Combining iTunes libraries from two users. Will this work...

My wife and I have use separate Macs in the past but have lately decided to combine into one iMac and keep our Macbook as a computer either can use. We use the same iTunes account, but she has her purchases, I have mine and we have the stuff we both like. I want to consolidate the two folders into one to get back the space from files that are duplicated. It seems like I could do the following:
1. Import the music from my wife's iTunes library to mine.
2. Delete the files that are duplicates in iTunes (i.e. "check for duplicates" then delete the ones with today's date.
3. Remove (not delete) any imported files with today's date.
At this point, I should have a folder with every song we have, but only the ones I want showing up in my library
4. Open my wife's account account and point her iTunes to the new folder.
Presumably, all the files will be in the same general path location, so her iTunes shouldn't care about whether they were actually the files I had on the iMac or she had on the Macbook (as long as they have the right name and the right location).
Would this then allow us both to maintain our own libraries, but work out of one folder, saving space?
PS It goes without saying that the folder permissions would be set such that we could both Read & Write.

Hi LaVonne;
Yes it will work. I just did the same thing moving my music from my PowerMac Quad to mt brand new MacBook Pro.
Allan

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Moving iTunes libraries from one user account to another on same PC

My PC has 3 active User Accounts (wife, son, and me). My son uses itunes under my User Account and that's where his music library is stored (the iTunes account is his, but he accesses it from my User Account).
I want to remove the iTunes Library from my User Account and place it in his User Account so that he no longer has to use iTunes from my User Account. Remember, this is one machine with 3 separate User Accounts. I don't want to move these files to another computer, I'm just trying to get rid of them and put them in his account.
Can this be done and, if so, how? MANY THANKS. . .

Create a playlist in your iTunes library with his songs.
Select this playlist and select all the songs then drag them from the iTunes window to a Shared directory.
Then in iTunes, select all the songs in this playlist, select them again and *Shift Delete* to remove them from your library and your directory.
Open his login and add the songs from the Shared directory to his iTunes.

Combining two iTunes libraries from two computers onto a third

Hi there -- I haven't seen anything in the archives that is this exact situation, but if you know where it is in there, please point me in the right direction!
I have two separate collections of iTunes music on two different older Macs. I want to merge these collections into one that will now live on a newer MacBook Pro with iTunes 11.1.5. I can figure out how to get one or the other imported onto the MacBook but not both together as one merged collection. I'm getting confused about how to get all the media and the library files transferred. Help!
Can anyone walk me through the steps of what I need to do this? It must be possible, right??
Many thanks in advance.

There isn't really a way to ideally merge them. Methods such as the one linked in an earlier post have you make sure your media are more or less in one or two locations by using the organize/consolidate step for each library, then adding media files from the secondary library to the primary one as new files. If you have a lot of content overlap you will end up with duplicates.
So, use consolidate/organize to make sure you have each iTunes library's content intact in one place on each computer. You don't need or want to consolidate to another drive or computer, just make each one internally complete. Choose a library to export intact. Copy the entire iTunes folder to the other computer. If the third/new computer has no iTunes content simply overwrite the iTunes folder there. If it has content then you'll have to do additional steps but I won't bother with those yet. Start iTunes in the new home and make sure the primary library is working (it should look identical to the original one). Now you can copy the media folder alone from the other computer. Copy it onto the Automatically Add To itunes folder on the new computer. It will add the files as new tracks. If you want to do some hand-weeding of particular duplicate albums you can also be more selective in what you add to the second library.
It is possible to export playlists from the secondary library and then import them into the new library. note that a playlist is simply a text listing of which files are in the list and the files will have to be on the new computer in the identical locations (the point of consolidating).

Combining iTunes Libraries from laptop and desktop--duplicates?

