HT1198 Sharing an iPhoto library between multiple users on a single Mac?

Can anyone help me solve this problem?  I want to share an iPhoto library that holds all the family pictures across three other users who have separate accounts on the same iMac.

What do you mean by "share"?
If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window. Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc.
Quit iPhoto in both accounts. Move the Library to an external HD set to ignore permissions (or a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.)
In each account in turn: Double click on the Library to open it. (You may be asked to repair the Library Permissions.) From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.

Similar Messages

  • Any improvements in sharing an iPhoto Library between multiple users?

    It is possible and Apple Approved to share an iPhoto Library between multiple users, but the Library must be stored on a drive or disk image that ignores permissions:
    http://tech.kateva.org/2008/10/apple-supports-multi-user-iphoto.html
    This doesn't work for me. Has Apple changed anything with iLife '09 to make it easier to share a Library? For example, have they changed from the prior Package format?
    Message was edited by: jfaughnan

    Alternatives to a trip to the Terminal:
    If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
    Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
    Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
    If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc. The problem here is that OS X works very hard to keep your data safe and secure from the other users. You're trying to beat what's built in to the system. So, to beat the system
    Quit iPhoto in both accounts
    Move the iPhoto Library Folder to an external HD set to ignore permissions. You could also use a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.
    In each account in turn: Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting dialogue, select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new library location. From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
    However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.
    Lastly: This method seems a little clunky at first, but works very well. Most importantly, it uses the System to do the job for you.
    Create a new Account on your Mac, call it Media. Create an iPhoto Library there. (BTW: This will work for iTunes too.)
    Enable Sharing on the Library:(Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other accounts. In those accounts, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. The Library will appear in the other source pane.
    This means that both users will be able to see the pics. If you want to use a pic then simply drag it from the shared Library to your own in the iPhoto Window. This means that each user can have their own edits.
    If you want to add photos to the Library: Log into the Media account for that purpose.
    To make it all seamless: Set your Mac to log into the Media Account automatically. Set iPhoto to launch on log-in. Then switch to your own account using Fast User Switching.
    Net result: a Library that's permanently available to all users but also protected. Each user can have their own versions of the pics if they want.
    No partitioning, no permissions issues. Uses no extra disk space. What's not to like?
    Regards
    TD

  • Sharing one iphoto library between multiple user accounts

    I hav an extensive photo library and would like to share this across multiple users on the one computer. Am I able to do this without having to move the library to an external hard drive?

    What you mean by 'share'.
    If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
    Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
    Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
    If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc. The problem here is that OS X works very hard to keep your data safe and secure from the other users. You're trying to beat what's built in to the system. So, to beat the system
    Quit iPhoto in both accounts
    Move the iPhoto Library Folder to an external HD set to ignore permissions. You could also use a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.
    In each account in turn: Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting dialogue, select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new library location. From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
    However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.
    Lastly: This method seems a little clunky at first, but works very well. Most importantly, it uses the System to do the job for you.
    Create a new Account on your Mac, call it Media. Create an iPhoto Library there. (BTW: This will work for iTunes too.)
    Enable Sharing on the Library:(Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other accounts. In those accounts, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. The Library will appear in the other source pane.
    This means that both users will be able to see the pics. If you want to use a pic then simply drag it from the shared Library to your own in the iPhoto Window. This means that each user can have their own edits.
    If you want to add photos to the Library: Log into the Media account for that purpose.
    To make it all seamless: Set your Mac to log into the Media Account automatically. Set iPhoto to launch on log-in. Then switch to your own account using Fast User Switching.
    Net result: a Library that's permanently available to all users but also protected. Each user can have their own versions of the pics if they want.
    No partitioning, no permissions issues. Uses no extra disk space. What's not to like?
    Regards
    TD

  • HT1198 If I share an iPhoto library between multiple users, will the Faces, Events, and Places be automatically usable by all users, or will each user have to tag all the photos (e.g. if a user tags a face, will a different user have to do it in their own

    If I share an iPhoto library between multiple users, will the Faces, Events, and Places be automatically usable by all users, or will each user have to tag all the photos (e.g. if a user tags a face, will a different user have to do it in their own iPhoto application??

