1 iTunes Library, 1 aTV, 2 Users

Hi Guys, wondering if anyone can assist. I have my iTunes Library in the shared location on my iMac so both myself and the wife can listen to (and add to) the same music. All the locations, sharing preferences, etc are set up so that only this shared library is used and not local ones in our own accounts.
I have my TV synced up to my iMac, and it appears in my device list in iTunes OK. I'm syncing music, but streaming movies.
The problem i have is that my wife's account can only stream - therefore she has to go into "Shared Movies" on the TV instead of "My Movies". I thought that since we were both using the same shared iTunes library (and we definitely do only have 1 library) that both accounts would act the same on the TV - obviously not.
It's no big deal, but i've just spent the last couple of days telling her to go into "My Movies", "My TV Shows", etc to watch something whilst all the time iTunes was open under my account on my iMac.
It would be nice just to have both accounts act the same - since they are using the same library.
Just wondering if anybody else has had the same and got a workaround (preferences or something like that).
Cheers.

It makes no sense that you cannot merge two iTunes accounts. I am married and I would like to be able to merge my music with my wife's so we can share it across all of our devices. It seems like the only way to share our music is to burn a CD off of our computers and then load it into the other one's library. I like iCloud and I was hoping that there would be a way to have one iCloud account that links both of our iTunes accounts so we can share all of our purchased music across our devices. There should be a solution for a one time merger of 2 iTunes accounts.

Similar Messages

Sharing iTunes library across 2 Windows user IDs

My Windows XP computer is set up with 2 user accounts. iTunes is installed and all of my music is stored in my Shared Music folder (this folder is in Shared Documents, which is accessible from each user ID).
I want to be able to use iTunes from either Windows user ID. The problem is that iTunes creates and maintains 2 separate iTunes Music Library.xml files. When I'm logged on (user #1), iTunes uses the xml file in my My Documents folder. When my spouse is logged on (user #2), iTunes uses the xml file in her My Documents folder.
This is problematic. If I add a new song to iTunes from my Windows ID (and the song file is placed in the Shared Music folder), it is added to my library and xml file. If my spouse logs on and launches iTunes, the song is NOT in her iTunes library. She has to manually add the file from the iTunes Add File to Library command.
I'd like iTunes to use a single library that both Windows user IDs can use and maintain. I don't want to have to manually try to keep these in sync.
I can't find any setting in iTunes for this, and the user guide doesn't even mention this topic. Any help is appreciated!!!

TheMint,
I think it works like this:
The setting you describe is where iTunes will store the music files themselves (.aac or .mp3, etc.) However, iTunes creates an index of all of your music, and it uses that index to display all of your music in iTunes. The index file is called iTunes Library.xml
The index is stored in the My Documents\My Music folder of the user ID you log in as. Apparently, you cannot tell iTunes to store this in a different location.
So if you create an iTunes library under one Windows user ID, the index is created in that user ID's My Documents\My Music folder. If you then log in as another Windows user ID, iTunes does not see the index that was created by the first Windows user. Thus you do not see any of the music listed in iTunes.

Sharing iTunes library/playlist, only one user can run iTunes

Greetings everyone
Just got a new aluminum iMac, setting it up for the wife and kids. From the descriptions here, I have set up several accounts to share a single iTunes library, by creating aliases in each user's iTunes folder that point to the shared library. It seems to work great: I only have to import music ONCE (instead of once for each user), and if one user creates or changes a new playlist, everyone sees it, which is exactly what I wanted.
However, I have run into a small problem, and it is this. Under this setup, with everyone sharing the same library, *only one person can be running iTunes at a time.* If user A is running iTunes and doesn't quit the app when the computer is switched to User B or C, they get the message
----- +"The iTunes Library is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file."+
----- Switch back to User A, quit iTunes, and then the others can launch iTunes fine (though again, just ONE of them). Same behavior regardless of whether the user is admin or not.
So, is there any way to enable more than one user to run iTunes at once under this shared scenario? I'm thinking iTunes may not allow multiple users to access the library file at once, so it may be necessary to have users quit iTunes or log out before switching accounts. Let me know if there is a workaround or if anyone has gotten this to work....
Thanks in advance!
sno-man

Hi, I just read your post here - I'd like to do exactly what you were able to do, that is, sharing one iTunes library with multiple user accounts on my iMac so that we can both use/add to the same library (I also want to do this with iPhoto, so I'm assuming it's the same process); would you mind quickly telling me how you were able to do this? I've been checking around and can't find a reliable answer. I'd appreciate it - thanks!

