Can i put iphoto library on external disk?

i'd like put my iphoto source library on an external disk to keep space free on my startup disk. i can do this in itunes pretty easily. having trouble finding a way to do it in i photo. is it possible? (i'm not talking about backing up, but putting the primary library on an external drive).

Mark
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library Folder as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

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Can't read iPhoto library from external drive

I suddenly can't can't read iPhoto library from external drive. I have talked to WD and nohing is wrong with the network drive. I can open images and files from it. But, I can't read in iPhoto Library.

Network Drive? a NAS?
iPhoto needs to have the Library sitting on disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Users with the Library sitting on disks otherwise formatted regularly report issues including, but not limited to, importing, exporting, saving edits and sharing the photos.
Basically, you need to move the library to a correctly formatted disk.

Can't Open iPhoto Library on External Hard Drive

Hi, please help!
I currently have 2 iPhoto libraries. 1 is on my external hard drive- and isn't recognized by iPhoto anymore. And the other is a newer one, on my internal hard drive.
Here's what I did:
I copied my entire iPhoto library to my external hard drive (it is a Seagate, Mac OS extended drive) a few months ago, and I went ahead and deleted my iPhoto library on my internal hard drive. Then I started importing new photos from my camera, and a new iphoto library was created automatically on my internal hard drive.
I tried to access photos from my old library yesterday by plugging my external hard drive in, and by hitting the "option" key when opening iphoto. Unfortunately, when I search for the library on my external HD, the only items that appear are music. None of my loose photos or my iphoto library are recognized by iPhoto.
Anyone have a fix for this? iPhoto doesn't recognize that any jpgs/photos are on my hard drive, but when I go through finder- I can see my library, as well as many other jpgs stored on my hard drive.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
Sounds like iPhoto is not seeing a valid database there.
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 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.
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.
Regards
TD

Can't copy Iphoto library from external drive to hard drive

I have a 210 gig iphoto library that I am trying to copy from an external hard drive with 440 gig of avaliable space. I am getting a message say it can't copy because there is not enough space. The math doesn't add up

Try the following:
1 - run Disk Utility and repair disk permissions.
2 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
3 - Run Option #4, Rebuild Database, followed by Option #1.
4 - try dragging the library to your internal drive again.
OT

I lost my iPhoto library on external disk so how do I recover iPhone photos to iPhoto on MacBook?

I moved all of my photos to an external disk. No other backup. Big mistake. Now, how do I transfer photos on my iPhone (albums, events, faces) to my MacBook iPhoto library, which is now empty?

It sounds like you were running a "referenced" library? Were you?
Click to view full size
If you didi and you moved the photos to the EHD you would get a "Can't find XXXXX" message when you try to view a photos. Is that what you get?
Are those photos still on the EHD? You'll have to explain in more detail exactly what you did and how you did it before we can give you any suggestions on how to get back in business.
OT

Can't transfer iPhoto library to external drive

Hi guys,
Need some help here.
My hard disk ran out of space and I am trying to transfer all of my photos in iphoto library into my external hard drive, which I have been using for my PC. I tried dragging the library icon to my external drive icon, but I kept getting the "block" sign and it simply would not allow me to transfer the library.
I've attached the screen shot of this to help you better understand what's going on.
Can you PLEASE help?
Thanks!

what format is the external drive? If you used it with a PC it is incorrect for iPhoto - iPhoto must be on a drive formatted Mac OS extended (journaled)
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

Can't move iPhoto library to external drive

My poor little iMac only has 200 MB of hard drive space on it, so I need to make some room! I'd already moved my iTunes library from it last year, but I figured now I need to move my iPhoto library to my external hard drive too.
I went to Apple help for instructions, which said drag the iPhoto library folder to the hard drive. I couldn't find an icon that looked like a folder in Pictures, but I found an icon that said "iPhoto Library" so I moved that icon to my external hard drive. On the hard drive, the icon turned into a blank document icon. I put my iMac's iPhoto library in the trash, reopened iPhoto, selected "choose library" and tried to choose the iPhoto library that was on the external hard drive, but it was grayed out, so I couldn't! I went through all these steps several times.
Also, just for curiosity's sake, I double clicked on the iPhoto library blank icon on the external hard drive. It said it needed an application to work with it, so I tried to choose iPhoto, but that wasn't working either.
I have iLife '08, by the way. The hard drive is a 250GB WD. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

What is the size of the resulting file on the external HD? Also how is the external HD formatted? If it's one of the FAT formats for PCs that may be the problem. Try copying that file back to your desktop and see if it will reconvert back to a library. If that's the case, reformat the HD to OS X Extended (journaled).
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 created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), 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 08 libraries and Leopard. 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.

