Big exclamation point

SOS
when i click on certain pics im my i-photo library, a big exclamation point shows up where my photo should. i can't export the photo or drag it to my desktop.
please help.
thanks.

nelson ram
The ! or ? turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
The most common cause of this is User Activity in the iPhoto Library Folder in the Finder.
Have you altered, moved or renamed anything in the iPhoto Library Folder?
If you haven't, then try rebuilding the database. Hold down the apple and option (or alt) keys and launch iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose the top three options.
If you have made changes in the iPhoto Library Folder via the Finder then your choices are:
1. Return things to precisely the way they were or
2. Create and populate a new library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same film rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library Folder to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library Folder on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual rolls to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library Folder on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
It is strongly advised that you do not move, change or in anyway alter things in the iPhoto Library Folder as this can cause the application to fail and even lead to data loss
Regards
TD

Similar Messages

HT1199 when I enlarge iPhoto, I get a big exclamation point. What can I do to resolve this issue?

When I enlarge a photo in iPhoto, I get a big exclamation point. What can I do? Also, a lot of my pictures are gone.

Gone from where?
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download <a href="http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/"><b><u>iPhoto Library Manager</b></u></a> 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.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 08* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.

I recently went to look at pictures in iphoto and once I click on them I get a black screen with an exclamation point?

It was fine yesterday? I can see the photos when I scroll over the "event" in iphoto but when I open it and click on a picture, It gives me a big exclamation point? Only on recent photos?

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
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 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

BIG EXPLAMATION POINT ON IPHOTO....HELP

I spent the weekend organizing my iPhoto library and my computer in general. Under my "finder" icon I have a file folder for pictures. I didn't think they were related to my iPhoto album and I deleted them ALL. My iphoto is still there in the same manner that I organized it. However, when I click on a picture, this big exclamation point shows up and no picture! If I click on the edit button, the picture is there. Did I just trash all my pictures? I haven't emptied my trash completey yet. Should I undo it, and will I have to re-organize everything that I just did? I

First determine if you're running a "managed" or "referenced" library:
If it's "managed" try the following:
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
2 - Run Option #4, Rebuild Database, followed by Option #1 if needed.
OT

Exclamation point pops up when viewing photos??

I just imported a set of photos from a new camera that I haven't imported from before. I can see all the pictures when scrolling through the album, but when I double click one to open it larger I get this big exclamation point image. iPhoto also fails to show the same set of pictures in an iPhoto slideshow, although it shows them in a screensaver-slideshow fine. It can't be the format, because they're JPEG just like all of my other pictures. What's wrong?

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
How to progress? Depends on the version of iPhoto. If it's 09 or later:
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 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 Photo and Exclamation Point

I am unable to see my photos - can see thumbnail but no others. Big exclamation point. Recently downloaded Mac Box Set. Tried to duplicate the library and it won't let me - states does not recognize. I am not a computer person, I still believe the little mice behind the screen are running things so be gentle with me.
Thank you
Peggy

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
What version of iPhoto? Assuming 09 or later:
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 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

When I create an album and then try to watch it in slideshow, I get only a black screen with a white title. No photos come up. Also when I click on an individual photo in the album, I get a white exclamation point on a black background but no big photo.

When I create an album of photos and then open the album and try to watch it by selecting "slideshow" I get only a black screen. The white title comes up briefly but then no photos, only a black screen. Also when I go back to the album and click on a thumbnail, up comes a big white exclamation point on a black background instead of the enlarged photo. Any idea what's going on?

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
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 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

When I click on my uploaded photos a big box with an exclamation point pops up?

After loading my photos on Iphoto when I click the photo to try and view it larger or at all, a grey box with an exclamation point comes onto the screen. How do I view my photos?

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
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 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

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I have recently consoladated files to an external drive following apple's instructions however think that this has contributed.
Please help.

Hi, TBJAPAN.
Why don't you try deleting the extra entries in the iTunes display and see where that leaves you.
MacMuse has a user tip you may find useful in this regard.

I am getting the "Original File Cannot Be Found" error with 4000 exclamation points. Please help...