I have been through an iTunes search, but can't seem to find an answer to this question. I want to combine all of the music on my laptop, with my mac-mini iTunes music file (on an external drive). I know I can hook the two together and do an "add to library," but I am running 30 gigs or so on the laptop, and more than 70 on the main computer. Will doing this add two copies of duplicates (which would create a "clean-up" nightmare), or will iTunes recognize and skip the duplicates? There is simply too much time involved not to know in advance. Any help appreciated.
Also, I wrote a year or so ago that I have ITunes start up immediately every tme I reboot and want to know how to turn it off. Other folks said they had the same problem, but no solution was ever offered. Anything new on this?
Thanks--

I found your post because im doing the exact same thing..sort of. I had a mac pro that was ahem taken from me about a year ago. Since then ive been using my macbook laptop for my itunes and my iphone syncing. Now that I have my Mac Pro back, im in the process of merging both to my mac pro and using the mac pro as my "primary" itunes library.
Here is my solution..
1) Make sure both versions of itunes are the same on each computer! Start Itunes, click Itunes>Check for Updates.
2) In Itunes, click File>Display duplicates. Clean up anything that needs it.
3) In Itunes, click File>Library>Organize Library then check the box that says "Upgrade to Itunes media organization." If you have already done this previously, you will only see a grayed out box and a message stating that your media is already organized as a itunes media folder. DO NOT CHECK THE BOX THAT SAYS CONSOLIDATE FILES.
(step 4 is optional, I've been using Itunes for many years and it seems every version they change their folder structure (eg, Audiobooks is now books, etc. also, in the past, the folder was Itunes Music, now with version 9 its Itunes Media) I decided I would start clean with the latest Itunes 9 folder structure so I did exactly that!)
4) In Itunes, click Itunes>Preferences>Advanced. Under Itunes Media Folder Location, change to your new path. for example, mine originally said /users/Geoff/Music/Itunes/Itunes Music. I created a new folder called Itunes Media in the Itunes folder so now mine says: /users/Geoff/Music/Itunes/Itunes Media. Like I mentioned before , the main advantage to this is to have the latest folder structure in itunes 9 and not have a bunch of old folders from previous itunes versions.
5) In Itunes do a File>Library>Organize Library then click the checkbox next to "Consolidate Files". When you hit ok what this does is copies all your music, etc to your new folder that you made in step 4. If you didnt make a new folder in step 4, it will simply just reorganize to the latest itunes 9 folder structure and leave the older itunes folders on your computer. (Im a neat freak so thats why I went with step 4 and made a whole new folder for my Itunes Music) If you did create a new folder called Itunes Media (or whatever you chose to call it) make sure you DELETE the old folder (itunes music or whatever you had originally) or you will have 2 folders with the same things in them, wasting alot of hard drive space.
6) Now you have to make a decision which library you would like to keep. yes, we will be merging, but we need to use ONE of the libraries in itunes. In my case, 75% of my stuff was on my laptop, so I decided to keep its library and use it on my Mac Pro (also, my Iphone is synced to my laptop as well so that was another reason I used that one. If one of the itunes libraries your merging is also used to sync your iphone I recommend using that library. ((just how I did it, YMMV)) For simplicity, lets call the library your going to KEEP the source, and the other copy the destination. Once you have decided which library is going to be the source, create a folder on the OTHER computer's desktop (the destination) and call it "itunes backup".
7) Start up Itunes one last time on the Destination computer and export any playlists you want with the new library. To do this, click the playlist, then File>Library>Export Playlist. When you export, it will ask you what format you would like. I just picked Plain Text. I exported my playlists to my desktop, but you can export them wherever you like.
Also, you need to check the movies, tv shows, podcasts, books and ringtones on each computer and write down a list of things you will need to merge from the destination computer to the new library. (eg, i had a few audiobooks on my destination machine that I didnt have on my laptop. I also had a few tv shows and podcasts on my destination machine I didnt have on my laptop. Since i will be using the library from my laptop on the destination machine, I wrote them down so that I could import them later and not worry about duplicates. (If you dont care about duplicates then I guess you dont need to write anything down and you can sort the dupes later in itunes when your done.)
8) on the destination computer (the one we created the folder on the desktop in the previous step), make sure itunes is NOT running, then open finder and go to the music folder, and then go to the folder Itunes. In this folder you will see a file called iTunes Library. Drag it to the folder you created on the desktop called Itunes backup. Next you will see a file called iTunes Music Library.xml
Drag this file as well to the folder on the desktop called iTunes Backup.
9) Now while still looking in the iTunes folder, you will see either a folder called iTunes Music or a folder called iTunes Media. (depending if you did step 4 or not above). Whichever folder you have, drag it as well to the folder on the desktop called iTunes Backup.
10) now, on the SOURCE machine (the one your going to use the iTunes library from) open finder and go to the Music folder, and then to the iTunes folder. Copy the iTunes folder and everything in it to the destination computer. In my case, since both my computers are on a network, I just copied it to the public folder on the destination computer. You can do this, or use a external harddrive, etc. Just make sure when you copy it to the destination computer, you DONT copy it to the Music folder.
11) After the copy is done, You should now go to the destination computer and go to the iTunes folder you just copied from the Source computer. We now need to copy 2 things (one file and one folder). Inside the iTunes folder drag the file "iTunes Library" to the /music/iTunes folder on the destination machine.
12) Lastly, now drag the folder "iTunes Media" (or iTunes Music) to the /music/iTunes folder on the destination computer.
13) start up itunes and go to iTunes>Preferences>Advanced and make sure the proper path is displayed in the iTunes Folder Media Location (it should be the path we copied the 2 files to, (eg, /music/iTunes.)
At this point, you should have a working copy of iTunes from your SOURCE machine running on the destination machine. next we need to merge the last few things to finish.
14) In iTunes, click File>Add to Library and browse to the folder on your desktop called "iTunes Backup". Inside the iTunes Music folder (or iTunes Media folder) click the music folder and then click choose to import the music.
15) next, if needed, in Itunes, click File>Add to Library and pick any Movies, Tv Shows, Books, etc that you didnt have and import them into your itunes library. If everything was the same on both machines, you dont have to do anything and you can skip this step. But if your like me, and had some things in your destination iTunes library you didnt have in your source, you will need to import them. This is where the list in step 7 comes in handy.
16) lastly, in iTunes, click File>Library>Import Playlist and import any playlists you exported in step 7
17) re download your album art and then the last thing you have to do is delete your music dupes and then your finished. To see a list of dupes, in iTunes, click File>Display Duplicates. You can either manually delete the duplicates (make sure you pick KEEP FILES when it asks if you would like to keep the file or delete it from the hard drive.) or use a 3rd party program like tidy songs or something.
Hope this tutorial was helpful, I spent way too long making it..lol..
And the answer to your second question... to stop auto start of itunes. Try clicking the apple logo in the top left corner, then click System Preferences, then click Accounts, then you will see a "Login Items" tab that shows whats starting up at login. Hope this helps.
If you have any questions or comments let me know, ill follow this thread for awhile to help if you need it.
Message was edited by: What2be1
Message was edited by: What2be1
Message was edited by: What2be1

