Importing iPhoto folders albums

I know this is a basic question, but I just imported my iPhoto library into Aperture, and all I can see is the events. My iPhoto library was organized into albums and folders, and now I only have hundred of events in Aperture. I know the albums/folders are only pointers, but is there any way of importing this directory so I don't have to reorganize the entire library?
Thanks!

I've had the same problem as everyone here. I just purchased Aperture and imported my iPhoto library and all my albums in folders didn't come across.
So what I did was go back to iPhoto and move all my albums to the root level, out of the folders.
Then I created a new Aperture library, so i could start from scratch and then imported my iPhoto library, and it's worked.
I think it's definitely a bug in Aperture, and it's something Apple needs to address as it's a real pain. I haven't been able to find any documentation that this is a bug, and for that matter all I have found on this issue is this thread. I'm glad I did otherwise I would have been stumped.
The only thing is then I had to recreate my folder structure in Aperture that used to have in iPhoto and then drag my albums to each one of those folders. It took me quite a while. So it's not as seamless to move to Aperture if you have your albums in folders.
Also now my MobileMe galleries don't sync across...there is a fix, but I might just delete all my MobileMe Galleries on me.com and then reupload them from Aperture just to be safe. What a pain.

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Import existing folders into iPhoto without copying

It seems like this should be an easy function, but I can not seem to get it to work correctly.
Just got my new Mac today and am still trying to navigate around (too many years of being a Windows user!) and would like to import my photos into iPhoto. I have a TON of pictures already on an external harddrive that are already categorized into descriptive folders. I'd like to import these folders into iPhoto, but want to keep my existing folder locations. Is this possible?
In the Preferences, I turned off the "Copyfiles to iPhoto Library folder when adding to library", but it seems that it is still creating a COPY of the photos in the DATA folder in the iPhoto Library folder. But in the ORIGINALS folder, the shortcut (alias?) is pointing to the original location on my external drive, not inside the Libary folder.
Is this possible? Or do I have to import all my files (essentially creating a duplicate of all files), and then delete the original locations that I have set up?
Thanks for your help!

cohencl
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
ut it seems that it is still creating a COPY of the photos in the DATA folder in the iPhoto Library folder.
These are tiny thumbnails that iPhoto uses for display.
But in the ORIGINALS folder, the shortcut (alias?) is pointing to the original location on my external drive, not inside the Libary folder.
Correct, the alias is exactly what I would expect to find.
Is this possible? Or do I have to import all my files (essentially creating a duplicate of all files), and then delete the original locations that I have set up?
This suggests to me that you've not quite grasped iPhoto, and how it differs from other apps.
It's a photo Organiser, and the idea is simple: do your organisation in the iPhoto Window and let it look after the files. Otherwise, all you need is a file organiser - put files into folders - and an image viewer. The catch with that system is that you need multiple copies if you want a pic in more that one album.
iPhoto works on the basis that where the FILES are is unimportant to you, it's the PICTURES that count. So, it, in the default setting, imports the pics to the iPhoto Library Folder and you can forget about them. Then set up your albums, smart albums etc., in the iPhoto Window. The same pic can be in 5, 50 or 500 albums with no wasted disk space.
You can very quickly recreate the filing structure you have in iPhoto: simply drag the folders of pics to the Source (or left hand) pane and iPhoto will create a new album with the same name as the folder, then create your enclosing folders in iPhoto (File -> New Folder).
Some people resist this because the feel they'll be unable to find their pics should they want them: There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
1. Drag and Drop: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. File -> Export: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. Show File: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
Rolls in the iPhoto Window (View -> Film Rolls) correspond exactly with the Roll Folders in the Originals Folder in the iPhoto Library Folder. You can move photos between Rolls, you can rename rolls, edit them, create them, as long as you do it via the iPhoto Window. Check out the Info Pane (wee 'i', lower left) the name and date fields are editable. Edit a Roll Name using the Info Pane, the Roll Folder in iPhoto Library Folder/Originals will also have the new name.
You can run the iPhoto Library Folder from an external HD with no problems, just copy the iPhoto Library Folder there and then hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. Select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. Thereafter that will be the default iPhoto Library Folder.
Finally, if you choose to use iPhoto in the non-default setting, then remember iPhoto will not be responsible for the file management, you are. Therefore, you need to put the pics where they're going to live beofre importing, deleting will also be a multi-stage operation, as trashing the file in iPhoto will not remove it from your filing system. Migrating to a new machine can be more tricky as well. Frankly, I've never seen a good reason not to use the default setting, unless you're using two photo organisers.
Hope all this helps, by all means, post back if you need more info.
Regards
TD

Import photos from iPad to iPhoto keeping album structure

Hi All,
I have an iPad 2 with a camera connect kit. I've imported and organised several hundred photos using the kit and the iPad. I just purchased a Macbook Pro and want to import those photos into iPhoto. The photos all imported, but the album structure has been lost. How can I import photos from my iPad into iPhoto (or some other application) while keeping the album structure?
Thanks,
John.

