Multiple Libraries

Is it possible to have multiple itunes libraries on one computer? I already have one on here and my brother also has an IPOD that is linked to our lap top but we'd prefer to put it on here, it'd just be much easier to deal with. Is there any way we can do that without effecting what's already on mine?
Sony Vaio Windows XP

It wouldn't effect the songs on either library by doing that? Also we have an external hard drive, that's where my library is since I have a 30 GB Ipod, his is just two so we could put it on the C drive, would that make a difference?

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Multiple Libraries on one computer

I want to store more music in iTunes than my iPod has room for (original iPod). I want to use one library for music that I don't want on my iPod and the other for the music I want to sync. I also want to be able to move music back and forth between the them.
How do I store music in multiple libraries on one computer without making separate computer user accounts or using the playlist work around?
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, apple-rules

Yes, I am referring to the auto syncing of playlists. Not all of my music is assigned to playlists and I don't want to create them - too many songs.
As I mentioned in my original post:
I want to store more music in iTunes than my iPod has room for (original iPod). I want to use one library for music that I don't want on my iPod and the other for the music I want to sync. I also want to be able to move music back and forth between the them.
I want to be able to store music in iTunes and play that music in iTunes without having them downloaded to my iPod. It would be nice to have a Library in iTunes that can be separate from the iPod stuff.
I think I found a work around (#12). Until I get a better solution I am going to create a master folder to which I will move all my music that I do not want syncing to my iPod. Then, I will do a manual sync and exclude that folder.
Thanks everyone.

How do I go from using a single Apple ID with multiple libraries to using home sharing?

Until now my wife and I have opted to share our iTunes/Apple ID and use multiple libraries to manage our iPhones. This has become increasingly difficult...with issues such as having apps I've downloaded that she doesn't want automatically downloading to her library and even her phone. Now, add in the fact that I want to continue to manage my iTunes library from our PC and allow her to manage hers from her new MacBook Pro and we have good reason to move to home sharing with separate Apple IDs for each of us.
My question is the logistics of doing so. Not only do we need to replicate her existing library on a new Apple ID, but then we need to migrate all the necessary files over to her MacBook Pro. Quite honestly, I don't even know where to begin. Is it possible to associate her existing library with her new Apple ID without having to create her library from scratch? Then is there anyway to migrate only the items in her library over to her MacBook Pro as opposed having to move all of our music & apps? Where do I begin?
Thanks!

Okay...I misunderstood and thought we needed separate ID's...but I see we actually need to use the same ID which simplifies things in my mind a bit. But still some followups...
1) What do you mean by restore the library on her computer? Simply open her library file in iTunes?
2) On our current machine...media is actually split between a couple folders but all under the My Music folder. But there are multiple subfolders (iTunes, Her iPhone, and Amazon MP3). I presume as long as I copy over the entire My Music folder there shouldn't be any access issues when the library is opened on her machine?
3) Is there any easy way to get rid of all the extra files that she doesn't have in her library? For instance, all my music and apps that she doesn't actually want, is there any easy way of separating those out from the files that are actually linked to in her library? Vice versa for me...once we've go her library set up on her machine, any easy way to purge all the extra files from my PC that aren't actually in my library?
Thanks!

Multiple Libraries & duplicates

I am sure that my problem is common so hopefully this post will help other people solve similar problems. It may have been answered in other posts although nothing has popped out as a clear and concise way to solve how to deal with multiple libraries and duplicate pictures.
I have over the years created, edited and merged various iPhoto libraries. I now have such a mess of pictures and libraries I don't know what to do to organize them all. The smallest library is about 10GB, the largest about 45GB. I purchased iPhoto Library Manager and Duplicate Annihilator. I have attempted to merge some of the libraries but that didn't work that well. It created yet another library and more duplicates. I then (foolishly) attempted to drag and drop a library file and that created extra pics like thumbnails of the all the faces.
So is there an easier way that sifting thru about 30,000 images?
Do I deal with the duplicates in each separate library first, then merge and do it again. Or attempt a total merge, then scan for duplicates?
Another approach I thought about is to work directly with the originals in the library contents.
I am lucky that I haven't spent too much time with albums, books etc. There is some metadata (comments, maps and faces), but nothing to serious.

