Share iCloud Photo Library between two iCloud Accounts

I'm hoping someone can think of a creative solution to a problem I've encountered after upgrading to the latest OS on our Apple devices. Here is our specific use case:
Prior to iOS 8/OS X Yosemite, this was my configuration
Each Device (iPhone, iPod, iPad, Mac) was configured as such:
Primary iCloud Account: shared family account - [email protected] iPhone, calendar, reminders, Photostream enabled
Secondary iCloud Account: individual unique account - [email protected], calendar, reminders, mail enabled
This allows each user to have their own content under their unique iCloud account that was a secondary account on each device, but still have access to all of the shared services setup under the common Primary iCloud account on each device.
Most importantly, Photostream allowed EVERY photo on EVERY device to be automatically shared with every other device.
Post iOS 8/OS X Yosemite:
Apple has provided support for most of what was accomplished with the common shared iCloud account via Family Sharing, and iCloud Photo Gallery is a fantastic service.
BUT, due to Continuity and Hand-Off relying on the primary iCloud account, there is no way to share one iCloud Photo Gallery account across multiple users. The only way I've found to do that is to maintain a common primary iCloud account on each device that handles the iCloud Photo Gallery syncing, but then every device will respond to Hand-off and Continuity actions, which is obviously not ideal.
To recap, I want individual iCloud accounts on every device per user so that Handoff and Continuity work correctly, BUT I want one common iCloud Photo Gallery across all accounts so that every picture is shared with every device without having to manually add them to a shared album.
Am I missing something with the configuration, or is there a way to "trick" iCloud to work the way I want?

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.

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I would like the share an iTunes library between two different accounts on one Mac. How do I do this?

iTunes no longer works properly (aka at all) while using one of the user accounts set up on my iMac. It does, however, work when logging in under another user account on the same iMac. (if any of you can help me solve this issue that would be perfect). If there is no solution can anyone help with my request to share an iTunes library between two different accounts on one Mac. How do I do this?

jc_hering wrote:
that works for anything he purchases after he creates the new account. What about his current music that currently resides in my itunes library? How can I get his current music out of my library into his new account/library?? Thanks..
Copy it to his computer into his iTunes library and authorize his computer with the iTunes account used to purchase them..
You cannot tranfser items from one iTunes account to another. Purchased items remain part of the iTunes account is was purchased with.
iTunes account - used to purchase items
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Hello there - how can I share my iTunes library between two users on the same computer? I put the library in a shared folder between both and have selected this library on both as well, but when I update iTunes with music etc it only appears on one?

Hello there - how can I share my iTunes library between two users on the same computer? I put the library in a shared folder between both and have selected this library on both as well, but when I update iTunes with music etc it only appears on one?

Thank you Joe - I tried this but it's only showing a teensy amount of music - the stuff on the second users account as opposed to the giagntic library on the 'main' account. I actually went to a Genius Bar and they said that apple doesn't really want you to share music between accounts - parents don't want to hear their kids music etc. Which seemed strange, but it might be the case sadly Thanks anyway!

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

Can I share an iCloud photo library between family members?

I am searching for a good photo and video backup solution for my entire family. Previously I was backing up photos to a Windows Home Server that did a weekly backup to Amazon's cloud storage; however, the system disk on the home server blew up, leaving me with the choice to rebuild the server or alternatively look for a more seamless, lightweight solution. I have large quantity of photos and video on a home server data drive, as well as a large number of photos that have been recently scanned to my MacBook pro. We have almost completely transitioned to Apple products and use Time Machine for Macbook backups, so that function of the Home Server is no longer useful.
I like the concept of Apple's iCloud Photo Library; however, I need a solution that allows photos from at least my wife's and my devices to be seamlessly backed up to the library. We use different iCloud IDs. The ideal use case would be that photos taken on any of our devices (across a set of iCloud IDs) would be shared within a single library.
Family Sharing allows you to share a number of things across family members, but currently the photo library doesn't appear to be one of them.
Any pointers on how to proceed? Will the OS X Photo app and the move to bring iCloud library to the Mac make any difference? Any alternative solutions?

