Sharing one iTunes library across multiple accounts on the same Mac

Hello, I've poked around at some of the posts dealing with sharing one iTunes music library across multiple accounts on the same Mac but it seems like this can only be done if the libary is moved to a shared folder. I realize this can be done but I was trying to share it the way it is described in a post on Apple support (See link below.). That post seemed to imply that you don't have to move the library from its original location (owned by account A, e.g.), rather just make a couple preference changes in the accounts, use fast user switching and voila. That doesn't seem to work. So my question is this: Is the only way to share one iTunes music library across multiple accounts on the same Mac to move it to a shared folder? I'm running 10.4.8 on an Intel iMac. Thanks in advance!
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93195

After reading this and several other related threads, I am becoming thoroughly confused about all of this. I have a situation similar to the one that pokerpal described in the post dated January 7 at 8:06 pm, except that the music files on my system are located on an external hard drive. Everything else is pretty much the same though - I am the admin user (and the main iTunes user and maintainer) and my girlfriend is a standard user who has no music in her own iTunes library. She can see and listen to and make playlists from and sync her iPod with the music in this library from her account, and I can do the same thing, independent of her, from my account. And if I make a change to information within a song, she doesn't see it, and vice versa, and I understand that. What I don't understand is why when I add a song or an album to the music files by importing a CD or downloading something from the iTunes Music Store, she has no way of knowing that unless I tell her, and then she can add it to her library by using the "Add to Library" function. Is there no way of automatically updating her library files to add the new song(s)? We have almost 15,000 songs and videos in that library, and I don't even want to think about what might have to happen if the answer to my question is "no." Interestingly enough, if I put an update to a Word document in the same exact location (on the hard drive), we can update that and pass it back and forth all day - why is that such a difficult task for iTunes to accomplish?
Sorry I went on so long, but this has been building up for some time, and none of the solutions I've read about here have really been of any help, so I'm a bit frustrated and, as I said at the beginning, confused.
iMac G5, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

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ITunes open in multiple accounts on the same Mac

I have a family of 3, and I'd like to use different accounts on the same Mac to sync for each. However, I like to only use one of the account for my apple tv. What I discovered is if I have more than 1 instance of iTunes 10.5 running, home share breaks on apple tv.
Also, is it possible to lock an i-device to a particular instance of iTunes on the machine?
Thanks in advance

After reading this and several other related threads, I am becoming thoroughly confused about all of this. I have a situation similar to the one that pokerpal described in the post dated January 7 at 8:06 pm, except that the music files on my system are located on an external hard drive. Everything else is pretty much the same though - I am the admin user (and the main iTunes user and maintainer) and my girlfriend is a standard user who has no music in her own iTunes library. She can see and listen to and make playlists from and sync her iPod with the music in this library from her account, and I can do the same thing, independent of her, from my account. And if I make a change to information within a song, she doesn't see it, and vice versa, and I understand that. What I don't understand is why when I add a song or an album to the music files by importing a CD or downloading something from the iTunes Music Store, she has no way of knowing that unless I tell her, and then she can add it to her library by using the "Add to Library" function. Is there no way of automatically updating her library files to add the new song(s)? We have almost 15,000 songs and videos in that library, and I don't even want to think about what might have to happen if the answer to my question is "no." Interestingly enough, if I put an update to a Word document in the same exact location (on the hard drive), we can update that and pass it back and forth all day - why is that such a difficult task for iTunes to accomplish?
Sorry I went on so long, but this has been building up for some time, and none of the solutions I've read about here have really been of any help, so I'm a bit frustrated and, as I said at the beginning, confused.
iMac G5, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Sharing one Aperture Library between multiple users on the same machine

Is there a way of setting up Aperture so that two different users on the same machine have full rights to do everything?

Ian,
Thanks for the suggestion. It certanly better than nothing, but in my case there is no partition with permissions off and there are other users to whom I wouldn't want to give full rights to the library. As an alternative I thought of simply creating a special user and do all editing from it.
At any rate, it would have been useful if Aperture had something like that built in - like a preferences option, where one could specify a MacOS group name, and Aperture would do all its file/folder create operations within a given library with setgid()/setegid() of that group and corresponding umask() to give rw permissions to that group. Not too hard to do, either.

