Question: Multiple iTunes users w/ single music library on file server

My son and I (separate computers) host all of our music on a common file server. Initially, it was my music library...when he loaded iTunes, it imported everything and all was fine.
However, now if I add a few songs to the library (I can see them in the shared folders that we both have setup as our music folder within iTunes) they don't show up in his music library unless we either import them or drag them from File Mgr into iTunes.
There has to be an "automatic" way...doesn't there?
I'm eager for suggestions.
Thanks much,
Rick

Sorry to say, there is not an easier way and folks have been requesting it from Apple for years.
You are running into the situation noted in this article, towards the end
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
+When another user of the computer has imported new music from CD, repeat steps 6 through 8 to add the music to your library.+

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Why does iTunes not refresh the Music Library if files are updated?

What if have already a nice library SYSTEM built for my music, and every time I add 30-50 files to 30-50 different locations, iTunes requires me to add the same song again... What if I am doing this updating for 3 hours and I can't remember anymore which songs I added to my Brazilian compilation folder? Why can't iTunes update the library with added files? I see this question popping up on a lot of forums. This is very cumbersome. I keep my international music collection organized by country of origin. If I let iTunes consolidate my music, it will put everything into one big folder organized by name of artist. I definitely don't want to let the program do that. I would lose all my work and all my system.
Once I imported the folder system into iTunes though as a reference, it does not recognize if there was a change, music added, music deleted, music reogranized. It doesn't make sense to delete everything from the iTunes Music Library every time I update my music collection.
Where is the solution? I want iTunes to find the changes and apply it to my Music Library automatically.
I can live with my iPod only having the files in one big library, since I mostly use it for shuffle play anyway, but I want to keep my originals in an orderly manner based on style, country of origin, etc. I don't want to end up having all my files renamed and moved.
So I need iTunes to refresh my Music Library by looking at the original folder I imported the list from, and make the necessary changes.

I guess then this is a serious shortcoming of iTunes... Up till this point I owned an RCA Lyra MP3 player and it had no problems whatsoever doing these things. I guess, after seeing how iTunes and iPod works, I'd rather return to Lyra if it had an 80 G version. The only thing that still keeps me with iPod is the capacity.
It seems like that iTunes is a very cumbersome program and it tries to be so much user friendly that it even tries to eliminate the human element. Sometimes, it makes sense to keep files organized in specific manner. Especially when there is work involved and productivity.
I guess I will just delete everything from the play list and read in the main folder every once in a while, leaving the machine working on it during the night or something, then another night, it will refresh my iPod. That's the only solution I see right now.
It is interesting that a huge program like iTunes cannot do what a small one like Lyra can. And I even read in user groups that some people created programs for this problem, but those programs don't work with iTunes 7 well yet, so I am stuck with the manual updating or the brutal deletion and re-reading.
Thank you for the answer. At least I know what not to expect from the program. I just use it for only one purpose: load music onto iPod, then forget about it. It quite an unuseful program for me otherwise.
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Multiple iTunes users on single computer

First, I would like to point out that I am sonehwat comp savvy but not an expert. Here is my deal..my son and I each have an ipod and we both use iTunes. I am trying to find a way to have a single iTunes library that either of us can access taht will hold all of our music. I have been using iTunes longer and initially gave him access to my library by copy the link and the xml files to his iTunes. The librayr is intended to reside on my external Maxtor Hard Drive. Now however, when either of us updates our libray, the other doesn't get updated automatically. Can someone give me proven, specific instructions on how to achieve my single, synched library goal? Thank you. I hope that isn't too wordy or selfish sounding.
Gateway PC Windows XP Pro Maxtor External HD

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
Also See: How to Transfer Music Between the Computer and iPod
The iPod offers three ways to transfer music from your computer. You can select one of the following update modes from the iPod Preferences menu in iTunes (Edit=>Preferences=>'iPod' tab):
1) Automatically update all songs and playlists. This is the default mode, in which your entire music library, including playlists, is automatically synced to your iPod. If the music library on your computer exceeds the iPod storage capacity, you are prompted to select a different update method.
2) Automatically update selected playlists only. With this option, iTunes automatically copies the playlists you have selected to the iPod when you connect it to the computer.
3) Manually manage songs and playlists. You can also choose to transfer music to the iPod manually. This allows you to drag and drop individual songs and playlists from iTunes to the iPod.

