Sharing iTunes with multiple users

I just created another user account on my Mac. How do I set up iTunes in the new user account so that they have access to share my music library? I have given the new account read only access to my music folder but how do I allow iTunes to access it? Thanks!

HI,
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
Carolyn

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How do I share iTunes with multiple users on Mac mini?

How do I share iTunes with multiple users on Mac mini?

You have to turn on Sharing and then Authenticate Sharing on the other devices. You can have up to 5.

Sharing Library with Multiple Users on SAME COMPUTER

My wife and I use Windows XP Pro. We imported all of our CDs to the iTunes on her user account. How do I access or import the library to the iTunes on my account? I want to avoid logging into her account to listen to the music.
The help index has info on sharing music for multiple computers on a network but I didn't see an answer for sharing music between multiple user accounts in XP on one computer. PLEASE HELP!!!!

Use tweakUI, google on it to get it and install it.
More details are here or do a search discussions for "TweakUI" if you need more.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1175181&#1175181

Problem sharing iTunes with multiple Windows accounts

My kids and I share a single computer via multiple user accounts. We also share a common iTunes account across all Windows accounts. When new songs or playlists are added, they appear in the other accounts.
Recently, I had to create a new Windows account for my daughter. In iTunes, I went to Edit -> Preferences and changed the iTunes Media folder location to the shared folder. The problem is that none of the playlists came through, and when new songs are added, they do not show up in her account either.
What could be causing this problem on just this account, and what is the possible fix?
Thanks,
Jeff

If you create multiple user accounts on one computer but want the same music to be available in iTunes for all users, see iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer.
The important stuff is near the bottom
+To listen to another account's music files+
+Open iTunes.+
+From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences.+
+Click Advanced.+
+Deselect the "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library file" option.+
+Click OK.+
+From the File menu, choose Add File to Library.+
+Note: Windows users can also choose Add Folder to Library to add a folder of songs.+
+Navigate in the Add File To Library window to the location where the other user's music is saved (the iTunes Music folder in the case above).+
+Click Open.+
+Repeat these steps for each account that is listening to shared music.+
+When another user of the computer has imported new music from CD, *repeat steps 6 through 8* to add the music to your library.+

ITunes with multiple users

Hi, I have a friend that just bought a mac mini. He is going to set up Multiple user accounts on it but he wants all of the users to be able to use the same itunes Library. How does he set this up. Does he put the libary in the shared folder?

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.

Installing itunes with multiple users

I recently purchased a nano. However, there are three oher people in my house with an ipod. When I go to install the itunes under my windows username the installation wizard asks me if I would like to erase or clear itunes and completely uninstall. I am worried that all of the songs on the other three ipods will be erased. Does anyone know how to setup my ipod without starting over?

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.

Sharing itunes with different user accounts

I just got Windows Vista. I have the latest version of Itunes. I'm trying to set it up so that my wife and I can share songs with different user accounts in Windows. I followed all the instructions. I moved the iTunes music folder to a public folder. But everytime I log off my account and return, itunes can't find the song files. Any suggestions?

They can be transferred to another iTunes library but not another iTunes account.
Just copy them.

Sharing photos with multiple users on single iMac

I want to share all my iphotos with all users. I purchased an external hard drive (Rock Mobile) that automatically synced up to the Time Machine. I have loaded the iPhoto data base onto the Time Machine. I would like other users to have access via their screen saver - how can I do this?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
You'll need to partition that external if you want to share it with TM.
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.
Regards
TD

Sharing files with multiple users on single iMac

THIS IS a REPOST from another location - more appropriate "thread"
After switching to Mac from a PC about a month ago (& not being technologically over-adept), I have finally succeeded in creating separate "User" accounts on my iMac (1 admin, 1 standard, 1 managed) to allow the 3 users in my household to create their own workspace. However, now I would like to allow them to access all files from some applications - iTunes, iPhoto, Address Book, etc. - and some of the files within Numbers, Pages, & Keynote (that were theirs to start with...but they were working on in "my" admin space before establishing separate Users.) As an additional challenge, I'd still like to have access to their files...for monitoring purposes...as we go forward. I've "searched" the Apple support files and found reference to some of this but (1) I can't seem to figure out how to move the files into the Public Folder (I did one, then logged in as another User & it wasn't there...) and (2) If they access files from the Public Folder, will they need to specifically save them back there when done? -- my other users will NEVER remember to put something back where they got it...

