Sharing iTunes library between two accounts on a single iMac

My wife and I are using the same iMac but through 2 separate accounts, which is quite neat to separate files, preferences, etc.
We have 'ripped' our home CD collection into the iTunes library of my account, and I am now looking for a way for my wife to belisten to the same music on the same computer from her own account.
I have tried the 'Share' functionality in iTunes, but this seems to open access to the library to other iMacs on the networkd, which we don't need.
Any pointers?
tx,
AH
PS Same request for iPhoto, question posted there

This should help:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
Note that when it says "publicly accessible location", it needs to be a place where everyone has read and write access. The most common such place is the Shared folder in the Users folder.

Similar Messages

Sharing itunes library between two accounts on the same imac

We just got a 27" imac and my wife and I have our own log on accounts. We share our itunes library. I have moved our itunes library to the shared folder so both of us can see its contents and pointed itunes on both user accounts to that shared folder. But, if she or I purchase an app or music it doesn't go into that shared folder. So I have to copy and paste it into the shared folder. Am I missing something there should be an easier way? I just want us to share the music and iphone apps we purchase.
We are using the same itunes account on the same imac, we just have different user accounts on the imac. Thanks

levidan wrote:
We just got a 27" imac and my wife and I have our own log on accounts. We share our itunes library. I have moved our itunes library to the shared folder so both of us can see its contents and pointed itunes on both user accounts to that shared folder. But, if she or I purchase an app or music it doesn't go into that shared folder. So I have to copy and paste it into the shared folder. Am I missing something there should be an easier way? I just want us to share the music and iphone apps we purchase.
We are using the same itunes account on the same imac, we just have different user accounts on the imac. Thanks
hi levidan and welcome to the discussion area !
take a look at this read for information.

Sharing iTunes library between two Macs on Time Capsule

Hi there
I've just about persuaded my fiancee to get a MacBook, which would give us a mac-only household. If I got a Time Capsule, could we share an iTunes library? We each have an iPod and it would seem like a pain to have to recreate two entire libraries on the Time Capsule, much of which would be the same music.
I'm also assuming we could both use the TC as wireless Time Machine backup for our Macs - is this correct?
Finally, does anyone have a view on the likely range of TC relative to a standard Linksys 802.11g wireless router? The Linksys doesn't quite reach to the other end of my apartment and I'm wondering if the TC is likely to be better.
Very many thanks in advance.

Hello
You will run into pain. I just tried every found solution on Internet. Whatever you will do, it ends up in a hack. Fact is: iTunes administer your library only local. You CAN share your iTunes library on one Mac by menu settings in a network, BUT the Mac sharing its iTunes library MUST run all the time you want to listen to music from shared iTunes library even if the shared library (music files) is on the Time Capsule. It even wont work turn on "Wake up on LAN activity". The shared library will only be available as long as the Mac sharing its iTunes library is up and iTunes opened. That way it makes no big sense to have the music files in library physically on your Time Capsule. Another problem might come up when you stop listening shared iTunes library: As soon as the sharing Mac goes into StandBy mode (time depending) you can't access its library again. Standby must be stopped.
The other "solution" is also to have the whole library on a shared drive (Time Capsule) and to import it on both Macs. You will run quickly into Sync problems, beside its a pain to administer the song library that way: You have to import further songs twice, on both Macs to hear them on every one.
And of course, there are third pary hacks around nobody really wants to use.
After implementing Time Machine into Lepoard Apple wanted to make money out of it and offered Time Capsule mainly for storing data and backups (what both works great, also WLAN works fine).
I hope Apple will find a way in iTunes not to handle the music libraries so restrictive, so it can be accessed f.e. on Time Capsule while the Mac sharing its library must not run all the time.
Hope I could help.
Message was edited by: Tayger

Sharing iPhone apps between two accounts on a single mac.

Firstly, apologies if this topic has been covered many times before, I've tried to look, but can't find the exact answer I need.
I have recently purchased two iphones and want to use them on seperate apple ID's - I want different iCloud storage for each phone.
I have a macbook which has two accounts (one for me and one for my wife). When I login to my account I have access to my itunes account and when my wife logins into her account she has access to her itunes account.
I have followed the instructions for sharing musics between two users on the same mac - by moving the itunes media folder to the shared folder on my mac. I have copied everything in that folder (music, movies, apps etc). I have also set up home sharing as I believe that you can share apps between itunes accounts using it. Everything seems to have worked ok in terms of her itunes being able to access the music, movies etc, but the apps don't seem to work properly. I went through the subfolders of the itunes media folder and changed the folder permissions to read and write for everybody (because I was getting a permissions error) and she now has access to the apps that are there (on my itunes account), but the apps that she has downloaded on her phone are not being transferred to the macbook. I've tried the reset warnings suggestion and that hasn't solved the issue.
Am I doing something wrong? Should the apps folder within the itunes media folder not be moved with the music when transferring to the shared folder? Any ideas why music and movies sharing is working ok, but not apps?
Thanks in advance!

