Cannot share itunes library between users after Lion upgrade

Before the Lion upgrade, I was able to share my iTunes library between two users on the same computer. The library is located in HD > Users > Shared. Both users have read and write access to the folder. Home sharing is turned on in iTunes from the one user who can open iTunes.

This can be done with ACLs. I use it to share an iTunes library between my and my wife's user accounts.
First go to System Preferences -> Users & Groups, and make a new group. Call the group itunesshare. Add the users you want to the group.
Then, in Terminal, paste in all of this and press return:
sudo chmod -R +a "itunesshare allow delete,chown,list,search,add_file,\
add_subdirectory,delete_child,file_inherit,directory_inherit" \
Then drag the iTunes Library folder into the Terminal window and press return again. Enter the admin password when prompted.
Your iTunes library will then have full read and write permissions for all users in the iTunesshare group. This includes permissions to any items added to the library at any future time.

Similar Messages

Share iTunes library between users

I would like all the users on my computer to share the same itunes library. It is music that belongs to our whole family and I don't want to have to store it in multiple places and take up space. How can I do this?

Create a folder within /Users/Shared to put all of your media. Then have each user account point its iTunes Library to that folder.
Follow the instructions here, except you're not moving your media to another hard drive; just to another (shared) location on the same hard drive:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2011/02/how-to-move-your-itunes-librar y-to-another-hard-drive.html

How can I share my iTunes library between user accounts in iTunes 11

Since upgrading my iTunes library to Version 11 I can no longer share the library between user accounts on the same Mac.
The 2nd user is asked to create oir use an iTunes library, but when it is pointed to the Media folder it cannot share it.
Previously in iTunes 10 it all worked fine.
How can this be done please?
The library is in a shared areas that we both have Read/Write permissions to.

jc_hering wrote:
that works for anything he purchases after he creates the new account. What about his current music that currently resides in my itunes library? How can I get his current music out of my library into his new account/library?? Thanks..
Copy it to his computer into his iTunes library and authorize his computer with the iTunes account used to purchase them..
You cannot tranfser items from one iTunes account to another. Purchased items remain part of the iTunes account is was purchased with.
iTunes account - used to purchase items
iTunes library - where purchases (and CD RIPs) go on the computer

Move an iTunes library between users on the same mac

How do I move an iTunes library between users on the same mac?
I accidentally created a secondary user on my mac some time ago when using the migration tool and am now going back and transferring all my files from the secondary to the admin user profile.
I wanted to know which itunes files/folders need to be copied over.
Is the process as simple as replacing the itunes folder on admin with the copied itunes folder from my secondary profile or do I need to delete the admin folder first and then copy the old folder over or do I delete the contents of the folder and replace with the copied contents?
I am using shared folders to move between users, but want to make sure that I am picking the right files to transfer.
Thanks in advance.

Assuming you have left iTunes to default settings so everything is still in the iTunes folder the way iTunes likes it to be, copy the whole of the iTunes folder to the new location. If it is in the default directory (Home > Music) for iTunes the application will automatically use it there for the new account. If you put it elsewhere you will have to start iTunes and immediately hold down the option key to direct it to the new location.
It is just possible you will have to change permissions. If you encounter those issues read the part about changing permissions on the iTunes folder in: https://discussions.apple.com/message/11583914
This is all a slight variant on: iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527

Unable to share iTunes library between multiple users on one Mac

I've got an iMac (running Snow Leopard) and I'm trying to share a single iTunes library among three users (Admin, and two others), but I simply cannot get it to work. I have followed the instructions in this Apple KB article "to a tee", checked and doublechecked permissions (read/write for everyone) on the iTunes Music folder (moved to /Users/Shared), and it just won't take. The original library owner (Admin) can still access all music as normal, but no other user can. I've tried deleting everything from each users' ~/Music/iTunes folder and the iTunes plists, so I could start each user fresh, but NOTHING has worked. iTunes for the other users simply does not recognize any media. Like I said, I've followed all of the instructions in the KB article linked above.
Since that seems to be the "official" method that every other thread on this subject references, I'm looking for some troubleshooting tips to help me discover what exactly is wrong here.
Thanks in advance!

Chris, thanks for the reply. Are you telling me that I should move the iTunes folder itself, and not merely the iTunes Media folder, as instructed by the KB article? At this point, I'd be willing to try just about anything, but the KB article specifically states:
Important: Do not move the iTunes folder, the iTunes Library file or the iTunes Library.xml file.
As I stated above, I did exactly what the KB article said to, which is to move the iTunes Media folder (called iTunes Music on my iMac, since the library has been around since pre-iTunes 8 or so) to /Users/Shared, and then go into iTunes Prefs for each user, and under the advanced tab, choose the location of the library for each user. I know that this method does NOT share iTunes library (.itl or .xml, or the other associated files), and doing what you suggest would, but I'm curious if that would cause any problems.
And yes, like I said in the OP, I did check/change all file permissions on that folder appropriately.
Thanks again for the help! Please let me know if I'm reading your suggestion right!