Trying to share iTunes libraries between two users on one iMac

Ok, so I have two users on my iMac, but I want to share iTunes libraries between the two (so that both have the same music, movies, apps...), but for some reason I can't! So first I tried turning on iTunes while holding option key so that I can open my Library from my user that i'm trying to grab the music and everything else from. But for some reason it said that I didn't have the permissions to (which both ARE admin). So then I went to the Preferences on iTunes and tried to change the directories from where to grab the media from, but it wouldn't let me access my other users music folder, it siad again that I didn't have permissions for this. I'm really fed up, please help me.

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!

Sharing iTunes libraries from two accounts on the same physical box

I have two users set up for fast user switching on a single box. both users are active. each has its own copy of iTunes running, each with its own library, each set up to share. the firewall has iTunes sharing enabled.
from a separate copy of iTunes on a different box, I can see both libraries posted for sharing. if I try to open one of them (belonging to the administrator account), sharing works as advertised. if I try to open the other, loading times out, and the share fails with error code 3359.
is the problem that only one copy of iTunes on a physical box can be shared at a time? or is there some other configuration issue I've not taken account of?
thanks
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5) iTunes 6.0.3

thanks for your response.
if you've submitted a feature request, it may be a lost cause for the moment. what I find, however, is that if both are logged on and active, it's the one that started first that's available.
regards.

