Keeping my iTunes Libraries in Sync

My wife and I share a single iTunes library from separate accounts on an iMac (actually I have two accounts - one for me and one for work, for a total of 3). The song files are on an external HD, the iTunes Library and iTunes Music Library.xml files are in each individual account's Music folder.
I load most of the music into the shared library via my personal account - CDs, iTunes Music Store purchases, an occasional freebie .mp3 from elsewhere. As far as I know, the only way for those songs to show up in the other two library listings is for them to be added in each instance of iTunes via the "Add to Library..." command, which can be a major pain when I go on a buying binge. Is there another way to update the other two accounts more efficiently?
Also, does anyone know what data beside the actual song is stored with the song file itself and what is stored in the iTunes Library or iTunes Music Library.xml files? It seems that the artist, song title, album artist, album title, any comments, the year and length of the song all transfer with the song, but I'm not sure about other fields. Apple keeps adding view options and I don't know where to find documentation on all of this stuff. Does anyone know or even care about things at this level any more?
Finally, one of my libraries says that it has 15,972 entries in it and the other says it has 15,985 - I believe that they are identical. So I exported a text copy of each library and loaded them to Excel and found that there were exactly the same number of entries in each copy. (I even compared the spreadsheets to make sure that the contents were in fact the same.) It's hard enough keeping track of all this stuff as it is, but when the numbers don't match, it can drive you nuts. Any ideas on how to fix this disparity, short of reloading one or the other of the libraries?
Thanks
Mike "Whatever Happened to Software Manuals?" Strohmeyer

Even though this is an old thread, one way to sync your iTunes library is to use rsync and Automator. If you're doing it that way, you can also sync your movies, audiobooks, podcasts, etc. from one computer to another which was an advantage for me. I just bought a MacBook Air and I had the same problem as you. Here's my solution: http://leolabs.org/blog/idevices/keeping-itunes-libraries-in-sync/
Regards,
leolabs

Similar Messages

  • How do i keep 2 iTunes libraries in sync

    Hi
    I am sure this must have been asked before BUT, how do I keep 2 iTunes libraries in sync?
    Some of the music is is purchased from Applestore but most is ripped from my CD's.
    Some of my films are purchased from Applestore but most are ripped from my DVD's or digital downloads.
    Most of my books are from audible.co.uk, CD rips and a very few from Applestore.
    I need/want to keep my primary iMac (which syncs with my iPad and iPhone) in sync with my home media server which is a Mac Mini.
    Andy and all help would be hugely appreciated.
    Regards.
    Robin
    PS I have tried MyTuneSync but this duplicates lots of files and does not handle deletions at all well.
    I have also tried SuperSync, this is hugely confusing, does not seem to wrok very well and has ZERO support.

    What did you copy over?
    I keep my iTunes library on an external hard disk on both machines as it is over 1.5Tb in size.
    But you still have the 'management' part of iTunes in the local iTunes folder and this does not get updated when you add sometthing from one machine onto the other?
    I do actually owned Synk but am sure I saw somewhere they do not suggest using it for iTunes?
    Robin

  • Keeping Two iTunes Libraries in Sync.

    When iCloud became available, I was stoked to be able to sync the iTunes library on my work computer with my home computer. I thought that the cloud would keep my work computer up to date, updating new purchases automatically.  However, that doesn't seem to be the case.  My latest purchases on my home computer are not showing up on my work computer.  What do I have to do to keep these two in sync?  Is there a way to do it automatically?

    Even though this is an old thread, one way to sync your iTunes library is to use rsync and Automator. If you're doing it that way, you can also sync your movies, audiobooks, podcasts, etc. from one computer to another which was an advantage for me. I just bought a MacBook Air and I had the same problem as you. Here's my solution: http://leolabs.org/blog/idevices/keeping-itunes-libraries-in-sync/
    Regards,
    leolabs

  • Can I house 2 iTunes libraries and sync 2 iPods on the same PC

    not sure if this can be done. I have one ipod/itues on my pc. just bought my daughter an ipod and I'm not sure how to get hers to sync/load. When I plug hers in it opens my iPod library?
    Any instructions would be helpful.
    dell   Windows XP  

