Share itunes music across family without sharing other things in the itunes media folder!

I am sick and tired of itunes. seriously! apple just wont let go off its tight control over how I can configure my machine!
i have had to create 3 user accounts on my machine (which is the only mac in my home and only used by me) just because my mom and dad each have an iphone and would want to be able to backup and update their iphones. its simply impossible to get it done from the itunes of a single user account.
now i set the target media folder in each itunes library of each user account to the 'Shared' folder on my mac but it ends up sharing more than just the music. worst, it doesn't handle apps from each account gracefully. consequently, it failed at syncing my dad's apps to his new iphone when i restored the back up from the old one cause there was some conflict with the same app from my user account and his. thankfully his smartphone needs are minimal and i'll only have to redownload about half a dozen apps. but this is getting more complicated by the day.
i decided to just move the music folder to the shared folder and keep a referenced library but that means that when one user account downloads a track the others cannot access it as the track creates and exists in a new music folder inside the itunes media folder (which is not 'reseted' back to its original location).
so now that i have the apps trauma sorted out my music needs to be manually managed! sigh. i have like 30 gb of PAID FOR itunes music (yes paid music! some legalized using itunes match and nearly half of them purchased) and i dont want my family who stays with me to purchase all of the stuff again.
is there any graceful way of handling this?
Message was edited by: AceNeerav

iTunes: How to share music between different user accounts on a single computer - Apple Support
this article mentions nothing about the conflicts created by the apps.

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If I move my iTunes media folder to the Shared folder....

Hello
I'd like to share my music libary with my wife's user account on our MacBook Pro so she can get some of my music onto her iPhone. I've read the article on the Apple site as well as similar articles from other reputable Mac user websites and it seems simple enough.
I move the iTunes media folder into the shared folder and then redirect iTunes in the two separate accounts towards the new library locations whilst unticking the box 'Copy to the iTunes Media folder when adding to library' and then the same library is used by iTunes for both user accounts.
My question is: what are the implications for Apps when doing this? This method allows us to share music which is simple enough because she doesn't have any so the new library will just be my music.
But we both have our own collection of apps bought and downloaded through our individual accounts. Her apps are in the iTunes Media folder in her own account whilst mine are in mine. If we share an iTunes media folder as our shared libary, how does the storage and synchronisation of apps function?
Thank you for any help..

Sorted - worked it out myself.
In case it's of any use to anyone else, I moved my iTunes Media folder into the Shared section of the drive and let iTunes know this which has had absolutely no effect on my library or my access to my media.
My wife's iTunes simply has access to my media and she can add it to her own library (which already contains her own apps) without moving the media from my shared folder because I deselected that 'copy to itunes when adding to library' box.
Now she has her own media folder and library but can access my stuff...

Moving a shared iTunes Media Folder to another hard drive

For many years our family has been sharing our iTunes media on a single computer. Currently there are 3 of us. We each have our own iTunes Library in our ~/Music/iTunes folders, but all the shared media is in /Users/Shared/Music.
We have outgrown the current internal hard drive, and I now have a big external drive ready to go, but I can't figure out how to move the media files without the need for 2 out of the 3 of us to rebuild our iTunes library from scratch.
I tried first using the technique described in many different articles of having the first user change the media folder location preference and then use "Consolidate library" to actually move the media files to the new location. But then when I do the same for the second user, it makes a second copy of every file in the new location.
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Alternately, is there a way to rebuild the 2nd and 3rd users Libraries, but to keep the existing playlists working. The need to recreate these playlists is the main task that we are trying to avoid.
Thanks in advance,
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tt2

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Copy the entire iTunes folder from your music folder to D:\iTunes.
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tt2

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I shared my music with multiple users on one macbook pro.
Like on the Apple support discussions described I changed the iTunes media folder to users/shared. My question is how to reverse that action? Once I reset the media folder location it tells me /users/name/music/itunes/itunes media, that would be right but the files remain in users/shared?

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Read these to learn more about how iTunes works. If you move the wrong things you can end up breaking links. This goes double for moving things to other drives.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
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How to Share One iTunes Media Folder on a Windows Laptop and Mac Laptop

I have an HP EX490 Home Server setup. I want to use the Music Share volume to act as the home for all of our music. I am using a MacBook Pro and my wife is using a Dell Windows Vista Laptop. I have my iTunes pointing to the iTunes Media Folder on the Music Share. The iTunes Library resides on my laptop in Music/iTunes/Library. I used the consolidate library feature and it moved all the music to the appropriate iTunes folder on the Share. Now I want to do that with the Windows Vista Laptop. I have the Vista laptop pointing to the Share for the iTunes Media folder location. The question is how do I add the files to her library? Do I "consolidate library" again or just "add folder to library"? Also do I keep the boxes checked "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" and "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" under the Advanced Tab in Preferences? Would greatly appreciate the help. Lots of music/videos and only want to do this once.
Thanks in Advance
Tom

Tom DePrenda wrote:
I used the consolidate library feature and it moved all the music to the appropriate iTunes folder on the Share.
Good!
I have the Vista laptop pointing to the Share for the iTunes Media folder location.
Good!
The question is how do I add the files to her library?
Go to your File menu and use the command Add Folder to Library. When the dialog comes up, point it to the Music folder in the Share area. But read on first...
Also do I keep the boxes checked "Keep iTunes Media folder organized"
You must turn off the "Keep..." option. Otherwise, when one of you changes a tag, iTunes will re-"organize" and the other person's iTunes will lose the link.
The "Copy..." option should also be turned off. As you add new music, put it where you want it. Then you must "Add File to Library" from each iTunes.

How can I move my media files from USB-HD to NAS without having to copy the media files to iTunes Media folder?

I have iTunes on a Mac with the iTunes Media folder stored locally and the music on an external USB-HD. The music files are Not copied to iTunes Media folder when added to the library.
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I have iTunes on a Mac with the iTunes Media folder stored locally and the music on an external USB-HD. The music files are Not copied to iTunes Media folder when added to the library.
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Correct on the .itl. Only iTunes itself can edit that file.
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Share itunes music across family without sharing other things in the itunes media folder!

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