je.palmer1971
Level 1 (1 points)

Q: How do i share photos between users on the same computer?

How do i share photos between users on the same computer?

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Sep 11, 2015 3:05 PM

by Old Toad,Apple recommended
Old Toad Old Toad
Level 10 (140,918 points)
Photos for Mac
A:

You can have all the users on the same computer use the same Photos library by placing that library on an external HD that is formatted OS X Extended (journaled) with ownership set to be ignored.

ignoreownership.jpg

Then all would be able to see and use the same photos. However, when one user is done they must close Photos so another user can have access to the library.  The EHD should be connected directly to the Mac via USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt. 

 

OTsig.png

Posted on Sep 11, 2015 3:48 PM

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je.palmer1971

Q: How do i share photos between users on the same computer?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Old Toad,Apple recommended

    Old Toad Old Toad Sep 11, 2015 3:48 PM in response to je.palmer1971
    Level 10 (140,918 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 11, 2015 3:48 PM in response to je.palmer1971

    You can have all the users on the same computer use the same Photos library by placing that library on an external HD that is formatted OS X Extended (journaled) with ownership set to be ignored.

    ignoreownership.jpg

    Then all would be able to see and use the same photos. However, when one user is done they must close Photos so another user can have access to the library.  The EHD should be connected directly to the Mac via USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt. 

     

    OTsig.png

  • by AwfulApple,

    AwfulApple AwfulApple Sep 10, 2016 12:44 PM in response to je.palmer1971
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 10, 2016 12:44 PM in response to je.palmer1971

    As I have a large enough drive internal on my iMac and do not want to buy another, is it possible to share photos without the expense of an external drive?

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Sep 10, 2016 12:49 PM in response to AwfulApple
    Level 10 (84,217 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 10, 2016 12:49 PM in response to AwfulApple

    Yes - use iCloud Photo Library

     

    LN

  • by AwfulApple,

    AwfulApple AwfulApple Sep 10, 2016 12:53 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 10, 2016 12:53 PM in response to LarryHN

    Thanks for the prompt reply Larry, but I don't want everything up in the cloud as I have too many photos from years back and I end up paying again, I've plenty of storage locally and want to use that. Any ideas?

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Sep 11, 2016 2:03 AM in response to AwfulApple
    Level 10 (105,806 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 11, 2016 2:03 AM in response to AwfulApple
    , I've plenty of storage locally and want to use that. Any ideas?

    You could partition the internal drive. Reserve a separate partition for your photos Library and enable the ignore ownership flag for that partition.

     

    But photos libraries tend to grow faster than we expect, and sooner or later we need to move them to an external drive anyway.

  • by Tom Ritch,

    Tom Ritch Tom Ritch Sep 12, 2016 12:29 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 2 (206 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 12, 2016 12:29 PM in response to Old Toad

    Old Toad suggests, and Apple recommends, placing your Photos library on an external disc, where it can be accessed by multiple users.  An external HD attached via USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt would function pretty much as just another hard disk on the computer, so other internal disks on hardware where they exists, such as Mac Pro, would have the same function.  Presumably the other users access the library via a Local Area Network (LAN). 

     

    OTOH sharing a Photos library on an external disk connected to a LAN as Network Attached Storage (NAS), for example the hard disk in a Time Capsule, is not recommended. 

     

    In the recommended procedure, the external disk is attached to the LAN as a disk on a computer.  In the not recommended procedure, the external disk is attached to the LAN by some other means, so it becomes NAS. 

     

    For clarity, can someone explain, hopefully in fairly simple terms, why sharing a library via a LAN works if the library is on another computer's disk, but does not work if on a NAS disk?