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OS X Lion, one iMac, two users share iTunes and iPhoto?

Is it possible for two separate users to share iTunes and iPhoto accounts? My wife and I share one account at present but I would like to have two separate user accounts but we both need access to our music and photos.
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Rob

Comments: 5 Responses to “OS X Lion, one iMac, two users share iTunes and iPhoto?”

    13 years ago

    Two very different things. I assume you mean libraries, not accounts.
    iTunes uses your Apple ID for rights management to apps, movies, books, etc.
    So sharing an iTunes libraries is tough because you would both have different Apple IDs/iTunes accounts.
    But you can easily share music by simply turning off "organize" and "copy" options in your iTunes preferences and then putting all your aac/mp3 files in a central location, like a share folder on your drive, or a second hard drive.
    iPhoto is different in that it doesn't have too much to do with your Apple ID/account. (But that might change soon with iCloud and its Photo Stream feature).
    You could put your entire iPhoto library in a shared location. As long as only one of you was accessing it at a time, it should work. Try it with a sample iPhoto library to test it out first.

      Stefanie Davis
      12 years ago

      1. When you say "put" the libraries in the the "shared" folder, do you mean create and alias folder and move that there?

      2. If you mean move the folder, how would a user control music that is imported outside of iTunes, i.e. Amazon Downloader makes its own folder to upload its files too? (my wife would never remember to move the files manually in her account)

      3. How do you move the iPhoto data? It seems to be only the "iPhoto icon" when I browse to the file location. Also I have tried something like this is Lion and when I switch back and forth Lion asks me to rebuilt the database each time....it does not feel very stable, and i don't want to loose my photos at some point cause it decides not to work!

      A pre-thanks for the reply!

        12 years ago

        No aliases. I mean put the media file (mp3 for instance) in the shared folder. Then drag and drop it onto iTunes to add it to your library. As long as the "copy" and "organize' options are turned off, the the mp3 files remain in that spot, but the library knows it is part of your collection.
        iPhoto is completely different. The iPhoto library is one file (package, actually). You can quit iPhoto and then move that entire package somewhere else. Then run iPhoto with the Option key held down and direct it to the new location.

    Rob
    13 years ago

    Gary:

    You're correct I did mean library and not account. I've been messing around with this and it seems to be working with my music and photo's in the shared folder. We share apple id's for playback purposes. I'm happy with the way it's working.

      Henry
      12 years ago

      Hi Rob,
      I'm thinking of setting up my account this way, too.
      Can you tell me... do you do fast user switching? And if so, can you leave iTunes open on one account and then open it up on the other account?

      Thanks!

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