    Have you read this Apple document regarding sharing a library with multiple users: iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users?
    OT

  • Sharing single iPhoto library between 2 users on a single computer

    Hello,
    I am currently using iPhoto 5 on a Mac Mini with 2 total users on the computer.
    I know that it is easy to share iPhoto pictures over a server with other computers, but does anyone know how to share a single library between 2 users on the same computer?
    I would like my wife and I to share a single library of pictures so that we can each upload pics from our digital camera of our family and friends and both have access to them. Currently, we each have to have separate libraries and it is difficult to share photos even between us. If this is not possible on iPhoto 5 or 6, this would be a great upgrade for the next version.
    By the way, I was able to work a similar problem out with music out so that all users share a single iTunes library of songs by placing the library in the "shared" folder, but this is not possible with the iPhoto library.
    Thanks for your help!
    Mac Mini - G4   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

    Hi mconnor,
    Here are all the links I have for sharing an iPhoto Library.
    I think you would be interested in the ACL link for your situation. Hope it works for you.
    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.

  • Sharing one iphoto library between 2 user accounts

    Hi all,
    I know there are lots of questions on this, so thank you for your patience and assistance. I have spent so many hours on the phone to Apple care with no joy
    I made the jump to Mac from PC several months ago, and I really like it, except for this issue. Please forgive me if my Mac tech talk is not up to scratch.  It's like learning a new language (kind of).
    My wife and I are using iPhoto 11 with one shared library.  Computer shipped with Snow Leopard and I set up the shared folder/library using Apple article HT1198.  It worked perfectly.  We could add, edit, delete photos with the change being visible and fully accessible by the other user.
    The day Lion got released, I upgraded.  That's when all the problems started.  If I add photos or videos, the thumbnails are visible, but you can not open them/view them (Permissions error) and the problem occurs vice versa as well if my wife adds photos.
    So, trying to work out a solution, both with the advice of Apple support and from research:
    have tried repairing the library
    have changed permissions settings on hard drive and on iphoto library file
    moved the library to Shared and also to the root directory of the hard drive
    I have deleted the mounted virtual disk volume and now have the library file on the Macintosh HD
    I have reinstalled Lion (repaired)
    I have formatted the Hard Drive, reinstalled Snow Leopard, updates & then Lion - same problem!
    I have used Batchmod
    I have considered taking too many sleeping pills
    So what does work?
    When I hold down Command & Option when opening iPhoto I have the various repair options.  When I select the Repair permissions option, ALL of the previously non-viewable content becomes viewable.  Problem solved?  Nope.  When I add new material and go to my wife's account, only thumbnails visible again (if I rename an event that shows perfectly well).  Close iPhoto, hold down CMD & Option, repair permissions, and again, all content accessible.  So I'm assuming the permissions of what we are adding is for some reason being changed to a different setting to that of the library and the hard disk (both set to read write everyone & for each user account).
    Is this my only option now? Add content and then repair permissions everytime we open iPhoto?
    I'm so suprised that for what is marketed as such a user friendly computer that sharing photos is so difficult, or convoluted at least.
    Anyway, I look forward to any suggestions.

    Time Machine prefers to have a disk to iself, you'll find. You could, however, partition the disk.
    That said, having the Library and it's back up on the same disk is unwise. If the disk fails - and that's one of the more common issues - you have no library and no back up.
    Regards
    TD

  • Sharing one Aperture Library between multiple users on the same machine

    Is there a way of setting up Aperture so that two different users on the same machine have full rights to do everything?

