How can I sync settings and programs between 2 user accounts on the same mac?

Hi,
I have created 2 user accounts on my mac, one for personal, and one for work (but both for me). It's primarily for organization, keeping files separate, but also because I have two separate Dropbox accounts and only one can be installed per user. I want to know if there's a way to sync selected programs, files, and settings between the two accounts? Basically, I'd like to have the same programs and settings for both user accounts, and just different files.
I can't seem to find any info on this, but maybe I'm using the wrong terms!
Thanks!

To give other users read-only access to your iTunes library, use the Sharing features of iTunes. Sharing works over the local network as well as on the same computer. See the built-in help for details.
To give others selective access to your iPhoto library, you have the option of using iCloud Photo Sharing, if the privacy implications don't bother you. The images will be stored temporarily on Apple servers.
If you want to give full read/write access to more than one user, see the support articles linked below.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users
There is a way to share the library without moving it to a secondary volume. If you really need to do that, ask for instructions.

Similar Messages

How do I share photos and music between different user accounts on the same macbook

How do I share photos and music between different user accounts on the same Macbook? i.e. I want all to be able to access family photos when logged into their respective accounts. Same goes for the iTunes library. Hope this is possible...
Thanks!

To give other users read-only access to your iTunes library, use the Sharing features of iTunes. Sharing works over the local network as well as on the same computer. See the built-in help for details.
To give others selective access to your iPhoto library, you have the option of using iCloud Photo Sharing, if the privacy implications don't bother you. The images will be stored temporarily on Apple servers.
If you want to give full read/write access to more than one user, see the support articles linked below.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users
There is a way to share the library without moving it to a secondary volume. If you really need to do that, ask for instructions.

Using the same photos and music between two user accounts in the same Mac

Hi,
I think this question might have already been asked in the forum.
1. I have one MacBook Pro and two user accounts (One for me and one for my wife)
2. We are having two seperate iPhones with seperate AppleIDs
3. We want to maintain the apps / calendar / mail / reminders / contacts as seperate - Through iCloud (Seperate Apple ID approach) - All this is fine
4. All we want to have it shared is the Music files and the Photo library without duplicating
I have tried the shared folder approach for the music and having the iTunes point to that directory for the libary location in the preferences but unfortunately if she adds a folder to the library mine does not get updated unless I do a add folder to library and vice versa.
Whats the best way to deal with the Photos / Music sharing between two user accounts on the same mac
Thanks
Shas

To give other users read-only access to your iTunes library, use the Sharing features of iTunes. Sharing works over the local network as well as on the same computer. See the built-in help for details.
To give others selective access to your iPhoto library, you have the option of using iCloud Photo Sharing, if the privacy implications don't bother you. The images will be stored temporarily on Apple servers.
If you want to give full read/write access to more than one user, see the support articles linked below.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users
There is a way to share the library without moving it to a secondary volume. If you really need to do that, ask for instructions.

How can I transfer a local mailbox to another user account on the same computer?

I have two user accounts on the same computer. I actually never really wanted two accounts, but a second one was generated when I chose to use the Migration Assistant to transfer my account from a previous computer to my current one, and I never did anything to delete the second one. Anyway, I have been using Mac Mail to view my work email messages from a Microsoft Exchange server. Awhile back, I was running out of space on my mail server, and decided to download a bunch of my email messages to local mailboxes in order to free up space.
Recently (for reasons that are not terribly relevant) I have decided to switch between the two user accounts on the computer. I have transfered all of my documents, apps, etc. to the new account. However, I haven't been able to find a way to transfer all the email that is in those local mailboxes, so that they are viewable/usable in the new account. Could somebody suggest the best way for me to do this? I am no longer going to use the old account, so the two do not have to be synced. I just want the mailboxes to be available for the new user account (with the same organizational structure).
I am currently running Mavericks (just upgraded last week).
Thanks,
JEG

A quick update....
I copied the folder in ~Library/Mail/V2/Mailboxes that contains all of my local mailboxes over to the same location in the new account. When I go into mail, the entire file structure is there, however it does not let me view (or search) any of the messages. The messages can be accessed through the Finder, though.
I tried to "Rebuild" the local mailboxes, but it didn't seem to do anything. Any advice would be appreciated.
JEG

Share iTunes purchases between two user accounts on the same Mac?

