Can I share iTunes library between different users on the same pc

I want to know if and how I can share an iTunes library with other user accounts on the same laptop? Can anyone help please.

Jim, sorry, I should have mentioned that permissions issue.
I have a similar setup on a Mac mini. I have the entire iTunes library in the shared folder and on each user account, I point it to that iTunes library file. That way there isn't a permissions problem when multiple accounts are connected to it.
The only problem with that is that each user account connected to that iTunes library can make changes to the library file (ratings, playlists, etc.)

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How to share iTunes library between two users on the same Mac

We have recently bought a Macbook Pro and have successfully transferred the old PC information onto the Mac. But, the iTunes library from the PC has now just gone into the old user acct. I am now confused as to which iTunes user name I connect my devices? Is there a way to merge these two iTunes through the user accts?
Thanks,
I feel like I learning about computers all over again!

It's doable. As it's been pointed out Aperture has no provisions for file locking so you can't have two users accessing the library at the same time. This includes having one user having the library open only for browsing. Aperture doesn't have a +Read Only+ mode, when it opens the library, even if you make no changes to any images, the library will be written to.
This also means you can't have one user open the library and then stop using Aperture but still have the library open and then have another copy of Aperture open on the library.
Of course if you have two copies of Aperture running even they are on different libraries you'll be in violation of the license and you'll have bigger problems to worry about then a toasted library.

Hello there - how can I share my iTunes library between two users on the same computer? I put the library in a shared folder between both and have selected this library on both as well, but when I update iTunes with music etc it only appears on one?

Hello there - how can I share my iTunes library between two users on the same computer? I put the library in a shared folder between both and have selected this library on both as well, but when I update iTunes with music etc it only appears on one?

Thank you Joe - I tried this but it's only showing a teensy amount of music - the stuff on the second users account as opposed to the giagntic library on the 'main' account. I actually went to a Genius Bar and they said that apple doesn't really want you to share music between accounts - parents don't want to hear their kids music etc. Which seemed strange, but it might be the case sadly Thanks anyway!

What is the best way to share a iTunes library between 5 users on the same computer?

What is the best way to share a iTunes library between 5 users on the same computer?
Currently I have a common itunes library in a shared folder that each user is linked to. The problem is that when one user adds music to the shared file, it does not automaticaly appear to other users when they open their iTunes. They have to go to the shared library and select the new music in order to make it visable in their iTunes.
Would iTunes file shareing fix this problem?
Thanks

aapl.up wrote:
Rick, are you saying that if you try to share a folder outside of home and use sharepoints, then the other mac wont prompt you to log in? Have you tried that? It is hard to believe that is the case
I am sort of saying that. Have you tried it? I know it's hard to believe, but you really need to help us out by trying some steps that you don't believe.
We can't see what your exact situation is. We sort of know what's worked for us out here. Just trying to help you get this going in less than 24 hours!
Sharepoints manages the samba configuration file. It's free software that puts a pretty face on an otherwise cumbersome config file.
Give it a shot.
windows will not prompt for passwords, I have tried this with multiple computer at home for both vista and xp
As I stated. You will not get prompted on windows, if you have set up sharing in an insecure fashion. You are not using a secured sharing situation.
No argument with your statement.

Share a library between two users on the same mac?

It is possible to share a library between two users on the same mac?

It's doable. As it's been pointed out Aperture has no provisions for file locking so you can't have two users accessing the library at the same time. This includes having one user having the library open only for browsing. Aperture doesn't have a +Read Only+ mode, when it opens the library, even if you make no changes to any images, the library will be written to.
This also means you can't have one user open the library and then stop using Aperture but still have the library open and then have another copy of Aperture open on the library.
Of course if you have two copies of Aperture running even they are on different libraries you'll be in violation of the license and you'll have bigger problems to worry about then a toasted library.

How can I share a folder between two users on the same mac?

Hi all,
I would like to share a folder between multiple users on the same macbook without having to transfer the folder to the Public/Shared folder.
Is there not a way, using the the folders shared permissions, to allow shared folders from one user to be visible and usable by another user on the same mac without having to move the folder to a designated shared location?
Regards,
Caleb

jrwood116 wrote:
Thanks, but do you have to do that every time you share a folder?
No, you just need to do it once and that's it. Anything that is in the Shared folder is accessible by all user accounts within the same Mac.
jrwood116 wrote:
I've read numerous 'how to share a folder' blogs and they just say it's as simple as clicking 'share' and allowing specific users to access it...none have mentioned this (not saying your advice is wrong at all, just don't get why no-one else has mentioned what appears to be a key step!)
Can you give me an example of such a blog. I suspect you may have mis-understood what they were saying but if you can provide a link, I'll look at it.

Can i share itunes library between separate user accounts?

i bought a new imac and i am in the process of migrating from my pc. I have transferred my itunes library into my user account on my imac from my old windows computer. I have 3 other user accounts on my imac that i would like to be able to access the same library. I have selected the option to share libraries, but i cannot seem to access the itunes library on any of the other user accounts. Since the music files are on the hard drive, it seems like i should be able to access those files on all accounts. any suggestions?

Have a look at this page it might be of some help: iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer

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 iTunes libraries between two accounts on the same Mac?

