If you want to choose specific things (rather than all of them) to sync automatically to your Zune player or Windows Phone, use the Items I choose sync option. You choose the categories (such as particular genres of music or a picture folder), or you can choose individual items (such as a specific song, album, or video). Any changes you make to those selected items in your collection will be mirrored automatically on your player or phone. For more about choosing your sync options, see Setting your sync options.

If you have a Zune player, you can also sync friends from Zune Social—you'll get their Zune Card, and be able to play songs from their playlists (if the same songs are in your collection). But be careful, this can take up a lot of space on your player. The music for each friend's playlists can use up to 100 megabytes if you have a Zune Music Pass subscription. (Note that you can't sync friends to a phone.)

1. Connect your Zune player or Windows Phone to your computer.

2. In the Zune Music + Video software, select the items that you want to sync automatically:

   • To add items, find the items you want to sync from Collection and drag them to the Device icon (in the lower-left corner of the screen).

   • To add friends, go to Social and drag a member’s profile to the Device icon .

   The Device icon shows the device that was most recently connected. If you want to sync with a different player or phone, hover over the Device icon and select that player or phone from the list.

    

   

    

   The software creates a sync group for each item or category you select and drag.

   • To prevent specific items within a sync group from being synced, right-click an item, and then click Never sync withdevice name. Also, any items that you delete from your player or phone are automatically skipped during sync.

   • To restore an item that you previously marked to never sync, drag the item to the Device icon again.

   Sync starts immediately.

Even when you choose to limit what you sync by using sync groups, it's still possible to choose more stuff than will fit on your device. If you run out of space, you're given the option to remove sync groups to make sure you can sync the things you want the most.

1. Connect your Zune player or Windows Phone to your computer.

2. In the Zune Music + Video software, go to Settings, Device or Phone, Sync Groups.

   Note

   You can't use or review sync groups when your player or phone is connected as a guest. For more, see Syncing your device to another computer as a guest.