Combining iPhoto Libraries

I am trying to copy photos from one library to an existing library. The goal is to have one library with the photos from the 'old' library merged with the 'new' library
My details:
I have an iPhoto library on my old iMac.
I have an existing iPhoto library on my newer MBP
I copied the old iPhoto library (the one I want to import into the newer library) to an external hard drive, cleverly titled 'iPhoto library'
Dragging the old 'iPhoto library' to the new, exisitng 'iPhoto library' doesnt work, i'm assuming because they are the same name
Here's my trouble:
I have heard to never import photos into iPhoto as it messes up the organization of the current library - having experianced this before I'm hesitant to do it again.
How do I easily move/copy the existing photos on the iPhoto library (on the EHD) into the library on the MBP?
Thank you!

I copied the old iPhoto library (the one I want to import into the newer library) to an external hard drive, cleverly titled 'iPhoto library'
First of all, how is your external drive formatted? Make sure your drive is formatted MacOS X Extended (Journaled) before you move any photo libraries there. And set the flag "Ignore Ownership on this Volume in the "Sharing & Permissions" section of the "FIle > Get Info" panel for this drive.
Newer iPhoto versions will not be able to open a photo library on a drive with a different formatting.
Dragging the old 'iPhoto library' to the new, exisitng 'iPhoto library' doesnt work, i'm assuming because they are the same name
No, that is not the problem. The problem is, that iPhoto has no built-in features to merge photo libraries; the advanced Pro version "Aperture" has, but not iPhoto.
In iPhoto you will have to export the photos from your old library to a set of folders and then to import these folders in your new library. But this way you will lose all your albums and projects, like books, slideshows.
A better way would be to invest in iPhoto Library Manager - a really versatile tool to have in addition to iPhoto - and use it to merge the two libraries into one:
http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/
See this discussion: merge iphoto libraries with iphoto library manager
Regards
Léonie

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How do I combine iPhoto libraries?

I just got back from a long weekend at a car show. I took almost 2,800 photos and imported them into iPhoto on my Macbook.
Now I am home and I want all the photos on my MacPro. Can anyone tell me how to bring the pictures from one computer to another smoothly?
Thanks!

The only current solution to merging libraries and moving photos between libraries while maintaining their full data and structure is the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager
LN

How to combine iphoto libraries

I want to import an iphoto library from another computer to my computers iphoto library from an external. How do I do this? I want all of the pictures from my library and the imported library together. When I try to move it asks if I want to replace my current library. How do I make both libraries into one?

The only way to merge Libraries is with the paid ($20) version of iPhoto Library Manager
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TD

Combining iPhoto libraries from different computers?

Hi all!
I have a question I could use some help on --
I would like to import an iPhoto library from a friend's computer into my iPhoto library. Specifically, I want to add a iPhoto folder of hers containing a bunch of photos that are already labeled. Is that possible to do? I would normally just import the photos directly, except for the fact that she painstakingly already labeled/dated the photos in her iPhoto library and would hate to have to re-label everything.
Thanks for any suggestions.
A.P.

Hi alexandra,
I need to know more info about the folder of images.
Is it just a folder of images she exported from her library? When you double click the folder to open it, what are the names of the images?
Or is it instead a CD that mounts within iPhoto?

Merging iPhoto Libraries- will events carry forward?

I am exploring unifying my iPhoto libraries. To keep the size of the main library down, I have removed the majority of photos from older events and placed in alternate libraries( eg a vacation library). Will I be able to combine the events back together in Aperture unified, or should I manually combine them back before switching over?

Hi,
See this document: It will tell you, which Aperture and iPhoto versions are compatible with the new, unified library format:
Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture
The newer vesions of Aperture and iPhoto are using the same library format.
Aperture can combine iPhoto libraries into one library and keep the events and albums.
This document describes how to do this: Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries
So you could create a new library in Aperture and import your iPhoto libraies into this library, using the command "File > Import > Library". This will preserve your old events and albums, edits, tags.
Only remember to unhide all hidden photos in iPhoto; you cannot unhide them in Aperture.
And backup all libraries, before doing a major reorganisation.
Regards
Léonie

HT1229 I have several iPhoto libraries. How can I combine them to make one?e new library?

I have several iPhoto libraries. How can I combine them to make one?

iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ -
or the current version of Aperture can merge libaries from the current version of iPhoto
LN

Have THREE iPhoto Libraries...How can I combine them? Plus most ALIASES!