Sharing an iTunes Library across multiple user account and a network.

Sharing an iTunes Music Library across multiple user accounts.
Hello Everybody!
Firstly, this was designed to be run in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It will not work with earlier versions of Mac OS X! Sorry.
Here's a handy tip for keeping your hard drive neat and tidy, it also saves space, what in effect will be done is an iTunes music library will be shared amongst multiple users on the same machine. There are advantages and disadvantages to using this method.
• Firstly I think it might be worthwhile to state the advantages and disadvantages to using this approach.
The advantages include:
- Space will be saved, as no duplicate files will occur.
- The administrator will be able to have complete control over the content of the iTunes library, this may be useful for restricting the content of the Library; particularly for example if computer is being used at and education institution, business or any other sort of institution where things such as explicit content would be less favorable.
- The machine will not be slowed by the fact that every user has lots of files.
The disadvantages to this system include.
- The fact that the account storing the music will have to be logged in, and iTunes will have to be active in that account.
- If the account housing the music is not active then nobody can use the iTunes library.
- There is a certain degree of risk present when an administrator account must be continually active.
- Fast User Switching must be enabled.
Overview:
A central account controls all music on the machine/network, this is achieved by storing iTunes files in a public location as opposed to in the user's directory. In effect the system will give all users across the machine/network access to the same music/files without the possibility of files 'doubling up' because two different users like the same types of music. This approach saves valuable disk space in this regard and may therefore prove to be useful in some situations.
This is a hearty process to undertake, so only follow this tutorial if you're willing to go all the way to the end of it.
Process:
Step 1:
Firstly, we need to organize the host library, I tidied mine up, removing excess playlists, random files, things like that. this will make thing a bit easier in the later stages of this process.
Once the library is tidied up, move the entire "iTunes" folder from your Home directory to the "//localhost" directory (The Macintosh HD) and ensure that files are on the same level as the "Applications", "Users", "Library" and "System" directories; this will ensure that the files in the library are available to all users on the machine (this also works for networks)
Optionally you can set the ownership of the folder to the 'administrator' account (the user who will be hosting the library.), you may also like to set the permissions of 'you can' to "Read & Write" (assuming that you are doing this through the user who will host the library); secondly you should set the "Owner" to the administrator who will be hosting the library and set their "access" to "Read & Write" (this will ensure that the administrator has full access to the folder). The final part of this step involves setting access for the "Others" tab to "Read Only" this will ensure that the other users can view but not modify the contents on the folder.
Overview:
So far we have done the following steps:
1. Organized the host library.
2. Placed the iTunes directory into a 'public' directory so that other users may use it. (this step is essential if you plan on sharing the library across multiple accounts on the same machine. NOTE: this step is only necessary if you are wanting to share you library across multiple accounts on the same machine, if you simply want to share the music across a network, use the iTunes sharing facility.
3. set ownership and permissions for the iTunes music folder.
Step 2:
Currently the administrator is the only user who can use this library, however we will address this soon. In this step we will enable iTunes music sharing in the administrator's account, this will enable other users to access the files in the library.
If you are not logged in as the administrator, do so; secondly, open iTunes and select "Preferences" from the "iTunes" menu, now click the "Sharing" tab, if "share my library on my local network" is not checked, the radio buttons below this will now become active, you may choose to share the entire libraries contents, or share only selected content.
Sharing only selected content may be useful if their is explicit content in the library and minors use the network or machine that the library is connected to.
If you have selected "share entire library" go to Step 3, if you have selected share "share selected playlists" read on.
After clicking "share selected playlists" you must then select the playlists that you intend to share across your accounts and network. Once you have finished selecting the playlists, click "OK" to save the settings.
Overview:
In this step we:
1. Enabled iTunes sharing in the administrator's account, now, users on the local network may access the iTunes library, however, users on the same machine may not.
Step 3:
Now we will enable users on the same machine to access the library on the machine. This is achieved by logging in as each user, opening iTunes, opening iTunes preferences, and clicking "look for shared music". now all users on the machine may also access the library that the administrator controls.
This in effect will mean that the user will not need to use their user library, it will be provided to them via a pseudo network connection.
As a secondary measure, I have chosen to write a generic login script that will move any content from the user's "Music/iTunes/iTunes Music" directory to the trash and then empties the user's trash.
This is done through the use of an Automator Application: this application does the following actions.
1. Uses the "Finder" action "Get Specified Finder Items"
1a. The user's "~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music" folder
2. Uses the "Finder" action "Get Folder Contents"
3. Uses the "Finder" action "Move to Trash"
4. Uses the "Automator" action "Run AppleScript"
4a. with the following:
on run {input, parameters}
tell application "Finder"
empty trash
end tell
return input
end run
IMPORTANT: Once the script is adapted to the user account it must be set as a login item. in order to keep the script out of the way i have placed it in the user's "Library" directory, in "Application Support" under "iTunes".
Overview:
Here we:
1. Enabled iTunes sharing in the user accounts on the host machine, in effect allowing all users of the machine to view a single iTunes library.
2. (Optional) I have created a login application that will remove any content that has been added to user iTunes libraries, this in effect stops other users of the machine from adding music and files to iTunes.
Step 4:
If it is not already enabled, open system preferences and enable Fast User Switching in Accounts Options.
Summary:
We have shared a single iTunes library across multiple user account, while still allowing for network sharing. This method is designed to save space on machines, particularly those with smaller hard drives.
I hope that this hint proves to be helpful and I hope everybody will give me feedback on my process.
regards,
Pete.
iBook G4; 60GB Hard Drive, 512MB RAM, Airport Extreme Mac OS X (10.4.6) iWork & iLife '06, Adobe CS2, Final Cut Pro. Anything and Everything!!!