How do I merge my itunes folders from two user accounts on one computer?

I've made purchases from audible.com and on itunes from two different user accounts on my home computer. When I try to sync my itouch with my library I am missing the purchases I made from the other user account. How can I merge these together so i can have everything at once that I have purchased?

Copy or move the song files from one account to a shared location and then drag them into the open iTunes window when logged into the other account.
(60844)

Combining iTunes libraries from separate iPads or PCs

My wife and I both use iPads almost exclusively and only keep our old Windows PCs to basically house our iTunes libraries and a large no. of photos. Can I combine both iTunes libraries onto a Macbook Pro either from our iPads or our old PCs? And if so how?

Hello Chet Black1,
Thank you for the question. The article below outlines several methods to transfer your music from your previous computer to your new computer.
Home Sharing is the easiest way to transfer your music from one computer to another, but I recommend reviewing the options available in the table to decide which method would work best for you:
The following table compares the methods to move music from your old computer to your new computer.
Method
Considerations
Home Sharing
The easiest option, as long as your new computer is already connected to the Internet.
External drive
Requires additional hardware but backs up your iTunes library.
Transferring purchases
Fastest, but only moves the content you purchased from the iTunes Store. Also requires an iPhone, iPad, or iPod with the content on it.
Windows Migration Assistant
Works best for migrating from an old PC to a new Mac, and transfers more than iTunes.
You can find the steps for each of these methods in the article:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

Combining purchased itunes libraries from two apple ids that were both created by me?

I created a new Apple ID. I have an entirely new Comcast account. The old comcast account has my username and all of my purchased iTunes music/videos/tvshows/etc. and now I am currently using a Gmail email account for my apple ID. I just would like to try and combine my old purchased media into my newly purchased media. I do not currently see a smooth transitional way to copy them over through iTunes. Any support/help/music suggestions are welcome.
Cheers,
Rock

iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203

Consolidating two different iTunes libraries from two different accounts

My boyfriend and I have been living together for a while and we need to consolidate our music libraries. We have a new iMac, which we wish to use to house all of our songs. We would like to be able to play any song from either library anywhere in the apt. using our Airplay speakers. How is it possible to condolidate our iTunes library, given that we have different iTunes accounts?
Thanks!

These links should help:
Natalie Beresford: Multiple iPods/iTunes Installations
How to use multiple iPods with one computer
How to share music between different accounts on a single computer

How can I share my itunes libraries between two users on different log ins on the same PC?

Ive recently bought my wife and iPhone 4, and we have a shared library. But she clearly downloads her own apps and music choices direct from the store to her phone, so wants to maintain her own log in etc. How can I share the library in my iTunes on my log in on the same PC to her iTunes on her log I'm on the same PC. its windows Xp machine with latest itunes version.
Ive followed the online instructions for sharing thus far, and the share library does not appear in either iTunes. ie It aint working!
Thanks in advance

When you say you have a shared library... you mean you have a networked external hard drive that you are sharing?
In iTunes, generally...when the term Shared Library is used, it's speaking to sharing a specific computer's library over the network with different computer.
I would think it would be better to do what ya'll have been doing (one log in acct/one computer) and have her create her own Apple acct and each of you log in and out whenever purchasing music apps etc. and then setup individual playlists and pick specific playlists to sync with each individual iPhone.
If you don't want each other to know what you're buying then...disregard what I just said

Sharing & Managing iTunes libraries from different countries

Hi Everyone,
I would like some help on sharing and managing content from different iTunes libraries from two difference countries please.
I have:
1 x iPod and its library from the UK (and its UK Apple ID)
2 x iPhone 5's and their libraries from the US (and their US Apple ID's)
I appreciate there are restrictions due to each country's laws so what I want may not work, however, ideally I want it so I can have all three of our libraries in one iTunes library and then both my wife and I can choose which songs we want on our iPhones and iPods.
Does anyone know if this is possible?
Any help much appreciated - cheers!

