Sharing Single iPhoto 09 Library Among Users

I currently have my entire family iPhoto Album on a shared USB drive plugged into my Airport Extreme; my wife and I access the Album from 3 different Macs (2 wireless and 1 wired) around the house. As backup, I have my Linux box rsync the iPhoto Album to 2 disks in Raid every night.
In any case, I was wondering if anybody out there has a setup he or she would like to share; the main goals for me are:
Redundancy (in case or hardware failure)
Speed (viewing and ocassional editing)
Right now accessing the Album over WiFi is slow and somewhat acceptable, yet things are slowing down as my iPhoto Album is reaching the 50GB range.
I was thinking of keeping a local copy of the Album on each Mac and rsync-ing to a master iPhoto Album every time I open and close iPhoto through some sort of Applescript... what do you guys think?

If you use wireless to access the iPhoto Library there is little you can do to speed up the process. Setting the AE to the 5 ghz mode in the "n" mode is the fastest you can get. I don't know if you've experienced it yet or not but accessing the library wirelessly subjects the library to dropouts while accessing the writing to the library's database file. This, in turn, can corrupt the library. For this reason it's strongly recommended you keep a current backup of the library. One way is to use a backup application like Synk Standard which can do incremental backups, i.e. backing up only those files which are new or changed. Run this type of backup after every session in the library where additions and changes have been made. This, along with the hourly Time Machine backups, will put you in a good position.
I was thinking of keeping a local copy of the Album on each Mac and rsync-ing to a master iPhoto Album every time I open and close iPhoto through some sort of Applescript... what do you guys think?
This can't be done because you can't sync the contents of the database files, only the entire file itself. If you want to keep a master library and have individual libraries on each Mac then you could use the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager to copy newly added photos from each library to the master library.
If you're serious about multiuser managing of your photos I suggest you look into one of the DAM (digital asset management) applications that are multiuser capable. The one I use isMedia Expression. You can find out about other such apps at The DAM Forum.

Similar Messages

Sharing iPhoto '11 library among users

2 users on our mac, we were usingiPhoto 09 & shared same library without problem. Both could addpictures & save changes. Upgraded to '11 & now only one usercan add photos & save, other user can only see library, can'tsave changes. How do we fix this?

Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Include the option to check and repair Library permissions.
Regards
TD

Use Sparse Bundle Disk Image for sharing library among users?

Apple's knowledge base article HT1198 (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1198) on sharing iphoto libraries among multiple users on the same Macintosh describes using a sparse disk image in the /users/Shared/ directory. For a Mac that uses a Time Capsule for Time Machine backups won't this require the entire iPhoto library to be backed up anytime a picture is added or modified?
Would using a sparse bundle disk image instead work better?
Also, HT1198 doesn't say anything about "Partitions" parameter setting in Disk Utility when creating a blank sparse image or sparse bundle disk image. Does it matter what setting is selected if the image is being kept on the Mac internal disk drive?
Is there any difference between iPhoto '08 or iPhoto '09 when attempting sharing the iPhoto library among users?

I believe it may require the entire bundle to be backed up. You'd best ask that question in the Time Machine forum. They would know more about the ins and outs of TM there.
If you can afford an external FW hard drive that would be the best option by far. No worry about filling up the sparse bundle, and you could use the external HD as a work platform to help keep a minimum of 20 GB of free space on your boot drive for optimal performance of system and applications.

Sharing single iPhoto library between 2 users on a single computer

Hello,
I am currently using iPhoto 5 on a Mac Mini with 2 total users on the computer.
I know that it is easy to share iPhoto pictures over a server with other computers, but does anyone know how to share a single library between 2 users on the same computer?
I would like my wife and I to share a single library of pictures so that we can each upload pics from our digital camera of our family and friends and both have access to them. Currently, we each have to have separate libraries and it is difficult to share photos even between us. If this is not possible on iPhoto 5 or 6, this would be a great upgrade for the next version.
By the way, I was able to work a similar problem out with music out so that all users share a single iTunes library of songs by placing the library in the "shared" folder, but this is not possible with the iPhoto library.
Thanks for your help!
Mac Mini - G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi mconnor,
Here are all the links I have for sharing an iPhoto Library.
I think you would be interested in the ACL link for your situation. Hope it works for you.
SHARING IPHOTO LIBRARIES
Sharing libraries between users on the same local network
You can also share a library on the same machine between users the same way.
Sharing libraries between users on the same machine...
-both users must have sharing enabled in their iPhoto Preferences
-both users must be logged in and have iPhoto running
-Remember that you can only view the other library. You can't edit the photos or play the saved slideshows or view the made books or burn them to CD or DVD. The books and slideshows will show up as an album. You can play that album as an "on the fly" slideshow. You can drag images from the sharing library to your library in the source column to import them to your library. You can then edit, add to albums, books, slideshow, etc.
Sharing links from Apple....
Sharing your photos between computers
About shared photos
Turning off photo sharing
Looking for shared photos
SHARING ONE IPHOTO LIBRARY BETWEEN USERS ON SAME MACHINE
You can try one of these three methods:
1- Use iPhoto Library Manager-the paid version
The documentation page will give instructions on how it is done.
2- Sharing one iPhoto library between several users on one machine
3- Share an iPhoto Library in tiger Using ACL's
4- I have also read about ShareAlike
There is no other info on the site about how it works.
I strongly urge anyone wanting to try any of the methods for sharing one iPhoto Library folder among more than one user to backup all iPhoto Library folders before attemptin anything.