I have read some of the forum topics that I hope can help me. I have iPhoto 2 and when I messed up my iBook OS 10.2.8, I lost the iPhoto ( about 2K pictures :-()
Now i have the 'puter back but still missing the iPhoto. I have found Three(3) iPhoto Libraries with "Find"...all are just labeled "iPhoto Library".NONE have numbers after the iPhoto Library...each has a different amount of "items" listed as being in the folder. 156 items, 126 items, and 30 items . ALL have photos NOT in the other Library folders.
All three have different pathways:
156 items:(user name)/Desktop 2/iPhoto folder-12/07**/iPhoto Library;
127 items:(user name)/Desttop 2/iPoto folder1/26/08**all alias/ iPhoto Library;
30 items: (user name)/Pictures 2/iPhoto 2/iPhoto Library.
My question is:
1. Is there a simple way to combine these so I have ONE iPhoto Library with ALL the photos in it???
2. Most, not all, of the photos are "Aliases" but I can see the photos in "Preview"..but can't move them into an iPhoto blank folder.
I gather I need to solve the "Alias" problem FIRST? right?I need to match the "Aliases" with their originals...
Then hopefully move photos into the largest iPhoto Library with the 156 items in it. Is there a simple way to do this???

OK...so I now have the MAJOR iPhoto Lib. I thought I'd lost (thanks to all your help steerin' me in the right direction).:-)
I want to get the photos FROM the other two smaller Libraries and switch them to the BIG Lib. I now have....Is there a KB that will tell me how to do that...without having to move the BIG Library I have retrieved???
Like, can I move the smaller Lib.s to the desktop and take out the photos by dragging them into the BIG iPhoto Lib.?...as there are many duplicates in the two smaller Lib.s that I don't need to add to the BIG iPhoto Library.
The iPhoto Help " Switching between photo libraries"sez
"1. Quit iPhoto;
2. Rename your current Photo Library folder in the Finder or move it to a new location on your HD.;
3 Open iPhoto;
4 Click Find Library;
5.Choose the library you want to display.;
6. Click open.
The library appears in the iPhoto viewing area."
I DO NOT want to switch between lib.s, I want to MOVE photos FROM the smaller lib.s to the BIG iPhoto Library, so I will have only ONE iPhoto Lib. to deal with.Consolidation NOT switching....
Am I making sense here?????

Can I combine two iPhoto libraries?

Following on from my previous post - "Missing Photos" - (what an idiot I am).
I now have two iphoto libraries with approx 10% differing content, ie they have about 90% the same. The largest is around 36GB.
How do I combine the two libraries?
One way I guess, would be to dump the smaller into the larger, and then run a program to eliminate the duplicates.
(iPhoto only rejects duplicates with the same name, many of mine have been renamed.)
Or is there a better way?

You can use iPhoto Library Manager and it’s Merge feature.
Regards
TD

HT1229 How can i combine two iPhoto libraries together?

Hi all,
I am just transferring all my music and photos new a new computer and have photos in two separate libraries. Is there an easy way to combine these?
One is a folder from pre '08 and the other is a package from post '08.
Any assistance would be great. Thanks

fsumax wrote:
I exported the photos from one library into a folder and imported them into the library I wanted as a default. Then deleted the library I did not want to keep. It worked well.
Not really
You did not merge libraries - you now have one version of the photos in the old library with some (probably not all) metadata - the only possible ways to actually merge iPhoto libraries is using Aperture or IPLM - exporting is not an option to merge libraries - it is a way to include a selected version of a photo in another library
LN

How do you combine mutable iphoto libraries and clean up duplicates

how do you combine multiple iphoto libraries and clean up duplicates

If not the only answer is the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager -http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - and maybe duplicate annihaliator -http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/18748/duplicate-annihilator
You must have IPLM as stated - you may also need DA depending on how thing go with the merge
LN

Combining two IPhoto Libraries

I have studied various articles on this subject but not uncovered a solution.
What I want to achieve is to combine / merge two separate IPhoto libraries into one.
I run OSX 10.6.2 and IPhoto 09.
If this is impossible which I think it may be, does anyone know if it's to be implemented in a future release of the ILife suite?.
Words of wisdom and insight on this would be most welcome.
My view is this feature should have been incorporated into the 09 edition.

The only way to do this is to use the Merge command in the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager.
does anyone know if it's to be implemented in a future release of the ILife suite?.
No one here knows what plans Apple has for the future. If they did the NDAs would prevent them from commenting.
My view is this feature should have been incorporated into the 09 edition.
Why the 09 edition? Not any of the others?
iPhoto menu -> Provide iPhoto Feedback for Feature Requests.
Regards
TD

Combining multiple iPhoto libraries into 1.