To start from the beginning I originally kept my iTunes library on my internal hard drive. However, it was getting large and I needed to move it so I moved it to an external drive. Then I recently upgraded my internal hard drive to a 1 TB hard drive so that I would have plenty of space for everything. I then moved my iTunes library to the new drive, or so I thought. It is all technically there. (As you can see from the bottom screen shot.) However, for some reason iTunes is looking in the trash for a good portion of my library. (I have 4400+ songs and 4000+ of them are showing the exclamation point and this error.) I know that I must have done all of the moving around incorrectly. (I followed directions from some blog I googled, big mistake.) Now I just want to get my library how it should be. All back together on this new internal drive with no dups etc.
I have over 4000 songs giving me this error. I can go in one by one on each song and find it in the iTunes Media folder. But I certainly don't want to do it that way. Here is the info on where the song(s) seem to be currently:
Here's a shot of my preferences:
Just FYI, I know that apparently iTunes is looking for this music in the trash. However, if I go here:
Then I find the music there as well. (Which is where it is in my preferences.)
Please help! I don't want to have to go through over 4000 songs and update them one by one. The music is apparently in both the trash and in my iTunes media folder. How do I get iTunes to look for these 4000+ songs in the right place without going in one by one to fix them?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi JJuniper,
When tracks in iTunes display a it means the file cannot be located; it may have been moved or deleted. For this issue, we will need to refer to the following article:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
Alternatively, if your media was downloaded from the iTunes Store, you may be able to download it again free of charge. You'll want to first delete the tracks from your list in iTunes, then access the purchased page:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519
Thanks,
Matt M.

Photo GONE? grey exclamation point in iPhoto6

Okay...this is crap. Apparently if you do ANY EDITING to any picture whatsoever outside of iPhoto itself (this includes using things like Photoshop), EVEN IF ITS UNDER THE SAME EXACT NAME, for some reason, iPhoto can't retrieve the the actual file again and a big grey exclamation point appears in place of your photo.
yeah thanks apple. so much for "ease of use".
white macbook Mac OS X (10.4.8)
looking to get a macbook

iPhoto can handle many formats. The caveat is that the format not be changed. If you do, while going thru iPhoto to edit, create a layered or other type of edited file that requires the psd extension you need to do a Save As to the desktop and then import as a new file.
I've run some tests editing files in the Originals folder with Photoshop that I accessed outside iPhoto and did not get the "!".
Do any of those "!" files have the Revert to Original menu option available? If so activate it to get the original file back. I doubt if you'll find any but it's worth a try.
If you know which files they are and can find them via the Finder you can copy them to the desktop, delete them from within iPhoto as you normally would and then re-import from the Desktop.
Using 2 Image Editors in iPhoto
If you want to use both iPhoto's editing mode and Photoshop or Photoshop Elements without having to go back and forth to the Preference pane, once you've selected PE/PSE as your editor of choice, reset the Preferences back to "Open in main window". Then if you can Control-click on an image, the drop down menu will allow you to edit in your selected external editor.

Link Photos back to thumbnails when getting exclamation point?

I am getting an exclamation point when I click on certain thumbnails after my wife moved some photos by accident. It will be a total pain to reimport and such. We have found the photos that match the thumbnails...so we have say Photo1 at 170x180 or whatever and Photo1 at 3,270x1000...is there a way to tell iPhoto that the big Photo1 belongs to Photo1 the thumbnail? Rejoin them as it were?

DCLevy
Sorry but it won't.
The Poster on this thread is try to recover from moving things in his/her iPhoto Library Folder via the Finder: he knows what was done and it was deliberately (if in error).
You, on the other hand
I haven't modified that file, that I know of anyway.
have done nothing like this and it sounds like your db needs rebuilding.
You have a Mini with a MS keyboard? Have you tried posting on the Mini forum to see if anyone there knows equivalent keys?
Regards
TD

Exclamation point in iPhoto after transferring with Time Machine

Hi there -- I just got a new MacBook Pro, upgrading from a MacBook from 2008. On my old MacBook, I used Time Machine to back up my entire computer, including all my photos in iPhoto. On my old MacBook, all of my photos in iPhoto seem fine. However, I used Time Machine to set up my new MacBook Pro, but there is a big issue with the photos in iPhoto. When I first opened iPhoto on the MacBook Pro, it asked me if I wanted to upgrade my library or something like that. I said yes. Now, there appear to be tons of photos missing, particularly from recent "events." By missing, I mean that there is neither a thumbnail image, nor is there an actual photo when I click on it -- it's the black screen with the grey exclamation point. These seem to be scattered throughout many of my "events," however, with some events missing all the photos and other events missing photos seemingly at random.
I have seen other posts about holding down option and command while starting iPhoto and repairing/rebuilding the library. I have tried this and it didn't work. Because the photos all seem fine on my old MacBook, I'm guessing the best option is to just try to re-load my photos in some way from Time Machine. I have been unable to find a post, however, that explains how I can import just the photos from my Time Machine. There are hundreds of photos that seem to be affected and as I stated, they seem to be at random, so it's not as easy as just picking a few out.
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The account name is shown in the left column of the info window. Click the + to add an account.
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http://www.iwebformusicians.com/iWeb/iWeb-Tips.html

Exclamation points to the extreme.

