooks.

However, these additional files pop up on your music playlists when you're trying to listen to just tunes. How do you prevent this?

It depends on the formats of your files. For a file to be considered an audiobook file, the format must have .aa or .mp4b suffixes. Anything with the .mp3 suffix will be played as music.

How do you convert your audiobook files to the appropriate format? Try this:

First, join all of the audiobooks tracks, if they are all different. You might as well. You can do this by inserting your audiobook CD, selecting all the tracks, and choosing "Advanced," then "Join CD Tracks." This will make for just one easy file to deal with.

Next, you convert the file to the desired format by going to "iTunes Preferences," then "Advanced," and "Importing," then choosing AAC Encoder from the Import Using pop-up menu. Go to Setting, then Custom. Choose 64 kbps from the Stereo Bit Rate pop-up menu, then click OK.

Choose the file you want to convert, then go to "Advanced," then "Convert Selection to AAC." Once the conversion is complete, go to "File," "Show in Finder" for Mac, for "File," "Show in Windows Explorer" for Windows. Choose the file and change the suffix to .m4b or the others listed above. You're going to have to delete the track from the iTunes library, then re-import the desired track.