Multiple accounts, one computer

We have several family members using itunes, with several different ipods. We would all like to purchase tunes from the itunes store with independent sources - credit cards, gift cards etc. When a gift card is enabled, it remains active until fully used.
How do we either create several accounts on one computer or allow the switching between payment methods or alternatively, more than one itunes account on the same computer???

The easiest way to manage this all may be to have individual Windows accounts for everyone. That way every family member will have his or her own iTunes library, iTunes Store account, etc.
If for some reason you all need to share a Windows account, then you can have up to five different iTunes Store accounts on your computer at a time. Each family member will have to log into his or her Store account using the Log In button at the upper-right of the iTunes Store window to make a purchase, and then log out when he or she is done purchasing. Each account will have it's own payment method (credit card, gift certificate, allowance, etc.) and will not impact the other accounts.

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Multiple Accounts, one computer, one itunes

I have tried to research this in help without success! I am wondering if my wife, 3 children, and myself can all have our own itunes account, but continue to share all purchases in the same itunes folder, and if this is possible, how is this accomplished. I understand I can make account for my children who cannot get a credit card using a allowance, but can their purchases go into my itunes folder, so my wife or I can also use the music they purchase with their allowance? If any one can help, thank you tons!!

I believe iTunes can only authorize to one account at a time. So it is best to make ALL purchased on the same Apple account. This is not to say that you can not each have your own library and make purchases from your own library. You just need to make sure you authorize each library to the same iTunes account for purchasing.
Although now that I think about it, with ALL iTunes tracks being "Plus" (DRM free) I guess it doesn't really matter any more. Anyway...
There are a few ways for all accounts to use the same downloaded music. One is to simply copy the new tracks from the account that purchased it and then add the track to each library as needed. This will make a new copy in each library so if you guys buy a lot of stuff it could end up being a bit of storage space wasted. Since you would have five libraries I assume, you could end up with 5 copies of each track you buy.
Another is to put the purchase track in a shared folder and then change your iTunes preference on each account to NOT copy to the iTunes folder, add the tracks to your libraries, then change the preferences back. This would make the libraries all use the same media file from the shared folder. But it requires a bit of manual work each and every time you want to add new tracks to all the libraries.
Patrick

Multiple IDs+One Computer=Wrong phone account.

So, there are 3 of us in my house who have iPhones and we use one computer which means the same iTunes pops up everytime time we plug in our phone. But sometimes after unplugging our phones from the computer and we try to download an app on our phone it says one of the other Apple IDs that isn't mine. How do I get my Apple ID back on my phone?

Your Apple ID is on your phone unless you actually signed out of it on the phone or restored it from one of the other devices backups.
The issue is that content linked to one of the other accounts has been synced to your device.
You really should read this article about how to manage multiple devices on a single computer. Doing so with the same iTunes library under a single login is not an ideal choice.

Syncing multiple devices, user accounts, iTunes accounts one computer

I have a question that I can't find a clear answer.
I previous had one iPod touch and one iPad that I synched with my iTunes library. No problem. But now the wife has finally purchased a verizon iPhone and I want to be able to use my vast app collection for her phone.
Scenario is we each have separate user accounts (so we can maintain our own calendars and contacts, ect.). We each have our own ITunes accounts and our own iTunes libraries by default. She will not be purchasing much on her account though.
How do I, without creating a can of worms, create one library to sync to so I can put apps and music on her phone without erasing any of her separate information. I have read a lot on the subject and there does not seem to be a clear answer anywhere. Yes, I have read ht1495 but that does not seem to be exactly on point
Basically, I have 3 devices, 2 user accounts and 2 iTunes accounts but one computer only. I want to be able to have all iTunes stuff available on both user accounts and be able to have both people be able to read and write to the same library. I am sure there are plenty of people running into this issue with more and more people getting iPhones with verizon. It seems that it is easier to do with multiple computers than one computer.
So, I am looking for help or advice on the easiest way to accomplish this task.
IMac Mac OS X (10.6.6)

The easiest way to accomplish want you want is to transfer what content you want to the separate iTunes library under each user account. To transfer content from your library to your wife's library so that she can use it on her phone, do this:
1. Launch iTunes under your wife's login.
2. Sign her out of iTunes & then you sign in.
3. iTunes>Preferences>Devices>Disable auto-sync when an iPod/iPhone is connected.
4. Connect your phone, DO NOT SYNC!
5. Store>Authorize this Computer(only have to do this once).
6. File Transfer Purchases(all of the purchased content on your phone will be transferred to your wife's library).
7. When complete, eject your phone, sign out of iTunes, sign your wife back in.
You can now sync whatever content you want to your wife's phone. Just remember, all updates to apps obtained using your account must be done while signed in using your account: sign wife out, you sign in, update apps, you sign out, sign wife in, sync her phone.
This way you can share content(permitted under the EUSLA) and still maintain your separate logins. Do the same under your login if you want to share content from your wife's library.
Just load whatever content you want to share on each others phones, transfer the content, then delete it from the respective phone if you don't want to keep it there.