Y2J wrote:
Thanks Guys.
What you said worked - cheers!
The only thing that didn't was transferring my UK music to USA iPhone. Unless you know otherwise, I assume because I paid for UK music in UK, trying to then play it on a USA iPhone won't work......or is there a workaround?
The fact I've paid for it legally in one country surely shouldn't be a problem playing it on a device?
Or should I create a brand new Apple ID and library - would that help?
Your help is much appreciated.
Thanks.
Y2J,
The problem is much more likely to be the multiple Apple IDs than the multiple countries. Do not start yet one more.
If all the music is in one library located on your computer, but certain songs won't sync, pls post details of the problem and maybe someone here can help troubleshoot.

How can i join two libraries from two different users

how can i join two libraries from two different users in the same computer?

I should add that you can turn on SHARING where each user can see the other user's library and play stuff out of it. But they can not import those tracks to their own library or put them into their own playlists or burn CDs of the shared library.
Also note, to do this you need to have the fast switching option enabled with the accounts so both can be running at the same time and both must have iTunes running at the same time.
Patrick

I have two separate iTunes libraries on two separate Computers. I need to consolidate them so I can play them on a brand new computer. How do I do this so I can play them off an External Hard Drive on my brand new computer?

I have two separate iTunes libraries on two separate Computers. I need to consolidate them so I can play them on my brand new computer. How do I do this so I can play them off an External Hard Drive on my brand new computer?

Why, if it told you you have insufficient space on your computer, would it suggest making more space available on your phone?
At a guess, you have insufficient space on your phone. Installing software will typically require more space than the final size of the software, perhaps even twice or three times as much, for the installation process. You can easily dump some videos or music temporarily, and then synch them back in afterwards.

HT1553 I want to do a clean install of Mountain Lion. Can I do this without a DVD version of the OS, and can I restore only specific things like iPhoto and iTunes libraries from Time Machine backup.

I want to do a clean install of Mountain Lion. Can I do this without a DVD version of the OS, and can I restore only specific things like iPhoto and iTunes libraries from Time Machine backup.

Mountain Lion is only available as a download, so there is no DVD to purchase. What you can do is download ML and then stop it from installing as soon as it's on your drive. From there you can make your own bootable ML flash drive.
When your purchase and download Mountain Lion, it will end up in the Applications folder and automatically want to install. Press Command+Q to stop the install and exit. The installer will remain on the hard drive.
1) Right click on the installer and choose "Show Package Contents".
2) A folder will open on the desktop. Drill down to Contents > SharedSupport and double click the disk image InstallESD.dmg to mount it on the desktop.
3) From here you can either burn a DVD, or copy the contents to a flash drive. Personally, I would strongly suggest using an 8 GB flash drive formatted as Mac OS Extended. You will be able to boot to it in about 30 seconds instead of at least 10 minutes off of a DVD, and it will install MUCH faster. Make sure the flash drive is empty, or you've copied anything off it it you need as it will need to be erased.
4) Don't just drag and drop the contents you see in the open disk image to the flash drive. It won't boot that way as it will be missing some hidden files. Open Disk Utility. You will something similar to this:
5) To accomplish the above, highlight either the flash drive's single partition (as I did), or the item at the bottom (Mac OS X Install ESD), which is what you will see with the Lion disk image mounted. It doesn't matter which one you pick. You'll then have the option to select the Restore tab towards the upper right. Drag and drop from the left column into the Source and Destination fields as shown above. If you've already erased the flash drive, you can uncheck the box. Click the Restore button.
You've just made your own bootable Mountain Lion USB Flash drive installer. Once you boot to the flash drive, run Disk Utility first to erase the drive you want Mountain Lion on, then continue with the install.
As far as restoring your iPhone and iTunes libraries, I couldn't tell you. So I wouldn't do any of the above until someone else chimes in with a way to do that after a clean install of ML.

Combining iTunes libraries from two users. Will this work...

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