Open Multiple Itunes Libraries?

[Chris 123]

I have a bunch of itunes libraries and it's a pain to switch between them (open itunes while holding the option key and select the library).

I don't think itunes lets you have more than one open at a time, but I didn't know if there was a third party plugin or something. thanks for any help

 

[GGJstudios]

Why would you need to open more than one at a time? Why not put everything you need in one library?

 

[Chris 123]

Why would you need to open more than 1 at a time?

So I never have to switch back and fourth, which I do multiple times a day. If I could have them all open I would never have to switch between them and could see all my media at once.

I'm sure most people who use multiple libraries on the same computer would like this.

 

[GGJstudios]

So I never have to switch back and fourth, which I do multiple times a day. If I could have them all open I would never have to switch between them and could see all my media at once.

I'm sure most people who use multiple libraries on the same computer would like this.

I'm just curious as to why there's a need for more than one library, in the first place. If you have everything in one library, you can always see all your media at once.

 

[Chris 123]

I'm just curious as to why there's a need for more than one library, in the first place. If you have everything in one library, you can always see all your media at once.

It's kind of a long explanation but...

My main one has music and itunes trailers in movies (on computer hd)

I have one with all my movies and tv shows (on external hd)and another copy(backup) of this library on another external drive

I have two more with different stuff on them


The main reason is I like stuff organized and you can't have folders in movies (i have a lot of tb's of media). I know it's kind of confusing but it works great for me.

and this is kind of off topic I just want to know if you can have more than 1 open at a time

 

[GGJstudios]

It's kind of a long explanation but...

My main one has music and itunes trailers in movies (on computer hd)

I have one with all my movies and tv shows (on external hd)and another copy(backup) of this library on another external drive

I have two more with different stuff on them


The main reason is I like stuff organized and you can't have folders in movies (i have a lot of tb's of media). I know it's kind of confusing but it works great for me.

and this is kind of off topic I just want to know if you can have more than 1 open at a time

iTunes doesn't have the functionality to open two libraries simultaneously. However, you can have everything in one library, even if the actual media resides on other drives. For example, my entire library won't fit on my internal drive, so I have most of my music there, with most of my music videos and movies and some music on an external drive. I open one library. If the external is connected, I can play the items that reside there. If not, they're still in my library, but not available to play. You can also use playlists and Smart Playlists to further separate categories. Just a thought.

 

[Chris 123]

iTunes doesn't have the functionality to open two libraries simultaneously. However, you can have everything in one library, even if the actual media resides on other drives. For example, my entire library won't fit on my internal drive, so I have most of my music there, with most of my music videos and movies and some music on an external drive. I open one library. If the external is connected, I can play the items that reside there. If not, they're still in my library, but not available to play. You can also use playlists and Smart Playlists to further separate categories. Just a thought.

I use to use one library with multiple drives and use playlists and stuff and i guess this is what most people do. I have just got use to using multiple libraries and like it better. I didn't think itunes allowed you to open more than one I just didn't know if there was a third party add on or something. anyways thanks for the help

 

[charlesbronsen]

So how would one spread a single iTunes library over multiple external HDD's?

 

[GGJstudios]

So how would one spread a single iTunes library over multiple external HDD's?

With an existing library, just Add to Library and select a folder on an external drive. Make sure "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" is not checked.

 

[Chris 123]

I made a recorded workflow but it's not stable.