Multiple user accounts, multiple Ipods, One computer, One Itunes library

Here's my problem, I have my main music library on my Mac Mini (Intel 1.5 solo) its too big to fit on the hard drive with everything else, so I added a Mini pal drive. This has my music, photos and all the other junk I cant fit on the mini's hard drive. I want to create multiple accounts so my kids can each have their own, but we all have Ipods that we want connected to our own accounts. I want to keep all the music in one library, and share it accross all the accounts. I dont want to have to log on when my kids want a song from my library. Itunes dosent seam to like the library being on the seperate drive. Mabe I am just dooing something wrong.
Ps: I'm running Itunes 7.3 on all my machines

Apple really doesn't quite do multi-user well yet, at least as far as the iPod goes (IMHO.)
We've taken your approach. 3 users with iTunes for each pointing to a single library on an external storage device. That way there's no problem with having to go to other libraries to import (and not question about 'copying files'... big waste of space.)
Our problem is having multiple iPods plugged into the same machine. I'm about to buy one of the new models for wife and daughter, but I'm not sure how we all can be plugged in (as I'm sure will happen.)
Right now, when I plug in just my own Nano, it appears in iTunes for each of the other users. In fact I sometimes can't even eject because iTunes for another user thinks the iPod its attached to it.
To expand this thread, anyone have pointers on use of multiple iPods on the same machine with multiple users? The existing links to Apple support articles are not relevant.

HT1473 multiple itunes accounts one computer

We have 3 separate I-tunes accounts in our house. I want to store all the music on one computer. When I try to download recent purchases from Account A, it says that the computer is an authorized device (although it doesn't show up under devices), but then tells me that if I download recent purchases from Account A today, I can't download any previous purchases from any other devices for 30 days.
Does this mean I can only backup our purchases on a single computer once every three months?!

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You just need to create a second iTunes account on your PC or Mac.
To do it, open iTunes while holding down the Option (Alt) key (on a Mac) or the Shift key, and press the option to create an iTunes option. You will have to open iTunes with that key when you want to switch libraries

How do i sync multiple iphones, one computer without getting other iphone info

how do i sync multiple iphones with one computer without getting other iphone's info.
When I sync my iPhone, after I do a backup, then sync, I end up getting my kids phone numbers, wife's numbers, etc.
How do I create my own account to manage?

Settings
iTUnes and app store
turn off automatic downloads for apps
Then what you buy on one device only goes onto another if you want it to

Multiple iPods, One Computer - Question

I currently have a Classic 160GB and I'm looking into getting a Nano or iTouch soon. I have the ability to use more than one computer or more than one account to sync them both that way, but I was wondering about a different method not mentioned in this [article|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300432].
If my Classic 160GB is set to sync automatically when it is hooked up, syncing all checked items, as it does now; And then I set a new iTouch to let me manage it manually, can't I use the same library file and not worry about iTunes making multiple copies of things when it 'manages my music folders'?
It seems to me this would be an ideal solution if possible, because managing 8-32GB of space which will most likely be mostly videos, is not a hard thing. If I can have one iPod "manually managed" and one "automatically managed" by the same iTunes on the same computer, please let me know!
And if so, Apple should add that as a fourth method in that article.

iTunes will recognize each iPod as unique. You can manage each one differently, as you wish.
I would suggest you consider "Sync selected playlists" for your Touch. I find that you get all the benefits of syncing (playcounts, ratings and last played get synced) with most of the control for manually managing your music. It can be as simple as setting up a smart playlist that limits the amount of music to a size the Touch can handle to more complex, multiple playlists set ups. I have a playlist that selects 1000 songs, a few special playlists and then playlists of recently purchased albums (no, Chris, I don't make a playlist for every album). I also have a playlist for video. I find this is much less work than manually managing. But, to each their own.
Best of luck and enjoy your Touch.

Two iPhones, two iTunes accounts, one computer, different music tastes!

I haven't seen an answer to this question yet, though I have seen a theory. I haven't tried it just yet, but I decided I'd ask if there's an easier way.
Myself and my girlfriend have an iPhone 4, and we both have our own iTunes accounts, with our own purchases. In addition to being able to sync purchased songs from one device to another, my problem is we're both using my laptop. Between the both of us, there's nearly 3500 songs. Not all of the songs she has on her phone I listen to, and vice versa. Is there a way to have seperate libraries, with our own songs checked in iTunes to sync to the desired device? The theory I heard is if there are seperate Windows User Accounts, iTunes will recognize their seperate iTunes libraries. But seeing as this is my personal laptop, and she doesn't use it for anything other than syncing her phone, this isn't completely plausible. Additionally, there's some overlap; we do listen to a bunch of the same stuff. Help?