My internal hard drive crash last week and I replaced it with a new one. I have most of my music on my iPod (an additional 40 gb not on my iPod but somewhere on an external that I can locate later.) Anyway, I transferred over the music from my iPod into a desktop folder, and then into my iTunes. And then I did something crazy. In an attempt to get back my playlists and playcounts, I overwrote the new iTunes database .xml and .tl files with the ones I'd saved from my crashed hard drive. I have all my playcounts and playlists back except--I have about 15,000 exclamation points next to the songs. I was under the impression iTunes would automatically relocate all the songs in a folder if I just chose a few, but it's not recognizing more than one at a time and is making me do every individual song. I'm noticing that most (but not all) of the missing songs are labeled in the finder by the four letter iPod tags (like, ABDF.mp3), and when I drag them into iTunes, they take back on the correct name and artist. I'm not sure if they were always the four letter tags from the moment I took it from my iPod, or if that happened only when I overwrote the database file.
I've been going for hours and I've only just started on the Cs. After finding no answers on Google about my very daunting situation, I've decided it's probably worth it to ask and see if anyone has any recommendations of something to do. I'm realizing at this point I've done something wrong to get my playlists and playcounts back. So maybe my main question is--what was the right way to do this so maybe I can start back over? And is there anything I can do now to salvage what I've already started?
I'm using an iPod classic and a 2010 MacBook Pro. The original iTunes files were from whatever software I had originally purchased the Mac with in 2010. Now I have Mavericks if that makes any sort of difference.
Thanks!

After a lot of try and error I found the problem. At least part of it.
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Taking the plunge - external drive and exclamation points

Okay...
I have cried for help on this forum before about the somewhat common problem of iTunes 7 having a strange relationship with music on my external drive. The drive in question is a Lacie 250 GB Firewire drive.
A few months ago, out of the blue, one day I opened iTunes to find a sea of exclamation points. Though all the music I had added after a particular date was there, most of the music I had added prior to that was tagged with the exclamation. When I'd try to play one of these songs, iTunes would say it could not be found, though I could manually locate it and things would work fine. I tried a few fixes recommended on this forum by well-meaning but misguided people that resulted in a few sets of duplicate playlists but no fix to the problem. Then, one day, out of the blue again...it started working fine.
I don't even recall having restarted the computer. iTunes had just fixed the problem somehow.
Well, now the problem is back, and I've dealt with it for about a month. But I'm not convinced that it will just go away this time. So, even if I destroy my painstakingly cultivated hundreds of playlists, ratings, play history and comprehensive information (artwork, composer, etc.), I am determined to fix this problem without manually locating over 10,000 songs.
I am posting my attempts here as a record that will hopefully help those struggling with this problem in the future. Though I would welcome any and all comments or questions, I have frankly come to expect very little assistance or even the willingness to assist from this forum (that is to say, I imagine my unresolved question will languish for awhile as a monologue until I either fix the problem or die).
The first thing I will do (after doing a final backup, of course) is to determine whether it makes a difference if an updated version of my iTunes library file and .xml are in the Music folder (on my hard drive) or in my Musica folder (on the external drive). The latest edition of the file is currently on the external drive.
So, here we go...
Grant
Dual 1GHz G4, 1G RAM, 80G HD Mac OS X (10.4.9) iPod (1st Gen), iPod Shuffle (1st Gen), iPod Mini, External HD