How to share iPhoto library among users on same iMac without using an external drive?

How can I share my iPhoto library with another user on the same iMac for use with iCloud. I do not want to use an external drive.
Thanks

For iPhoto 09 (version 8.0.2) and later:
What you mean by 'share'.
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc.
Quit iPhoto in both accounts. Move the Library to the Users / Shared Folder
(You can also use an external HD set to ignore permissions, a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.)
In each account in turn: Double click on the Library to open it. (You may be asked to repair the Library Permissions.) From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.

Sharing two iphoto libraries between two users on the same computer?

My wife and myself use the same MacBook with two different user accounts. We both checked the check box "Look for shared photos" in the iPhoto preferences, but my wife's library doesn't appear in my iPhoto and vice versa. How can we manage to do this?

Toni
For tis to work, you have to also check 'Share this Library' and log in to both accounts and have iPhoto running in both accounts, and switch between accounts using Fast User Switching.
Regards
TD

Sharing my iPhoto '09 Library from an External HD

I purchased an external drive, created a new user and copied photos from the internal drive. Faces does not work even though the message says that there are matches to confirm. There is just the spinning beach ball.
Prior to this, 2 users - each with their own log-in, accessed the photos on the internal drive.
I'm thinking that I copied the photos in error.

Did you copy the iPhoto LIbrary package from the Pictures folder to the external HD? Then launch iPhoto with the Option key depressed, select choose, go to the external HD and open the library there. Make sure the hard drive is formatted and setup as shown below:
Click to view full size

HT1198 Sharing an iPhoto library between multiple users on a single Mac?

Can anyone help me solve this problem? I want to share an iPhoto library that holds all the family pictures across three other users who have separate accounts on the same iMac.

What do you mean by "share"?
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window. Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc.
Quit iPhoto in both accounts. Move the Library to an external HD set to ignore permissions (or a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.)
In each account in turn: Double click on the Library to open it. (You may be asked to repair the Library Permissions.) From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.

Trouble with sharing iPhoto library among multiple users

I followed the directions in this guide to share my iPhoto library between two accounts. However, it does not allow both users to open the library. One user gets a message that it is locked. I have ensured that the disk image and the library give everyone read/write access and that ownership of the volume is ignored. I've also ensured that the other user is logged out of iPhoto. However, I still get the error.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1198?viewlocale=en_US
I am, however, able to share the iPhoto library if I don't use the disk image and if I just store the library in the Shared folder and by giving both users read/write access. However, I'm afraid that this will someday crash on me based on this article.
Does anyone have any experience with this??

The disk image approach looks complex. I'd avoid it. Note that all the users need to have read/write access to the disk image plus the folder that it's inside of ...
The use of an external disk looks simplest and I've done that myself so I know that it works.
Also, here is another solution: http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/Documentation/iPLM/pgs/sharing.html

Sharing iPhoto library among multiple users on one machine

Take mercy on a newcomer to the Mac ...
Having recently acquired an iMac I'm now trying to set up iPhoto 8 so that the same picture library is accessible from the three user accounts I created on the machine, for the three members of the household.
I've seen some postings on this issue, which suggest rather convoluted solutions, such as using an external hard disk. I don't want to buy an external disc for this purpose; I just want to figure out a way to put my pictures in one place, and one place only, where I can organise and change them from my user, and where the other two users have at least read access.
I have tried putting my pics in the shared folder, and redirected iPhoto there from my user, which worked fine. But then from the other users I get error messages that they don't have the required priviliges.
Grateful for any advice!

RutgetW
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
Easy: there's no need to move the library at all.
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
Regards
TD

Sharing iPhoto Library between users

Is there an easy way to share one single iPhoto Library between 2 different users on the same Mac? My girlfriend and I want to be able to access all our pictures from our separate user screens without having to have all the photos saved twice and using twice as much space. I tried having a central Library and making our separate Libraries an alias link to the main one, but this doesn't work. Any ideas?

The optimal way (and Apple's recommended method) is to have the library on an external HD whose ownership has been set to be ignored . That way both users can add, edit, create slideshows, etc. that both users will have access to. Also the external HD can be used to backup other important files. Also you need to have the library backed up so you could back it up from the external HD to the Shared folder on your boot drive. But both users can't operate it from the Shared folder due to permissions issues.
OR, create a disk image of a size that will hold the library with room for expansion over time and put the library in it and the disk image in the Shared folder. Then have each user set that disk image to be mounted (System Preferences/Accounts/Login Items) automatically when the user logs in. It will act as an external HD with the library in it. Personally, I recommend the external HD with backing up the library to the Shared folder with a backup application like Synk Standard that can do incremental backups after each use of the library.
Here's Apple's document on that: iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.≤br>
Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

Any improvements in sharing an iPhoto Library between multiple users?

