Sharing two iTunes Libraries for different user accounts on one Mac

How can I upload or share my wife's iTunes library? She is listed as a different end user on the same Mac as I use but we have different libraries. If I sync my iphone to her account, will it erase my existing applications and downloaded songs? Also, she only uses the iTouch. And yes, I have a mobile me account if that matters. (The $99 package)

See if this support article provides what you need: iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203

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Sharing libraries between different user accounts on same Mac

I am having difficulty sharing the same library between two different user accounts. I thought it would be simple matter of allowing the second user account access to the itunes folder in the first user's home folder and then changing location of second user's library in Advanced menu of second user's iTunes. However, second user iTunes still acts as though it is pointed at its default library. Can anyone help me here?

thanks, zevoneer. apparently, I gave up too early in my own search. I'm trying it now - the copy process is taking some time. Well, I had hoped to narrow the access down to only one other account but at least this should provide the access that is needed.

Multiple iTunes 8 for 2 different user accounts on one Mac: Possible?

Hi,
My MacPro has 2 different user accounts on it. Mine and my wife's. I have all of the iTunes music, pod-casts and iPhone Apps set up in iTunes 8 on my user account. The problem is that I want to be able to sync our iPhone 3G which she uses in HER account so that I can sync and save her 3G address Books contacts and calendar events.
I just updated my iPhone's firmware from V2.0 to V2.1 and I backed the phone up in iTunes 8 first. Much to my surprise ALL contact and calendar data was LOST. Am I correct in thinking that the only way of preventing this is by also having this data on my MacPro's iCal and Address Book?
We only use this single iPhone.

See if this support article provides what you need: iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203

Sharing files and iCal events between different users (accounts) on one Mac

Hi,
I have a new iMac with Leopard. I have two accounts on this machine: one for myself and one for my girlfriend. I want to share files with her such as iPhoto events (so I don't have to import photos twice), iCal events (so I don't have to send her an email to synch our calendars), music from iTunes and other files.
Does anyone know how to easily do this? I have tried the drop folder for sharing but it only appears across a network if I am logged in and won't transfer to different users.
Daniel

thanks, zevoneer. apparently, I gave up too early in my own search. I'm trying it now - the copy process is taking some time. Well, I had hoped to narrow the access down to only one other account but at least this should provide the access that is needed.

How to transfer itunes library to different user account on mac

how do i transfer all my music, album art, play count, movies, apps, to a different user account on my mac?

Is there a way to have purchased songs located in the Music list on iTunes of two Users and three locations: 1. on the same iMac computer that has two users (we both share the same iTunes account) and 2. on a separate laptop. Two users, same iTunes account, three locations. Possible? I have tried Home Sharing and it will not let me drag the songs from one account to the other; either on the same computer, or to the laptop. I have transferred TV Shows from the laptop to the imac using an iPod. I thought the Home Sharing feature would eliminate this need to manually transfer songs, movies, TV shows etc... What am I missing here?

Can i access my iTunes on a different "user accounts" on my MacBook Pro? If so, how? Thanks.

Hello Mac People, I am trying to access iTunes from a different User Account on my MacBookPro but i am not able to get access to it. I was trying to change a song in a keynote presentation and discovered that i was not able to change the song from that "Guest User" account. So i had to go back into my main account open up keynote there, change the song and then i could continue with it in the new system. It seems a permission issue with iTunes on a different user account (i am talking about like in System Preferences>Systems>Users and Groups - where you create additional users on your mac)??? Thoughts? Thanks.

See if this helps: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203.

Sharing an iTunes Library across multiple user account and a network.

