Share iTunes files between user accounts

I am trying to share the iTunes music library between Admin. and user account on my Macbook Pro Mountain Lion OS. The user account can not find the iTunes folder, even after the Admin. gave user account access to the iTunes music folder.
Please help.

Sorry, I think that this official Apple Post ought to do it.
iTunes: How to share music between different user accounts on a single computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
Chris CA is an expert, so if you don't understand Chris's expert advice and/or you don't understand the official post here, then simply take a break, relax, and come back and try again.
Best Regards,
~mm

Similar Messages

How can I share my iTunes library between user accounts in iTunes 11

Since upgrading my iTunes library to Version 11 I can no longer share the library between user accounts on the same Mac.
The 2nd user is asked to create oir use an iTunes library, but when it is pointed to the Media folder it cannot share it.
Previously in iTunes 10 it all worked fine.
How can this be done please?
The library is in a shared areas that we both have Read/Write permissions to.

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

I have one imac. my wife and i each have our own user accounts and itunes library. How do we share selected music between user accounts?

i have one imac. my wife and i each have our own user accounts and itunes library. How do we share selected music between user accounts?

To give other users read-only access to your 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.
If you want to give full read/write access to more than one user, see the support article linked below.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer

Itunes sharing between user accounts

Hello-
My wife and I share the desktop. A few years ago, I created 2 user accounts to log in to the desktop. Apparently iTunes does not share the library between the accounts and thus we created 2 different libraries with purchased music from 2 iTunes accounts on the same desktop.
Is there anyway to merge the files or to share the library so that she does not have to login to her side to access her purchased music? I'm sure it's probably a simple move of files to a common directory, but i'm not sure how to proceed.
Thanks

Sorry, I think that this official Apple Post ought to do it.
iTunes: How to share music between different user accounts on a single computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
Chris CA is an expert, so if you don't understand Chris's expert advice and/or you don't understand the official post here, then simply take a break, relax, and come back and try again.
Best Regards,
~mm

How to share files between user accounts

I have used the shared folder but I must duplicate the file every time - how can I get it to use 1 file on both users and saving it to the shared folder?

When you say "Shared folder", do you mean /Users/Shared, or the public folder of your user, or some folder you are file sharing?
If the file is read-only (for the other user), then that's why you're getting the Duplication request.
I would put the files in /Users/Shared, and that should work.

Cannot share itunes library between users after Lion upgrade

Before the Lion upgrade, I was able to share my iTunes library between two users on the same computer. The library is located in HD > Users > Shared. Both users have read and write access to the folder. Home sharing is turned on in iTunes from the one user who can open iTunes.

This can be done with ACLs. I use it to share an iTunes library between my and my wife's user accounts.
First go to System Preferences -> Users & Groups, and make a new group. Call the group itunesshare. Add the users you want to the group.
Then, in Terminal, paste in all of this and press return:
sudo chmod -R +a "itunesshare allow delete,chown,list,search,add_file,\
add_subdirectory,delete_child,file_inherit,directory_inherit" \
Then drag the iTunes Library folder into the Terminal window and press return again. Enter the admin password when prompted.
Your iTunes library will then have full read and write permissions for all users in the iTunesshare group. This includes permissions to any items added to the library at any future time.

How to share iTunes library between 2 accounts on 1 Mac

I want to share my library with my son on his account. Both accounts are on the same computer. What steps do I need to take to do this? Thank you in advance.