    Ian,
    Thanks for the suggestion. It certanly better than nothing, but in my case there is no partition with permissions off and there are other users to whom I wouldn't want to give full rights to the library. As an alternative I thought of simply creating a special user and do all editing from it.
    At any rate, it would have been useful if Aperture had something like that built in - like a preferences option, where one could specify a MacOS group name, and Aperture would do all its file/folder create operations within a given library with setgid()/setegid() of that group and corresponding umask() to give rw permissions to that group. Not too hard to do, either.

  • Sharing Itunes Music Library among Multiple User Accounts on One Mac

    I have 3 user accounts set up on the computer and one itunes account authorized on all 3 user accounts. I have the music library files placed in the shared folders and permissions set up to allow all users to read & write the music. However, only my user account (the main account with admin privileges) is able to access the music unless I log into my user account, run iTunes with sharing enabled, then exit to the login window. Then the other users can access the shared iTunes library. I have preferences setup to use the same library folders.
    An earlier version of iTunes used to allow me to do this, and iPhoto still does allow a similar setup with my photo library.
    Is there a way to fix this?
    Thanks!

    I have an iMac at home with 4 users. I've recently struggled with this and thought I had a working solution ...
    I created a new iTunes folder off of root. I then logged in as each user and set the path on their Advanced Tab to /iTunes/iTunes Music/ and dragged and dropped their local iTunes Music folders (~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/) into iTunes. This copies files that aren't there but skips anything that might be in two peoples library.
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  • How do I remove an imported iPhoto library at multiple users

    There seem to be different ways of sharing an iPhoto library among multiple users on a single Mac and I guess I didn't select the best one ...
    My wife and I both have an account on our Mac (I am administrator).
    Originally, only on my account we viewed our photos, but my wife wanted to have the same iPhoto access via her account.Makes sense!
    Via 'system preferences > share'  I marked the picture folder in which the iPhoto library is stored as a 'shared folder'.
    Then in my wifes account, I started iPhoto and I imported the iPhoto library file in this shared folder (and 'yes', I unchecked the option in the preferences menu to avoid copying photos on import ;-)
    Well, for the next hours or so, the system started to import the photos ... although my photo library contains more then 10.000 pictures (!!) the status bar during import indicated a shear amount of ±260.000 pictures to be imported (as it turns out it includes the 'faces' as pictures).
    To make a long story short - how do I restore iPhoto on my wifes account by e.g. removing/undoing the imported library. I am a bit hesitant in removing the library since it is the library stored in our shared folder and I don't want to delete that library file. I 'just' want it to turn back to the original 'empty' iPhoto on my Wife's account and share our library in a different way.
    By the way, although the iPhoto library/events are a mess on my wifes account, it still looks good on my account.
    Thanks.
    D.

    Trash the Library in your wife's account.
    Never import one Library to another. Every version and thumbnail is imported like a distinct photo, you lose all your Albums, Keywords etc., the link between Original and Previews is destroyed, the non-destructive editing feature is ruined and so on. In summary: it's mess.
    For iPhoto 09 (version 8.0.2) and later:
    What you mean by 'share'.
    If you want the other user to be able to see the pics, but not add to, change or alter your library, then enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other account. In that account, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
    Any user can drag a pic from the Shared Library to their own in the iPhoto Window.
    Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work.
    If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc.
    Quit iPhoto in both accounts. Move the Library to the Users / Shared Folder
    (You can also use an external HD set to ignore permissions, a Disk Image or even partition your Hard Disk.)
    In each account in turn: Double click on the Library to open it. (You may be asked to repair the Library Permissions.) From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
    However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.