Sharing an iTunes Music Library across multiple user accounts.
Hello Everybody!
Firstly, this was designed to be run in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It will not work with earlier versions of Mac OS X! Sorry.
Here's a handy tip for keeping your hard drive neat and tidy, it also saves space, what in effect will be done is an iTunes music library will be shared amongst multiple users on the same machine. There are advantages and disadvantages to using this method.
• Firstly I think it might be worthwhile to state the advantages and disadvantages to using this approach.
The advantages include:
- Space will be saved, as no duplicate files will occur.
- The administrator will be able to have complete control over the content of the iTunes library, this may be useful for restricting the content of the Library; particularly for example if computer is being used at and education institution, business or any other sort of institution where things such as explicit content would be less favorable.
- The machine will not be slowed by the fact that every user has lots of files.
The disadvantages to this system include.
- The fact that the account storing the music will have to be logged in, and iTunes will have to be active in that account.
- If the account housing the music is not active then nobody can use the iTunes library.
- There is a certain degree of risk present when an administrator account must be continually active.
- Fast User Switching must be enabled.
Overview:
A central account controls all music on the machine/network, this is achieved by storing iTunes files in a public location as opposed to in the user's directory. In effect the system will give all users across the machine/network access to the same music/files without the possibility of files 'doubling up' because two different users like the same types of music. This approach saves valuable disk space in this regard and may therefore prove to be useful in some situations.
This is a hearty process to undertake, so only follow this tutorial if you're willing to go all the way to the end of it.
Process:
Step 1:
Firstly, we need to organize the host library, I tidied mine up, removing excess playlists, random files, things like that. this will make thing a bit easier in the later stages of this process.
Once the library is tidied up, move the entire "iTunes" folder from your Home directory to the "//localhost" directory (The Macintosh HD) and ensure that files are on the same level as the "Applications", "Users", "Library" and "System" directories; this will ensure that the files in the library are available to all users on the machine (this also works for networks)
Optionally you can set the ownership of the folder to the 'administrator' account (the user who will be hosting the library.), you may also like to set the permissions of 'you can' to "Read & Write" (assuming that you are doing this through the user who will host the library); secondly you should set the "Owner" to the administrator who will be hosting the library and set their "access" to "Read & Write" (this will ensure that the administrator has full access to the folder). The final part of this step involves setting access for the "Others" tab to "Read Only" this will ensure that the other users can view but not modify the contents on the folder.
Overview:
So far we have done the following steps:
1. Organized the host library.
2. Placed the iTunes directory into a 'public' directory so that other users may use it. (this step is essential if you plan on sharing the library across multiple accounts on the same machine. NOTE: this step is only necessary if you are wanting to share you library across multiple accounts on the same machine, if you simply want to share the music across a network, use the iTunes sharing facility.
3. set ownership and permissions for the iTunes music folder.
Step 2:
Currently the administrator is the only user who can use this library, however we will address this soon. In this step we will enable iTunes music sharing in the administrator's account, this will enable other users to access the files in the library.
If you are not logged in as the administrator, do so; secondly, open iTunes and select "Preferences" from the "iTunes" menu, now click the "Sharing" tab, if "share my library on my local network" is not checked, the radio buttons below this will now become active, you may choose to share the entire libraries contents, or share only selected content.
Sharing only selected content may be useful if their is explicit content in the library and minors use the network or machine that the library is connected to.
If you have selected "share entire library" go to Step 3, if you have selected share "share selected playlists" read on.
After clicking "share selected playlists" you must then select the playlists that you intend to share across your accounts and network. Once you have finished selecting the playlists, click "OK" to save the settings.
Overview:
In this step we:
1. Enabled iTunes sharing in the administrator's account, now, users on the local network may access the iTunes library, however, users on the same machine may not.
Step 3:
Now we will enable users on the same machine to access the library on the machine. This is achieved by logging in as each user, opening iTunes, opening iTunes preferences, and clicking "look for shared music". now all users on the machine may also access the library that the administrator controls.
This in effect will mean that the user will not need to use their user library, it will be provided to them via a pseudo network connection.
As a secondary measure, I have chosen to write a generic login script that will move any content from the user's "Music/iTunes/iTunes Music" directory to the trash and then empties the user's trash.
This is done through the use of an Automator Application: this application does the following actions.
1. Uses the "Finder" action "Get Specified Finder Items"
1a. The user's "~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music" folder
2. Uses the "Finder" action "Get Folder Contents"
3. Uses the "Finder" action "Move to Trash"
4. Uses the "Automator" action "Run AppleScript"
4a. with the following:
on run {input, parameters}
tell application "Finder"
empty trash
end tell
return input
end run
IMPORTANT: Once the script is adapted to the user account it must be set as a login item. in order to keep the script out of the way i have placed it in the user's "Library" directory, in "Application Support" under "iTunes".
Overview:
Here we:
1. Enabled iTunes sharing in the user accounts on the host machine, in effect allowing all users of the machine to view a single iTunes library.
2. (Optional) I have created a login application that will remove any content that has been added to user iTunes libraries, this in effect stops other users of the machine from adding music and files to iTunes.
Step 4:
If it is not already enabled, open system preferences and enable Fast User Switching in Accounts Options.
Summary:
We have shared a single iTunes library across multiple user account, while still allowing for network sharing. This method is designed to save space on machines, particularly those with smaller hard drives.
I hope that this hint proves to be helpful and I hope everybody will give me feedback on my process.
regards,
Pete.
iBook G4; 60GB Hard Drive, 512MB RAM, Airport Extreme Mac OS X (10.4.6) iWork & iLife '06, Adobe CS2, Final Cut Pro. Anything and Everything!!!

how to share music between different accounts on a single computer

Adding music to iTunes from a different user account on the same computer

I have recently begun using a PowerMacG5 at my college and I imported some music, all from CDs into iTunes under my user account. Then I discovered that this Mac already had music in a different location under a different user account. How do I merge these two libraries together so that both have the same music, same library? Or is that impossible?

hi Zags!
this document should be helpful:
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
love, b

Use 1 itunes library for multiple user accounts

Is there a way to use 1 library for multi-user accounts on mac osx? I have 4 iphones and was previously using the main account only. I'm getting tired of having everyones contact lists downloaded into my main phone. I can't seem to figure out how to sync the music to the same library.