Share iTunes Library between on same Mac between OSX & Parallels WinXP

Does anyone know if its possible to somehow share my iTunes library on my MacPro (10.5.4) between both my Mac OS, and also with my Parallels Windows XP OS, which is installed on the same computer?
I'd like to be able to take advantage of some of the various software utilities (tagging, etc...) that are available for the Window version of iTunes, but not for the Mac...and seeing as how altering the tags of my iTunes music would be one of the things on my agenda if I can share my iTunes Library between my Mac-OS and my Virtual-XP-OS, I just want to be absolutely certain that to avoid potentially screwing things up by changing meta tags and other information (album art, etc...) via iTunes on my XP virtual machine, such that the changes made wouldn't be recognized when I next open iTunes on my Mac...
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated... Thanks!

I have a Macbook Pro with Vista and OSX via bootcamp and my iTunes runs from the same set of files. I haven't bothered to test this out in a virtual pc environment, but I would assume it would work.
Now, I am not entirely familiar with Parallels, but I imagine that all you have to do is select your Mac library data as the a new library for your Windows iTunes.
To do this:
Boot windows XP in Parallels
Hold down the shift key, then open iTunes with that key still held.
This will prompt you to select an iTunes library.
Simply browse for your Library data file for Mac OSX (By default this is under user\music\iTunes\iTunes Library) It may appear as a .itl file.
Select this and your iTunes libraries should remain in sync with each other despite edits in different OS's. After any edits are made on a different OS, iTunes will simply run a quick update bar when booting to resync.

Share iTunes Library between OSX and Win7 Bootcamp

I've done quite a bit of research on this but I still haven't found a solution that does what I require.
Basically my setup is a SSD & HDD in my MBP. I have OSX and Win7 (Bootcamp) on the SSD and the NTFS HDD is a shared file storage drive for both Windows and OS. I have my iTunes library located on this drive and I want to be able to share the library between the OSs. I also want changes e.g. additions deletions made in windows to be reflected in OSX and vice versa.
Technically this is possible and does in fact work if I point iTunes to the .itl file but the problem is that when I open iTunes after switching OSs it must go through a very lengthy library update which can take 30-60mins in some cases before I can use it. Obviously this is not a good solution so I'm wondering if there are any workarounds to accomplishing this?
For example can I duplicate the .itl file and have one for win and one for OSX and still have the libraries stay in sync?

Just for your info, Vista ***** whatever you try to do. I'm stuck with Vista on a pre-installed laptop. All experience I have from Vista is bad, don't buy Vista or a computer with preinstalled Vista if you can avoid it.
We have three computers in a home network, one Macbook Pro, one PC with Windows XP, and the Vista laptop. All are using iTunes-8, downloaded and installed last week.
Sharing iTunes libraries using the option to share libraries on a local network works fine between Mac and Windows-XP. The sharing also works fine between the XP and the Vista PC.
But the Vista PC can't access the Mac iTunes library. When trying to open the Mac library, iTunes on the Vista computer says something like "Fetching library info from...". It's the same problem when trying to access the Vista library from the Mac.
We had a similar problem when trying to access shared folders on the local network. Thanks to a tip on this forum how to tweak the Vista registry, the shared folder problem was solved.
I'm think some registry setting in Vista might solve iTunes shared library problems. Maybe some Windows freak knows how to patch the registry to solve this issue.
Otherwise the solution is to trash Vista, and install Windows-XP.

Moving iTunes library between users

I am creating a new administrator account, and I would like to know how to move my iTunes library from the old account to the new account. Thanks to any and all who reply.
Chase

If you want to share your library between the two accounts, see the following article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93195

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

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.)

Problem moving iTunes library between users on MacBook Pro / OS Lion

Hey guys, I can't figure this one out. I bought a new MacBook Pro, and since I didn't have the firewire cable, I just made my account on the new one. I got the firewire cable, and used migration assistant to transfer my old MacBook Pro over (photos, music, documents, etc...)
Now I have two accounts - my primary one "Matt Dustin" and my old one "Old Macbook." When logged into my primary, I can access all my songs, but they show up under shared, and not when I click Library at the top of my iTunes source list. How do I move them over? I tried placing my old library in a shared folder and important that, but it doesn't work.
I just want to delete account "Old Macbook" since I already transferred my old Macbook and have everything under "Matt Dustin", I just can't make my old iTunes library my primary one on the new account. Any help? I'll try to attach a screenshot of where the music currently is. You can see from the pics where it is, I want it on the top "Library", not "Shared."

