Alzheimer: arbitrarily loosing Photos in iphoto '09

Since about 1 month, iPhoto arbitrarily starts loosing recently added photos.
In iPhoto it still holds the thumbnails, but the referred original file is "lost".
It does not loose photos that were added earlier (before April/May timeframe).
I already tried:
- rebuilding all options by starting iPhoto with the Alt/Option key
- even deleting the current library completely and restoring the complete library from TimeMachine going back to December 09.
It restored everything flawlessly, but when I started to add new pictures, the arbitrary losses kick in again.
Before taking the very last resort - building a completely new library from scratch by importing just the image files while loosing all(!!!) ratings, albums, events, faces, etc. - I really would like to understand what is the culprit (Ignoring the fact that this would be a loss of days or weeks of works).
If it e.g. is a problem introduced by a recent update of iPhoto, I'd rather want to wait for Apple fixing the problem.
I could also go even further back in TimeMachine - but that's just guesswork and always involves days of waiting whether iphoto starts loosing pictures again.
If I directly inspect the folders (rightclick the library in finder and "show package content") and check the content in the "originals" folder, it still contains the link-file (alias) but the target obviously isn't available.
previewing such an alias does't show a thumbnail picture; just a white rectangle.
I also tried the following: make a TimeMachine backup IMMEDIATELY after importing new pictures and verify that the pictures are THERE. Then maybe after a week I notice that 5 out of 150 pictures are only there in tumbnails but no longer the original.
By the way: when TimeMachine tries to restore those pictures, it completely hangs for indefinite time. the only way to interrupt is alt-ctrl-esc.
doesn't seem like a "behavior as designed" for TimeMachine.
So - what do I expect from you guys in the forum?:
- any pointers, that this is a more common problem?
- recently introduced by an update to iLife/iPhote from Apple?
- any methodical suggestion that leads to a better understanding of the root cause.
thanks,
josef

Before taking the very last resort - building a completely new library from scratch by importing just the image files while loosing all(!!!) ratings, albums, events, faces, etc. - I really would like to understand what is the culprit (Ignoring the fact that this would be a loss of days or weeks of works).
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 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.
WHat you're experiencing are the effects of a damaged database file.
Regards
TD

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I have alot of loose photos at home (old) and I would love to make a bunch of iphoto books and make the pages like whole page collages? How do I get my photos into iphoto in order to do this? Can I make a DVD at the drugstore and add them to iphoto?

I have alot of loose photos at home (old) and I would love to make a bunch of iphoto books and make the pages like whole page collages? How do I get my photos into iphoto in order to do this? Can I make a DVD at the drugstore and add them to iphoto?

You can make the collages easily if you have iWork. Just open a letter sized page in landscape mode and drag the photos onto the page, rotate and postiion as necessary. Then do a Print ➙ PDF ➙ Save PDF to iPhoto to get a 200 dpi jpeg version of the Pages page into iPhoto. From there you can add it to your book and use a blank page with the option to have an image as the backbround.
If you have a 3rd party image editor that supports layers you can create the collage with it.
OT

Will i loose all my photos if iPhoto isn't working?

will i loose all my photos if iPhoto isn't working? my computer just got updated by my iPhoto is saying it isn't compatible? will i loose my photos if they were in folders on iPhoto?

my computer just got updated by my iPhoto is saying it isn't compatible? will i loose my photos if they were in folders on iPhoto?
What is your MacOS X version and your current version of iPhoto?
if you just updated to a newer MacOS X version, for example MacOS X 10.9.x, your version of the iPhoto.app may be no longer compatible and you need to update or upgrade iPhoto to a newer version. Check at the App Store if there is an update for iPhoto. If not, post back with the versions you are having installed. You may need to buy an upgrade.
will i loose my photos if they were in folders on iPhoto?
The photos in your iPhoto library are save, even if you have to upgrade to a newer version, but it is always wise to make a backup before updating or upgrading, just in case.

I want to sync my photos to iphoto but i dont want to loose the albums i have created on my iphone, can this be done? or will i loose albums?

Need a little help...
I am normally the person people go to for help but i need it now!
I got a new iphone 5c in feb and its been great. I downloaded the iphoto app and my pictures didn't appear. Is this because i hadn't got it to automatically sync to iphoto when plugged in my mac?
also i don't want to loose any albums i have made on my iphone. Please can someone advise. You may end up telling what i know but i needed to check, thanks!