Try using a free tool, ExifRenamer (http://www.qdev.de/?location=mac/exifrenamer)
Do not use this tool on files inside of iPhoto Library. You can use the tool only with originals, in simple file format. So you probably need to export the files from iPhoto first before using the tool.
It renames photo/video file names to date/time they were taken. You'd drop a folder containing the files onto ExifRenamer icon, and the files will be renamed. Pretty simple. You can specify the format of file name and other settings to your preference first. Once the files are renamed, you'd drop them into folders based on year/quarter/month.
Basically you'd reorganize the files in this folder structure
2009_01
2009_02
2010_03
Or you could work with
2009-q1 (for Jan - March)
2009-q2 (for Apr - June)
As you are dropping the renamed files into their directories, you may be asked to overwrite files, which you should do.
Once you've renamed the files, you can reimport them into iPhoto Library. I recommend one iPhoto Library for 1 year. Maybe you could keep more years in 1 iPhoto Library. My personal preference is 1 iPhoto Library for 1 year.
Lastly, please make a good backup and test before proceeding. I recommend this.
-Let Time Machine run with iPhoto closed.
-Export all photos from iPhoto into a separate folder. This is for backup and not to be touched.
-Export all photos from iPhoto or duplicate the folder you created in previous step. Work with this folder when using ExifRenamer. Start working with small sets of files initially until you are comfortable.

ITunes match with multiple libraries

I can't seem to find a satisfactory answer to this. Namely, how does iTunes Match treat multiple libraries on the same Mac. In my case, I spent a lot of time segregating my music. Thus, I have a rock library, a classical library, an instrumental (Windham Hill and Narada) library, an ambient recording library. It makes sense to me to do this rather that dump everything into one pot. That way, I can load a Touch with a specific library and don't have to create a zillion playlists. Using the same iTunes login, how will Match treat these different libraries? Will it only concern itself with what it finds in the currently open library? How will it treat different iPod Touches that are linked to a specific library? Will it want to push the wrong music to a Touch? Would appreciate any thoughts.

One person sets up Match on their computer using the iTunes account. Uploads everything to match.
I would recommend waiting until that person is done, and do computers one at a time. No particular reason, just seems sensible.
Next person sets up match using same iTunes account details. Uploads their stuff. They will then see everything the previous user put into the system, unless you select "Hide music not on this computer" in the view menu. Previous user will now see their stuff too.
Rinse and repeat.
This is how it worked with my multiple machines anyway... As long as every computer uses the same iTunes account for the store, you all get access to the same Match account.

How to set up multiple libraries on one computer

How do you set up multiple libraries on one computer for itunes?

Launch iTunes with the Shift key(Windows) or Option key(Mac OS X) held down.
(90004)

Multiple libraries or multiple accounts ?

Hi,
At the moment, everybody in the family is using my apple ID and it's getting difficult to manage because I don't want to share my password to avoid high expenses and also when the kids get older, it will be a problem.
So I need to know which is better for my family's future : multiple libraries on one account or creating different users on my computer with different itunes accounts ?
Also if I have different accounts, can I share music and apps ?
Thanks

I recommend you get her her own iTunes account for purchasing from the iTunes store.
You/she can add gift cards instead of using your credit card so you won't have to worry about how much she purchases.
should I just have one account and create a new library for her music and videos?
Create her own iTunes account and create her own library by creating a new computer login for her.
She will have her own iTunes library in her own computer account.

Multiple Libraries on 1 computer?

Hi,
I was wondering is it possible to set up multiple libraries on one computer? For example if multiple family members using the same computer but w/ vastly different musical tastes all have iPods is there a way to set iTunes up where I wouldn't have to deal w/ all of my other family member's songs?

These links should help:
Natalie Beresford: Multiple iPods/iTunes Installations
How to use multiple iPods with one computer
How to share music between different accounts on a single computer

TS2972 I have multiple libraries on the "same computer" with two different desktops, can't I share between two libraries on the same computer?

I'm trying to use home sharing to share content between libraries so some of the combined content in a given library, can be synced to an ipad. Instad of having mulitple computers, i have multiple libraries on the same computer using two desktops. How do I share within the same computer?

iTunes must be running for home sharing to work. There is no way to have home sharing running simultaniously for two users on the same computer.
Simply add the media files using File > Add File/Folder option in iTunes.

How can I create multiple libraries on a windows 8 HP computer?

I just got the newest generation Ipod Touch, and the itunes is not supported on my iMac G5. My parents have a Windows 8 HP computer. My dad's itunes account is on that computer. So what I want to do is use my external hardrive to sync it to my Windows 8 computer. I am trying to find out how to create multiple libraries.
Please help me out.

These all have drm so i cannot read them without a i-Device.
Correct. If you do not have an iOS device or a Mac running Mavericks, do not buy Apple iBooks. They will be unreadable.

Multiple libraries on same computer with current iTunes version

How can I create multiple libraries with the current version of iTunes? I want to add a library to a computer that already has one. Please help!