I would go with selected playlists. However, there are other options as explained in How to use multiple iPods, iPads, or iPhones with one computer, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1495

Two accounts one computer

I have two iTunes accounts. Apple stated they will not merge the two accounts into one. My wife has a third account, which also can not be merged. So, now I have this really annoying thing where whenever I switch my accounts, I can not access my content for 90 days. I can not fathom families that have one computer and tried to set up accounts for each of the family members. What is the answer to this? I have already sent a nastygram to Apple, but this appears to be the worst customer service idea on the face of the earth. You can't merge accounts, nor can you have multiple accounts on the same computer. Does apple think that families can afford a computer for each one of their children? I don't know the answer to this, but if someone else knows, please inform me. I can not access the material I rightfully bought and Apple is now withholding due to some 90 day restriction that was not in place when I bought the material.

All accounts remain as they are now when installing on top of a previous OS, only the OS components and basic Apple apps update. None of this has anything to do with iCloud, which is a separate issue.

Two ipods two account one computer

ok me and my mom both have ipods mine got stolen and a got a second anyway while was setting it up i made a new account how can we both have our accounts running with out buying a second computer and not get each other's music in each others ipod

How to use multiple iPods with one computer
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300432
Using iPod with multiple computers
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61675
Managing content manually on iPod and iPhone
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61148
Managing content manually on iPod and iPhone (alt link)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1535?viewlocale=en_US
Cheers,
Patrick

HT1495 Help with multiple IPads one computer.

I got my kids 3 ipads for christmas and I have an iphone. what is the best way to manage all the devices with one computer? Single apple id or multiple? Do the apps all transfer between the devices or are locked to just one? any suggestion?
Thanks, Tony

Natalie Beresford, "Multiple iPods/iTunes Installations", 04:04am Nov 26, 2004 CDT

IWeb won't publish my daughter's sites (multiple users; one computer)

Our daughters have their own computer, so I created two user accounts (one for each). They also each have their own MobileMe account (under a family plan).
Each has created a site in iWeb. However, I can't get iWeb to upload either site. Each time I click publish, it says "sign in to Mobile Me" and the system preferences window pops up. It seems to log in to the account, automatically. iWeb has a window open saying "Logging in" When I click to return to iWeb, that "logging in" window disappears and nothing else happens. Nothing is uploaded.
Even if I try again, it says "log in" again. I don't understand why they aren't logged in automatically, all the time, under their username and why iWeb won't upload anything.

Jim:
Try the following. Even though it's for a different problem, mail in this case, it has helped others with your problem;
Source: http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/mobileme/index.html#d30jul2008
Page Title: MobileMe
Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 9:06:25 AM
Jim Oase
After waiting a day for the rolling restore to happen, I called AppleCare because Apple had sent an email saying my service was back, and it wasn't. I still could send and not receive using Mail.
*Here is what fixed it*. Go to MobileMe (terrible name) in System Preferences, log out. Then enter a garbage name and password and try to log in. This apparently clears the MobileMe preferences. Then enter your real UserName and PassWord. For me this was lights on.
I am left wondering how long ago I could have had email had I known this preference reset scheme.
OT

Multiple Users, one computer, share music?

Hello! We have several users on one computer, and 1 external hard drive connected. The internal drive isn't very big, the computer is pretty old. There are a lot of audio files on the external that all the users would like to have in their respective iTunes library (and on their iPods). Can this be done? and how? Is this even a Home Sharing problem? If not, I'm sorry.
Thank you!
Joanna

On a Mac, you should be able to stream music from one user account to another via Home Sharing. (That way, you can just maintain one set of content files in one user account on the Mac.)
Try Chris's instructions from the following post:
iTunes Home Sharing now works between users on same computer

Apple tv under multiple account, same computer

I have the apple TV connected under my account log in. My daughter purchased a movie under her account log in. How do i get the movie (from her account log in) to the apple TV (under my account log in)?
Same idea applies to the photos in iphoto under different log in accounts.
THank you!
intel based iMac Mac OS X (10.4.9)

An Apple TV cannot sync to a sleeping or shutoff computer; the computer must be on and iTunes must be running. In the case of two accounts on the same computer, I've not seen whether that will work or not, but if it can, it would have to be using Fast User Switching and iTunes would have to be running in her account.
You might instead just want to copy the movie from her iTunes library to yours (copy it first to a shared location like the Shared folder in the Users folder, then just drag it into the iTunes window under your account) and then authenticate your iTunes to her iTunes Store account. Then you don't have to worry about syncing or sharing with multiple accounts on the same system.

Multiple accounts, one computer

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