Well, I've made quite a mess of things. So I have 14,000 songs. Most were added years ago. Looking at the date added in correlation with the exclamation points, it seems as though iTunes forgot the location of most of the songs added before 5/9/06. Mind you, iTunes worked fine (with the exception of doing this whole thing once before) until about a month ago. So, in May 2007, iTunes forgot most of what happened before 5/9/06.
(For reference purposes, the gap seems to exist between two songs I downloaded. "Help Me, Ronda" by the Beach Boys is the last song with an exclamation point in the date added list (see two exceptions below). "Proud Mary" by Ike & Tina Turner, on the other hand, is exclamation point free and only a couple of songs added after "Proud Mary" have exclamation points. They are:
Freedom, by Richie Havens, added 6/3/06.
Slow Free Bird, by Geesekey, added 12/17/06, a song I made in Garageband.
Now, don't let me give you the impression that there is a solid wall of exclamation points up to "Help Me, Rhonda." Maybe about every 10/20 songs, there is a song with no exclamation point that plays fine. Following Jase's lead before (his advice to another user), I have investigated some of these songs that work fine, but can't find any reason why these work and others don't (any difference in the iTunes Library.xml, files created with/without track number, etc.).
So, here's what happened in the past couple of days: I dragged my "iTunes Music" folder (located in my "Musica" folder on the external drive) into the iTunes source list). Most everything was duplicated, with the new songs playing just fine but lacking ratings and play history. Also, the new songs were not included on any playlists.
What I did next was poorly executed. I sorted iTunes by the Date Added and selected the first few thousand (roughly, A-J; seeing them according to the Date Added reveal that they weren't added in exactly a linear fashion). I hit the delete button and selected "Remove", but I then told iTunes to "Move to Trash." What I should have done, I imagine, is told iTunes to "Keep Files". So, my A-J songs are now deleted off the External Drive and gone (though I have backup DVDs generated by the iTunes "Back up to Disc" feature).
What should I do next? is the pressing question. Should I rip everything out and start from scratch with my backup discs? I guess the question I would have with that approach is this: if I restore from backup discs made three months ago, will I still have all my playlists, ratings and play history as they were when I made the backup? If that's the case, that'd be fine with me...I just want to make sure that's what will happen. Also, I have a backup of my iTunes Library file before I've done all this crazy stuff of the past few days, so if that enters into the equation, let me know.
Otherwise, let me address your comments, Jase.
Anyway, here's a question. Can you export your
playlists, even though they're made up of songs with
exclamation marks? If so, you could try exporting one
of them as an XML file. Then import it--you'll
probably wind up with duplicates (playlists, not
songs). Does the newly imported playlist play, or
does it still have the exclamation mark problem? I
wouldn't know what to expect, but it might be worth a
try.
My playlists themselves are all still the same as they were (though there are exclamation marks all over the place). From what I can tell, they look fine when exported to an .xml (the music folder seems to have the correct path). When I import it, it's the same deal: exclamation points at the same places.
If your playlists are exportable, you might want to
export them to XML files, just so you'll have those
little databases of them. Then, if worse came to
worse and you had to give up on your current Library
file and reload your Music folder into a new library,
at least there's a chance you could import your
playlists and not have to build them again from
scratch (assuming nothing has changed in terms of the
organization of your Music folder).
I'm not willing to export every playlist, because I have hundreds and it would just take too long. Is there a way to export all or a lot of playlists at once? Anyway, I figured that my playlist data was stored somehow in the iTunes Library file, so I felt I had a backup already. I could be wrong about this, though, as I really don't understand much about the iTunes Library file and .xml and the like.
Can you drag songs that have exclamation marks into a
playlist? Somehow, I doubt it. But if you can, you
could use new playlists to make a record of some
information that you might want to save if you had to
start all over again with a new Library.
Believe it or not, I can add songs with an exclamation point into playlists and they're added just fine (though, they still have the exclamation point). How this works is: I can't drag and drop them into a playlist. However, I can control-click and select "Add to Playlist" and it works. There's another mystery for you.
Have you looked at your iTunes Library.xml file --
specifically at the location information for
individual songs -- to see if the location
information exactly matches the information you see
in the Finder? I have found mismatches when
investigating some exclamation marked files. I didn't
know how that happened, and I didn't know what to
about it, but it was intriguing to see evidence of
some iTunes mischief.
Is the iTunes feature to start music file names with
the track number turned on? To my mind, fewer missing
song file problems occur when this is on.
Yes and yes. Based on what you told others, I have looked at the .xml of some of the problem songs and the working ones and could find no difference, but I didn't really know what I was supposed to be looking for. I also use the Add Track Number feature and always have.
If you still have the 28,000 songs in your Library
and want to go back to the 14,000, you could sort all
your songs by Date Added and delete the ones you
added on June 21. Or, if you saved a copy of your
iTunes Library file before you dragged your iTunes
Music folder into the library, you could just throw
out the more recent Library file and reinstitute the
back-up copy.
I probably should have done the latter (just restore the backup of the iTunes Library file). Oh well...
Some advice for future experiments. Try them with a
small sample if possible unless you're absolutely
sure they will work the way you want them to. For
example, drag one album in your Music folder into
iTunes rather than the whole Music folder.
This is a great idea. I wish I would have checked my sample more closely or done more tests before I plunged off the cliff.
Back up your iTunes Library file, as well as your
Music folder. (You might already do this.)
Check.
Those are a few things to think about. They probably
will not be helpful. Like I said, I don't think there
are clear answers to this problem. The best I can
wish for you is that iTunes will magically fix the
problem, like it did once before. Then, maybe there
are some preventive measures you can take.
Since iTunes did fix it once before, I would not
throw your current iTunes Library file away, no
matter what. If you decide to start a new library so
that you can actually listen to your music, rename
this Library file and keep it around, since it has a
lot of your metadata in it. You can try it every now
and then and see if iTunes spontaneously revives it.
Okay, I will post what I do next, provided that I don't hear any compelling advice and make my own decision (though I should be even more gun-shy after my recent blunders).
Grant

Big exclamation point

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