i just bought the new 17 imac for my family, and ive never really used user names and stuff before....i want it to be everyone can share the same music, photos, videos, etc, but i just want them to have different prefs....preferably the same docks as well....i want to make everyone an administrator so they have equal access to everyones files....how do i do this
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.
user swtiching
- Thread starter derajfast
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Most of the things you're asking for can be done in the system preferences under "Accounts". But I don't think there's an easy way to share all pics an movies, and have the same dock between accounts. Maybe .Mac? But it wouldn't make sense to buy an account to use within the same computer.
derajfast said:
OK, I'm not a expert, but for the Dock, I think if you copy the Dock.plst to each user account, the dock should be the same. As far as sharing music, search the forums for the answer, it's in there several times. You might be able to relocate the iPhoto Library and iTunes library to the Shared folder(never tried this), then point iTunes/iPhoto there for its data. I think, by default, each user's data is locked from anyone else. You can change ownership of files, but I don't think you can have everyone read/change the file. I would suggest creating a folder with a SymLink in the shared folder (users/shared) on each desktop, that way, anything you want shared, can be droped into this folder. I would also suggest not having everyone be a Admin. Even with a Mac, this can have negative results.
well thats ridiculous......so if i want to have the same itunes music as my broter then i have to copy it twice to the harddrive so we can both access it? that doesnt make sense.....and i searched the forums and cant really find much....ithink user preferences havet o be addressed in the next OS. for both windows and mac, there are serious flaws in it
strydr made a good point, if you place the libraries in a shared folder, then all users should be able to listen to that music/see those photos. What I can't figure out is how to get the actual app synced. My point is, once you add a new song, it will be added to the library folder and to the iTunes of the user who added it, but not to the app of the other users. That would've to be done manually I think.derajfast said:
Maybe someone could help more than me
I was just playing a bit in iTunes and iPhoto, and I noted that both apps have a tab under the preferences called "Sharing". I'm not sure how does it work, but I'm guessing that by enabling it, other users will be able to see a item called "Your name's shared music/photos". So you should try turning it on, then go to another user's account, open iTunes/iPhoto, and see if it's there on the "Source" menu (the one on the left).
Tell us your results.
Tell us your results.
My wife and I share an iMac. I have all the music and iPhoto libraries under my account and I 'share' them through iPhoto and iTunes with her. If she has any phot's/music, she can share them to me. They all appear in each other's source list, on the left of iTunes and iPhoto. This seems to work fine.
For shared docs, this should be a simple as putting them in the 'shared' folder and maybe making sure everyone has equal read/write permissions.
For shared docs, this should be a simple as putting them in the 'shared' folder and maybe making sure everyone has equal read/write permissions.
itunes can be shared among multiple users. If you have one user set up with all the music now (or no one set up), Move the "Music" folder (under the user name) to the "Shared" folder.
Then, make an an "Alias" of that folder. Place it under the user directory (where the "original music folder" was before you moved it, and re-name it "Music". It will point to the music directory under the shared folder. Repeat this last step only for each user, and then you'll all be using the same itunes library. One set of songs for one group of people. Very efficient, works well for me.
Then, make an an "Alias" of that folder. Place it under the user directory (where the "original music folder" was before you moved it, and re-name it "Music". It will point to the music directory under the shared folder. Repeat this last step only for each user, and then you'll all be using the same itunes library. One set of songs for one group of people. Very efficient, works well for me.
I set my system up so that there is no login on startup. Any member of my family can use the computer because there is only one account. All files are open to use. This was a major bitch for me when jumping to OS X. I for one don't like logging in for access to MY computer, besides I have nothing to hide from my family and to me it just interupts the startup process. I think the whole accounts idea is BS. It reminds me of corporate PC computers.