Changed locations of entire Library by mistake

Hi, I just did something silly. I forgot I had selected all the pics in my library, then change the location of one of them, without realises that it would change the location of each and every one of them. I have a back up but this was a merged library that took hrs to merge. I tried to "edit undo" the change, but it won't. Is there any way to undo this editing error, or do I need to start again with a fresh merge?

Hi all, thanks for replying.
Ok some more details. I have, over a few yrs, created a number (about 4) different iphoto libraries. Some on diff computers, some on the same computer. There are duplicated and copies of some pics all over the shop. So I decided to merge them all into one (and possibly import them into Aperture when the merge was complete). I purchase iPhoto Library Manager for $20USD. It seems to do a good job. Although I still ended up with some duplicates, but that might be my fault. Anyway when the merge was completed, I was inspecting the library (now about 20,000 strong). I select all to check the total number and do some checks on the totals in the other libraries. Then (forgetting I had all selected) I clicked on the "i" in an event (I knew all the pics in it had a specific location - say Sydney) and checked that it was still sydney. It wasn't. So without thinking I quickly changed it to Sydney. Oops, I have now changed all the 20,000 pics's location to Sydney. I tried to use the Edit - undo, but this failed.
I can do the merge again, but I thought there might be a way of "un-doing" this bulk location change.
Is that enough info to possibly offer an ideas or suggestions.
Thanks all for reading,
PK

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1. Is there any software that will keep the iPhoto library in sync with another external folder structure, making changes as necessary when photos are added/modified? (This is a long shot I know).
No.
2. Assuming not can I export the entire library to the windows PC? If I can what happens to the folder structure and file names? Is it possible to export just changes from a point in time?
You can export the files easily using the File -> Export command. A app like *_[Iphoto To Disk|http://www.Iphototodisk.com>_* will help automate the process for you.
3. Are exported photos always the latest version of the photo including any edits that have been made?
No, not always. If you choose 'Originals' in the export dialogue that's what you'll get.
'm struggling to understand how Albums, Projects and Events relate to the underlying folder structure that I am used to.
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I prefer to have the photos organised into smaller folders by month, preferably with the date and time in the filename. Is there a way to force iPhoto to maintain this type of structure?
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What you can do is run a Referenced Library.
*I strongly caution you against doing this because you are inexperienced with Macs and iPhoto*
It's a limited way to meet your requirements. You can decide how to store the unedited photos only. You still have no access to the edited ones except via iPhoto. Really, the best this offers is some comfort for people who have a burning need to see where the files are on the HD. It offers no functionality.
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Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
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*Some things to consider:*
1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
4. Because iPhoto has no tools for managing Referenced Files, if, for some reason, the path to the photos changes then you could find yourself resolving aliases for +each photo in the Library+ one by one.
My own opinion:
I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organiser
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library 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.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
*For Users of 10.5 and later*
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.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
*For users of 10.4 and later* ...
Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
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 later:
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
Regards
TD
Message was edited by: Terence Devlin

Terrance Devlin answered a question about iPhoto (4-2012) re:copying iPhoto Library to an ExHD, and losing all the albums. I can't locate the "Choose Library" when I open iPhoto with the opt button. Can anyone help?

I tried to move my images (over 25,000) to an External Hard drive to open up some memory, hoping to make my computer run faster. It took three hours to move the images and I see them all in the mac's menus. However when I try to open them with iPhoto now, none appeared. and when I tried to import them back to the main HD they come in to iPhoto just fine, but not with the albums nor any of the massive organization i'd created in the original. this represents years of images, and I can't imagine that I'd have to recopy them into folders/albums again.
Terrance Devlin answered a similar question back in April of last year. He said to make sure the ExHD is formatted to MAC OS Extended (Journaled) and to move the library to the ExHD and then open iPhoto with the option button and select "Choose Library" from the resulting menu.
Command "I" tells me that the new drive is formatted correctly. I can't locate the "Choose Library" when I open iPhoto with the opt button.
First, I wondered if the application needs to be on the same drive as the Library. I sure would like to know if I can find out how to restore all the folders I had them in. Terrance's advice helped the user that had asked the question.
Here's the url for that archived discussion: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3849933?start=0&tstart=0
Can anyone help? I'm using iPhoto 5. My MAC is an OS X version 10.4.11.
thanks, brokenlom

Here are Apple's instructions:
If you are using iPhoto ’06 or earlier, you will need to follow these steps to tell iPhoto where the Library is now located:
Hold down the Option key on the keyboard and open iPhoto. Keep the Option key held down until you are prompted to create or choose an iPhoto Library.
Click Choose Library.
Locate and select the iPhoto Library in its new location.
(from http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1229 )
Below (in the link below) is what you should see when holding down the option key and opening iPhoto. Keep holding down the option key until this dialogue comes up. You want to select the Choose Library button.
http://appleclinic.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/change-default-dir-iphoto/

Changed locations of entire Library by mistake

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