Post in the iPhoto forum.

Importing iPhoto Albums in correct photo order?

I wish to import specific iPhoto v9 albums into Aperture 3 (trial). However, I cannot find any way to preserve the specific order of the photos that I have spent considerable time sorting in iPhoto. There are a number of options in Aperture 3 for sorting, but none allows me to preserve the original manual sort order in the iPhoto Album! I could export each album from iPhoto to say, a folder on the desktop, renaming them sequentially in the process, but this has to be a ridiculous way to import dozens of iPhoto albums. Surely I am missing something here!

Yes, they are manually sorted in iPhoto. I use the TITLE field to attach comments to each photo so I can't use this to automatically batch sort. I can't use the DESCRIPTION field for the individual comments because for some reason, this field is not imported into Aperture at all! (This could be disastrous for those of us who have put enormous effort into documenting photos).
I can't understand why importing albums from iPhoto into Aperture fails to preserve the manual sort order. The iPhoto import browser shows the correct order when set to KIND, but this is ignored when the album appears in Aperture. This seems to be a major bug in Aperture and a potential show stopper for moving our extensive iPhoto albums across to Aperture.
Can anyone think of a work-around?

Importing jpg images saved in Photoshop into iPhoto'11 albums

I edited some photos in Photoshop, saved them as jpgs and then tried to import them into an iPhoto '11 album without success. Although I saw a green plus sign, the photos did not appear in the album. I have done this without a problem in an older version of iPhoto (7?) on an older computer. Why won't it work now and how do I get the edited photos into my album?
Thanks.

You can't import to an Album. You import to the Library and then you add them to a Library. Check your Library those images will be there.
Regards
TD

IPhoto folders vs albums

Some iPhoto tutorials show how to first create a folders, and then create albums in these folders.
Why do you need folders. Can you simply create albums of photos??

Actually the question is totally in the context of using iPhoto
iPhoto folders vs albums
His later comment is trying to understand how iPhoeo works - and yoru suggestion is not at all helpful and as I pointed out may lead to an inexperianced user destroying their iPhoto library
Your answer is confusing and dangerous
the answer for using iPhoto as the OP requested is
That is NOT using iPhoto and at best has no effect on iPhoto and at worst would lead one to move photos around within the iPhoto library thereby destroying their library
The correct answer is that in iPhtoo (the context of the question) folders simply can not hold photos - you make albums of photos and then make folder to hold albums for organization
Arguing and posting poor, misleading or incorrect suggestions is really not a good idea and helps no one
LN

Selectively import iPhoto albums (and keep them in their current location)?

I'm new to Aperture.
I have about 60,000 photos in iPhoto. I would like to import my iPhoto collection in year-by-year albums to break up this collection to more manageable pieces. I've made smart albums in iPhoto for each year.
From Aperture I would like to import these albums while keeping the photos in the iPhoto library.
I assume I would click the 'import' icon (top left), then navigate to my iPhoto library in the bottom pane, select the album from iPhoto, choose 'Store files: In their current location' and go.
Problem: my iPhoto library does not appear in the file browser from the import window.
Am I doing something wrong here? How would I accomplish this? Is there a different/better way to achieve this?

I had the same idea as you about a year or more ago. The problem with importing iPhoto images into Aperture by reference is that when iPhoto gets updated and its library layout changes (happens every major iPhoto update), Aperture has trouble finding the images. When you try to relocate masters, you cannot peek into the iPhoto library package to reconnect them so you're screwed.
I have changed my strategy. I now keep all images in Aperture and only copy images into iPhoto when I need some iPhoto feature such as calendars or greeting cards.