Can I manually edit the iTunes Music Library.xml file

Here's why.
Noticed on my Apple TV that there were a number of podcasts that when selected would say "Apple TV cannot play the current song".
Looked in iTunes and these podcasts are no where to be found. Did some searches in Spotlight and also, turned up zeros. Not found.
I then looked directly into my iTunes Music Library.xml file and sure enough there are the records.
What is odd is that the location of all the bad songs have a similar invalid path.
Bad path.
<key>Location</key><string>file://localhost/Volumes/iTunes/iTunes/iTunes%20Music/Podcasts/KQED/podcast.mp3</string>
Correct Path
<key>Location</key><string>file://localhost/Volumes/iTunes/Music/Podcasts/KQED'/podcast.mp3</string>
Now, all of these have dates that lead me to believe this was due to an iTunes upgrade back in September of 2005. It doesn't look like they are causing problems with iTunes itself. However, it is quite annoying for my Apple TV.
Question. Is there a different way to fix this than just manually removing the entries from the xml file?
I haven't tried to edit the iTunes Music Library.xml file just yet as I want to make I don't totally screw things up first.

I did some additional testing here and I deleted the track information from the iTunes Music Library.xml
On start up of iTunes, it does not add the deleted file back in. On the Apple TV, it still shows the bad file.
What I think that means is that even the Apple TV gets its playlist information from another source.
I have also started on another track which is to remove all of my podcasts from iTunes. Which I have now done.
The only ones left are these bad tracks that only show up in the iTunes Music Library.xml file and more importantly on my Apple TV.
I'd put this on the podcast or the Apple TV thread, but still believe this is an iTunes issue.

Itunes deleted my "Itunes Music Library.xml" file?

Here are the facts (and then I'll pose the question):
-Ipod 80gb Classic
-Just upgraded to Itunes v. 7.4.2.4 (after following the pop-up window asking me to upgrade to the latest version)
-Windows XP Pro
-My "Itunes Music Library.xml" file and the "iTunes Library.itl" file are stored in "C:\Documents and Settings\XXXXXX\My Documents\My Music\iTunes" but all of my music/tv shows/etc are stored in another location on my HD
Here's the problem:
After I upgraded Itunes, the "Itunes Music Library.xml" file and the "iTunes Library.itl" file were replaced with brand new blank files (10kb and 32kb, respectively). When I open Itunes, the library is blank. All of the music files are still on my hard drive in the other location, but they do not show up in Itunes.
When I plug in my Ipod (which still contains all of the music), Itunes says "The Ipod "my ipod" is synced with another Itunes library...What would you like to do?"
Here's my question:
How do I get Itunes to show the proper content that is already on my ipod and on my HD? I just need my old Itunes music library files back.
Thanks in advance.

One point where this seems to occur consistently is if you reboot or turn off Windows while iTunes is running, and have a largeish music collection.
Explanation: Programmatically, iTunes main window apparently responds OK (=TRUE) to the Windows WM_QUERYENDSESSION message and at the same time starts to write the *.ITL and *.XML files to the hard disk. Meanwhile, Windows continues to end the session because - after all - it was OK'ed by iTunes. Now, if the iTunes music library is "large enough", Windows will finish ending the session before iTunes has finished writing said files, and the next time you run iTunes they'll turn up corrupt. This is a huge caveat during iTunes reinstallation, because most of the time a reboot is needed whilst iTunes will necessarily be running at the same time (consequently, if you have a largeish music library, always back up the *.XML and *.ITL files before reinstalling or updating iTunes!!!!)
This is nearly an elementary bug, and a sad indication of the level of testing done by the Apple to products before they're released.
Workarounds: I myself just frequently backup the *.ITL and *:XML files to a different directory, and restore if file corruption occurs. Another workaround is to have another program (say, Notepad.exe) with an edited but unsaved file currently open. When Windows session ends, you will have one extra chance to delay the session end, so that either you remember to close iTunes first, or if iTunes was closed first, it'll have enough time to complete writing the library metadata back to disk.
Asian and European phone giants have nothing to afraid about iPhone, if iTunes and iPod classic are any indication of its quality.

Why did the new update for itunes wipe out my music library?

Why did the new update for itunes wipe out my music library?