Syncing between iPhoto on your iPhone and iPhoto on your Mac is one-way. You can sync selected albums, events, faces, places albums from your Mac to iPhoto on your iPhone using iTunes. This will not delete any albums you created on your iPhone, just add new albums. But albums you create on your iPhone cannot be synced to your Mac.
See this page on how to transfer photos from iPhoto on your iPhone to your Mac:
http://help.apple.com/iphoto/iphone/2.0/?handbuch#blnk7d8f763e

Iphoto loosing photos when shutdown

When I download photos into iphoto they appear to go in ok but once it has shut down and reopened they are gone? Has worked fine for a couple of years and I don't think I have changed anything. Any photos i immediately upload to facebook remain accessible when iphoto is reopened. Any ideas?

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 Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, 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

I've lost all my events and photos in iPhoto

Recently converted to all things Mac.
I use iphoto to categorise all my photos and events and faces, basically everything. I then use Aperture to create projects and import from my iphoto library the selected photos I want to work with only.
For some reason or another, I cannot tell you how or why it happened, I cannot open aperture anymore cause it tries to open a file only desktop which i think it thinks is a backup file but says " "xxxxxxx.aplibrary" is an iPhoto library and cannot be opened in Aperture". Thing is that I cannot open it on Iphoto either and I lost all my photos in iPhoto. Where can they be stored? There is nothing in the Trash and there isn't a file where photos are kept from what I gather they are stored within the app. If the problem is the app then I need to uninstall it meaning I loose over 2000 photos!?!?!?
Serves me right not to back up on a hard drive.
Anyone understand my dilema and offer a suggestion on how to retirve my photos?

I strongly suggest that you use another application as an external editor for iPhoto. Aperture is not an edior. Like iPhoto it's a Digital Asset Manage - that is, a database. Trying to use it as an extension of iPhoto is adding complexity to your workflow.
In order of price here are some suggestions:
Seashore (free)
Graphic Coverter ($45 approx)
Acorn ($50 approx)
Photoshop Elements ($75 approx)
There are many, many other options. Search on MacUpdate.
You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.

New photos in iPhoto 9.5.1 albums no longer sync into synced albums on OS8 devices.

iPhoto 9.5.1
iOS 8.0.2
Mac Mavericks 10.9.5
Using iTunes, when I sync my selected iPhoto albums (on the Mac) to my iPhone and iPad, new photos added to those albums on my Mac are no longer added to the albums on those devices, but rather are orphaned as loose photos. Or, if they ARE added, it's only through half a dozen trial-and-error tricks I've tried. I never know for sure what trick is working, so I have to ask if there's an easier, dependable way to get albums or folders from my Mac to sync into what's on my devices. I don't want every single photo I have on my Mac on those devices. JUST selected, categorized photo albums so that I can show off categories of my paintings and sculptures to clients.
If iPhoto is being phased out, what's the easier option for creating albums in my "photos" app on my devices and moving those photos from my Mac to the albums?

Use the rebuild function in iPhoto Library Manager. That does not require a purchase. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, 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.

Address Book Sync looses photo

Have contact in address book on iPhone 4 along with photo. Take photo with iPhone 4 and edit old photo out of address book and insert in new photo. When syncing with iMac, new photo comes in to iMac but totally looses photo in that contact's info. Re-sync with iMac and it doesn't correct problem of lost image in iPhoto. Alternatively, tried taking photo, import in through iPhoto, pasting it into address book on iMac and afterwards syncing to see if it would replace old photo for new and again it simply deleted the old photo in the iPhone 4 and kept the new photo on the iMac address book. Weird!! Have had this issue reproduced every single time when trying to put in new photo-what is the fix?

Unfortunately not. No groups and any Mobile Me account here not even many contacts (436) and any duplicates except in Ical after having restored my iphone 4 times. Something strange too, 2 weeks ago, Isync was running while I'm not registered on MM nor Icloud (turned off on my iphone) . Maybe a conflict between Outlook, Addressbook, Itunes and Isync on SL....I'm going crasy with this issue It reminds me of Windows ! Thx anyway, I'm gooing to contact apple in the following days.

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I have edited some photos in iphoto, but when I drag the photos to my desktop I loose the edits. How can I copy/transfer a photo from iphoto to my desktop without losing the edits? I have saved the changes, but it makes no difference.

File -> Export
Set the kind to anything except original
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.