This should help:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
Note that when it says "publicly accessible location", it needs to be a place where everyone has read and write access. The most common such place is the Shared folder in the Users folder.

How to automatically sync a shared itunes library between all accounts?

Hi Guys
I have my itunes library on a separate drive in my desktop computer. My account points on this desktop to this library. I have another account on my laptop, set to automount this drive. iTunes on the laptop points to this library also. Both have admin rights to the iTunes library drive. I can add music or files from either account.
In order to sync what each account sees in iTunes, the iTunes Library file and the xml file in each accounts' iTunes folder needs to be the same in both accounts.
This is a pain whenever I have added to the library, eg downloaded a podcast, or ripped a CD. I know I can either manually drag the added files into the window of the iTunes that needs updating, or I can copy the iTunes Library file and the xml file from the most recently modified iTunes, or I can export the added playlist from the newer iTunes then add it to the older iTunes. All of these manual methods are not ideal.
Now, my question is, has anyone achieved an automated way of doing this with the minimum degree of fuss? I'm thinking along the lines of Automator perhaps, or using a backup program on either computer to sync the library files say every night. Or is there another way. Or is my method of sharing one library not the best way. (I know I can use iTunes sharing, but it means I can't modify the library from all accounts.)
Any comments?
Thanks
Michael

have you done a consolidate in iTunes?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93195
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301748
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iTunesMac/5.0/en/670.html

Sharing iTunes library between two users on the same Mac

I recently bought my parents a new MacBook Pro (they switched from Windows). I was able to get all of their songs over and into my dad's iTunes library. My mom and dad each have separate accounts on the MBP, but they'd both like to be able to see (and listen to) the same iTunes library, not at the same time, obviously.
Is that possible? If so how? Is it enough to point my mom's iTunes to the same folder? Do I need to put special permissions on that iTunes folder while logged into my dad's account?

brown_sm wrote:
I recently bought my parents a new MacBook Pro (they switched from Windows). I was able to get all of their songs over and into my dad's iTunes library. My mom and dad each have separate accounts on the MBP, but they'd both like to be able to see (and listen to) the same iTunes library, not at the same time, obviously.
Is that possible? If so how?
the easy way is to use itunes sharing. start itunes in your dad's account and enable sharing in itunes preferences->sharing. then other users including your mother will be able to listen to the songs from your dad's itunes library but ONLY while your dad is logged in. so in order for this to work both of them should be logged in at the same time. to make that possible enable fast user switching in system preferences->accounts->login options. However, this is not terribly convenient.
it's possibly (but surprisingly tricky) to use the same itunes library without having both users logged in at the same time.
Is it enough to point my mom's iTunes to the same folder? Do I need to put special permissions on that iTunes folder while logged into my dad's account?
yes. not just permissions. you need to put inherited ACLs on your dads Music folder to give both of them read+write access to all current and future files in it. so log in as your dad and run the following terminal command (copy and paste please)
chmod -R +a "username allow delete,chown,list,search,add_file,\
addsubdirectory,delete_child,file_inherit,directoryinherit" ~/Music
instead of username put the short user name of your dad's account. it's the same as the name of his home directory in /Users. then repeat the command with your mother's username instead of your dad's. after that log out of your dad's account, log into your mom's account and point her itunes library to his itunes library. to do that start itunes while holding option.

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.

Whats the easiest way to share iTunes library between two accounts

Hi all
I have my account in leopard that has my entire music collection. I have just created a new account for my wife and would like her to have access to my library, having said that, I like my play lists and it would be ideal for her to have her own.
Any idea's on how to archive this

Move it from the Music folder of your home folder on the iMac to the same location on the MacBook Air; this can be done through target disk mode, or an external drive, or file sharing over a network. iTunes Store authorization won't automatically transfer, and any rented movies moved in this way won't play on the MacBook Air.
(81739)

Sharing iPhoto Library between Two Accounts

I've read many threads on this topic and have some limited understanding.
My situation is same as many others, I wish to have one person (me) to have full control over the library and like the other accounts on the iMac to have "read" privileges of the "master" iPhoto library only. But I would like them to be able to "copy" photos from the "Master" library to their own library for editing or using in class projects.
At the moment I moved the Library to the Shared Folder and enabled sharing. However I ran into the "Disk is locked" problem and the other accounts can't access the "Master" library in the "Shared Folder".
I looked at the "Media" account suggested by Terence Devlin but I think that means the other accounts will see the shared photos but can't use any of the iPhoto features such as viewing by Event.
Is there a way to setup iPhoto so each account can view both the "Master" library while inside iPhoto, with all the Sorting features working, and have their own local library setup where photos from the Master can be copied over and then manipulated?
Can this be done if setup on external hard drive?
If iPhoto can't do it, is there a third party software that allows this to be done? That is view/copy from Master library into local library?
Message was edited by: iMacaroon

