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.

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In trying to share music with multiple user accounts on one comp, I quit itunes, located my itunes media folder, moved it to a publicly accessible location. Problem is it didn't work and now I can't get it all back to the way it was.

In trying to share music with multiple users on one computer, I followed the directions on "iTunes:How to share music between different accounts on a single computer" (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1203). I did something wrong because i lost iTunes
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Can someone tell me where iTunes should be, and what sub files should be included with it. Thanks!

If you are seeing the "Connect to iTunes" logo, then your device is in Recovery Mode, and you will need to restore it:
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iOS: Back up and restore your iOS device with iCloud or iTunes
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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.
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http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1175181&#1175181

Sharing music with different users on the same computer

Please help i can not configure my computer share music from the itunes library with others users whit different devices

iTunes Home Sharing now works between users on same computer - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3865597
You could set up two completely separate libraries and share music via Home Sharing.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203 - relocating iTunes' media folder to a shared area but leaving separate library files - extra tip at https://discussions.apple.com/message/17331189
Chris CA's instructions on sharing one iTunes music library between multiple user accounts - https://discussions.apple.com/message/8974074 - Multiple users using a single library file - similar post at: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3753008
Suggestion by Turingtest for multiple users and one library - http://discussions.apple.com/message/9117622 - use smart playlists and tags to isolate groupings.
Discussions on using purchases from multiple AppleIDs in one iTunes library - https://discussions.apple.com/message/19543804

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.
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TD

Sharing music w/ multiple users on same iMac

I have four accounts on an iMac and want to provide access to the iTunes library on an external hard drive for each user. Can you tell me how they can use the music without having to make a separate copy of the library.

Copy the iTunes Music folder to the external drive.
Leave the folder "iTunes" and the two files "iTunes Music Library.xml" and "iTunes Library" in each users "Music" folder.
Change the iTunes Music Folder Location to point to the copied "iTunes Music" folder on the external drive, for each user, here:
iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > General.
The original "iTunes Music" folder can now be deleted from the computers main hard drive.
If the external drive is not connected and running when a user starts iTunes, the application will default back to the standard location, ~/Music/iTunes.
You can also have multiple users share the same music library by moving the folder as above, to the top level (where the System, Library, Applications and Users folders live) of the computers hard drive, if you do not want to use an external HD.

Sharing Music with other users.

I think what I am asking is possible but I just can't get it. All I wanna do is share my Itunes library with my girlfriends account on the mac. So when she opens her Itunes on her account she can view and add to the songs in my itunes library. I manage to get it so she can view what I had by putting my itunes music in the shared folder but when I add songs to the library it doesn't update her library and when she tries to add songs to the library it says she does not have the correct authority. Please help.

Hello,
You can gift music, and you can share iTunes Libraries, but in this case, your girlfriend cannot import your tracks to her library and vice versa.
Sharing your iTunes library across computers
If your computer is connected to other computers over a local network, you can share items in your library and playlists with up to five of those computers (in the same subnet).
To share your library with other computers:
Choose iTunes > Preferences, click Sharing, and select “Share my library on my local network.”
Select the items you want to share.
To require users to enter a password before they can see your shared items, select “Require password” and enter a password.
For others to see your shared items, your computer must be on and iTunes must be open.
If you choose to share your entire library, its name appears in the iTunes window (below Shared) on other local computers (in the same subnet) set up to look for shared libraries. To change the name others see, choose iTunes > Preferences, click General, and type a new name in the Library Name field.
You can share movies; MP3, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, and AAC files; and radio station links; you can’t share programs purchased from Audible.com or QuickTime sound files.
Sharing is intended for personal use only.
Share being the constant word here... does that help any???? I know sometimes it takes time to really understand how iTunes works. The more time you spend learning, the sooner you will come to comprehend what you can do and what you can't. And you can always post here for help.
Carolyn
Message was edited by: Carolyn Samit

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.

Sharing music with other users on same computer...possible?

I'd like to be able to share music between users who can log in on the same computer. Is this possible and how.
I currently have all the music in the admiistrators log in and can't see it when I log in as a regular user.
Thanks for any help

Hi,
Follow the instructions given in this article. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93195
You might also want to uncheck the preference in the other Users accounts to prevent them from adding the song file to the hard disk when importing music. This means that only YOU as the admin can add files to the Library. You will find this preference under iTunes in the menu bar, Click on the "Advanced" tab and then the "General" Tab.
Regards,
Ben.

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
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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

HT1203 hello, tried to follow the instructions for sharing music between multiple users on one computer however it does not seem to be working.

hello, purchased a new iphone 5 and i now want to put all my music and picture from my 3gs onto it. however its been several years since ive updated my 3gs and now itunes wont fint it when i try and conect it.

Reset the iPhone & try again.
Try a different cable.
See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

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That's what group policies are for...
Mylenium

HT2688 Working on a single computer with multiple users, I have set things up to allow each user to view and listen to the others' music libraries under the "Shared Library" function. Can you then connect an iPod touch and copy music from a shared librar

Working on a single computer with multiple users, I have set things up to allow each user to view and listen to the others' music libraries under the "Shared Library" function. Can you then connect an iPod touch and copy music from a shared library?

Was your wife logged into the libray at the time you tried to log in? I have had a similar problem and it was because another user was logged into the library when I attempted to. I got the permission denied banner.

Sharing iTunes on a single computer with multiple users

Greetings,
I have been troubleshooting a problem sharing iTunes on a single computer with multiple users that cropped up a few weeks ago and have not had very good luck.
Several months ago I successfully set up my wife’s G4 Laptop (PowerPC processor) so that we could share iTunes on that computer. I had just gotten her an “My Book” external hard drive (Western Digital). The iTunes Library will go on this new unit because the internal drive was running out of room. I successfully set the privileges, moved the entire library onto a “Share” directory and everything worked fine.
In this way, when I got a new CD I could add it to iTunes (under my login, administrator privileges) and she could access it (under her login) to listen to while working on the computer or using her iPod. This arrangement went well for quite awhile.
About a month and a half ago, when I tried to launch iTunes from my login I received this message:
“The iTunes Library file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file.”
I think the permissions must have changed when there was an update because my wife is pretty careful about what she does on her computer. Updates were the only thing I could think of that had changed since I had set her computer up. I also noticed that some of the iTunes defaults were different from the last time I had used it to add a CD.
So, I did some reading and went back through the motions of trying to set it up again. I re-formatted the My Book hard drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) added the files back to the external, reset permissions on the external hard drive. (Owners: System, Access: read and write - Group: wheel, Access: read and write – Others: read and write).
When I now launch iTunes under my login I get this message:
“The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items.”
What gives? I am the original owner and have always had top-level privileges.
Can someone point me to any articles or clues as to how I need to set-up iTunes on a single computer to be shared by more than one user? Also, I am considering upgrading to the newer system in a few weeks, so if a solution for OS X 10.5 is available, that would work too.
Tim

Was your wife logged into the libray at the time you tried to log in? I have had a similar problem and it was because another user was logged into the library when I attempted to. I got the permission denied banner.

Sharing music with multiple users?

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