Configure iTunes to support multiple users on one mac

I have a nice 2009 mac OSX that my two boys share. They have their own accounts on the computer and their own iTunes accounts. They want to be able to authorise the computer to play the stuff they buy in iTunes and synch it to their devices. Right now they have to re-authorise every time they log in and other indignities.
Any suggestions for making this work smoothly would be appreciated.

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!

Similar Messages

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!

Multiple users on one mac sharing one itunes library

Hi, I read through this thread https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3753008 and was able to have two users share one itunes library on one computer (yay). However, for the new user, she can't add any music files to her itunes even though I already made sure that she had read/write permissions for the shared folder. Can anyone help? Thanks! (I recently upgraded to mountain lion on a 2009 macbook, if that matters at all. Thanks.)

During the last months... did you get the answer yet, i also would like to know if this is possible

Sharing photos between multiple users on one Mac

I'm trying to figure out how to easily share photos imported in by one user to other users in my family on my mac. I'm assuming we don't have to import them multiple times. It seems cumbersome to this new mac user to share them. I find the issue with iTunes. Any help?

HI Darien,
Here are all the links I have for the different kinds of sharing:
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 set up multiple users on one MAC

OK, new user here. Two users sharing one machine and trying to keep contacts, iTunes, etc. happy as we have our own separate data.
Suggestions?

Create two separate user accounts. One account for each user. See Mac OS X 10.7 Help- Create a new user or group account.

Share Contacts for multiple Users on one Mac?

Is it possible to share Address Book between users on a mac? I use Mobileme, and my wife and I have combined all our contacts into one address book. Now we have a new iMac and want to set up separate user accounts, but unless she gets everything (mail, bookmarks, contacts) I don't see how she can continue to access our joint address book. She does not, by the way, have her own Mobileme account.
Any suggestions? This might be covered elsewhere, if so I'm sorry to rehash the topic.
Bryan

I assume you've already got the email account sorted out. If you are using the same POP account you will want to tell Mail not to delete the messages from the server when you pick them up. IMAP is not problem.
I use Xmarks to sync my Bookmarks between Safari, FireFox for Mac and Windows, and IE 8 on Windows: http://www.xmarks.com/ - You need to install it to each browser.
There are several sync solutions for the Address Book, including using Google Calendar.
Since you've already set up a MobileMe account you can upgrade to the family plan for $50 and add her, your mom, kids etc. You sync all of the programs you want and she also gets iDisk that she can share files from and the rest of the features.

File sharing with multiple users on one Mac

I have two Macs, both of which ca seen each other across the network. My question regards file sharing with multiple users on the same computer. When file sharing, are the files from all users available across the network, or just those of the user presently logged in? The issue is that I am trying to access files from a user who isn't currently logged in, but another user on that computer is. I need to get into that person's documents, but I don't see a way to navigate to their documents folder.

Right, I got that. But the computer is in constant use by User A, while I need access to User B's files. I could need access at anytime, and it would be a pain to make User A log off and log in as User B everytime. I was just wondering if there is anyway to access User B's files in this situation, without logging User B in.

Can I backup multiple users on one mac with Personal Backup X5

Thinking of getting Personal Backup X5 by Intego. I have 4 users on my one mac and need to be able to back up each user's home directory. Does anyone have experience with this app? Can I do this? What do you think if PB X5?
Thanks

Thanks for the advise. I have used CCC before, but right now, I just want a backup solution to backup the home directories of each user on my single mac. I may someday need to clone my main disk, but right now I don't need that. I am using "Backup" now, but I have to log in as each user and run it from their account. I guess I would need to do this with whatever app I use, since some files are protected. Can SuperDuper just do this sort of thing? Can I copy from my account in some "root" mode, and copy the home directories of all my users (wife and kids)?
I downloaded a trial version of Personal Backup X5, but I can't figure out how much the actual app costs, and I don't want to spend too much, considering I can do most of what I need with "Backup", which I already have. I would consider $30 for SuperDuper if it could do the basic incremental backups, etc. I was ****** when I tried to install Personal Backup and it told me it required a re-boot. With 4 accounts logged in, it isn't a simple request.
Thanks for your help.

Multiple users on one mac mini server?

We're four ios developers looking for the cheapest mac setup, so can we just buy one mac mini server and four displays and use it sumalteneously for xcode development??