Hello,
I have an iMac on which I began making iTunes purchases. I failed, initially, to set up a separate account for my kids, who are still to young to operate the computer by themselves, but old enough to watch "Arthur" - anyway, now that I have set up a separate account to manage for them, I don't have access to the library in our "big person" account. I've tried putting files in the shared folder and the drop box, but neither of these works.
Please help!
Thanks.

Jim, sorry, I should have mentioned that permissions issue.
I have a similar setup on a Mac mini. I have the entire iTunes library in the shared folder and on each user account, I point it to that iTunes library file. That way there isn't a permissions problem when multiple accounts are connected to it.
The only problem with that is that each user account connected to that iTunes library can make changes to the library file (ratings, playlists, etc.)

How can I share a folder between two users on the same iMac?

I have an iMac with 2 user accounts and I want to share a folder between them. I have gone on to system preferences>sharing and turned on file sharing. I have also got the 'Get Info' thing up, selected 'Shared Folder' and added the other user to the read and write permissions...it just doesn't show up on the other desktop (the folder is on my desktop, I would have expected to see it on the other desktop...?)
Any ideas?

jrwood116 wrote:
Thanks, but do you have to do that every time you share a folder?
No, you just need to do it once and that's it. Anything that is in the Shared folder is accessible by all user accounts within the same Mac.
jrwood116 wrote:
I've read numerous 'how to share a folder' blogs and they just say it's as simple as clicking 'share' and allowing specific users to access it...none have mentioned this (not saying your advice is wrong at all, just don't get why no-one else has mentioned what appears to be a key step!)
Can you give me an example of such a blog. I suspect you may have mis-understood what they were saying but if you can provide a link, I'll look at it.

How can one share iTunes Library across two machines at the same time?

**I have setup 1 of 2 machines to host all the songs in my iTunes library. I then went to machine 2 of 2 and held down option key on start up of iTUnes, changed the location of the liobrary on machine 2 to a shared folder on machine 1.**
**This works awesome and I can use itunes on each of the machines 1 and 2 with no duplicate library in my home.**
**Problem: I can only run one machine at a time. I can not run itunes on both machines at the same time. The error message from machine 2 is ITUNES library is locked and cant write to the folder. iTunes works correct if I QUIT iTunes on machine 1.**
**Can iTunes run at the same time on 2 machines and access the same library?**
*Thank You Troy*

Troy Yoho wrote:
Can iTunes run at the same time on 2 machines and access the same library?
in a way, yes.
set up _*Home Sharing*_ on both machines.
JGG

Sharing iTunes library between two users on the same Mac

I recently bought my parents a new MacBook Pro (they switched from Windows). I was able to get all of their songs over and into my dad's iTunes library. My mom and dad each have separate accounts on the MBP, but they'd both like to be able to see (and listen to) the same iTunes library, not at the same time, obviously.
Is that possible? If so how? Is it enough to point my mom's iTunes to the same folder? Do I need to put special permissions on that iTunes folder while logged into my dad's account?

brown_sm wrote:
I recently bought my parents a new MacBook Pro (they switched from Windows). I was able to get all of their songs over and into my dad's iTunes library. My mom and dad each have separate accounts on the MBP, but they'd both like to be able to see (and listen to) the same iTunes library, not at the same time, obviously.
Is that possible? If so how?
the easy way is to use itunes sharing. start itunes in your dad's account and enable sharing in itunes preferences->sharing. then other users including your mother will be able to listen to the songs from your dad's itunes library but ONLY while your dad is logged in. so in order for this to work both of them should be logged in at the same time. to make that possible enable fast user switching in system preferences->accounts->login options. However, this is not terribly convenient.
it's possibly (but surprisingly tricky) to use the same itunes library without having both users logged in at the same time.
Is it enough to point my mom's iTunes to the same folder? Do I need to put special permissions on that iTunes folder while logged into my dad's account?
yes. not just permissions. you need to put inherited ACLs on your dads Music folder to give both of them read+write access to all current and future files in it. so log in as your dad and run the following terminal command (copy and paste please)
chmod -R +a "username allow delete,chown,list,search,add_file,\
addsubdirectory,delete_child,file_inherit,directoryinherit" ~/Music
instead of username put the short user name of your dad's account. it's the same as the name of his home directory in /Users. then repeat the command with your mother's username instead of your dad's. after that log out of your dad's account, log into your mom's account and point her itunes library to his itunes library. to do that start itunes while holding option.

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.

HT3819 How do I share music between different users on the same computer?

I understand Home Sharing helps me share music across different computers. How do I share between different users on the same computer? We have a few instances of iTunes on a single computer and have to download from the same CD each time. I must be doing something wrong - seems crazy to have several copies of the same song on one hard-drive when Home Share allows for sharing across computers - how do I share within the same computer? Please outline specific steps. THANKS.

Hello Whigged-out,
It sounds like you would like to share one library between two different users on your iMac. I found an article with steps you can take to accomplish this:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1203
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

How do I share one itunes account between two users on the same computer

How do I share one itunes account between two users on the same computer without taking up twice as much space on my hard drive?

You would need to move the itunes folder to a location that both users have permissions to access such as the Shared folder or any folder on the root level of the macintosh HD.
You can find instructions here http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203 This method allows you to share the content without sharing the same library.

Can I share iTunes library between different users on the same pc

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