how to share music between different accounts on a single computer

Can i move my itunes library to another account on the same computer

can i move my itunes library to another account on the same computer

This might help:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
-Kylene

How do i share my itunes library with other users on the same mac

I'm trying to share my itunes library with other users on the same mac. I have tried moving my library to a public folder but when the other user logs in they can't see it in the public folder?

Presuming you moved the entire iTunes folder to the shared folder the other users need to start their iTunes while holding down the option/alt key and select the iTunes Library.itl file in the shared folder. Only once should be necessary. Note that any changes anybody makes will be seen by everybody, so you have to trust each other a lot.
If all you moved are media files each user will have to add those files to their iTunes library.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203 - relocating iTunes' media folder to a shared area but leaving separate library files - extra tip at https://discussions.apple.com/message/17331189 Chris CA's instructions on sharing one iTunes music library between multiple user accounts - https://discussions.apple.com/message/8974074 - Multiple users using a single library file - similar post at: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3753008 Suggestion by Turingtest for multiple users and one library - http://discussions.apple.com/message/9117622 - use smart playlists and tags to isolate groupings.

Setting up a shared library for multiple accounts on the same machine

I am in idiot. I can't figure it out. This is exactly what I did.
1 - I set up multiple accounts on the computer. 1 for me and another for my wife.
2 - I loaded all the music into my account's public folder.
3 - I set the default folder in both hers and mine iTunes for this Public folder
4 - I then opened iTunes in my account and none of the songs were showing up so I dragged the folder into iTunes and it did its business. Now my account is all set.
Here are my questions:
A - Do I need to drag the folder into my wife's account iTunes as well?
B - If either of us add music when logged in, will it automatically update in the other iTunes interface or is there something specific that needs to (manually) be done?

