I just noticed that I can no longer select photos out of my finder that are located in my Aperture/Iphoto Library. I used to be able to attach photos to my gmail out of the aperture library in the finder and for some reason, no longer can.

Question

I just noticed that I can no longer select photos out of my finder that are located in my Aperture/Iphoto Library.  I used to be able to attach photos to my gmail out of the aperture library in the finder and for some reason, no longer can.
I can't access these images except to go into the applications. 
Also, I'd like to import my iphoto library into aperture, and move aperture library to an external drive.  I tried the import first, but there wasn't enough space.  Then I tried copying over the aperture library onto the external drive but it failed bc it said file was in use. 
As it is, I only have 50gb left on my imac, and the aperture library is 150gb.  Also, I have over 10k images in both libraries combined and there are tons of duplicates that need to be sorted, and hopefully not messed up because I've organized most of them.
So in short, I need to know how to do the following:
-select photos in finder in aperture/iphoto libraries
-move aperture library to live on external drive
-import iphoto library into aperture library
-eliminate dups but maintain organization
-moving forward i need a better workflow so that I import images from camera, and can organize right away into albums rather than creating projects by default and then creating albums so essentially the photos are in 2 different places, even tho they are referenced
-live happily ever after
Thanks in advance for any support you can offer!!

Answer 1

If you're using apps like iPhoto or Aperture then they replace the Finder for managing your photos. The point is that you use the (many) options available via these apps for the things you want and need to do with the Photos.
So, simply, you don't select the photos in the Finder. I'll append the supported ways to do this - which are faster and will yield the current version of your Photos - to the end of this post.
-move aperture library to live on external drive
Managed or Referenced Library? Managed -
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit Aperture
2. Copy the Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching Aperture. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Referenced -  relocate your Masters first.
These issues are covered in the Manual and on this forum hundreds of times.
-import iphoto library into aperture library
FIle -> Import -> iPhoto Library? Have you done this already? If so are you trying to move the Masters to Aperture from an  iPhoto Library? Or Consolidate them?
-moving forward i need a better workflow so that I import images from camera, and can organize right away into albums rather than creating projects by default and then creating albums so essentially the photos are in 2 different places, even tho they are referenced
You can't. Every photo is in a Project.  They’re the basic building blocks of the Library.
You might want to spend a little time with the manual or the video tutorials. I'm not sure you've grasped the app  you've purchased.
The following is written for iPhoto, but about 97% works for Aperture too.
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto/ APerture:   You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics. This is what you use to attach your shot to your GMail
(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
There's a similar option in Outlook and many, many other apps.  If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto/ Aperture.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
If you want to access the files with iPhoto/ Aperture not running:
For users of 10.6 and later:  You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation  which will give you access to the Library from your Services Menu.
Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser