Finding the Shared User folder Click to see a larger image

Each User on a Mac has its own iPhoto Library in the Pictures folder. This can be a good thing because it allows each user to store and edit their own collections of photos. Sometimes, however, multiple users may want to share the same iPhoto Library. In fact, there is nothing stopping you from each having your own private iPhoto Library and a shared one as well.

To create a shared iPhoto Library:

1. Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down. You should see the Library selector dialogue. (If you don't see it, click the iPhoto icon on the Dock—I've noticed that sometimes the selector dialog likes to hide behind other windows.)
2. Click Create New...
3. In the dialog box that appears, navigate to the Shared User folder. To get there, select your internal hard drive on the left pane, then select Users, then Shared.
4. In the Save As field, name your new Library something like Shared Library so you can tell it from your regular iPhoto Library.

Now when you want to open the Shared Library, open iPhoto with the Option key held down. From the Library selector dialog, select the Shared Library.

(To get back to your regular iPhoto Library, open iPhoto with the Option key held down and select iPhoto Library. For more information on working with multiple iPhoto Libraries, check out this tip.)

By locating your iPhoto Library in the Shared User folder, any user on that Mac can access it. However, only one person at a time can access the shared Library. If you try to open a shared Library while someone else has it open you will get a message that the Library is locked.

Note that if you have moved your iPhoto to an external drive, all users on the Mac can share the Library on the external hard drive as well.

In addition, if you have a shared network drive you can access an iPhoto Library from there as well. This would allow users on multiple Macs to access the iPhoto Library. Note, however, that since network speed is much slower than hard drive access speed, working with a shared Library on a network drive will make iPhoto run very slowly—likely too slowly for you to be able to work efficiently,

Related Items: iPhoto