Doing it the way you did, you each have your own iTunes library file and are using the same iTunes music folder.
Changes by one will not be seen by the other and any new music added by one will have to be added to the library by the other.
Also, if one deletes music, it will be in teh library for the other but it will not be playable because the other person deleted it in the iTunes music folder.
Launch iTunes, then immediately press and hold Option, then select *Create new library*.
Create one in Users/Shared.
Quit iTunes.
Move all your music into the new /Users/Shared/iTunes/iTunes music folder.
Login to your Wife's computer account.
Move all her music into the new /Users/Shared/iTunes/iTunes music folder.
On her account, launch iTunes, then immediately press and hold Option, then select *Choose existing library*.
Select the _iTunes library file_ in /Users/Shared/iTunes.
In iTunes, File -> Add to library and select the iTunes music folder in /Users/Shared/iTunes.
All the music will be there.
Quit iTunes and log out of her account and back into your account and launch iTunes normally.
All music will be there.
You should go to /Users/Shared/iTunes folder and right click - get info, click *Ownership & Permissions*. Set *You can* to *Read & Write* and set Others to *Read & Write*.
Click *Apply to enclosed items*.
Any changes (new/deleted music, ratings, playlists, etc.) by one will be seen by the other sionce you are using the same iTunes library file.
Only one person can have iTunes open at a time. If you use Fast User switching, one will need to quit iTunes before the other can use it.

HT4914 Can I use iTunes match to share my iTunes library across different users on the same computer?

I'm a teacher and I use my MBP in school and, while I've not had any issues with students looking through my computer, I'd like to use a seperate 'school' user just in case. I need to have access to my iTunes library and I tried moving it to a shared folder but, possibly because of the size of my library, itdoesn't seem to work. Is there a way I can use iTunes match to enable my 'school' user to access my library in the same way I can with my iPhone?

Hey darkmavis86,
Great question, and welcome to Apple Support Communities.
I believe you would benefit from the following article:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
However, if you do decide to use iTunes Match the answer to your question is "Yes". iTunes Match can be used to "sync" your iTunes library across multiple devices / computers / users.
Thanks,
Matt M.

Can I share my iTunes with another User Account on the same Mac?

Hi There
I have created a new user account on my MacBook for my Boyfriend to have his own login, the only trouble being he syncs his iPod and iPhone with my iTunes library.
Is it possible to share iTunes across the 2 User Accounts on the same Mac?

I have followed those instructions and successfully have shared my music. Now for the next question!
How can we both purchase songs that automatically update on each others account? (For example if I purchase a song, it won't appear on his Library)

Problems sharing iTunes library across multiple accounts on one imac

I have followed the Mac OS instructions in this article http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203 to share music accounts on the family iMac by putting the iTunes Media folder in a public directory. When I go to connect to this library the I cannot see the actual iTunes Media folder but the following file path is available: ~/Public/Automatically Add to iTunes.localized. Selecting this folder does not appear to make the library available.
Has anyone had this problem?

iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203 - relocating iTunes' media folder to a shared area but leaving separate library files - extra tip at https://discussions.apple.com/message/17331189
Chris CA's instructions on sharing one iTunes music library between multiple user accounts - https://discussions.apple.com/message/8974074 - Multiple users using a single library file - similar post at: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3753008

Sharing an iTunes library between multiple accounts on one machine

I have tried to set up a shared library so that all users on my computer can access the same music. I have tried moving my iTunes folder to the HD under Users, Shared and setting the filepath in the Preferences, Advanced, General to point to that location. It works fine with the main admin account but other users have an empty library despite their paths being altered also.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

It's a misunderstanding that setting the 'iTunes Music folder location' tells iTunes to look at that location.
The iTunes Music folder location is the location where your next imported CD is stored. The song locations however are stored inside the 'iTunes Library' file which is in ./Users/YourUsername/Music/iTunes.
Moving the music folder to another location without 'telling' iTunes normally will lead to loss of links. You will see exclamation marks before the song name, telling that iTunes can't find the files.
Recent versions of iTunes can track a moved folder, when it's moved on the same disk.
The other users will not see this music. You have to copy the 'iTunes Library' file and put it in the iTunes folder of the other user(s).
--edit
Instead of copying the 'iTunes Library' file, you can add the entire music folder to each users library.
This will enable every user to apply their own rating (which is not stored in the song file, but in the 'iTunes Library' file).
--end of edit
They will then have full access to the library, which means, every user can add and delete music from the shared library.
The methods of sharing music are described here:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
Hope this helps.
M
Message was edited by: macmenno

One iTunes library for multiple accounts, iPhones, laptops and PCs.

