I originally set up the iTunes on my user ID (administrator). Our family has a TON of music and movies we've ripped to iTune to enjoy on our Apple TV. When my wife and kids log into their user IDs their iTunes is empty. Is there any way to make all of the music and movies that I've added to my user ID show up in their iTunes also???
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
How to SHARE music and movies between multiple user ids on the same iMac????
- Thread starter YoNadz
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You could just move your iTunes library file to the folder at /Users/Shared and that way and logged in user can access it. Then downside is you want to be careful multiple users are not logged in and using that same iTunes library at the same time because it can corrupt it.
opened finder, clicked "go" and typed /users/shared. Then i copied the iTunes folder from my administer account and pasted it in the shared directory. After it copied, I logged into my wife's user ID on the iMac and opened iTunes and tried to load the shared directory, but it said some kind of error.
I would suspect there is a file permission problem. If you look at the Info for the iTunes folder it most likely has only read access for the group and everyone level. This most likely will apply to all of the contents as well.
This can probably be fixed with a recursive chmod command. The real question is what happens when someone adds a new song. What permissions will it have?
DS
Don't copy the Music folder, just move the iTunes library file itself into the shared folder.
Just go to the folder Music/iTunes and take everything inside that folder and move it to the shared folder.
After you move everything, hold down the option key when you launch iTunes the next time and it will ask you where the library is. Point it to the new shared location and open then it will remember the next time it is launched.
After you move everything, hold down the option key when you launch iTunes the next time and it will ask you where the library is. Point it to the new shared location and open then it will remember the next time it is launched.
Last edited:
It's 800gb of movies and music. If I move drag them to the shared folder is it going to take up another 800gb of space? We've only got a 2tb fusion.
[doublepost=1457986815][/doublepost]Also, do I have to change my own administrator account for iTunes to access from the shared drive as well?
[doublepost=1457986815][/doublepost]Also, do I have to change my own administrator account for iTunes to access from the shared drive as well?
If you move them to the shared folder, then it won't take any more space, but yes, if you copy it there, it will use double the space.
Yes.. you will need to do that option key start business once in each account to point iTunes to the new library location.
Last edited:
- If you move data, they don't occupy twice their size in the end. That would happen only if you'd copy them.
- If you move data between various places within the same disk volume (mount point), the whole operation is pretty quick as only filesystem metadata are modified
- If you move data between various places within the same disk volume (mount point), the whole operation is pretty quick as only filesystem metadata are modified
Last edited:
ok. makes since. So then after I move the iTunes folder to shared, will new imports into iTunes automatically go there also?
Thanks guys! Were not new to Mac, just new to having multiple users on one machine.
Thanks guys! Were not new to Mac, just new to having multiple users on one machine.
Yes exactly. That will be your new library and everything will go there. Like I mentioned though, make sure two users are not using the library at once because that can corrupt it.
ok, I moved the iTunes file to shared. then I held OPTION and opened iTunes under my administrator account and selected the shared iTunes folder. Everything work flawlessly for that.....
then I quit iTunes and logged out of my user ID and into my wife's. I held option while opening iTunes and selected the same shared iTunes folder as I did with my account and got this message:
[doublepost=1458055402][/doublepost]and when you say to "make sure two users are not using the library at once because that can corrupt it." what do you mean. How would we be able to use it at the same time if only one of us is logged in on the computer at any given moment?
then I quit iTunes and logged out of my user ID and into my wife's. I held option while opening iTunes and selected the same shared iTunes folder as I did with my account and got this message:
The iTunes Library .itl file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file.
I hit OK and it wants me to select a different file. Any idea how to make this work?
[doublepost=1458055402][/doublepost]and when you say to "make sure two users are not using the library at once because that can corrupt it." what do you mean. How would we be able to use it at the same time if only one of us is logged in on the computer at any given moment?
Open Finder then select the Shared folder by then hit command-i to bring up the Get Info window. Then click the little unlock thing at the lower right and enter your password. Now in the dropdown under the cog select Apply to enclosed items.
Last edited:
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18897
OS X has what is called Fast User Switching that allows you to be logged in on two or more accounts at the same time. So if you have that feature turned on, you could be logged in to your account and open iTunes, then switch over to the wife's account (with yours still logged in) then also open iTunes from here account. This would then have the iTunes library open twice and can corrupt it.
So you want to either make sure everybody knows not to do that, or you can just disable Fast User Switching to prevent the issue altogether.