You can give each user read and write permissions to just that folder, or to everything in it. But that will not stick to any new files that are added to the folder hierarchy after that point. When new files are created they are read and write for the creator, and read only for all others. If you want to change that it must be done manually for each new file that you add.
There is a way to get around this, and make every file/folder added to a folder hierarchy automatically get full read and write permission for the users you specify. It requires setting up ACLs. Do it this way:
1. Make a new subfolder in /Users/Shared. Call it something like /Users/Shared/sharefolder. Move all the files you want to share into this folder.
2. Go to System Preferences and unlock the Accounts pref pane. Click the + button. Make a new group (select "group" from the drop down menu). Call it something like "sharegroup". Add the users you want to that group.
3. Log in to an admin account. Launch Terminal. Paste in all three of these lines at the same time and then press Return:
sudo chmod -R +a "sharegroup allow delete,chown,list,search,add_file,\
addsubdirectory,delete_child,file_inherit,directoryinherit" \
/Users/Shared/sharefolder
Enter your admin password when prompted and press return again. You are done. The users in the sharegroup can all now read and write everything in the sharefolder. They will also be able to read and write any file that is newly created or copied into the sharefolder from that point on.
NOTE: After setting this up, and you want to add more files to the sharefolder, be aware that files that already exist outside the sharefolder WON'T inherit the new permissions if they are simply moved in (i.e. drag with Finder). They must be copied in. Hold down the option key when dragging files into the sharefolder. That will ensure that a new copy will be made, and the permissions will inherit properly. You can then delete the old copy of the file from its previous location.
I hope this helps.

Use itunes with multiple users on this computer

Our laptop is used by both my wife and I. I set up itunes uder my profile. When my wife opens her profile on the laptop, itunes is empty as if it is only under my profile. How do I get Itunes to open when any user logs on to the laptop?

you can put the music in the shared folder under users, but as far as profile each user has a profile, ITunes does not support profiles

How to share itunes with multiple users on a macbook pro?

step by step instructions will be very much appreciated as i'm not technically inclined

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
There is a folder in /Users directory named "Shared" which can be opened by all users and where you can put your iTunes library to be shared among different users. Another option would be to use an external drive.
You only have to copy the iTunes library to that folder. In order to access there, open a Finder window, select the Go menu -> Go to Folder, and type:
/Users/Shared
After doing this, open iTunes while holding down the Alt key, and point iTunes to the library saved in that folder. Finally, open iTunes, go to iTunes menu (in the menu bar) -> Preferences -> Advanced, and choose the iTunes Media folder in the Shared folder. Do this in all your users.
Both roaringgnome's and Niel's answer (which is the same as this one) are valid. Just use the one you want to :-)

Sharing music with multiple users?

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Here is my problem. I have 5 kids that each have their own iPod/iPhone. They all use the same Windows 7 PC, each one with a different user account. I need a way to be able to add new songs to the main library, and then have them show up under all 5 accounts automatically.
My current setup is this. I have 2 hard drives in their computer. The first is the main OS drive, and the second is used for MP3 storage only. I intially setup iTunes under a single user account, and then pointed it to the 2nd hard drive for the music. I then copied that completed iTunes folder to each of the other 4 user accounts C:\User\Music\iTunes folder. This worked and each of them were able to access all of the current songs and sync up without affecting one another.
Unfortunatley this left me with one additional problem. How can I add new songs to the main library and have them be auto detected by all 5 accounts without having to log into each one and manually add the new music? As they get new CD or MP3 purchases, it is a big pain to have to manually do this everytime to make sure they are each seeing all of the music. I know I could setup a single account and not have to jump through all of these hoops, but I want them to be able to check/uncheck and sync their songs the easy way and avoid unnecessary fights!
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hi there BRPopilek,
You may find the information in the article below helpful.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
-Griff W.

Sharing itunes with three user accounts?

On my mac there are three user accounts, and i want to move my itunes library from one user account to another.

They can be transferred to another iTunes library but not another iTunes account.
Just copy them.

Accessing ITunes with Multiple Users

After reading all the threads, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself that I moved my library from an old PC to my new IMac and was able to play all of my songs. My stumbling block is that I can't figure out how to listen to the songs when other family members are logged in under their id. I loaded everything in my Music folder under my user id.
Any suggestions?

Do you mean when they are logged onto the same computer at the same time as you?
Can't do it.

Sharing Photos with multiple users

We(our family) have 3 users plus the administrator for this computer. How do we share an iPhoto library among all of the users? We would like to store all of our photos on the external hard drive. Currently we find ourselves switching back and forth between users to find photos.
We are using iPhoto 6.0.6(322)
HELP!
Please tell me there is a better way. We have lots of photos.

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 all accounts
Move the iPhoto Library Folder to an external HD set to ignore permissions.
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

Sharing iTunes with multiple users

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