Someone else can probably answer the family sharing question better than I can, but I wanted to respond with an alternate suggestion. I didn't find the features I wanted in family sharing, so I didn't give it much of a chance. It did seem like you'd have a separate album for each family member.
I just recently started using Flickr and it's great. I looked into it a few years ago and there were limitations on how many MB's you could upload per day and I don't remember being impressed by the amount of free storage. Now Flickr gives you 1000 GB for free and stores the image in the original quality and size. If you download the Flickr app on your phone, you can set it to automatically upload all of the new pictures on your iphone, ipad, etc. If you and a family member share a Flickr account, you can both auto sync your camera rolls into the same Flickr account.
Personally, I'm using Flickr as a way to automatically back up photos for free. I quickly ran out of free icloud storage and I haven't wanted to pay for more.In Flickr, the auto uploads from your phone are set to private by default, but you could use flickr to share albums with friends who don't own any apple products... unlike icloud photo sharing, that only allows your friends with an apple device to view shared albums.

How do i share iPhoto library between two user accounts

I need to share my iphoto pictures between two accounts on the same computer

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.

Sharing photos from two iPhones and one photo library between two macs

Does anyone have a best practice about how to share one photo library within a family?
My wife and I each have iPhones (a 5s and a 6). She has an MacBook Pro. I have a MacBook Air. We would each like to have access to any picture taken on either of our phones on either computer. Is that possible? Does it require duplicating photo libraries on each computer?
We also have a DSLR. We would like to import picture from that camera into the same photo library.
I purchased an external hard drive which I have attached to my time capsule. I have created another photo library on that and I know how to select a specific library when opening iPhoto. But then I don't have access to photos when I travel, unless there is some way for me to access the external drive remotely.
Thanks for any help you can provide on some/all these fronts!

The way to do it is to have one Library on an external disk formatted Mac OS X Extended, Journaled. But that disk must be directly connected to the computer, not by wireless.
Note that the upcoming Photos.app - due in 2015 and designed to replace iPhoto and Aperture - may offer other possibilities.

HT1373 how do i share apps and music between two itunes accounts

How do I share music from my itunes account with my daughter so she can put it on her ipad?

To give other users read-only access to your iTunes library, use the Sharing features of iTunes. Sharing works over the local network as well as on the same computer. See the built-in help for details.
To give others selective access to your iPhoto library, you have the option of using iCloud Photo Sharing, if the privacy implications don't bother you. The images will be stored temporarily on Apple servers.
If you want to give full read/write access to more than one user, see the support articles linked below.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users
There is a way to share the library without moving it to a secondary volume. If you really need to do that, ask for instructions.

Sharing iPhoto library between two user accounts on the same Mac

My wife and I each have an iPad and we share the same iMac. We each have our own user account on the iMac. She syncs with her account, and I sync with mine. This works fine in general, but we store all our photos within iPhoto on my account. She is therefore unable to sync the photos to her iPad. The same is true with the music that we keep on the iTunes in my user account.
Is there a way for her to sync so that the photos and music sync with her iPad also?

I have used a program called iPhoto Library Manager (http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/) for years and it has worked like a charm. The program handles all of the permission/subfolder aspects transparently. Our iPhoto library is stored in my wife's default location, but I have seamless read-write access to it. When I open iPhoto, I see the same thing she does, and I have complete control.
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That's great for playback on a Mac, but what you can't do is sync an iPod/iPad/iPhone with someone else's shared library, so here's how I do it:
1) My iTunes library is our "primary" library, located in my Public folder (where other users have read-access).
2) In my wife's iTunes, library, I hit keystroke Apple-O to add content to her library, and navigated over to my iTunes Library in my public folder to select it. Once I did this, her iTunes library looked like mine.
3) The key thing is that under her iTunes Advanced Preferences, I ensure that "Copy content to iTunes library" is deselected. Otherwise, it would make a copy of my entire library on her side, and that would chew up a ton of disk space.
Note that I don't think it's entirely necessary to have the iTunes library in the Public folder. It could stay in the default location as long as you changes your music folder to have read-access by other users. I moved mine before I knew any better.
When I add new content to my library that my wife wants, we hit Apple-O from her side and add it to her library. This setup is kludgy, but a) both users can sync the music to iDevices and b) it doesn't require having two copies of everything. Note that unlike the iPhoto Library Manager solution, this is a static thing. You have to manually update the "satellite" library to keep it up to date with the main one.
I'm not in front of my Mac, so some of my notations may not be completely accurate.
Good Luck!

How do you share the iPhoto library between two logins

My wife and I each have our own logins and both started iphoto libraries. I's like there to be only one that we can both access. Can someone tell me how to do this? Thanks.

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.

How can i split my itunes library between two different accounts?