How do i make my itunes library available to all users on one computer ?

i've got a family. a few kids and one itunes library. i am the only one who can buy stuff (as i assume its impossible to keep on library in synch with multiple owners ??) - but what i want to do is have the library available to all the kids - that way they can sign in as themselves and not keep signing in as me everytime they want to synch their ipods etc. is there a way to do this ? thanks so much.

Move the Library to Users/Shared.
Point each user to the new location:
iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > General > iTunes Music folder location > Change.

ITunes library synchronization across multiple users on one computer

I've got a PC running MS XP/Home, with a separate user account for each family member. I also repointed all the iTunes library file pointers to the SAME file on the "D" hard drive (taking all that pressure off the "C" drive, which is filling up!)--so each iTunes incarnation for each user points to the same (master) file.
But when I download music from the Music Store into the library from my user account, it doesn't show up in the iTunes library listing when my daughter logs in using her account--and she can't download it to her iPod.
Why? I bought it for her; why should she have to download it? It's all on one computer!
Is it that iTunes really can't handle multiple users on one computer??????? I don't get it...this isn't any copyright or license issue.
I'd appreciate any tips to get the iTunes on one user's account to "restudy" the library to see if it's been changed by another user. We're all one family on our one computer!
--DaveTh
VAIO Windows XP
VAIO Windows XP

See this thread for answers: http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1285867#1285867
Post back here with questions if you have any.

How do I transfer my itunes library from different mac user accounts?

I was planning to make a new user account (not itunes) for myself on my mac since my other is completely screwed up, but if i do this i will lose my itunes account. How do i transfer my library from the old user account to the new one.

Using administrator status on the computer you should be able to move the whole iTunes folder from one account to the other. Put it in the equivalent music folder.
You may need to adjust user permissions on the folder and everything in it so it belongs to the new user. Read the part about changing permissions on the iTunes folder in: https://discussions.apple.com/message/11583914

Keep losing itunes library (TC & ATV setup)

I tried posting this in the Time Capsule section but never got any replies...
We have our Time Capsule hooked up to our Home Theater, along with ATV. I use my Macbook to run itunes. Several days will go by between using itunes at all & then I go to open it on my macbook & it tells me it can't find my itunes library.
What causes it to "drop" periodically?

copy all the music from external hard drive to internal hard drive...
erase or delete previous library and then add a new library
thank you

Corrupted my iTunes Library fiddling with Vista User IDs

Had been using iTunes on my new laptop for a month, having succesfully copied my library (22gb) from my old computer. Then I realised that my C:\ drive was filling up rapidly and I had not been using my E:\ drive. I followed instructions I found online to move my data onto the E:\ drive. That all seemed OK until I noticed that the data had been simply copied and was still filling up my C:\ drive (iTunes, being so large, was the main culprit).
The iTunes Music folder location, in Advances Preferences was pointing correctly (for each separate Vista user account) to E:\username\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music. So I reasoned I could delete any iTunes folders I found on C:\. This is what I did.
The biggest mistake I made was not testing everything worked OK straight afterwards. This was two weeks ago and I have only just gone to play music that I can see is still there in iTunes. The music will not play – it cannot find the location. (There are a handful of files that do work, that were downloaded after I did all this.)
I did a search for *.m4 and the search results shows them sitting in C:\Useraccounts\Public\Public Music\iTunes Music\artistname. However, if you look in the folder it says it is empty. I cannot get either the library or the individual files to point back to this folder.
I cannot see any iTunes library files in the Recycle Bin for any user account.
At worst case I guess I can rebuild everything from my iPod which has not been synced since I messed around with the user accounts, or from a complete backup I took a week before this happened. However, if I have to follow this route I guess I will lose the items I have downloaded since. (By the way, I do not have the iPod set for disk use.)
Can anyone please help me:
a) rebuild the corrupted library?
b) ensure afterwards that all iTunes data is off the C:\ drive?

Had been using iTunes on my new laptop for a month, having succesfully copied my library (22gb) from my old computer. Then I realised that my C:\ drive was filling up rapidly and I had not been using my E:\ drive. I followed instructions I found online to move my data onto the E:\ drive. That all seemed OK until I noticed that the data had been simply copied and was still filling up my C:\ drive (iTunes, being so large, was the main culprit).
The iTunes Music folder location, in Advances Preferences was pointing correctly (for each separate Vista user account) to E:\username\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music. So I reasoned I could delete any iTunes folders I found on C:\. This is what I did.
The biggest mistake I made was not testing everything worked OK straight afterwards. This was two weeks ago and I have only just gone to play music that I can see is still there in iTunes. The music will not play – it cannot find the location. (There are a handful of files that do work, that were downloaded after I did all this.)
I did a search for *.m4 and the search results shows them sitting in C:\Useraccounts\Public\Public Music\iTunes Music\artistname. However, if you look in the folder it says it is empty. I cannot get either the library or the individual files to point back to this folder.
I cannot see any iTunes library files in the Recycle Bin for any user account.
At worst case I guess I can rebuild everything from my iPod which has not been synced since I messed around with the user accounts, or from a complete backup I took a week before this happened. However, if I have to follow this route I guess I will lose the items I have downloaded since. (By the way, I do not have the iPod set for disk use.)
Can anyone please help me:
a) rebuild the corrupted library?
b) ensure afterwards that all iTunes data is off the C:\ drive?