My wife and I share the same iTunes library on the same Mac but have separate user accounts.
To do this:
1. Make a folder called ‘Music’ in Users/Shared and move your iTunes library to this new folder.
2. Ctrl + click on the ‘Music’ folder and select ‘Get Info’.
3. Click on the padlock icon at the bottom of the ‘Get Info’ window and enter your password.
4. Set the permissions as follows:
Your user name (Me) = Read & Write
Wheel = Read & Write
Everyone = Read & Write
5. Click on the gear icon to the left of the padlock and choose ‘Apply to enclosed items’.
6. Click OK.
7. Close the ‘Get Info’ window.
8. Log into each user account and create an alias to the new shared iTunes library in their User/Home/Music folder (the default location for the iTunes library).
Note: If an iTunes library already exists in the users ‘Music’ folder you will need to delete this first and don’t forget to backup just in case something goes wrong.
Each account will now be able to access the same shared music library.
One final thing which usually catches people out. You will need to tell iTunes to ‘Keep iTunes Music folder organised’ and ‘Copy files to iTunes Music Folder when adding to library’.
To do this:
1. Open iTunes
2. From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences
3. Click Advanced
4. Select the ‘Keep iTunes Music folder organised’ option
5. Select the ‘Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library file’ option
6. Click OK
Note: This needs to be done in both user accounts.
The only slight down side of this method is that if I add any new music to the shared iTunes library in my account, my wife has access but she isn’t able to change the info (artist name, album, track number etc…) as I am the owner of that music (the files have standard permissions applied when added so I have Read & Write access but my wife has read only access). The same applies if my wife adds some music through her user account. This isn’t a problem for me as I’m the one who manages the library and adds music, my wife simply wants to be able to access it.
If you want to manually change the permissions so that both users can change info, simply navigate to the ‘iTunes Music’ folder which is located in Users/Shared/Music/iTunes/ and Change the permissions using the same method above, making sure you ‘Apply to enclosed items’.
This will need to be repeated each time any new music is added. If you want to know how to set things up so both users can change info on tracks without having to manually change permissions each time then this can be done, but it will require delving into ACL permissions.
Message was edited by: ChrisWad

Can I share iTunes libraries between two accounts on the same Mac?

Hello,
I have an iMac on which I began making iTunes purchases. I failed, initially, to set up a separate account for my kids, who are still to young to operate the computer by themselves, but old enough to watch "Arthur" - anyway, now that I have set up a separate account to manage for them, I don't have access to the library in our "big person" account. I've tried putting files in the shared folder and the drop box, but neither of these works.
Please help!
Thanks.

Jim, sorry, I should have mentioned that permissions issue.
I have a similar setup on a Mac mini. I have the entire iTunes library in the shared folder and on each user account, I point it to that iTunes library file. That way there isn't a permissions problem when multiple accounts are connected to it.
The only problem with that is that each user account connected to that iTunes library can make changes to the library file (ratings, playlists, etc.)

Share iTunes library between users

I would like all the users on my computer to share the same itunes library. It is music that belongs to our whole family and I don't want to have to store it in multiple places and take up space. How can I do this?

Create a folder within /Users/Shared to put all of your media. Then have each user account point its iTunes Library to that folder.
Follow the instructions here, except you're not moving your media to another hard drive; just to another (shared) location on the same hard drive:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2011/02/how-to-move-your-itunes-librar y-to-another-hard-drive.html

Sharing iTunes Library between user accounts...possible?

Hello all,
I'm an experienced Mac user but am currently setting up a new iMac for my family. I've never had more than one user account because I'm the only one who uses my macbook but now my family wants 3 different user accounts for the new iMac in their home.
Because I only use my one user account at home, I never thought about the fact that different user accounts would also split up iTunes music libraries. If I import music from a CD, I would like that to be accessible and available when using any 1 of the 3 user accounts. Is this possible?
For example, my mother and father purchase CDs together...so they both own the same albums. They want to share music on the iMac, but if I import discs twice it takes up twice the amount of time and much more importantly twice the amount of space. How can I get around this??? Can one user access another users iTunes library and make that the default folder?
Thanks for your help as always!!

What you need to do is locate the iTunes Music Folder that contains the actual music in a location that is read/writable by all users. By definition, the security on each user's home folder keeps others out.
A common suggestion is to locate the music in the /Users/Shared/ folder and make sure that everyone has read/write privileges. Bear in mind that means that anyone will be able to delete all the shared music.

How do I share my photographs between User Accounts

I want to share my iphoto photographs between users on the iMAC. Is this as suimple as moving the iphoto folder to the public folder?
iMAC Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Davinho
No it's not that simple. iPhoto is a single user app, not designed for multiple users working simultaneously.
What do you mean by sharing? If you want the others to have the ability to VIEW photos, there's a way. In the main account got to iPhoto -> Preferences -> Sharing and enable Share this Library. Leave iPhoto running and go to the other account using Fast User Switching. In that account, enable 'Look for Shared Libraries' in the iPhoto Preferences, an the main library will turn up in the left hand pane of iPhoto. Remember iPhoto must be running in the main account for this to work.
If you want the others to be able to add, edit, keyword etc., then that's a different way. In this case, move the iPhoto Library Folder to the Users/Shared folder. This way both accounts can see it. Then you'll need to configure the permissions to allow everyone read/write access. (you can do this using BatchMod from http://macchampion.com/arbysoft/)
Then hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto, Choose 'Locate' and navigate to the new location for the library. Repeat for both accounts. This will give read/write access tot he library for both accounts.
However, as I said above, iPhoto is not designed for multiple users accessing the db simultaneously. Doing this increases the likelihood of db corruption greatly, so backing up is the order of the day.
Personally, especially if you're still finding your way on the Mac, I recommend the first way. It's safer. When your confidence is up, you can easily move on to the second way.
Regards
TD