    When the iPods belong to different people, there are basically two ways of using multiple iPods on a computer and these involve:
    a) Sharing a single iTunes library and or user account or
    b) Creating multiple user accounts.
    Note: When you are sharing an iTunes library, you don't have to set each iPod to update in the same manner, you can mix and match from the options below as each iPod has it's own update settings
    Sharing a Library and/or User Account
    If you want to share the one library, you can set either or all of the iPods so that they only get updated with only certain playlists (you can update from more than one if you wish):
    Loading songs onto iPod automatically - Windows
    Choosing the update option "Sync Music - Selected playlists" allows you to create a playlist specifically for the iPod and drag the tracks you want into it. If you tire of the list and want to change it, you just add or remove the songs you don't want. The ones you take out out remain in the library to be used some other time if you choose. You can read more about playlists at these links:
    iTunes: Creating playlists of your favorite songs
    How to create a Smart Playlist with iTunes
    Or you can choose to update any or all of the iPods manually and just drag whatever content you want to them: Managing content manually on iPod
    It's also possible to have multiple libraries in a single account. To create or access a second (or more) library, hold down the Option key (or Shift key in Windows) when launching iTunes 7. In the resulting dialogue you will get the option to create a new library or navigate to the other Library.
    Note: You can only have one Library open at a time and iTunes will default to the last library opened if you don't use the keyboard command to choose one. This can prove tricky when using multiple iPods, if you don't use the keyboard command you can risk syncing to the wrong library:
    Using multiple iTunes libraries -Windows
    Separate User Accounts
    Another option is to create a separate User account for each person on your PC or Mac. Different accounts by definition would give you completely separate libraries. Each account has it's own iTunes folder, Library and iTunes Music folder and you load it with CDs etc just as you did with your original one. The iPod can be set to update however the owner chooses, sync all, manual or sync specific playlists
    I don't use Windows so I can't give you a step by step on that one, however I can point you to another web page which should help you out. You can read about Windows user accounts here:
    Using Windows XP User Accounts

  • Phone keeps launching itunes through remote sync

    Not sure how to disable wireless sync but need to sort out some kind of resolution. Recently its launching itunes every 30secs or so and the only way to stop it is to turn wifi off on my iphone. I thought it only wifi syncs when connected to a charger but its now doing this wirelessly which can be very annoying.
    Strangley though, my ipad 2, set up in the same way, even when plugged into the wall and on charge over night, does not do this, infact it would be fine if it woreless synced overnight when on charge as my laptop is not in use and I could do with purchases beeing added for the next day, but right now the phone is really causing me a problem.

    Unfortunately, that did not work. Sometimes I leave the iPhone hooked up to the MBP just to keep it charged and to sync as needed when I am working my calendar, address book, pod subscriptions, etc. So this is not an issue of when I connect, but as I am working, suddenly for no apparent reason (like right now) I hear the phone bleep and up pops iTunes. Almost seems like a short of some kind except that, as I said, I have used two different USB cables and the same thing happens. It does NOT happen, however, with my iPod... just the iPhone.

  • Do I need to keep Previous iTunes Libraries?

    In my Music folder, I have one folder called "iTunes," which has 4 items: an "iTunes library," an "iTunes Music Library.xml," an "iTunes Music folder," and a "Previous iTunes Libraries folder." In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder are two files: one called "iTunes 4 Music Library" and one called "iTunes 4 Music Library (Old)." Do I need these? Can they be trashed? I need space and these seem to be duplicates of the iTunes library which exists outside of the previous libraries folder.
    Thanks.
    Terry

    The previous library files are placed there after an upgrade and are not used by iTunes. you can safely trash them.
    M

  • Why am I having trouble keeping my itunes and ATV synced?

    After syncing my Itunes with Apple TV, everything, movies, music, photos, etc. shows up on my apple tv under My Movies, etc. First question is, Are my movies, etc, now on the hard drive of the apple TV? Next question, With the material on the hard drive of the ATV, do I need to have my MacBook open for syncing. What is happening is after I sync, and close my MacBook, when I go to my movies, ATV tell me I have no movies. Once I open the MacBook and go to Itunes, it syncs up again and my movies are there. Am I wrong in thinking once I have synced and the movies, music, photos should be ready to pull without my MacBook on or open.
    If I take my MacBook to work, and my wife wants to watch something, how do I keep everything loaded on the ATV hard drive.
    Any help is appricated, Thanks

    It sounds like you have your ATV set to "stream" from you Macbook instead of sync. Check the settings (On the ATV) and make sure (If the Macbook is synced, it will show a chainlink icon.).
    Once you have the ATV synced, your music, movies etc. are saved on its harddrive. Thereafter, the Macbook only needs to be on when you want to add new material.