Very vague question.
It should not.
There is no way to know with the vague question you asked and no information at all.

The iTunes music library.itl file cannot be found or created?

itunes 7 worked all day for me yesterday, but I have had this problem since last night where when I try to start it I get this message: "the iTunes music library.itl file cannot be found or created. the default location for this file is in the "itunes" folder in the "my music" folder. PLEASE HELP!

there should also be a "Previous iTunes Libraries" in the itunes folder besides itunes music.
if not, good luck making a new playlist

HT204074 How can I transfer music from my iPad to my iPod. I no longer have a Pc. It died and cannot be restored. It had iTunes with my entire music library on it.

How can I transfer music from my iPhone to my iPad.?
I no longer have a PC. Mine died and cannot be restored. It had iTunes with my entire music library on it.

If you are running an OS of 5.0 or higher, you should be able to use the iCloud to sync both devices together & share music.

HT4236 I lost my iPod touch 32 GB a month ago, and today I got a new iPod touch 64 GB. While syncing it with itunes, I got my music library, books and purchased items back, but I didn't get my photos and videos.How can I get my old photos back in my new i

I lost my iPod touch 32 GB a month ago, and today I got a new iPod touch 64 GB. While syncing it with itunes, I got my music library, books and purchased items back, but I didn't get my photos and videos.How can I get my old photos back in my new iPod?

Correct. When you update via iTunes all synced media that is not in your iTunes library will be lost.
As IO said before:
You can redownload most iTunes pruchases by:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
I do not think it included audio books.

Multiple itune users on the same computer

Is it possible to have two seperate itunes running on the same computer? My husband and I share a computer and both have ipods. We both have different tastes in music so we would like to be able to access our own itunes instead of having to share a library with all the music together.
He currently has itunes set up with all his music on the computer at home. I have been running my itunes at work and would like to be able to bring my stuff home. Is this possible?

When the iPods belong to different people, there are basically three ways of using multiple iPods on a computer and these involve:
a) Sharing a single iTunes library
b) Creating Multiple Libraries in a single user account
c) 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): iPod - Syncing Music
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
Loading the iPod shuffle differs slightly but it can still be used with the others, for details have a look at this page: Adding songs to iPod shuffle - Windows
Multiple Libraries
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

2 Users Sharing one Music Library

All,
We have our iTunes Music Library on
Shared Documents\Shared Music.
XP "User A" can access and see all the songs.
For XP "User B" we did:
iTunes, From the File menu, choose Add Folder to Library (Shared Documents\Shared Music\iTunes\iTunes Music).
XP "User BA" can access, but does not see all the songs.
What are the steps involved to allow 2 (or more) XP Users to access one iTunes Library?

yep.
iTunes is not multi-user. is sad....... here are some other things to consider as well:
apple is propriety and vertically integrated.
apple condemned microsoft and intel. and yet these two companies helped them out later in order to survive.
apple has no choice. there are not many software or hardware peripherals available.
Apple is propriety and still promotes closed systems (e.g. iPOD propriety iTunes. limited hardware support, etc.)
Apple is simplier and less functional. (e.g. no mouse right click..)
apple is still at a premium. (significantly more expensive than equivalent pc)
apple pc's weighs more than other pc's.
Apple provide not choice / options. you can not pick and build your own….
Apple copies and does not innovate (e.g. apple name, GUI, trash, etc.)
apple software is in many cases less functional than software that runs on windows.
apple developer community is very small compared to windows. e.g. go to a software store and see the ratio of apple vs windows compatible software.
apple owners' emotional attachment far outweighs the technical reality

Multiple iTunes Libraries on single Mac

I have somehow managed to create libraries of music/podcasts/videos in 5 different places on my iMac. I would like to consolidate all of them into one spot that can be shared by all accounts. Is there a way to merge them easily, that is without copying song by song or rewriting the entire library, potentially losing some files that are more current? For example, I have 3 folders of the Killers, only 1 of which has all downloaded songs. Thanks.

If you want to do it that way, each person should have their own computer login which will give each person their own iTunes library.
This would be far easier than using multiple iTunes libraries in one computer login.
To do different content on each device, select the device in iTUnes (menu View > Show sidebar), click the tabs acroos top and select what you want to sync to that device. Do the saem for all devices.

ITunes 10 losing my music library -- is this a possible solution?