It is possible and Apple Approved to share an iPhoto Library between multiple users, but the Library must be stored on a drive or disk image that ignores permissions:
http://tech.kateva.org/2008/10/apple-supports-multi-user-iphoto.html
This doesn't work for me. Has Apple changed anything with iLife '09 to make it easier to share a Library? For example, have they changed from the prior Package format?
Message was edited by: jfaughnan

Alternatives to a trip to the Terminal:
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc. The problem here is that OS X works very hard to keep your data safe and secure from the other users. You're trying to beat what's built in to the system. So, to beat the system
Quit iPhoto in both accounts
Move the iPhoto Library Folder to an external HD set to ignore permissions. You could also use a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.
In each account in turn: Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting dialogue, select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new library location. From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.
Lastly: This method seems a little clunky at first, but works very well. Most importantly, it uses the System to do the job for you.
Create a new Account on your Mac, call it Media. Create an iPhoto Library there. (BTW: This will work for iTunes too.)
Enable Sharing on the Library:(Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other accounts. In those accounts, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. The Library will appear in the other source pane.
This means that both users will be able to see the pics. If you want to use a pic then simply drag it from the shared Library to your own in the iPhoto Window. This means that each user can have their own edits.
If you want to add photos to the Library: Log into the Media account for that purpose.
To make it all seamless: Set your Mac to log into the Media Account automatically. Set iPhoto to launch on log-in. Then switch to your own account using Fast User Switching.
Net result: a Library that's permanently available to all users but also protected. Each user can have their own versions of the pics if they want.
No partitioning, no permissions issues. Uses no extra disk space. What's not to like?
Regards
TD

Sharing one iphoto library between multiple user accounts

I hav an extensive photo library and would like to share this across multiple users on the one computer. Am I able to do this without having to move the library to an external hard drive?

What you mean by 'share'.
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc. The problem here is that OS X works very hard to keep your data safe and secure from the other users. You're trying to beat what's built in to the system. So, to beat the system
Quit iPhoto in both accounts
Move the iPhoto Library Folder to an external HD set to ignore permissions. You could also use a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.
In each account in turn: Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting dialogue, select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new library location. From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.
Lastly: This method seems a little clunky at first, but works very well. Most importantly, it uses the System to do the job for you.
Create a new Account on your Mac, call it Media. Create an iPhoto Library there. (BTW: This will work for iTunes too.)
Enable Sharing on the Library:(Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other accounts. In those accounts, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. The Library will appear in the other source pane.
This means that both users will be able to see the pics. If you want to use a pic then simply drag it from the shared Library to your own in the iPhoto Window. This means that each user can have their own edits.
If you want to add photos to the Library: Log into the Media account for that purpose.
To make it all seamless: Set your Mac to log into the Media Account automatically. Set iPhoto to launch on log-in. Then switch to your own account using Fast User Switching.
Net result: a Library that's permanently available to all users but also protected. Each user can have their own versions of the pics if they want.
No partitioning, no permissions issues. Uses no extra disk space. What's not to like?
Regards
TD

Sharing iPhoto library in /Users/Shared doesn't allow all users to edit all photos

I share a laptop with my wife. We have two separate user accounts on the MacBook Pro. I've moved iPhoto to /Users/Shared in an effort to allow both users the option to EDIT photos in iPhoto.
How do I modify the permissions so that we can both edit photos no matter who uploads them?
The MBP is running Mavericks (10.9.1) and iPhoto is up to date (9.5.1).

Hi Larry - you seem to know what you are doing! Can I butt in with a question?
I have a large (75Gb) iPhoto library (all my family photos since 2003) on a MBA (2011) which I use for work. This Christmas I have bought a new MBA (2013) for family use and want to transfer everything over to the new MBA so that the rest of the family can (1) look at (and use (i.e. email, export, etc but not edit)) them and (2) have their own libraries in their own user directories without cluttering up 'my' shared one.
I was planning on putting the library into -users/me/public. Would this work? Or do you have a better idea?
Thanks in advance.

Issues Using iPhoto among users on Shared profile

Hi there,
I am having issues viewing my photos from multiple user profiles. I have the library saved on a shared profile, and I (admin) can see all photos fine, however my wife can see events and thumbnails, but cannot view the photos individually - she gets just black space where the photo would be. Has anyone else encountered this? Any ideas?

I'm not sure what this means:
I have the library saved on a shared profile,
Are yu sharing the Library via iPhoto Preferences? Or Sharing by both users pointing at one Library?
For iPhoto 09 (version 8.0.2) and later:
What you mean by 'share'.
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc.
Quit iPhoto in both accounts. Move the Library to the Users / Shared Folder
(You can also use an external HD set to ignore permissions, a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.)
In each account in turn: Double click on the Library to open it. (You may be asked to repair the Library Permissions.) From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.
Regards
TD

Sharing Single iPhoto 09 Library Among Users

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