I wish to have one person (me) to have full control over the library and like the other accounts on the iMac to have "read" privileges of the "master" iPhoto library only. But I would like them to be able to "copy" photos from the "Master" library to their own library for editing or using in class projects.
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.
Remember iPhoto must be running in both accounts for this to work. To use a photo in their own account they can simply drag the pic from the shared Library to their own inside the iPhoto Window.
I looked at the "Media" account suggested by Terence Devlin but I think that means the other accounts will see the shared photos but can't use any of the iPhoto features such as viewing by Event.
It doesn’t mean that. Viewers will be able to see the Events, Albums and so on. To use a photo in their own account they can simply drag the pic from the shared Library to their own inside the iPhoto Window.
If the other users have no ability to add or edit the Library there is no point whatever in using the Media Account.
Is there a way to setup iPhoto so each account can view both the "Master" library while inside iPhoto, with all the Sorting features working, and have their own local library setup where photos from the Master can be copied over and then manipulated?
See above.
Can this be done if setup on external hard drive?
This will allow users to manipulate the Library, so you won’t be the sole owner.
There are no third party apps that can share the Library.
Regards
TD

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 an iTunes library between 2 accounts

I am setting up iTunes on a new iMac with OS 10.5.6 There is no obvious way to share one library between two accounts. I have tried the official apple method listed here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
but it does not seem to work. I have also tried copying the complete iTunes folder to /users/shared, but that did not work. Any suggestions?
You would think this could all be done with the press of a button.

It's a misunderstanding that setting the 'iTunes Music folder location' tells iTunes to look at that location.
The iTunes Music folder location is the location where your next imported CD is stored. The song locations however are stored inside the 'iTunes Library' file which is in ./Users/YourUsername/Music/iTunes.
Moving the music folder to another location without 'telling' iTunes normally will lead to loss of links. You will see exclamation marks before the song name, telling that iTunes can't find the files.
Recent versions of iTunes can track a moved folder, when it's moved on the same disk.
The other users will not see this music. You have to copy the 'iTunes Library' file and put it in the iTunes folder of the other user(s).
--edit
Instead of copying the 'iTunes Library' file, you can add the entire music folder to each users library.
This will enable every user to apply their own rating (which is not stored in the song file, but in the 'iTunes Library' file).
--end of edit
They will then have full access to the library, which means, every user can add and delete music from the shared library.
The methods of sharing music are described here:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
Hope this helps.
M
Message was edited by: macmenno

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
iTunes library - where purchases (and CD RIPs) go on the computer

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

Sharing an iTunes library between multiple accounts on one machine

I have tried to set up a shared library so that all users on my computer can access the same music. I have tried moving my iTunes folder to the HD under Users, Shared and setting the filepath in the Preferences, Advanced, General to point to that location. It works fine with the main admin account but other users have an empty library despite their paths being altered also.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

It's a misunderstanding that setting the 'iTunes Music folder location' tells iTunes to look at that location.
The iTunes Music folder location is the location where your next imported CD is stored. The song locations however are stored inside the 'iTunes Library' file which is in ./Users/YourUsername/Music/iTunes.
Moving the music folder to another location without 'telling' iTunes normally will lead to loss of links. You will see exclamation marks before the song name, telling that iTunes can't find the files.
Recent versions of iTunes can track a moved folder, when it's moved on the same disk.
The other users will not see this music. You have to copy the 'iTunes Library' file and put it in the iTunes folder of the other user(s).
--edit
Instead of copying the 'iTunes Library' file, you can add the entire music folder to each users library.
This will enable every user to apply their own rating (which is not stored in the song file, but in the 'iTunes Library' file).
--end of edit
They will then have full access to the library, which means, every user can add and delete music from the shared library.
The methods of sharing music are described here:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
Hope this helps.
M
Message was edited by: macmenno

Sharing iTunes library between different user accounts

I recently purchased my imac and made the leap from the PC world. I set up another user account aside from the general administrator and followed the steps of having itunes folder go to the users/shared folder in an effort to be able to share files between users. I am able to now share the library between users but find that when I load new songs onto one user I then need to go into the other user's account and manually copy the new songs from the shared folder into itunes.
Anyone know how I can have it so when I load songs into one users itunes they will automatically appear in library of the other user's itunes without having to take the step of copying/importing?
Also when I was downloading and importing over 4000 songs my imac had the transparent black box which informed me I needed to shut down my computer at least twice. Should I be concerned? I'm assuming this notice is very similar to the "blue screen of death" known in the PC world so that can't be good especially when I paid the extra $ for fully loaded imac.
Thanks for the help!

DANMAC808, Welcome to the discussion area!
See KB 93195, iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer.
Also when I was downloading and importing over 4000 songs my imac had the transparent black box which informed me I needed to shut down my computer at least twice. Should I be concerned?
That is not normal at all.

Sharing iTunes library between two accounts on a single iMac

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