I last synched my iPod on Friday afternoon.
This morning, when I downloaded the new version of iTunes, it lost all my music.
Apple's "recreating your iTunes library" doesn't seem to help. But I have an appointment tomorrow at my local genius bar.
In the meantime, can I use my iPod to recreate my library? I'll lose some stuff because my library is too big for my iPod but I can live with that. Everything I really want is on my iPod, including all the playlists and play courts. But I'm afraid to synch it because I don't want to end up losing what's on it.
This new version of iTunes not just looks different (which I don't like) but feels buggy. I wish I hadn't downloaded it, at least not until Apple had devised patches, tweaks, new versions so these problems are headed off.

Double check to see that the ‘iTunes Library.itl’ file or the folder it resides in (the ‘iTunes’ folder) is not read-only.
First, see this Article for some background information: What are the iTunes Library files?
Using Windows Explorer:
a) Right-click on the file name
b) Select ‘Properties’
c) If it is read-only, then close iTunes, change it, and reopen iTunes.
Now (and going forwards), any changes you make to the Library should be retained (i.e. – rebuilding).
For Vista users, How to Take Ownership and Grant Permissions in Windows Vista may offer some help.
Give yourself ownership and full control of the main iTunes folder and all its subfolders.
If you are running a Sony Vaio PC, then This Thread may offer some insight.
FYI: Rumor has it that Sony has released a Vaio update on their Support site to fix the iTunes related issues (at least on their UK site). I would assume that the same would be available on their US site. See This Link
Best of Luck

ITunes U Podcasts polluting Music Library

Hi there,
I have strange issue using iTunes 9.
I subscribed to iTunes U podcast. iTunes downloads chapters and throws it into iTunes U label but at same time it adds it into Music Library.
iTunes U podcasts on grid view in "U" section are shown as different podcasts but in list view everything is OK.
See screenshot for details:
Screen 1: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/163795/Zrzut%20ekranu%202009-09-22%20%28godz.%2004.58 .01%29.png
Screen 2: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/163795/Zrzut%20ekranu%202009-09-22%20%28godz.%2004.58 .15%29.png
In Music Library while in grid view I can see all those podcast's chapters all around.
See screenshot for details:
Screenshot 3: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/163795/Zrzut%20ekranu%202009-09-22%20%28godz.%2005.01 .33%29.png
Strange is - my "U" content is labeled as "Music" while in Music Library and as "Podcast" while in iTunes U section selecting multiple files at once. Such settings are "out of the box" right after file is downloaded from iTunes.
See screenshots for details:
Screenshot 4: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/163795/Zrzut%20ekranu%202009-09-22%20%28godz.%2005.01 .44%29.png
Screenshot 5: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/163795/Zrzut%20ekranu%202009-09-22%20%28godz.%2005.02 .15%29.png
I can't do anything about it - as you can see options are grayed out or changing them does nothing.
Do i do something wrong or is it iTunes 9 bug?

just reformatted my computer as it went kaput and all the I tune is gone..So I downloaded 8.0 and set up a new new ITUNE and copied songs from my I MUSIC library that was in my hard drive.When I connected my I phone it says that my iPHONE is attached to another library and it will not take some new songs that I downloaded.
I PHONE does not even play as the playlists are dim.
Even If I am able to trnsfer music from the library I will not be able to transfer to the I phone as it is not recognising it..pl help

2 Users Accessing Same Music Library File

I've searched around ... but I'm not finding what I'm looking for.
My wife and I use seperate user accounts with Windows. We want to access the same music library file. That way if I import a CD or make changes to the file info, it will automatically appear on her user account. (right now she logs into my user account every time to play with iTunes).
The iTunes help fils say to move the iTunes music folder to the shared docs folder. The problem is that all my music (15 gigs) is on an external hard drive to save space. So we don't store any music on our computer hard drive.
What this all boils down to is can I share the same iTunes Library file between 2 users. I've tried to move the file and change the folder location in the iTunes preferences but it always creates a new iTunes folder in the individual user accounts.
Any help would be appreciated!

You have run into a limitation of software. If you want to share library then use same account. If you want separate libraries then use different logins. Either way the same media files can be accessed as long as the files are available to both users. You have this due to external drive.

Question: Multiple iTunes users w/ single music library on file server

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