First off, I'll apologize up front for asking a question that has probably been asked a million times. I've searched the intarwebs and these forums but I've seen so many different answers and read so many different threads pertaining to my question that I think I've over-informed myself to the point of confusion.
OK, for the longest time I've had one iTunes library running on one Windows PC in my house. I used that for updating all our iPods. That was fine for the last however-many-years we've had iPods.
We just picked-up a couple iPhones last night.
All I want to do is move the iTunes library to our NAS so that we can both access the library from any laptop or PC in order to update the music on our iPhones using our different accounts.
Is there a definitive way to do this, or do I have to follow one of these sideways, shady and round-about ways to get this done.
Having to run upstairs to the PC seems to be completely needless with all this technology we have!
Any help would be appreciated.

After reading this and several other related threads, I am becoming thoroughly confused about all of this. I have a situation similar to the one that pokerpal described in the post dated January 7 at 8:06 pm, except that the music files on my system are located on an external hard drive. Everything else is pretty much the same though - I am the admin user (and the main iTunes user and maintainer) and my girlfriend is a standard user who has no music in her own iTunes library. She can see and listen to and make playlists from and sync her iPod with the music in this library from her account, and I can do the same thing, independent of her, from my account. And if I make a change to information within a song, she doesn't see it, and vice versa, and I understand that. What I don't understand is why when I add a song or an album to the music files by importing a CD or downloading something from the iTunes Music Store, she has no way of knowing that unless I tell her, and then she can add it to her library by using the "Add to Library" function. Is there no way of automatically updating her library files to add the new song(s)? We have almost 15,000 songs and videos in that library, and I don't even want to think about what might have to happen if the answer to my question is "no." Interestingly enough, if I put an update to a Word document in the same exact location (on the hard drive), we can update that and pass it back and forth all day - why is that such a difficult task for iTunes to accomplish?
Sorry I went on so long, but this has been building up for some time, and none of the solutions I've read about here have really been of any help, so I'm a bit frustrated and, as I said at the beginning, confused.
iMac G5, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Sharing itunes library between two accounts on the same imac

We just got a 27" imac and my wife and I have our own log on accounts. We share our itunes library. I have moved our itunes library to the shared folder so both of us can see its contents and pointed itunes on both user accounts to that shared folder. But, if she or I purchase an app or music it doesn't go into that shared folder. So I have to copy and paste it into the shared folder. Am I missing something there should be an easier way? I just want us to share the music and iphone apps we purchase.
We are using the same itunes account on the same imac, we just have different user accounts on the imac. Thanks

levidan wrote:
We just got a 27" imac and my wife and I have our own log on accounts. We share our itunes library. I have moved our itunes library to the shared folder so both of us can see its contents and pointed itunes on both user accounts to that shared folder. But, if she or I purchase an app or music it doesn't go into that shared folder. So I have to copy and paste it into the shared folder. Am I missing something there should be an easier way? I just want us to share the music and iphone apps we purchase.
We are using the same itunes account on the same imac, we just have different user accounts on the imac. Thanks
hi levidan and welcome to the discussion area !
take a look at this read for information.

How do I copy iTunes purchases from one iTunes library to another stored on the same computer but with different apple ID's?

I recently set up a new iTunes account for my son by giving him his own Apple ID & own login on the Mac we own.
In addition I have an existing iTunes account with a different Apple ID & different login on the same Mac.
We would like to share some purchases but do not know how to copy or import certain files. The summary is two
different apple ID's, different iTunes libraries, on the same computer, but different parts of the hard drive.
Please advise. Thanks.

Load the library which doesn't contain the songs and drag them into the open iTunes application window. If you need to move them between different computer user accounts, put them into /Users/Shared/.
(74502)

Sharing one iTunes library across multiple accounts on the same Mac

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