Importing iPhoto Created CD/DVD

Hi all,
Recently my Powerbook crashed (thanks filevault), although I had made a DVD of my entire iPhoto library as a backup.
I'm the proud new owner of a new Mac Pro, and I'd like to import that DVD albums and all into my iPhoto library.
I realize that the easiest solution would be to do just drag the contents of the DVD into my iPhoto directory on the hard disk. However, there may be a few other discs hanging out there with photos burned by iPhoto that I may also like to import without having to resort albums, etc.
One thing I spend a lot of time doing is getting pretty granular with my album organization. I have found it's easiest to organize photos at the time of import, so I have a ton of individual albums within folders.
It seems to me that this operation should be very simple - just drag the album folders within iPhoto from the disc to the iPhoto library icon. While this does accomplish the import, all of the album settings are gone. A folder with 15 albums does not appear in the library, but the 100+ photos do - unorganized.
Does iPhoto allow one to simply drag a DVD with its hierarchy into the library, or do you have to rebuild everything?
Mac Pro 3.0ghz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Lon:
I realize that the easiest solution would be to do just drag the contents of the DVD into my iPhoto directory on the hard disk
Only if you burned your iPhoto Library folder to the DVD disc via the Finder. If you did a Share->Burn in iPhoto then what you need to do is create a new library, open it and insert the DVD disk in your optical drive.
The burned library will show us in iPhoto like this. Then all you need to do is drag the disk icon onto your library icon to import the files into the new library. If this is how you created the disk then what I've described will let you import your photos into the new library and keep albums, rolls, keywords and comments intact.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application, iPhoto dB file backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Copying iPhoto folders to CD for TV viewing

I'm looking for a way to copy 6 mos. worth of iPhoto folders with jpegs and TITLES to a CD that I can play for TV viewing. The real problem is getting the folders with titles out of iPhoto in jpeg form so they are catalogued. Any suggestions?

The tip refers to the file "Library6.iPhoto" that is in the iPhoto Library folder. That's the file that often gets damaged or corrupted and makes iPhoto think there are no photos in the library or that the files are missing but the thumbnails are there. I just select it and type Command-D to make a copy of it which ends up as "Library6 copy 1.iPhoto". When I need to backup again I delete that file and make another copy of it.
For protection of HD problems and really losing your files I suggest an external Firewire HD. An 80G drive is not that expensive and can hold your iPhoto Library folder and, in general, your entire User folder. That folder contains all of your important, non-replaceable files. The system and applications can be replace
That being said DVDs can be used with iPhoto's Share->Burn Disk menu option to burn multiple rolls to disk in the iPhoto format. This will allow you to mount that disk in iPhoto like this to copy back those rolls into a new library is that were necessary. As you get a number of new rolls you can burn another disk. Or use a CD and burn fewer rolls as they are added. That preserves the keywords, albums they were in, comments, etc. You can also burn slideshows.
The external HD is the easiest and quickest way. By backing up the entire iPhoto Library folder (i.e. copying it to the external HD and then keeping it current with a backup program like Synk, you can avoid most any catastrophic crash on your HD. I don't have my external drive running all the time. I only turn it on and mount it when I have some backups to perform.

How do I fix orientation of photos after they were changed after importing iPhoto library into new Photo app in Yosemite?

When I switched over to the new Photos app in Yosemite v10.10.3 and imported my iPhoto library to it, random photos in my library had their orientation changed. Some are upside down and some are turned on their side. I have a huge photo library, so this is frustrating. Hoping I don't have to go in and fix each one. I tried rebuilding my library by lauching Photo holding down option+command, but that didn't fix anything. Please help! Mahalo!

You do not have duplicate albums or photos.
Photo Stream
http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/photo-stream.html
The Camera Roll is for photos/videos that were captured by your iPhone, and for a photo saved from a received email, MMS, or from a website. These photos are also placed in the Photo Stream to be synced with your computer and/or with another iOS 5 device. Photos/videos in the Camera Roll can and should be imported by your computer as with any other digital camera.
All photos transferred from your computer via the iTunes sync process are stored in the iPhone's Photo Library. The photos in the folders or albums below include a pointer to the original photos stored in the Photo Library. The photos are not duplicated taking up double the storage space. This way you can view the photos in a particular folder or album below only by selecting the folder or album, or you can view all photos in all folders or albums be selecting Photo Library.
This cannot be changed.
Removing photos or folders/albums of photos from your iPhone that were transferred from your computer via the Tunes process is done in the same way - via the iTunes sync process.