  • Can I keep two iPhoto libraries in sync?

    I have an iPhoto library on my MacBook Pro, and I have an iPhoto library on my iMac.  Both are recent models, and both are running up-to-date Lion upgrades. The libraries used to be the same, but they've diverged over the past several months as I've changed the way my iPhone, my iPad, my wife's iPhone, and my wife's iPad sync (mine now sync to the MBPro, her's to the iMac).  Is there a way to make sure that the libraries contain the same photos? How do I make sure I'm subrscibed to her Photo Stream and she to mine?
    Is there a way to figure out what photos are in hers that aren't in mine, and what photos are in mine that aren't in hers?
    Thanks.

    What do you mean by "Sync".
    The general term means when two Libraries (A and B) are compared and files in Library A are copied to Library B, while files in Library B are also copied to Library A so that both Libraries are identical.
    This is bi-directional copying and you cannot do this automatically with iPhoto. No Syncing software is capable of parsing the iPhoto Library in this manner. One or both of your Libraries will be damaged if you try this.
    You can have uni-directional copying - files in Library A are copied to Library B - this is essentially backing up. Obviously you can also copy from Library B to Library A.
    The nearest you can get to syncing is to use iPhoto Library Manager to move files/Albums/Events plus associated metadata between Libraries. This process cannot be automated.
    AFAIK you can only log into a single Photostream at a time.

  • How to transfer itunes libraries?

    I just got an iMac and i already had a macbook with all my music on it. I used time machine and backed up my macbook. How do i transfer my itunes library (playcounts and all) to my new imac?
    Also what is the best way to keep my imac and my macbook itunes libraries in sync. To the point where it doesnt matter which on i am on i can access the same stuff, current playcounts and all?

    Connect the two computers using an ethernet cable ( 3x faster than wifi)
    System Preferences, Sharing  -  turn on file sharing on both machines.
    Using finder
    Copy the Music/iTunes folder not the iTunes Media Folder to the music folder on the new mac

  • Is it possible to use my music files in both my girlfriend's and my separate Itunes libraries through our seperate user accounts?? I want to import my music into her library with out copying the files onto my hard drive a second time....

    Is it possible to use my music files in both my girlfriend's and my Itunes library's through our seperate user account?  I want to import my music into her library without copying to my hard drive a second time.....

    Would any of these help you?:
    http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2011/05/two-ways-to-share-media-librar ies-through-itunes.html
    http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2011/01/keeping-multiple-itunes-librar ies-on-a-single-computerif-you-share-your-computer-with-others-and-you.html

  • Itunes could not sync because a connection could not be established to the Iphone

    I have been trying to sync my 4s and I keep getting "Itunes could not sync because a connection could not be established to the Iphone"

    I am also getting this error with two iPad 2s and an iPhone 5. All are on iOS 6.0.1 and this is with iTunes 11 on a Windows 7 PC. I also have an iPhone 4 that does not seem to have an issue that I can tell. When I plug in the iPhone 5 and one of the iPads, it will start to to sync and right at the end I get that message. It will, however, still continue to sync the device after the error message pops up. With the one iPad, which is rarely connected to computer, it will find the iPad via wifi when iTunes is opened, but I will get that message when it is performing its initial sync.
    While I kept having sync issues when using iTunes 10.7, this is a new issue for me. I was also getting a lot of warnings that the iPhone or iPad could not be synced because the connection was lost even though the iPad and iPhone were connected via USB cable. In those cases, the sync would just abort. I have not gotten that error though in two days. At the time to resolve that issue, I needed to disconnect the USB cable, reset the iPhone/iPad, and then reconnect the USB cable.
    I really wish Apple would figure out these sync issues.
    - Merg

  • Not sure how to combine libraries and sync. Help!