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
There is a folder in /Users directory named "Shared" which can be opened by all users and where you can put your iTunes library to be shared among different users. Another option would be to use an external drive.
You only have to copy the iTunes library to that folder. In order to access there, open a Finder window, select the Go menu -> Go to Folder, and type:
/Users/Shared
After doing this, open iTunes while holding down the Alt key, and point iTunes to the library saved in that folder. Finally, open iTunes, go to iTunes menu (in the menu bar) -> Preferences -> Advanced, and choose the iTunes Media folder in the Shared folder. Do this in all your users.
Both roaringgnome's and Niel's answer (which is the same as this one) are valid. Just use the one you want to :-)

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.

Share iTunes files between user accounts

I am trying to share the iTunes music library between Admin. and user account on my Macbook Pro Mountain Lion OS. The user account can not find the iTunes folder, even after the Admin. gave user account access to the iTunes music folder.
Please help.

Sorry, I think that this official Apple Post ought to do it.
iTunes: How to share music between different user accounts on a single computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
Chris CA is an expert, so if you don't understand Chris's expert advice and/or you don't understand the official post here, then simply take a break, relax, and come back and try again.
Best Regards,
~mm

How can I share iPhoto library between users on same mac. External hard drive has not worked.

I need to share and edit photos between users on one mac. I have tried sharing the file on an external drive but this has caused all sorts of problems with photos disappearing and/or not being able to be edited. I was hoping iCloud sharing or family would work but being on the same machine I need the main iCloud account active at all times. This is a workplace so the second user has minimal access permissions.

okay I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but i just imitated the same scenario on my mac and it seems to work fine. I made sure to change permissions of the shared folder AND the the actual photo library. I gave everyone access to everything (as far as the folder & library was concerned). I uploaded & viewed from both accounts. You might want to view permissions of your entire disk in disk utility to make sure there isn't an error.. Make a backup first though.
The permissions will not stick. Earlier iPhoto versions did allow this, because iPhoto did not write to an iPhoto Library if you only wanted to browse it, but with iPhoto '11 the behaviour changed. Opening an iPhoto Library from a different account will write files with changed ownership right into the library, and that will cause problems if you edit or tag photos from a second account. The document I linked to in my earlier post is Apple Support's answer to these permission problems, when using a shared folder: iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users

How to share iTunes library between 2 accounts on 1 Mac

I want to share my library with my son on his account. Both accounts are on the same computer. What steps do I need to take to do this? Thank you in advance.

My wife and I share the same iTunes library on the same Mac but have separate user accounts.
To do this:
1. Make a folder called ‘Music’ in Users/Shared and move your iTunes library to this new folder.
2. Ctrl + click on the ‘Music’ folder and select ‘Get Info’.
3. Click on the padlock icon at the bottom of the ‘Get Info’ window and enter your password.
4. Set the permissions as follows:
Your user name (Me) = Read & Write
Wheel = Read & Write
Everyone = Read & Write
5. Click on the gear icon to the left of the padlock and choose ‘Apply to enclosed items’.
6. Click OK.
7. Close the ‘Get Info’ window.
8. Log into each user account and create an alias to the new shared iTunes library in their User/Home/Music folder (the default location for the iTunes library).
Note: If an iTunes library already exists in the users ‘Music’ folder you will need to delete this first and don’t forget to backup just in case something goes wrong.
Each account will now be able to access the same shared music library.
One final thing which usually catches people out. You will need to tell iTunes to ‘Keep iTunes Music folder organised’ and ‘Copy files to iTunes Music Folder when adding to library’.
To do this:
1. Open iTunes
2. From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences
3. Click Advanced
4. Select the ‘Keep iTunes Music folder organised’ option
5. Select the ‘Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library file’ option
6. Click OK
Note: This needs to be done in both user accounts.
The only slight down side of this method is that if I add any new music to the shared iTunes library in my account, my wife has access but she isn’t able to change the info (artist name, album, track number etc…) as I am the owner of that music (the files have standard permissions applied when added so I have Read & Write access but my wife has read only access). The same applies if my wife adds some music through her user account. This isn’t a problem for me as I’m the one who manages the library and adds music, my wife simply wants to be able to access it.
If you want to manually change the permissions so that both users can change info, simply navigate to the ‘iTunes Music’ folder which is located in Users/Shared/Music/iTunes/ and Change the permissions using the same method above, making sure you ‘Apply to enclosed items’.
This will need to be repeated each time any new music is added. If you want to know how to set things up so both users can change info on tracks without having to manually change permissions each time then this can be done, but it will require delving into ACL permissions.
Message was edited by: ChrisWad

Cannot share itunes library between users after Lion upgrade

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