Mac Format

Share media across your network

Save family buying their own copies of things

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Your Mac is probably stuffed to the gills with all

sorts of media. A few easy steps is all it takes to make them available to other people.

Let’s start with iTunes. Open its preference­s and click Sharing, then turn on ‘Share my library on my local network’ to allow streaming of all kinds of media to other computers running iTunes, optionally restricted with a password. Click the ellipsis then Edit at the top-left corner of iTunes, and turn on Shared Libraries. Switch libraries using the new icon there.

Home Sharing does the same job, but also allows media to be copied between the libraries of up to five PCs or Macs. This requires Home Sharing to be enabled on each computer: go to File > Home Sharing > Turn on Home Sharing and enter your Apple ID.

Another option for streaming music is to pay £21.99 for an annual subscripti­on to iTunes Match, or at least £9.99 per month for Apple Music, then go to iTunes > Preference­s and turn on iCloud Music Library. After your library is matched to Apple’s own, and tracks Apple lacks are uploaded, you’ll be able to enjoy your music on all of your devices. You’ll need an internet connection to stream, unless you pre-empt a lack of access by downloadin­g things.

Share your purchases What if family members want to share your purchases but your Mac is unavailabl­e? In System Preference­s > iCloud, click Set Up Family and invite them to join. They can then click their name at the top of iTunes, followed by Family Purchases, or go to the Purchased tab and tap My Purchases in iTunes, iBooks or the App Store on their iOS device. Not all items are eligible to be shared this way, though.

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