Go to System Preferences>Users and Groups and click on the padlock in lower left and enter admin PW to allow changes. Then click on the + sign in lower left and add a new user

I have multiple libraries on the SAME computer.

I have multiple libraries on the SAME computer. How can I share these libraries? I do not see the SHARED tab when i open iTunes. Where is this tab?

home sharing works between two or more computers on the same LAN.
if you're talking about libraries on multiple user accounts on the same computer, peruse how to share music between different accounts on a single computer.
if you mean you're working with multiple libraries on the same user account, check out PowerTunes or iTunes Library Manager.

Multiple Preferences for Multiple Libraries?

Now that I'm able to create multiple libraries with iTunes 7, I'd like to be able to have a different set of preferences for each library. That is, I'd like to have my local hard drive's library to copy files to the iTunes Music folder when I use it while refraining from copying while I use my external hard drive's library. As I understand it, preferences are user-based, so I can't figure out how to do this.
When I used Libra previous to iTunes 7, it was able to handle this. Any ideas about how to do this using iTunes 7 solely?
Thanks
Powerbook G4 17 1 ghz Mac OS X (10.3.7)

wow Addison that link you posted saved my life (and sanity!) it actually stopped the crashing of iTunes thanks so much!!

Managing multiple libraries with different file types (AAC v. Lossless)

I have set up two libraries, one for my AAC music and the other for my lossless music. The files themselves are located in two separate places on my hard drive. When I switch libraries (option-clicking iTunes), and go to Preferences/Advanced tab, the directory for the files and the import method doesn't change -- I have to change it manually. This is annoying.
Does anyone know of a way to automate this change, so that if I open a new library, the default location of the files and the import format changes automatically? I tried ituneslibrarymanager from Dougscripts, but for some reason can't get this program to install on my machine.

No, it's the same Windows XP user account, but I have two separate music libraries - the music files in library are in a lossless format, while those in the other are in AAC. For convenience, I wish to keep the two libraries separate.
In iTunes 7 it is possible to have separate libraries - start iTunes and hold down the SHIFT key (Windows) while the program starts. A dialogue box then appears where the required library can be selected. However, as far as I can tell, it's not possible to have a different set of preferences for each library.
Say the preferences are set up for my lossless library, which is located on a separate network drive. If I then make the AAC library active and open iTunes, iTunes reindexes the library according to the settings for the lossless library and I end up with the AAC library full of lossless files. I've tried unchecking various things in the preferences box, but I've had no luck fixing the problem. Thanks for your suggestion - I have already reported the problem.
The whole thing is a rather inelegant way of managing multiple libraries in iTunes. Surely the Apple developers can come up with a way of doing it from within iTunes??

Managing multiple libraries

Hello everyone,
is there a way (even through a third-party add-on) to manage multiple libraries (I actually need to have only 2 libraries) in iTunes?
I'm asking so because I need to move part of my podcast collection to an external drive (I want to keep only the most "important" podcasts in my Mac and the rest of them in a external drive). But I'd like to make this change transparent to iTunes (I don't want to choose the library I want to mount every time I use iTunes).
Thanks and have a nice weekend.
Sig

I'm asking so because I need to move part of my podcast collection to an external drive (I want to keep only the most "important" podcasts in my Mac and the rest of them in a external drive).
You don't need a separate library to do this.
iTunes prefs -> Advanced.
Set the *iTunes media folder location* to the external.
In iTunes, select the items you want on the external then right click -> Consolidate selected files.
This will copy these to the external drive.
You can then delete them from the internal.
Then set iTunes prefs -> Advanced, *iTunes media folder location* back to the internal.
I'm looking for something integrated within iTunes
Then no, you cannot manage separate libraries except holding Option when starting and selecting the library you want.

Multiple Libraries for Video running at the same time on one PC

Hi Everyone -
I want to clarify this is for VIDEO files, not music for my 6 ATV's on the network.
Problem: I have well over 1000 VIDEOS in my iTunes Library, and I am wanting to have multiple libraries availible at the same time; not just whichever the computer has open.
We have several atv's on the network and I would like to take my video organization one step further; instead of scrolling forever in the atv menus for the video you want; I could make several libraries all availible at the same time.
Such as:
Kids Library
Workout Library
Parents Library
etc
This in turn would shrink the primary library and have less videos to sort by. I know how to create the Libraries, I just dont know how to have them all running at the same time.
Infastructure:
Windows 7 Ultimate with Drobo B800FS (16TB of storage) all connected to Cisco 3660 Gig switch with multiple atv's hardwired back.

iTunes can only open one library at a time. If you have multiple computers, or virtual machines, each could be serving a different library.
tt2

Multiple Libraries

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