Recommendations on how to set up a new iMac to be shared with wife?

two people - one account = bad idea

If you use MobileMe or Google it's easy enough to have shared calendars. The respective services have info about how to set that up.

If you both want to use the same iTunes library, you should be able to set that up in a shared directory that both accounts can use.

If you're going to have two separate users but want to share the same iTunes/iPhoto libraries, you have to put those libraries in a location that both users have access to, like the Macintosh HD > Users > Shared folder.

If you hold down the OPTION key while you launch either iTunes or iPhoto, it should give you the option to create a new library. If you do that, navigate to the Shared folder, and create it there, you should be good to go. Your wife will need to also hold down the OPTION key when she first launches iTunes or iPhoto, then choose the option to open the new library you created.

If you guys choose to use Fast User Switching (which leaves the other users programs running while the other person is using the computer), there may be some issues with iPhoto and iTunes sharing. If so, just remember to close iPhoto/iTunes before the other person starts using the computer.

If you don't end up using two separate accounts, but are worried about keeping things organized, Mail and Calendar supports multiple mailboxes and calendars, so you can have individual ones within the same app. Address Book lets you group contacts, so you could create a group of yours and a group of hers.

Problem with iPhoto in sharing folder is database can become corrupted if you access it on your account and then wife goes on her account and accesses it.

That's why they recommend putting the iPhoto library on an external drive or sparse image. Google for directions from Apple. And a sparse disk image bundle is a new version of sparse disk image that works with Time Machine better - one change doesn't mean backing up entire sparse image.

Anyway I don't think iTunes has this problem with multiple users same account.

Ah, good info. Here's that link:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1198

Speaking from personal experience, for the sake of family accord (!) I'd set up two accounts - one for you and one for your wife.

That way you can both create your own configurations that would therefore avoid the "why did you delete that file etc" syndrome!

difflch said:

Good morning!
I just purchased my first Mac yesterday -- a new iMac -- that I will be sharing with my wife as a family desktop.
Does anybody have any recommendations / tips or links to guides that would help me configure the iMac to be used by the two of us?
I am particularly interested in if it makes more sense to set up two individual user accounts or a single account for us. While we'd probably both like our own backgrounds and bookmarks, etc, I am struggling a bit trying to figure out how we would use iTunes, Calendar, and other applications where we would like to share our media libraries and other information.
Thanks in advance!! Chris.

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Create 2 Accounts under your System Settings/Accounts
Make sure that the Mac's preferences is set to prompt for login (no auto login)
For your iTunes library, I would put it in a 'common' place in the file system and after each of you log in, change your 'library location' to point to that same directory. I have ours setup on a network drive and we use the same iPhoto/iTunes library between multiple Macs.
Calendar's are gonna need to have the same login information. I use MobileMe and have mine setup to use the full access (mail/calendar/contacts) and my wife's setup is only set (using the same login I use) to use calendar/contacts that way she doesn't get my mail in her inbox.

As a free alternative to MobileMe, both of you create Google Calendar accounts then add both to iCal as CalDAV accounts. If you do that for both login names then you'll both be able to see and edit each other's calendars.

Then if you create two separate accounts then consider get one large external for backing up and another to hold ONE iTunes Library Account to another external. This way the two separate accounts can use the same iTunes folder (on the external) on each of their separate accounts. Just use a joint credit card account on the iTunes store Account.

get a divorce and keep the iMac all for yourself.

if that's not possible I would agree with others, make 2 separate admin accounts and have the iTunes/iPhoto/etc libraries on a large, FW/USB hard drive that's being backed up to another large, FW/USB hard drive with time machine.

One account here for two users. Never had a problem, unless you count, "Honey, when are you gonna be done on the Mac?' as a problem. No logging out and logging in every time we hand off to each other. Simple.

Yea here's a tip.....don't put your gf(s) numbers in address book.





I kid I kid.

difflch said:

It is strange to me that iCal can't share a calendar between two users on the same computer!

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There are a few weaknesses like that, and the fact that you can't share the same Address Book.

difflch said:

One question -- is there a reason that most of you seemed to suggest an external drive to hold the iTunes / Photo libraries as opposed to the Users/Shared/ folder?

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It's not necessary to use an external drive. Using iTunes from the shared folder works just fine.

I'm interested in this as well, but with 2 Macs. We've got an iMac, MacBook Pro, and 2 iPhones (along with many other Apple products). I would like to have 1 iTunes Library and 1 iPhoto Library, but accessible on both machines. We use MobileMe to sync calendars.

We manage primarily using separate machines, and it works ok for the most part. If I want to use her MBP to do work it's fine, but Safari has her favs, logins, as well as mail and contacts. I've been using Chrome on both machines, but am finding myself slowly shifting back to safari.

I guess the pipe dream is to have 2 accounts that share media libraries, but accessible on both machines. When will the iCloud come to save us?

difflch said:

One question -- is there a reason that most of you seemed to suggest an external drive to hold the iTunes / Photo libraries as opposed to the Users/Shared/ folder?

Click to expand...

I don't think iTunes has this problem, but the support article link a few posts back from Apple mentions that if you share an iPhoto library on a disk that isn't set to ignore permissions, it can cause problems. Your Macs internal disk does not ignore permissions.