Hi There,
I sync 2 iphones with the same library, and to stop the other iphones contacts adding to mine I have two groups in the address book, one has my contacts in and the other my friends. I then just sync the appropriate address book in the info pane when the iphone is plugged in.
Hope this helps.

Can i set up diff iTunes libraries for diff users on Mac

My husband's Mac is now becoming the family computer. He already has an extensive iTunes library. I want to set up my own iTunes library, separate from his. Is this possible?
Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the speedy response. Do you mean setting up a user account on the Mac itself? or an account within iTunes itself. Currently we don't have separate user accounts set up on this Mac....

Sync Certain Content From A Different User Account On Same Mac?

With the iPad, is it possible to sync certain content from a different user account on the same Mac? Is this possible?
Imagine a MacBook with 2 user accounts on it. User A has an iPad and wants to sync their own Music to it. However, User A wants User B's iPhoto library synced to their iPad. User A also wants User B's Calendars synced to their iPad.

Alternatively, is it possible to only sync one-way, from a MacBook to an iPad? What I mean is, is it possible to sync your iCal data from a MacBook to an iPad, but prevent any changes on the iPad getting synced back into the MacBook?

How to copy a user account from one Mac to another

If I have a main user (admin) account on one Mac, and want to copy its Home Folder over to another Mac that already has user accounts on it, what is the best way to do it?
For example, if I boot the source Mac in Target Disk Mode then connect it to the other Mac, can I just drag and drop from its Users folder into the Users folder on the other Mac? And would that then appear in SysPref/Accounts, complete with names and passwords etc, or is it not that simple?
(Actually, I just checked by launching Migration Assistant, and it seems to indicate I can use it to copy User Accounts from a different Mac - is this all I need? How would I connect the two Macs for this to work?)

Slightly confusing, that article - it talks about using Migration Assistant in Lion or Mountain Lion, but in my case both computers have used Snow Leopard. Does it still apply?
(One other observation - don't you find it confusing the way Apple defines "Target Disk Mode"? It's pretty much always the case that a computer booted in this way becomes the Source computer, while the Target computer is the one it's connected to!!)

Separating itunes accounts and libraries for different users

We've owned Apple portable products since the early iPod generations... But things are starting to get complicated. We started with just one device (an 80GB iPod) and then got another (an iPod shuffle)... After that we purchased our first iPhone, then another, then 2 more as they upgraded and got better. Now in recent weeks we've also added an iPad 2 for my husband and an iPod touch for our son... The problem is we're still only using our original single itunes account...
Now over the years we've amassed a huge library of songs and applications which everyone shares but with the creation of iCloud we've run into problems. For example, recently when I synced my iPhone 4, I ended up with all my husband's contacts on it... So I deleted them from my phone the following day. iCloud then kindly also removed them from my husband's iPhone 4S without him so much as plugging the phone into the PC :-/ He was less than impressed.
My 10 year old son has been given an iPod touch for his birthday and wants to 'facetime' and send imessages to his friends and to us... But because we only have the one account, he's using my email address to do it. And because my email address is also linked to my itunes account and my phone, I also receive copies of all his text messages on my phone... and copies of the ones I send to him... Security wise I suppose this could be a good feature to have as a parent... But if it means he's also receiving all the imessages sent to me, we may run into problems in the near future!!
So my question is, is there a way to separate and duplicate our library so that we can divide and share the music and apps we all use, whilst still creating separate itunes user accounts so that iCloud doesn't interfere with our individual syncing preferences?
We only have 1 PC in the house so using seperate computers is not an option for us at the moment... And I've also tried the shift and open function to create a new user for itunes but nothing happened!! Itunes just opened as per normal :-/

Well I thought we had done that, but we still ran into trouble with icloud firstly adding my husbands contacts to my phone then deleting them all from his phone!!
I have solved the problem of the cross texting by adding my son's email address as his in and outgoing server so that's all good now.
I still have the issue of having him on our itunes account... He's been given itunes gift cards for his birthday and he doesn't want to just add them to my account... Nor do I want him to have my password for security reasons!
Any idea how I can navigate that situation? I suppose creating him his own itunes account is the best way to go but again, I tried following the instructions listed online and nothing happened. My itunes account opened as normal. No option to create a new account was given to me... It also means the first time he syncs his iPod, all the applications he has on it now (from the single family account) will be erased and I suppose, he'll have to purchase them all again which would be ridiculous!! :-/

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 iMove Projects Libraries with different users on the same machine

I was wonder how two different users on the same machine can
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My daughter has some finished projects in her project library and
I either want to import those project into my library or share them
so both user accounts can access the projects (similar to how the
event library is accessible)
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Using iMove 09
tia...

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Sharing two iTunes Libraries for different user accounts on one Mac

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