    If my wife and I want to combine iTunes libraries and sync all of our devices, what would be the step by step process in doing this? We have 2 MacBook Pros, 2 iPhones, and 1 iPod Classic. I just don't know what the first step should be. I don't want to lose any music. Please help! Thanks

    No that will not work. What you may want to consider is using reflaction to create an instance of a sort class and have the sort classes implement a sort interface.
    Example:
    public Sorter createSorter(String name){
    Sorter sort = (Sorter) Class.forName(name).newInstance();
    return sort;
    The Sorter interface would include these methods:
    public void sort();
    public void add(Object obj);
    ect
    gl
    kimoS

  • Keeping two iTunes Media Folders (and libraries) in sync

    Hi all,
    Here's my situation... I can't be the only person looking for an answer to this. (Can I?)
    At home I have a Mac Mini with my music collection on it managed by iTunes. I have the same at work. I also have Chronosync set up to nightly syncronize my iTunes Media folders. Obviously, this is just step one.
    What I'd ultimately like is to be able to change files or add media at either location (through iTunes) and not only have the files moved by Chronosync but also have the iTunes libraries updated. Is there a way to do this via AppleScript or some other solution? I looking to keep two iTunes Media folders mirrored and have iTunes' library be updated at the same time (or on a regular basis).
    Thanks in advance!
    A

    It sounds like a question for whoever wrote Chronosync.  I have never heard of it and have no idea what it is or what it does.  Generally you ask questions related to third party software on the software's own support forum.  What you need it to do is synchronize the whole iTunes folder, not just media files.  The library.itl file contains most of the actual playlist and content data but things also get updated in the artwork folder, and some other files (mostly also in the iTunes folder).
    What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
    More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
    What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
    Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
    Apple's solution is to have you buy all your music from Apple and use the automatically download new purchases set on both computers.  Of course it isn't a complete solution. For example, if you change the rating on one computer it won't change it on the other since all you're doing is downloading a file from a third place (the store) to both other places (computers).

  • Syncing iTunes libraries between 2 computers

    Does anyone know how to sync iTunes between 2 computers? I have 2 macs in my home (one with an external drive that holds all of my music). I can get both computers to see and operate from the music files in a single location but I can't seem to figure out how to have any changes to my library, playlists, etc. made on one computer to automatically show up on the other in iTunes. Does this have something to do with the iTunes library.itl file?
    If so, do I have to copy the iTunes library.itl file from the computer on which I have made the most recent changes and then delete this file from the other computer and drop the recently modified iTunes library.itl file into the music folder on the unmodified computer? Will this effectively sync both libraries? If so, is there a program that will automatically schedule this procedure for me. I am in the process of sorting through 5000+ duplicates (fun, I know) and I don't want to do it twice.
    Any feedback would be appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Chris

    Thanks guys. The shared music works fine but as noted in the second response, playlists, etc. are not available on both computers at the same time. I like jase's suggestion, but since I will only need to copy one iTunes library file & paste over another to keep both libraries in sync, I think that will be the way to go. I will give the alias library file a whirl because that may work fine since both computers can make changes. I do not have the concern of both computers using the files at the same time. Only one computer will every use it. My mac mini core duo is in with my theater rack stuff. Everything is played from there. My iMac G5 is at my desk. I just need them in sync because it is infinately easier to make changes sitting at a desk than it is with a keyboard and mouse on my lap on a couch from 15 feet away from the screen.
    Thanks for the feedback.
    Chris
    P.S. - Has anyone heard of the bluetooth trackball called "The Ball" from Chwang Yi? I want to buy it, and the website claims to sell it - I just can't seem to find a single link leading to a purchase page of any kind. Any thoughts?

  • Is there any way to sync my two macs iTunes libraries?

    I have two Macs a Macbook Pro and an Imac.  I'd like to sync the iTunes libraries.  Is this possible?

    A not-infrequent question and as yet the answer is pretty much no, there isn't an easy way to do it.  One way is to keep your library on an external drive and move it between computers so you are really using just one library.  Apple has, of course, come up with you being able to download media to various locations as long as you buy all your music from Apple, or you subscribe to Match.  Still, this is just downloading media. It isn't synchronizing the library since that involves more, such as ratings, playlists, playcount, etc.
    There's: iTunes: How to share music and video - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2688 - about Music Sharing and Home Sharing.  Still, that just facilitates media transfer, it doesn't update the complete library which is more than just media.
    PowerTunes - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powertunes/ (commercial software)  - doesn't really look like it does what you want.  I have a link for sync-o-tunes which does, but that won't work on modern Macs.

Maybe you are looking for