Some Ideas On Organizing/Maintaining Photos via iPhoto? How do YOU do it?

I posted a couple of technical questions last week concerning iPhoto and how it handles files, thumbnails, EXIF data, and photo originals/copies (as http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11425805). Terence Devlin and LarryHN gave me the answers I needed. From their answers, I now have an understanding of the default method iPhoto utilizes to manage and maintain photo libraries.
Those answers have led me to a couple more questions, mostly regarding how I can best organize and maintain my photos via iPhoto within a multiple Operating System household. My massive music collection is easy... I manually maintain and organize my music files via iTunes. I can download music and fix tags in XP or OSX. I store the results on my Windows-based file server and share the iTunes library. On my MacBookPro, I have an iTunes Library that references the directories on the server. Or, I can just access the "shared" iTunes library. Same with my Ubuntu machine (with some anomalies.) Both Windows and OSX have versions of iTunes. Not so with iPhoto.
So, by default, importing my photos into iPhoto will make "copies" as well as a proprietary database containing the EXIF changes I make within iPhoto. I don't see that as the best scenario for me.
What would YOU suggest? How about storing my photos on my file server and pointing iPhoto to the location in "Referenced Mode?" This seems to be similar to how I manage my music. Yes, I know that if I change a filename or path that the library will loose track of it. I deal with this in iTunes. Occasionally, If I make a bunch of changes, I just delete my iTunes library and re-load. But that's the beauty of iTunes... if I change MP3 tag data using iTunes, the changes are made within the MP3 file itself. So if I loose the library, who cares?
I was hoping to use iPhoto in a similar way: Make changes (places, faces, etc) and have iPhoto save the data within the EXIF fields of the photo itself. That way if I move the photo around, or restore from a backup, ot loose the iPhoto library, so be it!
Unlike iTunes, it sounds like if I loose my iPhoto library, I loose all my metadata as well (unless I "export" the photo from within iPhoto?) PLUS I need to maintain the original photos and the iPhoto copies... unless I use Referenced Mode.
How about some organizational ideas/inspiration/guidance? Help me tidy up my sloppy photo collection.
.peace
~( ):>

Key points
1 - iPhoto has NO cross platform capabilities
2 - iPhoto is not well oriented to managing referenced libraries
I was hoping to use iPhoto in a similar way: Make changes (places, faces, etc) and have iPhoto save the data within the EXIF fields of the photo itself. That way if I move the photo around, or restore from a backup, ot loose the iPhoto library, so be it!
That is not the way iPhoto works
Unlike iTunes, it sounds like if I loose my iPhoto library, I loose all my metadata as well (unless I "export" the photo from within iPhoto?) PLUS I need to maintain the original photos and the iPhoto copies... unless I use Referenced Mode.
You have to maintain both in either a referenced or managed library - but in an referenced library the originals are your responsibility to maintain and to keep the path constant
How about some organizational ideas/inspiration/guidance? Help me tidy up my sloppy photo collection.
Probably iPhoto is not the correct solution for your needs
LN

Moving photos from iPhoto to Bridge

Is there a good way to change from using iPhoto to Bridge on a mac? I tried creating a folder for Bridge and copying all the existing photos over, but it's a big mess. Each photo from 2013 went into it's own folder with labels that mean nothing. Help!

