Albumdata.xml

I was wondering if anyone has seen this problem. We have a lab full of iMacs, Intel 2.66 Core Duos running 10.5.5. We redirect the iPhoto libraries to a Win2003 server through SMB. Since we went from 10.4 to 10.5 and iLife 08 we have had a problem with the albumdata.xml file. It appears that after we import new pictures in iPhoto we cannot see them in the other iLife apps. I delete the albumdata.xml and it works, however the albumdata.xml still isn't written to with any future imports, so we end up having to delete the albumdata.xml on a regular basis. The users have full permissions to their Pictures library, does anyone have any idea what I can do for a permanent fix?
Thanks
Matthew Gering
Macintosh Specialist
Hopewell Valley Regional School District
425 S. Main Street
Pennington, NJ 08534

M Gering
Welcome to the Apple user discussion forums
iPhoto does not like the iPhoto library being on a PC formated disk - probably the only real solution is to put the iPhoto libraries on a Mac formatted disk
LN
Message was edited by: LarryHN

Similar Messages

Can an iPhoto library that does not exist be recreated from the AlbumData.xml file?

Our iMac hard drive recently got corrupted and we hadn't backed up. (I know, I know, stupid, stupid, stupid. Won't make that mistake again!) The comptuer folk we took it too were able to recover most of the data on the drive, but my iPhoto library was not one of them. I don't have the library - the file is gone. But I do have the AlbumData.xml file. Is there any way to recreate the library from that file alone? I've tried it with iPhoto Library Manager and it wants me to have a default library for which this file is associated. I don't have that. Is there any way to get this data back? Some friends had trusted us with their wedding pictures. (I know, I know, stupid, stupid, and again, stupid. They won't make that mistake again!) I'd really, really, love to get them back if it's at all possible from this one file I do have.
Thanks in advance for any help!

No
iPhoto is a SQL database and you can only create the database (the iPhoto library) using a SQL editor - using iPhoto is the best
The database has many components and all of them must be there with exact names and in an exact structure to work
The only way you could rereate the library is from the photos (depending on the version of iPhoto you had they would have been in the originals or masters folder)
And yes - it is unfortuante but you have learned the most simple and basic lesson of computers - If you do not have a good current backup (I have multiple daily backups plus occasional offsite backups) you will eventually lose all of your data including your photos
LN

How does an "iPhoto Library Copy" folder get created? It has an icon that looks like a stack of photos with a pink flower. It contains all my photo's (as far as I can tell) and the original "iPhoto Library" only contains "AlbumData.xml?

I upgraded to Lion last month AFTER wiping the hard drive for the second time on my 2011 macbook pro. I am now suspecting that transferring my photos (I have over 8,000 saved on sd cards) to my computer is bringing all this trouble.
I was able to rectify some problems by dragging import file from library to desktop etc... But I am worried that these Copied Libraries and recovered photo files and AlbumData.xml file are a sign of something darker loomng ahead...

Sorry but we have no idea what's going on, or gone on, on your machine. Neither can we see it. We only have your somewhat sketchy post. You mention that you can rectify "some problems", you mention "all this trouble" but neglect to mention what these problems and trouble actually are. So, I'm afraid it's hard to respond to your post in a meaningful way.
A couple of thoughts: 8,000 photos is not a problem. iPhoto is good for 250,000 in any one library. So, unless you have very limited HD disk space, this is not the source of whatever issues you are having.
If you're dragging parts of the iPhoto Library around the place, yes there could be trouble ahead. Don't change anything in the iPhoto Library Folder via the Finder or any other application. iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things, deleting them or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
There are two ways to get a copied library: one is to duplicate the Library yourself (either accidentally or deliberately) or while restoring from back up.
Regards
TD