Sharing files between user accounts

I have just set up a new user account on my MBP and I can't really work out how to provide the new user access to the files and folders inside my home folder.
I'm particularly interested in photos and music for use in iLife apps. I have started to play with file permissions but so far I've failed. Can anyone help?

That method works but it has a few caveats:
-The user account that "owns" the iTunes and iPhoto libraries must be logged in with those apps running for other local users to access them; and
-The libraries will be read-only for all but the account that owns them. That means no other users can add items or edit anything.
If the above solution works for you then by all means go for it. It's far too restrictive for my needs. If, like me, you want both user accounts to have equal access, with ability to edit, you need to follow the hint I linked in my above post.

[SOLVED]Sharing files between user accounts.

I want two user accounts to have full access to a common set of files. I have created a group for that purpose but even with umask settings I always seem to end up with a situation where one user does not have full permissions to one of the "shared" files (e.g. because an application uses it's own internal umask).
Essentially, I want both accounts to act as a single account for certain files, and I have considered sharing the UID, but that creates problems with user names and also exposes all files owned by either user to the other. I have also considered solutions using bindfs, but managing the mount points might become complicated, so I'm hoping that there's a simpler solution.
So, my question is what is the best way to ensure that two users always have full access to a set of files in a given location, which still enabling both users to have private files elsewhere?
Last edited by Xyne (2012-03-05 00:16:55)

Thanks, falconindy.
The setgid bit does most of what I need. The rest can be done with access control lists, which I discovered as I was reading up on setgid:
http://brunogirin.blogspot.com/2010/03/ … etgid.html

Sharing files between user accounts without permissions issues

I have two user accounts on my iMac and need to make files available to both accounts, back and forth, without having to worry about permissions issues. Files need to be read and edited from both accounts. I posted previously about this and was told to place the files in Users/Shared. I've done this but it hasn't accomplished what I need.
I created a document in one account and saved it to Users/Shared, but when I opened the document from the other account and tried to edit it, I was told that I didn't have permission to edit and that I needed to duplicate the file. How can I avoid having to set permissions for files that I need to edit from both user accounts?

Or not.
I butt up against this lunacy frquently.
I have just created a file saved to my external NAS - no problem - tried to save my edits - now don't have permission to do so. Again - checked - custom access - again. Ridiculous.
Why can Apple not sort out this fundamental problem - if I create a file and put it on my network where I WANT IT - the OS should not then prevent me from accessing it.
I spend hours, regularly, trying to sort this out. Apple OS is a joke.
And to be kept being told - do this, do that, use terminal, reset passwords is ridiculous.
Sorry for the rant.
But this is the limit.
Mike

HOW TO SWITCH FILES BETWEEN USER ACCOUNTS

I'm the administator on my computer and want to switch some stuff - from Itunes and Iphoto mainly - to standard accounts set up for other users, namely my sons. When I try to drag stuff into their folders, they are marked with a Red No Entry sign and I get a message telling me that I dont have enough privilages. I've tried the Shared folder, but although I can drag stuff, it cant be opened via the user accounts: there is the same No Entry sign and message. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong.

I'm the administator on my computer and want to
switch some stuff - from Itunes and Iphoto mainly -
to standard accounts set up for other users, namely
my sons. When I try to drag stuff into their folders,
they are marked with a Red No Entry sign and I get a
message telling me that I dont have enough
privilages. I've tried the Shared folder, but
although I can drag stuff, it cant be opened via the
user accounts: there is the same No Entry sign and
message. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong.
Hi. I've never had any trouble dropping things in the other user's Public Folder > Drop box. That one should be available to you.
Hope this helps.

Share iTunes files between user accounts

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