During the last months... did you get the answer yet, i also would like to know if this is possible

ITunes sharing with multiple users on one iMac

I have a sizeable library that I would like to consolidate on our new iMac and allow four users (my family) to use the one library in their respective iTunes. There was a post last year for a solution to use aliases to accomplish this and I followed the steps as best I could. It sort of worked but I must have started with my iTunes library in a different location because it didn't work out as easily as the article shows.
http://discussions.apple.com/post!reply.jspa?messageID=10283304
In order for the music to show up in iTunes even for the first user account, I had to "add" the music to library from the new location (the alias) essentially creating a new library. I guess that is due to the location of the extra files (e.g. library, extras, etc.). For the above method to work, where exactly do the library files (not the actual music files) need to be? Also, is there a way to use that folder called "Automatically Add to iTunes?" And lastly how do I reset some features, like playlists, using Time Machine? There doesn't seem to be much info into the advanced use and trouble shooting of iTunes.
I appreciate any help someone can provide.

Thanks but that doesn't really answer any of my questions. That method does not allow you to add songs from any account. You still have to manage multiple "library" files, add songs to the library manually for each user, and you end up with duplicate songs. The method that is linked in my previous post is a great one, I just need to know where the library files go in relation to the actual songs (meaning inside or outside of the iTunes folder). I guess I need to know how iTunes is set up "out of the box" since I have moved some stuff around and the data files and the music files are in different folders than they were (or would be) in a new installation.

Sharing itunes libarary with multiple users on one laptop

I have a MBP 17". I share the machine with my daughter. I wish to allow her to access my music in her profile without having to copy my whole library and putting it into her profile as this would use up a lot of space. Can someone please give mea STEP by STEP guide how I can share music form my library from my profile into her library on her profile. I hold the administrator status on the powerbook.
Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer

Multiple Users on One Mac Attached to One Airport Extreme

We have an Airport Extreme running firmware 7.4.2 that hosts 2 USB drives, a "backup" drive and an "iTunes" drive. I'm not using the backup drive for TimeMachine, just manual backups.
We have a 2008 iMac running Snow Leopard connected via ethernet. My wife's user hosts the iTunes that our AppleTV streams from. 95% of the time I am also logged in to the iMac with my user. However, if one of the users is connected to one of the USB drives, the other user is not able to connect to it without disconnecting and re-authenticating. But if I disconnect the iTunes drive and authenticate as me, then iTunes and the AppleTV can't see the media drive. We're using a "disk password" with Guest Access disabled.
What am I doing wrong here?
The key is that both users need to access the same files without permissions issues.

During the last months... did you get the answer yet, i also would like to know if this is possible

Multiple Apple IDs, Multiple Apple Devices, Multiple User Profiles, & One Mac

My husband and I recently bought our first mac and iPhones. When we set each of them up I'm not sure we took the best method as far as ease of access to content and simplification. Each iPhone is linked to a separate Apple ID and we have two user accounts on our mac that each use our own Apple IDs. This prevents us from sharing content between devices linked to the other person's Apple ID. Is there a way to overcome this or should we have set up our devices differently? When we got the mac and transferred our music over from our old computer we ended up essentially setting up duplicate files, one for each user profile. We've each purchased items or downloaded digital content on each Apple ID. Is there a simple way to combine all of this content and maintain two user profiles? I'm fine with even reducing our profiles to one if that ultimately simplifies everything and we don't lose anything. However, keeping our iPhones under separate Apple IDs allows for personal settings and downloads. We're also considering buying an iPad. Would registering all of our devices make things easier? How should we have set up our accounts and devices? How can we make things simpler?

You might try setting up iCloud Family. I haven't tried it but I think it could help. https://www.apple.com/icloud/family-sharing/

Upgrading CS for multiple users on one Mac

I have two users on my Powerbook -- an "office" user, and a "personal" user, both me. When there are the periodic upgrades that come in, I'm always prompted in both environments, even though there's only one copy of the CS3 applications. Is this as it should be? I've upgraded for the office user. Can I just say no when prompted to upgrade the personal user?
Rob

I would.

Can multiple users on one mac access Photoshop Elements?

Hi all,
I am considering purchasing Photoshop Elements on our family Mac, there are four user accounts, when Elements is installed is it possible for all users to access it?
I appreciate that I will probably have to amend the users access rights through the system preferences however I wanted to make sure that there isn't any restrictions from Elements point of view.
Thanks for anyone's help in advance.
Chris

Read the Adobe licence agreement. I don't understand it. Its written for lawyers, judges and jury IMO.

Configure iTunes to support multiple users on one mac

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for