AlbumData.xml not built correctly: Original photo link is not on filesystem

Background: using iPhoto 7.1.5 (378), with option unchecked "copy items to the iPhoto Library', library migrated from one external hard disk to another. So: my pictures are stored separate from the library, both on the same new external hard disk.
*The issue*: when using e.g. iTunes to copy pictures to a device, iTunes only shows some of the pictures (counts are lower), many pictures are missing. In my case: over 8000 pictures in iPhoto, iTunes is only showing about 3000. The cause of the issue is the file AlbumData.xml, which refers to files that are not on the filesystem.
Interesting is that I can view and export all pictures in iPhoto just fine, even the "missing" ones. So: the data in the internal iPhoto database must be different than the AlbumData.xml file. I tried recreating the AlbumData.xml file, but exactly the same file is recreated.
*The cause*: not sure, probably related to the migration of the iPhoto library + pictures that are on the filesystem, from one external disk to another. It seems it works fine when adding new images. But not sure about that.
*The details*: the AlbumData.xml contains entries where the ImagePath for the original picture refers to a non-existing picture. That is: there is no such file. When checking the filesystem, in some cases that whole directory does not exist, in other cases the directory exists, but no content. When adding new pictures, everything works fine.
Rebuilding the iPhoto database did not help either (alt-cmd when opening, with all option enabled). iPhoto Library Manager (great app, great support) has the same effect as e.g. iTunes, it seems it has to rely on AlbumData.xml instead of the internal iPhoto database.
*The expected result*: a way to rebuild the .../Originals/... filesystem that is in sync with the iPhoto internal database.
Looks like a bug in iPhoto to me.
Any ways of solving this?
Thanks in advance!

Baring a incompatible HD format issue that Terence questioned about, moving the library and source files to a different drive will break the link between the alias file and the "source" file. Even renaming the HD the same hasn't proved successful in reestablishing all links in such a library.
However, since they are on the same HD now, you probably can relink each event one at a time by double clicking on a thumbnail and, when asked to find the source file, navigate to the appropriate folder and selecting the file. That will usually relink all files in that event/folder. Probably the photos you're seeing currently are those that have been modified and have versions of themselves in the Modified folder within the library and thus do not rely on alias links.
That being said, IMO you would be best served by running a manage library and have it located on the external HD. You would be able to relocate the library at any time without any link issue. You don't show what Mac model you're using but if it's a laptop and you need to take some of the photos with you just have a "traveling" library which you can stock with the photos you need by copying them from the external library to the laptop's library using iPhoto Library Manager. It will copy events or albums between libraries and keep the metadata, titles, keywords, and comments, intact.
If you do a search for "referenced library" in this forum you'll find a lot of posts which illustrate the pitfalls of running a "referenced" library.
Happy New Year
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) 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 created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), 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. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

TS1192 After all the steps I still have a corrupt iphoto 11 Albumdata.xml file. What next?

I have tried all the steps here, except deleting the com.apple.iApps.plist because I don't have one! I deleted it ages ago trying to do this before and it seems it never created a new one. So, none of this steps work. I want to import my iphoto to Picasa.
I'm using a Macbook Pro 13 inch, 500 gig HDD 2011 version, with Mountain Lion and the latest iPhoto 11. iPhoto has been acting iffy for ages even after repairing permissions, rebuilding the library and every step I can find. So I want to switch to Picasa. Am I going to have to manually import and sort pics to Picasa?

Sorry, I read the article on how to fix the problem if other apps cannot see the iPhoto library, because none of the steps there helped me, and it posted my question here.
My problem is that when I open Picasa and select to import my iphoto library it says that I have a corrupted AlbumData.xml file. It still does this even after all of Apples steps to fix it. I have:
1. Checked and repaired permissions
2. Rebuilt my iphoto library
3. Deleted the com.apple.iApps.plist (but it has not returned)
4. Made a new AlbumData.xml file
5. Removed all special characters from album names in iPhoto
Nothing has worked.
All iLife applications can see my iphoto library fine. Another application, Lyn, can now see my iphoto library, but Picasa still keeps insisting it is corrupted. I believe it is true because iphoto is incredibly slow, freezes every few seconds and crashes if left open for longer than a few minutes (which is why I am switching to Picasa in the first place). It uses up over 60% of my CPU just to stay open and slows my computer down to a crawl, a sticky, lagging infuriating to use crawl.
I would prefer to keep using iPhoto as its convenient for my iphone and ipad which I use daily, but its too much to cope with now.