Is there a good way to change from using iPhoto to Bridge on a mac?
That depends on what you would define as good.
In basic the difference between iPhoto and Bridge is that iPhoto is a library based application storing different data and versions in a package file that by default show no subfolders, only a file (size depending on amount of photo's containing) called 'iPhoto Library' by default stored in your pictures folder.
Bridge is a browser that shows you the content of your disk, it can add metadata (file info, labels, rating etc) as well as rename the files. It enables you to move or copy them to other folders or locations. But for editing it needs other application which you can reach (primarily Photoshop) using the menu tools and choose PS / function you want or just open in ACR or PS.
The two are acting totally different but have the same goal, sorting and keeping overview of your images (or in case of Bridge also other files and folders).
If you are happy with the limited options iPhoto has for editing stay with it, it has also a pretty good function for faces and places, both are not able in Bridge.
But if you need more editing and sorting options switch to Bridge and PS.
The quickest way in my opinion is to go to Finder and open two windows. In one create a main folder where you can point Bridge to (using the folder panel) and in the other select the folder Pictures/iPhoto-library.
With your right mouse button click on this file you get a menu with the option to show the package content. click on that and a new window opens with the content of the iPhoto library in folders.
In latest versions there is a folder called 'masters' If I remember it also used to be called originals in previous versions. In this folder are your original files stored in folders per year you have shot them in. (these folders have a lot of subfolders but for now forget about this).
Copy those year folders (copy, don't move because then you loose them from iPhoto which you should only do when all is save and you are only working in Bridge so keep them as back up in iPhoto for now)
Then point Bridge to a year folder in your new created folder as per above. You will get a bunch of folders so now use menu view / show items from subfolders to open all the subfolders with their images and let Bridge build its cache first.
You can use the sort option as you like and if you wish you can also batch rename the images with the shot date in front (yyyymmdd) and a sequence number (menu tools / batch rename, explore the many options first).
You can choose to move all the images of 2013 to the main 2013 folder to bypass the subfolder tree, etc etc, many options.
Be sure to have a proper back up of your files before starting to experiment.
Sadly enough labels are always application specific and seldom interchangeable and iPhoto uses a separate database to store the ratings in so they are not written to the file itself and you loose also ratings.
The other option is to sort all labels / ratings in iPhoto, then select the photos per rating and use the export option (choose original for export option) to predestinated folders (per rating) and then apply those ratings again in Bridge.

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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 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.

After editing a photo in Iphoto the picture loses it's file size

After editing a photo in Iphoto 09 version 8.1.2 the file size of the photo reads at 0 KB of memory, resulting in a corrupt photo that I can still see but I am unable to import it to Facebook or other sharing sources. I have tried a few methods to recover the problem by repairing iphoto by holding alt & command during startup and have also manually imported the same photo again from my camera to try it out again. The photos import on the iphoto app with a file size but shortly after editing some of the photos ( Enhancing and Boosting the colour ) they loose their file size. This problem is happening to numerous of my edited photos and I would love to be able to share them to the world!
Thank you for your help
I'm running Mac OS X 10.6.8

What version of iPhoto? Is OS X 10.6.8 as you state correct for your OS? How are you seeing the "file size"? what happens if you export one of these photos to the desktop - Exporting From iPhoto
LN

IPhoto can not find the original photo, does iPhoto copy the photo or just make a thumbnail?

Hi,
I'm scanning and putting all of my (paper) photos into my computer and then into iPhoto, tagging them, and doing all the time consuming things necessary to build a good library.
I've tried to open a few of the events and look at the photos I put in but I get an error that iPhoto can not find the original photo. When I put a photo into iPhoto does the program only make a thumbnail copy with a link to the original, or does it actually copy the photo into the library? I'm thinking the former. Because I have a Time Machine backup, a hard copy, and (presumably) a copy in iPhoto, I have been deleting the photos AFTER putting them into iPhoto. Do I need to keep the photos I put in iPhoto on my computer? Will I need to go into TM and restore them? Will I loose the information like Faces, Places, Keywords, if I do?
Thank you much,
I'm working with 9.1.2

I have exactly the same problem except my photo is named "L1000093.jpg" and it's been there for a year now, but suddenly, when I wanted to view it in it's album, ("Favorite" which has been there for a year too), it says "The photo P1010311.jpg cannot be found"!!! What the heck is going on? So I canceled, went back to the album, clicked on L1000093, clicked "show event", went over to Event, clicked "reveal in finder" and there it is, iPhoto Library/Master/blah blah blah... L1000093.jpg!
Where the hack did that P1010311.jpg came from? Sure I have that photo, but it's in a completely different event and a different album! What's is iPhoto 11 / Lion / iTunes 10.5.3(3) up to?
So I threw L1000093jpg into the trash, went into Lightroom, find the original, re-export it, load it again into iPhoto, added it again to the album (favorite), and guess what? I just did all those and the same "The bloody photo cannot be found" message popped up and when I go to finder, there it is.
This is a bug. It's been a bug since 2006 as far as I can remember. And Apple had never done a complete fix. It's an if thing!
And the most frustrating part: Althought they call this an Apple forum and you have to sign in to participate, I have never seen one Apple software guy here saying "this is what to do", just us victims helping each other and many non-Apple folks guessing to the best of their ability to comfort us.
Oh, toys are toys. I sometimes wonder if Steve had fought so hard yet the cancer in Apple actually won!

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Alzheimer: arbitrarily loosing Photos in iphoto '09

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