Sharing a single iTunes Library among several users is not difficult to setup if you know what you're doing. If you're a newbie it can be an exercise in frustration when error messages about read only directories pop up. The term Sharing in the context of this article does not equate to the built-in iTunes library sharing feature. Rather, sharing in this situation means using a single iTunes library and music folder location for several different users of the same computer. (Note: This will also work for several users on different computers if the appropriate files are placed on a network drive visible by all computers.) After setting up the shared library all users should be able to sync their individual iPods with their own personalized settings as well. Here is a video showing how to setup a single iTunes Library for use by several users, followed by some basic instructions that go along with the video. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
<center>Sharing an iTunes Library</center>
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01. Copy existing iTunes folder
02. Navigate to the Shared folder (users/shared/)
03. Create a new folder and name it Music
04. Open the music folder and paste the iTunes folder you previously copied
05. When the file copy is complete navigate up one level to the Shared folder
06. Click on the newly created Music folder
07. On the keyboard press Command and the letter i to bring up the info pane
08. Scroll to the bottom of the info pane
09. If the padlock is closed in the lower right corner click on it
10. Enter the password used to login to OS X
11. Next to the Group names Everyone it likely says Read Only
12. Click the double arrows on the left of Read Only and to the right of Everyone
13. Select Read & Write in the popup window
14. Below the permissions box click the little "circle"
15. Select Apply to enclosed items
16. Select OK to the following message
17. Close the info pane and the finder window
18. Open iTunes while holding down the Option key
19. Select Choose Library on the ensuing popup window
20. Browse to the iTunes library recently copied into the Shared folder (users/shared/music/iTunes/)
21. iTunes will now use the library in the new shared location every time it's opened
22. Log Out of OS X and log back in as a different user who needs access to the same iTunes Library
23. Open iTunes while holding down the Option key
24. Select Choose Library on the ensuing popup window
25. Browse to the iTunes library recently copied into the Shared folder (users/shared/music/iTunes/)
26. iTunes will now use the library in the new shared location every time it's opened
That's It!
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