For years my son has always been a part of our itunes library. now that he is off at college, I would like to split his music off from our library to a library of his own with his own account info. Is this possible?

jc_hering wrote:
that works for anything he purchases after he creates the new account. What about his current music that currently resides in my itunes library? How can I get his current music out of my library into his new account/library?? Thanks..
Copy it to his computer into his iTunes library and authorize his computer with the iTunes account used to purchase them..
You cannot tranfser items from one iTunes account to another. Purchased items remain part of the iTunes account is was purchased with.
iTunes account - used to purchase items
iTunes library - where purchases (and CD RIPs) go on the computer

Can I share contacts and notes between two iCloud accounts without sending every contact/note?

My wife and I have been sharing my iCloud account which is very convenient because we automatically get the same calendar, contacts and notes on our devices. If I were to put her on a separate iCloud account, can we automatically share our contacts and notes without having to send every single one every time a change is made? I understand that the calendars can be shared fairly easily with family sharing but the others may be more problematic.

David,
Thanks for the reply. That's how I set it up originally. Although the new iOS 7 update lost some functionality. I found the following on the TUAW website. The Safari Bookmarks and Find My Phone options have been removed from the secondary iCloud accounts options. This is the problem. Everything worked great before we updated. I guess "new way" consolidates the iCloud accounts better with Maverick? Now I will have extra documents on my phone that I don't need. We will both have to share the same iCloud storage and backup space too. Have to try it out and see how it works. Thanks.
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/19/how-to-use-multiple-apple-ids-in-ios-7/

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On my Mac Pro I moved the entire library to "Macintosh HD/Shared/iTunes". Changed the Folder location in iTunes Preferences->Advanced->General to point to that location. Then in each user change the Music/iTunes folder to be an alias or link pointing to the Shared/iTunes folder. You will likely need to change the permissions on that folder to give everyone the ability to read and write. Do that via "Get Info" on the iTunes folder using Finder. I'd suggest backing everything up before you do this.

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i have the same type of issue. I have an iphone and my wife an ipod touch. we use seperate accounts however we would both like to stream to the same pc.
The only way i've found to do it so far is to log out of your cloud in the control panel and log in to hers. This will disable your photo streaming until you log back out of hers and into yours. you have to remember to check the photo streaming box.
I wish someone would tell us how to leave 2 clouds open at the same time. that would save a lt of time logging in and out.
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My wife and I are using our first Mac and taking/organizing pictures is a passion for both of us. Aperture is proving to be a great product, but one failing thus far is our ability to use a common Aperture library that we can use from both of our Mac accounts.
I have placed our Aperture Library in a shared folder and updated the permission on this library file (package actually) and all its enclosed files to allow Read/Write for both of our accounts. While each of our accounts can launch Aperture and view the pictures, once an edit is made, thumbnails regenerated, new pictures uploaded, etc..., Aperture keeps changing the file permissions on the underlying files (like the thumbnail file) to Read/Write only to the current account and Read to the staff/everyone group. Essentially, any previous permissions that I may have added are wiped away by Aperture . The primary effect of this is that the thumbnails basically disappear when being viewed from the other account (i.e., they are all gray).
Does anyone know a workaround for this problem? It seems like there should be a way to tell Aperture to use the default permissions assigned to its Aperture Library package. Any help would be most appreciated since my only "workaround" thus far is to always use Aperture from one of our accounts.

Well, I believe you are correct with the native OS; however, there was a nifty little workaround that seems to be the fit I was looking for:
1. I created a new Image that will store the Aperture Library with "no ownership"
2. I set the permissions on the resulting .dmg file to Read&Write for me, my wife, everyone, and staff.
3. I moved my existing Aperture Library file onto the new image.
4. I created the following AppleScript and saved it as an "Application" type (which launches when you click it)
-- We must unmount (detach) the AperturePhotos image in order
-- to make sure the launcher of Aperture is the one who mounts the disk image.
-- This way, the launcher becomes the "owner" of the image and all files are Read/Write to owner
tell application "Finder"
if (exists "AperturePhotos") then
do shell script "hdiutil detach /Volumes/AperturePhotos"
end if
do shell script "hdiutil attach /Users/Shared/ApertureImage.dmg"
end tell
-- Simply launch Aperture after mounting the Aperture Image
tell application "Aperture"
activate
end tell
5. Changed the icon of the AppleScript file to the Aperture Icon and place this script in the Dock
6. Changed the Aperture preferences to find the library on the new volume.
What this now does for me is automatically unmounts and remounts the disk image as the person launching Aperture and therefore becomes the owner of the files while using the app. It works just like I wanted. Hopefully, I will not run into any snags along the way .
Thanks again for your help.

Share iCloud Photo Library between two iCloud Accounts

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