I have a Macbook Pro, for my bride and I, and a Macbook, for our kids. Both Macs are authorized on my iTunes account.
So, how can I share an iTunes Store purchased song on my account with my wife's? I understand how to turn on sharing and she can see my songs in iTunes on her account, but she cannot synch them to her iPod.
Now, I'm allowed to authorize an iTunes account on up to five Macs. I have two. But I have four accounts. Either way, I won't be exceeding five copies, but can't find a way to get a song I bought in my iTunes to my wife's iPod.
We use the same iTunes account but don't want to have to buy things twice to get them on her iPod. Just seems weird that I could put it on five machines but not two user accounts on the same one.
Message was edited by: Sky Guy

On my Mac Pro I moved the entire library to "Macintosh HD/Shared/iTunes". Changed the Folder location in iTunes Preferences->Advanced->General to point to that location. Then in each user change the Music/iTunes folder to be an alias or link pointing to the Shared/iTunes folder. You will likely need to change the permissions on that folder to give everyone the ability to read and write. Do that via "Get Info" on the iTunes folder using Finder. I'd suggest backing everything up before you do this.

Sharing iPhoto library between two user accounts on the same Mac

My wife and I each have an iPad and we share the same iMac. We each have our own user account on the iMac. She syncs with her account, and I sync with mine. This works fine in general, but we store all our photos within iPhoto on my account. She is therefore unable to sync the photos to her iPad. The same is true with the music that we keep on the iTunes in my user account.
Is there a way for her to sync so that the photos and music sync with her iPad also?

I have used a program called iPhoto Library Manager (http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/) for years and it has worked like a charm. The program handles all of the permission/subfolder aspects transparently. Our iPhoto library is stored in my wife's default location, but I have seamless read-write access to it. When I open iPhoto, I see the same thing she does, and I have complete control.
To answer your question about music, there are a couple of approaches. If you turn on Sharing in iTunes, and your wife's iTunes is set to look for shared libraries, she'll be able to have complete access to play anything in your iTunes library (as long as you have iTunes open). I believe she also has rights to copy files from your iTunes library into hers.
That's great for playback on a Mac, but what you can't do is sync an iPod/iPad/iPhone with someone else's shared library, so here's how I do it:
1) My iTunes library is our "primary" library, located in my Public folder (where other users have read-access).
2) In my wife's iTunes, library, I hit keystroke Apple-O to add content to her library, and navigated over to my iTunes Library in my public folder to select it. Once I did this, her iTunes library looked like mine.
3) The key thing is that under her iTunes Advanced Preferences, I ensure that "Copy content to iTunes library" is deselected. Otherwise, it would make a copy of my entire library on her side, and that would chew up a ton of disk space.
Note that I don't think it's entirely necessary to have the iTunes library in the Public folder. It could stay in the default location as long as you changes your music folder to have read-access by other users. I moved mine before I knew any better.
When I add new content to my library that my wife wants, we hit Apple-O from her side and add it to her library. This setup is kludgy, but a) both users can sync the music to iDevices and b) it doesn't require having two copies of everything. Note that unlike the iPhoto Library Manager solution, this is a static thing. You have to manually update the "satellite" library to keep it up to date with the main one.
I'm not in front of my Mac, so some of my notations may not be completely accurate.
Good Luck!

Can two user accounts on the same mac share the Address Book

My wife and I have separate user accounts on the same Mac but we would like to share the same Address Book. I have searched the forums to no avail. It seems silly to use .mac to do so, and a needless expense when the information is already on the same computer.

David M.F. Chapman wrote:
My wife and I have separate user accounts on the same Mac but we would like to share the same Address Book.
That's not possible. you have to use Mobileme if you want to share the address book.
I have searched the forums to no avail. It seems silly to use .mac to do so, and a needless expense when the information is already on the same computer.

Can you transfer files between two user accounts on the same macbook pro?

Can you transfer files between two user accounts on the same MacBook Pro?
Specifically, I used the Migration Assistant to move music and photos from my old PC to my new MacBook.
Somehow, I missed the fact that it was creating a new user account when it was doing this. So none of music and photos are in the user account I originally set-up. Instead, all these files are now in a different account.
I'd like to consolidate all my files on the one user account and delete the other one.
Is this possible and, if so, how do I do it?
Thank you.

you can crop files from one account to another using the Public Dropbox which every user account has. Log into the user that has the files you want to move, then drag the folder you want to the new users' dropbox:
I suggest a small scale test on a few files first before moving gigabytes of files.

How Do I Share My Database Between More Than One User Account on the Same Mac?

How Do I Share My Database Between More Than One User Account on the Same Mac?

How to use multiple iPhone, iPad, or iPod devices with one computer. The only way is for you to have a separate user account to log into on that computer.

Can I share my iTunes with another User Account on the same Mac?

Hi There
I have created a new user account on my MacBook for my Boyfriend to have his own login, the only trouble being he syncs his iPod and iPhone with my iTunes library.
Is it possible to share iTunes across the 2 User Accounts on the same Mac?