I have 4 different iPhoto libraries on my external hard drive that I collected in the last 5 years. I'm tired of switching libraries each time I need to see a different time period. What is the easiest and best way to organize everything in one place? I hear that Apeture is good for this. IS there a video tutorial that covers this process?

The best way woud indeed be Aperture: Here is a knowlege base article by Apple explaining the procedure:
Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries
Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture
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Regards
Léonie

Two iPhoto libraries - combining

I have looked at the previous discussions on merging (not a good idea, apparently) two iPhoto libraries and wonder if this would work. I have a new Macbook Pro and and old Macbook. My iPhoto library on the older machine outgrew the hard drive space and is stored on an external drive. I have started a new iPhoto library on the new Macbook and it only contains about 200 photos. There is room on the new Macbook to store the older library and this is my plan. I will copy the older iPhoto library to the new Macbook and then open the new iPhoto library and export the 200 photos to a folder on the desktop, then switch to the older library and import those from that file to the old library which then will become my current iPhoto library. Any flaws here? Thanks.

Thanks. I will look at iPhoto Library Manager. And for now, will just export the 200 photos as they have no editing or tagging done to them. Now I have to figure out how to copy my iPhoto Library from one external hard drive (that runs through a hub) to another (that won't run through a hub.) (The hub is a powered one, but works with one WD drive, but not the other.)

Multiple iPhoto Libraries

I have over 25,000 photos and use several iPhoto libraries to manage and organize them. One library lives on my Powerbook 17" hard drive and the others are on external FW800 drives.
Because I take so many photos away from home, I usually import photos to my Powerbook library temporarily, then transfer them to one of the libraries I have on the external HDs in my studio and delete them from the PB.
One library consists only of photos I have taken for a client, another contains family photos, a third one is abstract and artistic photos, a fourth is all antique cars, a fifth all nudes, etc...
I would like to be able to include some photo albums from each library on my 60G iPod Color. Is there a way to do this without combining all of my photos into the same library?
I guess what I am asking is: is it possible to get photos from multiple libraries on the same iPod at the same time? if so, how?
If not, is there a way for me to create an iPhoto library that consists of photo aliases (I don't want to import duplicates of the photos to include on the iPod) and then use that library to sync with the iPod?
PB G4 17, G3 Pismo, Yosemite, iMacDV Mac OS X (10.4.1)

you should probably post this question in the iPhoto Forum
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=143

HT201340 How do I merge multiple iphoto libraries

I have multiple iphoto libraries on an external HD. Not much memory left on my mac HD. So I'm trying to clear up some memory. I would like to merge/organize the iPhoto libraries on the external HD. But I can't figure out how to separate the photos. I just want to organize them into seperate years, i.e., photos 2009, 2010, 2011, etc.
And since I now have aperture, how can I get these photos organized into simple annual libraries onto the external HD?
Sorry if this has been posted a million times, but I can't figure it out and don't want to lose any photos.

Sorry if this has been posted a million times, but I can't figure it out and don't want to lose any photos.
Reorganizing your photolibraries can be error-prone, so before you start, I'd recommend to check your backups of the libraries, if they are current and working.
I just want to organize them into seperate years, i.e., photos 2009, 2010, 2011, etc.
And since I now have aperture, how can I get these photos organized into simple annual libraries onto the external HD?
iPhoto does not support to export partial libraries or to import and merge photo libraries, but Aperture does.
Your question does link to the document "Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries" that describes how you can merge libraries.
Do you have compatible Aperture and iPhoto versions? Aperture 3.4.5 and iPhoto 9.4.3? If yes, then you can unify your photo libraries by creating a new Aperture library on your external drive and using the command "File > Import > Library" to import your iPhoto libraies one by one into the the Aperture library.
Aperture works well with large libraries. You could keep all images in that one library and be done.
But if you really want separate, small libraries for each year, define smart albums in Aperture:
New > Smart album
and in the "Smart Settings" HUD for the album press "Add Rule" and add a "Date" rule. Set this rule to "Capture Year is ....".
This way you will have all images grouped by date in the library Inspector.
You could then proceed to export partial Aperture libraries for each year: Select the smart album and use the command "File > Export > Album as library". This will create a new Aperture library, just for that year. You can open this library in iPhoto, if you want.
I myself prefer to have all my photos in just one library; that makes it much easier to search all my photos at once and to combine them freely.
Regards
Léonie

Combining iPhoto Libraries

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