Meta dates in AlbumData.xml (date problems after upgrade)

HI folk,
Further to my post earlier today about the date mashup after upgrading, I was wondering if a [careful!] edit of the AlbumData.xml file might help.
If I knew what these fields meant I might be able to work out what to do...
<key>DateAsTimerInterval</key>
<real>9850139.000000</real>
<key>ModDateAsTimerInterval</key>
<real>206299947.507982</real>
<key>MetaModDateAsTimerInterval</key>
<real>206299831.664670</real>
Which one (if any of these) does iPhoto use when deciding what order to display the photos in? And what are the numbers? Seconds since 1984? Picoseconds since the Woz left the company? Curious minds want to know.
And yes, I'd use a backup for experimentation.
Rob

Rob,
That timestamp is probably based on the [Unix Epoch|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time], the basis for almost all time stamps in programs based on Unix and/or the C programming language. If those dates are in fact based on the Unix epoch, they are based on the number of seconds since Jan1, 1970.
Sometimes such dates are represented as integers (like DateAsTimerInterval seems to be) and sometimes they are represented as floating point numbers (like the other two) in an attempt to circumvent the Year 2038 problem.
You may find this useful: [http://www.unixtimestamp.com>
Personally, I would love to find out how your experimentation goes - what fails and what works; if you have to go through any hoops to get iPhoto to recognize your changes; if exporting a photo changes its EXIF timestamps after you play with the XML file, etc.
nathan

Corrupt AlbumData.xml - no shared pictures

Hi, I'm referring to this problem here: http://derivadow.com/2006/12/30/iphoto-photos-not-appearing-in-front-row/ it just occurred at my parent's MAC using iPhoto 09: the pictures didn't show up on their Apple TV.
After long investigations I found the XML error in the AlbumData.xml : it was an "&" used in the album title(!) of a song used in a iPhoto 09 slideshow (!!)
So I fixed the problem by deleting the "&" from the mp3's metadata and adjusting it in the slideshow.
BUT
quite obviously this is a known bug since 2006 (see link above) - this is three years ago. Nobody EVER told me to "never use "&" in iTunes". Nor did any of the iLife programs communicate the real problem - it just tried to parse the xml file. If I open it in Safari, the XML error showed up at once.
This is a very unpleasant situation hence I have no idea in how much of the 20.000 classic MP3s of my dad "&" signs are used - so this is a ticking time-bomb.
Any ideas?

- will there be a bugfix that makes the parsing of a corrupt albumdata.xml more robust. Right now users are kept in the dark why there is no link e.g. from the Apple TV or in frontrow.
- will there be a patch that auto-corrects xml-errors in an existing albumdata.xml
- will there be a patch for iTunes, iPhoto etc. to prevent users from ingesting "bad" characters like "&"
- will there be a script that auto-corrects large libraries of iTunes (mp3 metadata), iPhoto (keywords etc.) from errors

TS1192 'Could not read the iPhoto Library. The library at [file path] has a corrupted AlbumData.xml file.'

Got this msh from Piasa...any ideas? 'Could not read the iPhoto Library. The library at [file path] has a corrupted AlbumData.xml file.'

Contact Adobe support - that is not an iPhoto message - in general Piasa has no ability to access the iPhoto library - there have been hacks but often they do not worka nd can cause problems
You need to user either Picasa or iPHoto - using both on the same photos is problematic
LN

Picasa and corrupt albumdata.xml file

For several days, I have been trying to install Picasa on my Mac. I used to use Picasa on my PC but switched to iPhoto when I got a Mac and have been using iPhoto for the last several months. I would like to add Picasa so I can access some of the sharing features that aren't available on iPhoto. However, every time I try to load Picasa, it launches and then says I have a corrupted albumdata.xml file. I have no problem when I use iPhoto -- there appears to be no corruption. I have tried to repair/rebuild the database in iPhoto several times and have followed directions from some Picasa discussion forums about using Text Wrangler to find &s and other characters that might be causing the problem. Even when I have deleted the photos that appear to have the problems, Picasa still tells me that the file is corrupted. I have called Apple about this, but they have been no help since iPhoto is working fine and it is not their product that is giving the error message. I would love to use Picasa, but there's something that's not working right.
I know others have had the exact same problem and seem equally frustrated. According to Picasa, it is supposed to "play well" with iPhoto, but what happens when it doesn't?
I appreciate any help you can lend. Thanks.