I have followed those instructions and successfully have shared my music. Now for the next question!
How can we both purchase songs that automatically update on each others account? (For example if I purchase a song, it won't appear on his Library)

HT3819 How to use homesharing between different user accounts on the same iMac?

I find plenty of articles about homesharing on iTunes between computers, but not between two different user accounts on the same iMac. Any advice or direction to an existing artical is greatly appreciated. I'm knew to the Mac and still have Windows on the brain.
I am trying to share iTunes music and movie purchases between my user login and my wife's.
Thanks

Hello careymp1017,
This can be achieved, but will not utilize HomeSharing. Further information and steps can be found in the following article.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
Cheers,
Allen

How can I sync my Iphone to a new iTunes account on a new Mac Book as no longer have the old Mac Book and im unable to use the same Apple ID, I want to sync music to my Iphone from my new Mac Book, new Mac Book and iphone in same Apple ID???

Basically, my iphone has been in the same apple ID as my dads iphone and mac book, so my iphone has always been synced to his macbook. I bought myself a mac book the other day and want to sync my iphone to it. However i have obviously put my mac book in a different apple id as i know pay for things i download myself, how can I sync my iphone to my mac book without losing all the music and pictures on it? ive now put my iphone into my new apple id thinking this might help? ive also tried clicking 'manually manage music and video' but this doesnt seem to work, it basically says you have to erase your iphone to sync to a new itunes!
HELPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

" how can I sync my iphone to my mac book without losing all the music and pictures on it?"
You cannot. Copy everything you want form the old computer to the new one, then sync it.
it basically says you have to erase your iphone to sync to a new itunes!
Correct Iphone will sync, or manually manage, with one and only one computer/library at a time. Syncing, or manually managing, to another will indeed erase the current content.

How can I sync my ipod shuffle so that it plays in the same order as my playlist?

How can I sync my ipod shuffle (4th generation) so that it plays in the same order as my playlist?

Is the playlist in your iTunes library, or is it already on the shuffle (as a playlist)?
If you created one or more playlists for your shuffle in your iTunes library (with the songs in the desired playlist order), you should set up automatic syncing. Here's how to do that, if you have not already...
NOTE: If the iTunes sidebar (along left side of window) is not visible, from the menu bar, under View, select Show Sidebar.
Select the shuffle in the sidebar, under DEVICES. Near the top of the window, there is a bar of buttons, starting with Summary. Click Music next to Summary. This is the shuffle's Music screen, where you tell iTunes how to sync songs. (Sorry if you know this already...)
Check the box for Sync Music. Below that, choose the option to sync Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres. In your case, find and checkmark those playlists you want under Playlists. When you click Apply, the songs on those playlists and the playlists sync to the shuffle.
When using your shuffle, the default playlist that you are using is the All Songs list. To play songs in order, the shuffle's power switch needs to be set to the play-in-order (middle) position. However, if you are playing from the All Songs list, the songs play in alphabetical order.
To play from a particular playlist that is on the shuffle, you need to use VoiceOver to switch to that playlist. This document explains how to set up and use VoiceOver on a shuffle
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4322
When playing from a particular playlist, with the power switch set to play-in-order, the songs play in playlist order.

My wife has a separate User Login. How can she access photos and documents on my User Account?

What do I need to do under my wife's user login so she can have access to photos and documents on my user account?

Move the data you want to share to the hard drive level Users/Shared folder and she will be able to access them. You may have to do a Get Info (command - I) on the folder and add her with read/write permissions, then select the gear at the bottom and Apply to enclosed items.

How do I share new purchased itunes content automatically between multiple user accounts on the same computer?

I have 3 different user accounts set up on the same computer. Whenever one of us buys or downloads anything, how can I get that to be automatically available for each of the other users? The main itunes library is stored at users/shared/itunes, but this doesn't seem to help much. As far as I can gather, Home Sharing only works between computers, not between users on the same computer......

camillafromchichester wrote:
The main itunes library is stored at users/shared/itunes
is that the iTunes folder or just the iTunes media (or music) folder ?
what should work is if the entire iTunes folder were in the shared folder and iTunes on each user account would access the same library file
launch iTunes on each user account (one at a time) while holding the option (⌥) key, click on choose library when prompted, and select the iTunes folder you copied to the shared folder.
if user A adds content, this will be available to the others immediately when they access the library, however, only one iTunes at a time can use the library. if you're using fast user switching, user A must quit iTunes before user B can fire it up.

How can I sync settings and programs between 2 user accounts on the same mac?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for