How to create ringtones with iTunes on the Mac?

To create a ringtone in iTunes, the first thing that you have to do is to select the file that you want to use in iTunes. Then you have to select a portion of the file that is less than or equal to 40 seconds. The next step is to create a new aac file with this segment of the audio. Then you move this new file to another folder and rename it to have the extension .m4r. The next step is to remove the file from the original location in iTunes, and then you have to import the renamed file to the iTunes library. It will be added as a ringtone. It is a little nit complicated, but it is worth the effort so that you can apply different ringtones to people that call you often. In that way you can identify them, without having to pull the iPhone from your pocket. Now I will list the step by step instructions: 1- After selecting the song in iTunes, hit command-i to open the Get info window. Then select the Options tab. 2- Change the Stop Time to 0:40. This will select the first 40 seconds of the song, but you can select a different segment by changing the the start time and the stop time. The important thing that you have to remember is that the difference between this values can't be greater than 40 seconds. Close the Get info Window. by selecting "Ok". 3- If you are using iTunes 11, in the File menu look for "Create new version". In the sub menu, select "Create AAC version". In older versions of iTunes, I think the Create AAC version was located under "Advance". Now you will have two versions of your song in your library. One is the original, and the other is the short version. Select the short version. 4- Open this file in Finder, by pressing Command-Shift-r. Rename the file so that you replace the extension from .m4a to .m4r. A dialog will open, and you should select the "Use m4r " vutton. Tip: I Always move up and down inn Finder to make sure that I'm renaming the right file. I check the size of the file and the creation date. 5- Copy this file to your Desktop. 6- Return to iTunes and remove the new file from the library. Select the original file, and return to the Get Info window by pressing Command-i, then uncheck the checkbox name "Stop Time", so that the song can play completely the next time you play it. If you don't do this, you will only hear 40 seconds of the song. 7- Add the new file to the iTunes Library by pressing Command-o, or by selecting File/>ADD to library... In this window move to Desktop, and select your new file. It will be added to your Tones. I hope this will help you to do the process. You can also try different applications that can create ringtones. I have used Fission by Rogue Amoeba.

Hi Carlos, I followed what you said to the letter. I edetied my song with the appropriate time length which equaled out to be 28 seconds. Then I created the aac version, renamed it it to an m4r, Copied it to my desktop, found it, And deleted the new file from the iTunes library, then went back to iTunes, add file to library and heard the tone but when I checked my ringtones folder, it wasn't there. I did this 2 or 3 times, hearing the tone, but still no ringtone. I got this song from Youtube, downloaded to my pc just fine, just can't get the tone from the edited song. Any suggestions on what's wrong? Shane.