10.3: Make iTunes available to all in multiple users mode

Jan 13, '04 07:00:03PM

Contributed by: tlr

When you use the new multiple users feature in Panther, you may run several user sessions, each with its own copy of Finder, TextEdit, whatever, except iTunes: the system prevents user B from opening iTunes if it is open in user A's session. Very annoying.

Fortunately you can override this behavior (with no apparent damage) as follows:

  1. quit iTunes.
  2. locate the iTunes application in the Finder, then control-click and select Show Package Contents from the contextual menu.
  3. in the "Contents" folder, locate the "Info.plist" file; duplicate it (in case you make a mistake), and then open it in TextEdit (or Property list editor if you installed the Developer Tools.
  4. locate the LSMultipleInstancesProhibited key: it looks something like this (at the end):
    
    <key>LSMultipleInstancesProhibited</key>
    <true/>
    
  5. now change the word true to false (leaving the brackets, of course!), and save the file.
  6. open the /Library/Cache folder (from the root directory, not the current user's one); if there are some files with names beginning with "com.apple.LaunchServices," then trash them (the Finder may ask for your password).
  7. restart the computer.
Now you can launch iTunes from the first user, log on as another user, and launch iTunes again. Note that only the current one will actually play music, fortunately!. This seems to work with no hitch, so I dunno why it has been disabled by Apple.

[robg adds: I haven't tested this hint, and I tend to think Apple disabled the multiple instances setting on purpose, so I probably won't switch mine ... if you try this hint, I'd strongly recommend having a good backup of your iTunes Library file, just in case something goes wrong. A previous hint discusses ways of quitting the other user's iTunes as a workaround...]

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20031220135132436