Importing iPhotos to FCE

I'm trying to import pictures from iPhotos and it seems like it's very laborous. It appears that I have to import each picture instead of importing a group of pictures on a file. Also, the folders are numbered instead having the roll name which makes it difficult for me to know which folder contains which pictures unless I click on each folder.
Does anyone know how to import iphotos into fce (ver 2) seemlessly?
Thanks

I found what i believe the best solution to using iPhoto to organize the sequence of photos to be used in a FCE sequence. Create the album in iPhoto, organize them as you see fit, and then export the photos to a new folder that you can import into FCE browser. In iPhoto, click album name, then Share>Export>Original Size Format>Use Album Name/Extension. What this does is give new file names to the photos, and numbers then in the correct sequence. This corrects any duplicate file naming issues, helps organize the photos in the correct project, gives them new name, and numbers them properly, so when viewed in FCE browser, they can be sorted the way you want them to appear in your timeline. Only downside would be using up hard drive space.

Importing iPhoto files onto an iPhone 3G using iTunes question....

New! Importing iPhoto files onto an iPhone 3G with iTunes question
Posted: Aug 14, 2008 9:07 AM Reply Email
So letme get this striaght...
You first create an album in iPhoto 08 with just the images you want put onto your iPhone 3G.
NEXT: you connect tou iPhone 3G and iTunews will open. You go to the iPhone in iTunes and select the photo tag and then select the album you had made for import and sync it with you iPhone. Will large image files automatically be resized for use on the iPhone 3G?
Most of my .JPG files are from 4 -5 MB each in size. What will it do with a RAW image file?

I am not 100% sure, but i BELIEVE that they do get resized because as it's syncing with the iPhone, iTunes will state that it is optimizing the selected photos for the iPhone, just like we would see for the iPod.

IPhoto new albums problem

Hi,
I've noticed a weird problem with my iPhoto lately. I can create new albums just fine in iPhoto itself, but when I go to my Finder and hit Pictures>iPhoto Library>Albums, the new albums don't show up as new folders. Is there something wrong here, or am I just using an outdated version of iPhoto?

As long as the albums are there when iPhoto is open, don't worry about it. You shouldn't be poking around in the iPhoto Library folder in the Finder anyway — all you can do in there is corrupt iPhoto's database and make the app lose track of the rest of your stuff. There is no reason to go there at all — everything you need to do with your photos can and should be done from within iPhoto.

Import iphoto into elements 11 organizer

i,m about to import photos from iphoto into elements 11 organizer. there is an option to have organizer convert events from iphoto into albums, is there an advantage to doing this, if i don't choose that option will it make adifference.

Albums in Elements are ways to give a name to a group of pictures and saving the order in which the pictures are stored. It's easy to find a given group by its name (like a keyword) while keeping their sort order. I don't know anything about iphoto, but I think it would be a pity to lose such useful information.
The main differences between albums and keywords is that keywords (tags) can be saved in the file themselves whereas the albums are only saved in the database (catalog). The second difference is that albums enable sorting the pictures.

Aperture import iPhoto library, no duplicates

Merging iPhoto libraries into a single Aperture library risks duplicate images. Multiple iPhoto libraries might contain the same image.
According to the online manual there is a command 'File > Import > iPhoto Library' that would allow the 'Do not import duplicates' option. This command does not seem to exist in the current version of Aperture.
This may be a way to do this -
    Right or control click on the iPhoto library to 'Show Package Contents'. Move the Masters folder out of the package.
    In Aperture, click the Import arrow icon and navigate to the Masters folder. This allows selection of the 'Do not import duplicates' checkbox.
    Then perhaps run Duplicate Annihilator on the Aperture library. Use the option to label any duplicates and originals. Flag the originals and search for keywords 'original' and 'duplicate' to verify.
Any comments on this - will it work?

Merging iPhoto libraries into a single Aperture library risks duplicate images. Multiple iPhoto libraries might contain the same image.
The recommended procedure to merge iPhoto libraries using Aperture is described here:
Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries
You will need the current Aperture 3 version - at least Aperture 3.3. and open all your iPhoto libraries in iPhoto 9.3 or later at least once.
Merging libraries is preferable to simply importing the "masters" folder - this way you will be able to save all your work - edits, tagging, albums, etc.
If you move the "Masters" folder from your iPhoto library, you may corrupt the library, and by importing only the originals and not the edited versions, all your work done in iPhoto will be lost.
If you have Duplicate Annihilator, you can still run it afterwards to check, if duplicates are remaining after merging. The "Merge" will only look for perfect duplicates - similar filename, similar size.
Regards
Léonie

Importing iPhoto folders albums

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