  • Question/Problem Sharing iTunes Library between multiple users

    Hello all,
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    In the past, I had placed the iTunes folder in /Users/Shared, and created an alias to it in the "Music" folder of each user, and it worked fine.  However, with a recent upgrade to Mac OS 10.5, only the Home user account can access the library. 
    I read the Apple Support Document http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1203 uner Mac OS X which specifically states *not* to move the iTunes folder, just the iTunes Media folder (which I don't have, would that be iTunes Music?).
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    David Guay wrote:
    ... iTunes Media folder (which I don't have, would that be iTunes Music?).
    yes.
    specifically states *not* to move the iTunes folder
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  • Share iPhoto library amoung multiple users

    Hi,
    I have a new G5 (with iPhoto 5.0.4).
    My machine has two user accounts. I would like to have both users have access to the SAME set of pictures - both users should have FULL access (the ability to add/delete photos, modify picture metadata, etc.).
    Is there an easy way to do this?
    Thanks!

    Hi bit,
    I have links for you to check out, whether the solutions work 100% I don't know.
    Sharing Libraries
    Sharing libraries between computers on same local Network
    Sharing libraries between users on the same machine...
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    -both users must be logged in and have iPhoto running
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    Sharing one library between users on same machine....
    Download iPhoto Library Manager (pay for it if you deccide to use it for this purpose)
    iPhoto Library Manager
    iPhoto Library Manager documentation
    this page will show you everything you can do with iPhoto Library Manager.
    On the documentation page, click the link on the left for "sharing libraries"
    Or you can go here and see if you would like to do it this way:
    Sharing one iPhoto library between several users on one machine
    Sharing Links
    Sharing your photos between computers
    About shared photos
    Turning off photo sharing
    Looking for shared photos

  • Sharing itunes library amonst 1 users on a single mac

    I'm having problems sharing my itunes library amonst several users on a single mac. I've tried copying both the entire iTunes folder and just the iTunes Music folder to ~/users/shared with no luck. Help!

    Here's a better statement of the problem -- i have two users on one mac, both have itunes tied to same library on an external drive.
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    Did you tell iTunes to use that location as the Library? You can pick a new Library by holding down the option key when starting iTunes and it will ask where to find the Library.
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    Apple please fix this.
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  • Sharing iPhoto Library between Two User Accounts

    Is there any way to fully share a single iPhoto library between two user accounts on one machine (iMac 2.0GHz dual core Intel, 10.5.1, iPhoto '08), without using an external drive (because I don't have one)? By share, I mean each user has full rights and priveledges to the entire library, regardless of who uploaded the pics. Holding down the option key on iPhoto startup does not work because my wife can't access the pics I loaded even though she's pointing to the shared library in a shared folder.

    If you want the other user to have the same access to the library as you: to be able to add, edit, organise, keyword etc. then:
    Quit iPhoto in both accounts
    Move the iPhoto Library Folder to an external HD set to ignore permissions. *You could also use a dmg*.
    (Some people have had success putting the library in the Users/ Shared folder. If you do this make sure the file permissions are set to allow read/write access to everyone. But that's unlikely to work on 10.5 because of the way that the permissions have changed with the new OS.)
    In each account in turn: Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting dialogue, select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new library location. From that point on, this will be the default library location. Both accounts will have full access to the library, in fact, both accounts will 'own' it.
    However, there is a catch with this system and it is a significant one. iPhoto is not a multi-user app., it does not have the code to negotiate two users simultaneously writing to the database, and trying will cause db corruption. So only one user at a time, and back up, back up back up.
    Regards
    TD

  • How can I sync the same iTunes 11 library between 2 users on the same Mac?

    With iTunes 10 I was able to have one main iTunes library under one user and have a second user (on the same Mac) access it by putting an alias of the iTunes Libray.itl and iTunes Music Library.xml files in the second user's iTunes folder.  This ensured that the library remained synced regardless of which user added or made changes to it.  With iTunes 11, I am no longer able to do this.  If I try I get the following error pop up:  'The iTunes application could not be opened.  An unknown error occured (13014)'.  If I delete the aliases in the second user's account the error message goes away but nothing shows up in the main iTunes window.
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    I'm surprised the alias method worked, and it certainly isn't the prescribed method.
    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.
    Discussions on using purchases from multiple AppleIDs in one iTunes library - https://discussions.apple.com/message/19543804

  • 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.

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