How do I access iTunes library in newly-created user accounts???

I have created some new user accounts for my kids. When I log into one of their accounts and open iTunes, there is no music in the library. I'm sure there is a way to access the iTunes music library for my kid's user accounts, but I can't figure it out. Any help is greatly appreciated.

iTunes has no multi-user library so you have to find some other way.
There are two methods to make your music accessible for other users.
I think the safest way is to share your music (library or selected playlists) with your kid's accounts. They can listen to it, but not mess around with your library.
Enable fast user switching:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh1787.html
In your account enable sharing your iTunes Library:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=165212
(It's for iTunes 4.7, but still valid for higher versions)
In your kid's accounts tick the checkbox 'Look for shared music' in Preferences>Sharing in iTunes.
The drawback of the described setup is, that your account has to be activated and iTunes must be running. Some items can't be shared.
The advantage is, that other users can't mess things up.
The other method is by moving your music to a public folder. The advantage is, that all users can access the library at any time.
The greatest disadvange is, that every user can mess things up.
This method is described here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93195
The second paragraph in this article contains the links I gave above.
Hope this helps.
M

How do i sync my itunes library with ATV gen1?

I am trying to sync my itunes library with my Generation 1 Apple TV. The directions I found on the Apple site said to go to the Summary tab under Apple TV in Devices in itunes. No such tab exists, only Setting and Photos. Can anyone help?

Welcome to the Apple Community.
I'm not sure where you are looking but the first step to sync your library is performed from the Apple TV. Settings/Computers/connect to iTunes and follow on screen instructions. You can then go to iTunes on your mac/pc, select the device and set up your sync options.

How do I make my iTunes library available to other users on the same pc?

I would like my wife to be able to access my iTunes, but from her user account. That's possible, isn't it? Right now her library just comes up empty. I have Vista 64. What would be the easiest way to do this? Thanks in advance.

See if this helps: iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer

Having the same itunes library for two different users on the same computer

ok guys i've looked at the previous topics and replies to this subject. None of these seem to work for me with itunes 7. When I go to itunes and edit-preferences-advanced-change, the only folders that are recognized is all of my personal folders and none of my shared folders with my other user. Please tell me how to do this! i need step by step instructions please--I am new to itunes

i seen that link on another discussion. I have tried it and that does not work. I transferred the itunes music folder (not the others per the directions) to my shared folder. When I go to preferences-change, my shared folder isn't one of the folders to pick from. When i moved the itunes music folder to the shared folder--another empty itunes music folder is created. is there another way?

Shared iTunes Library Only Allows One User to Add Music

On an iMac I have two Admin accounts, the original one and a recently added one. Rather than take up hard drive space with two iTunes libraries with the same songs I followed the instructions to let the users share the same iTunes folder.
Problem is, the new account is not allowed to add music to the folder through their iTunes. When I tried to import a CD it tells me that the permissions say they only have "Read" Access and to get info on the folder and change the access settings.
I did that, both users now have "Read and Write" access. But this did not fix my problem. I still cannot import any music into the folder. I tried restarting iTunes with no results then restarted the whole computer, still nothing.
What do I need to do to allow both users to import music into the same shared iTunes folder?

Stephanie Crammer wrote:
What do I need to do to allow both users to import music into the same shared iTunes folder?
this read may be helpful.
edited by the Jolly Green Giant (where Green stands for environmentally friendly)

How do I share my iTunes library with other users on my iMac computer?

I have a relatively new iMac. All users have iTunes but the iTunes library is empty on users other than me. How do I allow my library to be shared but retain privacy on other applications and files?

try if this support article helps.

Transferring iTunes library to main user account

I have recently upgraded to a mac after using a PC for many years. I set up my MAC with a user account and then once we upgraded to Lion, used migration assistant to copy all the PC files across - it copied them into a new user account on my MAC (which I wasn't initially aware happened). How do I now transfer my iTunes library to our main user account to ensure that it syncs with our other devices? I don't want to have to change user accounts all the time.

See:
MacWorld - Move an iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac
Geek to Live- How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back)

1 iTunes Library, 1 aTV, 2 Users

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for