Restore iphoto library from external disk backup

Dear all,
I need to restore all the iPhoto library after have backup and formatted my MacBook pro with iPhoto11.
Before to format the hard disk I have copied all the "Pictures" folder to an external HDD and it also includes a file named "iPhoto Library".
Then I have formatted the hard disk, installed the OS Montain Lion and iPhoto11 and the iPhoto library was empty at the beginning.
I tried to simply copy the file "iPhoto Library" from the external hard drive backup and substitute the original emply file. Then when I run the iPhoto it said "iPhoto library was probably created with a newer version of iPhoto and cannot be opened" and I could just quit. So I have restored the original empty file.
I've noticed that the file "iPhoto Library" is an archive and can be opened by itself. Is there a way to copy the right files from that archive?
I tried to find a solution in the website http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2504 but it's not valid in my case.
Hope you guys can help me since I had very important pictures in the archive!!
Thanks in advance.
GP

Depress and hold the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - rebuild your iPhoto library
LN

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This only started happening when I upgraded from iLife'06 to iLife'08.
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That's a problem that many are posting about. Haven't read of a solution yet. Be sure to report the problem to Apple at: http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphoto.html.
Do you Twango?
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I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), 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 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Can't transfer iPhoto Library FROM external hard drive to iMac

I just bought a new iMac. Before I said goodbye to my old computer (a MacBook), I dutifully backed up my iPhoto library onto an external hard drive. Upon setting up my iMac, I easily accessed the iPhoto library on my HD, but I didn't import it. I was able to see all photos, albums, etc.
But when I went to import the entire iPhoto library into my iMac's hard drive (into the Pictures folder), it wouldn't import. A mesage comes up that says "Preparing to copy" and the blue-and-white bar just spins and spins, without actually copying anything. So, it's weird -- there's clearly communication between iMac and external HD, but I can't take the iPhoto library off the hard drive to make it my new computer's iPhoto library.
Any hints? Thanks.

Have you tried restarting your machine?

Can't open iphoto library from external hard drive

I'm backing up my enormous iPhoto library to two external hard drives in order to free up space on my computer. Before deleting the photos permanently from the laptop, I wanted to double-check that the copies of the library I made on the two externals would actually work on another computer, should something happen to my laptop. When I plug my external hard drive into my laptop and use option+click on iPhoto to choose which library I want to use, it opens up the library from the external just fine, no problems. However, when I plug the same external into a different Mac computer and do the same process, I get the immensely frustrating message of "You can't open photo library blah blah blah changes have been made using newer version of iPhoto". However, both my laptop and the second computer are running the exact same version of iPhoto (the most recent), so that can't (or at least shouldn't) be the problem. I found suggestions to rebuild the library, which I did, but the same result occurs. I double-checked to be sure that neither computer needed updates (they didn't).
When I plug one of the externals into the second computer, though, I can open up the package contents of iPhoto library and all the photos are visible, so I know the information is all there. But I don't want to lose my albums, etc.
So do I just delete the copies of my library from the externals and try it all over again? I'd prefer not to, since I have 40,000+ photos, and that takes a while.

To reinforce what Larry pointed out both Macs must be running the same version of iPhoto. And the external HD must be formatted as shown in this screenshot:
and don't forget the ignore ownership.
OT

I can not move iPhoto library to external

I cleared out (formatted) a WD HD and want to use it for my external iPhoto library. My Macbook Pro is not big enough to house 400GB of photos. When I select iPhoto library from pictures and drag it to my HD it has a little xed out white circle. Can anyone tell me why this will not let me move the library?

I just did a windows format since I could not do anything on my Mac. Looking up how to format a HD for a Mac was helpful and I am now moving my photo library YEAH!! Thanks!

Can't access iPhoto library on external hard drive (from Mavericks days) now that I'm running Yosemite on my Macbook.

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"Photos" won't open my iPhoto library. Ideas for how to import that iPhoto Library into Photos?
What is the file system of the external drive, and how is the drive connected? DO you get an error message? If yes, which message?
You can only open a library on a directly connected drive, formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled). If the drive is correctly formatted, hold down the alt/options key while you are launching photos, and then select your library from the Library Chooser Panel.
If the library is not listed in the panel, use the "Other Library" button.

Can I have iPhoto library on external disc?

I needed more space on my laptops harddisc, and moved the whole iPhoto library to an external firewire disc. How can I tell iPhoto where to find the pictures?
I have iPhoto 2.0.1
Thankful for help....
Øystein

The "option" key at launch does nothing for iPhoto 2, but what does work quite well is iPhoto Help. Search for the topic "switching between photo libraries" and should find what you need.
You did, of course, make sure that the external drive was formatted as "Mac OS Extended" before moving your iPhoto Library folder there, didn't you?

Can't open iPhoto library on External HD

Saved photo library on iMac (iPhoto '08 version 7.1.5) to external HD (Mac OS Extended - journaled), it shows 50GB of photos saved, which is the correct size.
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iPhoto opens new library but there are no photos only a yellow sticky note that asks to either connect a camera, drag files or import photos.
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Any suggestions?

I dragged the iPhoto library from the Pictures folder to a WD EHD.
The iPhoto library from the iMac is backed up with Time Michine on a Lacie EHD. How do I rebuild the database on the WD EHD? When I open iPhoto while holding the option and commansd keys it opens the library on the iMac. It took 18 hours to move the library to the EHD and I would rather not have to do that again. I would rather rebuild the library on the EHD.
Thanks for your help.

Can i put iphoto library on external disk?

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