Well - and it's just a thought - you could easily post them on Google+, or Flickr, or SmugMug or any other photosharing site on the entire Internet.
On Google+ click on the Photos icon on the sidebar and then Add Photos - the bit in Red. That give you the uopload page and you can 'Select Photos to Upload from Your computer'
Thereafter... the first one of these
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.
(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.
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 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 iPhoto Library from your Services Menu.
Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and 10.5 Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
Drag and Drop: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
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.
Show File: a. On iPhoto 09 and earlier: 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. 3.b.
b: On iPhoto 11 and later: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Reveal in Finder -> Original. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
Regards
TD

Corrupt albumdata.xml?

Ok so I has this problem prior to iLife 08'. None of the other 'iApps' were able to connect to iPhoto. I believe I had seen, at one time, a post saying that this happens when the albumdata.xml which I believe is the file that stores info regarding your albums, cards, books, etc that you create in iPhoto is somehow corrupt.
I am getting this error which may have been the same error prior to iLife 08 that states "open iPhoto 2 or later to see photos in your iPhoto library in this list'
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you

I 'had' this problem not 'has'.... its early
By the way I am getting the message not when I open iPhoto but when I try to access media from it when I am in another iapp such as iMovie.
Thanks

IPhoto, NTFS and AlbumData.xml.tmp

After much pain that arose from trying to view updates to my iPhoto libraries via an Apple TV, a tech support person finally helped me delete and recreate the AlbumData.xml file written by iPhoto. I also happen to host my iPhoto library via SMB on a NAS and I came across two threads that talked about this issue:
1. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6429395
2. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1345580
Can somebody from Apple comment on whether this issue will be fixed by Apple? Or are we SMB/NTFS users destined to have to manually rename the .tmp file?
Thanks!

This is a User to User forum. There is no one from Apple here, only other users. So if you want to find an answer to your question you'll need to contact Apple.
Regards
TD

How did I end up with 2 AlbumData.xml files?

The finder is showing me that I have an albumdata.xml file and an albumdata2.xml file, both with the same date and time. It seems to me that there shouldn't be two of these files. The file sizes vary, though, making me think the second one is unnecessary.
The first one is nearly 12 MB and the second one is about a half a MB. Should I delete it? What will happen if I do? Any suggestions? (I don't want to screw it up any more, because I've had trouble with this version ever since I upgraded.)

The AlbumData.xml file has faces information, coordinates of the faces on each image identified and other info and the data2 file has bulk listing of numbers which I have no idea what they represent. But both are necessary.

Itunes 11 shows zero photos in Aperture and ApertureData.xml not being created in library

I've tried to do some trouble shooting of this problem. I've rebuilt permissions, I've repaired and rebuilt the Aperture library, I've made sure sharing previews is always for iLife and iWork, I've created a new library, switched to it and switched back and I can't get iTunes to see my albums and pictures from my iPhoto library when I try to sync through Aperture. What I have found is when I created the new temporary library and loaded one pic into it, a file in the package contents called ApertureData.xml is created, which isn't created in the iPhoto libary, it has AlbumData.xml. iTunes does recognize the temp library and photo. I deleted the AlbumData.xml, but it was just recreated. It seems Aperture is supposed to be creating a file that it isn't. Any help would be appreciated, I'm trying to migrate from iPhoto to using Aperture exclusively to manage photos and sync with devices. All software is up to date. Thanks.

in case anyone searches and finds this question, but importing by iphoto library to aperture into a new library, I fixed the problem. I do not know how to fix the original issue of the aperturedata.xml not being created in the origianl iphoto library.

Iphoto crashing after using mini-dvi to video adapter

Hi, IPhoto on my Macbook is crashing. I can open it, then as soon as I scroll down it locks up and I have to force quit.
This started happening right after I used a Mini-DVI to Video Adapter cable to hook my macbook up to my TV. The adapter/s-video connection worked and I was able to see the video on the tv. But iphoto immediately locked up the computer when I went to slide show and now it locks every time I open it.
Any ideas?
Thank you:)
Dorothy

It means that the issue resides in your existing Library.
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

IPhoto slideshow using mini-dvi to video adapter

When using the mini-dvi to video adapter to connect to my widescreen tv (via composite), to show iPhoto slideshows, the transistions between slides dont apear and there are no ken burns effects. The slideshow runs fine on my MacBook display (ie when not conected to the tv), and the is no other distortion or flickering (as reported in other threads), this seems odd to me or is it just a limitation of analogue output.
2Ghz MacBook, White Mac OS X (10.4.7)

It means that the issue resides in your existing Library.
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

Albumdata.xml

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