Creating low resolution copy of iPhoto library

I've got 15 000 high resolution (10 Mpx) on my iMac and would like to have a low resolution copy of the whole library with me on my MBP.
How would I do this, while preserving tags, albums, creation dates, etc?
If I just export all my photos in a lower resolution and then imports them, I'd loose everything like that, right?
Should/can I copy the library, resize the pictures (how?) and then delete all high resolution copies?

goka
The correct way to do this is to export all the pics from the iMac library using the File -> Export command. In the resulting dialogue you can
- write the tags to the files on export, and
- the export process will maintain all the Exif data - i.e creation dates etc.
- resize the pics as you wish
If you export Album by Album to seperate folders it is very easy to recreate your set up on the MBP. - Just drag and drop the Folders of images to the Source Pane on the library on the MBP and iPhoto will create an Album for each Folder.
Regards
TD

Similar Messages

HELP! Copied the iPhoto Library folder to backup, but files are smaller

Help! To get more space on my laptop, I copied some photos to a backup hard drive, following the instructions in iPhoto help: "Copy the iPhoto Library folder on your hard disk to another disk." I then deleted many of the photos from my laptop.
Now I'm looking at the photo files on the backup hard drive, and noticing that they are much smaller in size than the originals, for example 45 KB versus 1.1 MB. I tried a test photo by copying a photo from the hard drive back into iPhoto on my laptop, then opened the photo next to the original. Much smaller resolution!
Then I go to the laptop's iPhoto Library Folder (where all the photos are supposed to reside) and find this particular photo, and sure enough, it shows that the file size is indeed much smaller (45 KB) than the photo information shows when I have the photo open in iPhoto (1.1 MB).
So what's going on? Have I lost the detailed information on all of the backed-up photos, or does iPhoto get more information from somewhere? Am I really backing up everything when I follow the iPhoto Help instructions and just copy the iPhoto Library Folder?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. It sounds as if you copied the Data folder only which contains the thumbnail files. If you don't have a backup or the entire library or the original files I'm afraid you're out of luck. You could try recovering them from the HD (if you haven't used it much since deleting the image files) with SubrosaSoft FileSalvage. It will let your run it in demo mode to see what files, if any, can be recovered before you have to purchase it.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) 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 or later), 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 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. 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.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

How can I back up the iPhoto library when iPhoto won't open and I can't simply copy the iPhoto library packet because "some of the data in the packet cannot be read from or written to"?

How can I back up the iPhoto library when iPhoto won't open and I can't simply copy the iPhoto library packet because "some of the data canny be read from or written to"?

Regarding not being able to open iPhoto. As a test launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Were you able to create a new library?
If so then your current library is damaged and needs to be repaired.
Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Since only one option can be run at a time start
with Option #4 and then #1 as needed.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

How do I create an External Hard Drive iPhoto Library

How do I create an external Hard Drive iPhoto Library? Will it remember faces and places, and the camera settings? I have over 20k photos. Most pictures are already stored in files on my external hd, but everytime I need to edit, I need to import the pics back into iPhoto. Is there an option for "editing software" outside of iPhoto? I do not want to store pictures on my computer, but I do like the "faces" feature! Please help!

Sure it can be UnDone in the same way it was done. By Copying the iPhoto library back to the original location or any other location on your internal drive and then Repointing iPhoto to use that Library as you did when you moved it to the external.
Have no idea about the thumbnails being blurry as I only use iPhoto for testing and helping others. I find iPhoto lacking in many ways and I already own Adobe Lightroom so I use that on my Mac.
I wouldn't think the thumbnails wouldn't be any different. They are the same files and even if the external is slower the Thumbnails should display the same way not differently.
I also do not allow any of the "i" programs, Photo & Tunes, to Copy my image or music files into their folder structure. I have them set to Leave the Files where they are, as I copy them to my hard drive where I want them Not where Photo and Tunes want to put them, and then just create a Library Database of them. So if I wanted to I could have just the actual image files on an External drive and then have iPhoto just create a Library database reference to them.
One Note though.
If you move the Library, including the actual image files, to an external and then start iPhoto without that external connected iPhoto will then Create another Library in the normal Default location that is blank and then you will need to point it to your original that is on the external once you reconnect that external.
That is one reason I don't care for iPhoto. Apple has made it fairly easy for novice users, placing everything in their User folder but IMHO that is not always the best way to do things.
Also at any point in time, even with the external connected, iPhoto will lose that association to the external Library and create another in the original Default location. Which will look like all your images are missing.
colleen747 wrote:
Thank you for responding. I understand. After reading quite a bit about this procedure, can it be undone? So many out there have stated that everything slows way down and the thumbnails are blurry. What is your opinion?
Do I first create a New File on the EHD and name it "iPhoto Library"? Then paste?
Most pictures are in folders on my EHD, how do I move them to the new library?
Thanks!

Tried to copy my iphoto library from my old mac and I get 7 times more photos???

I had under 5,000 photos in my old iPhoto library on my old mac pro desktop.
After I tried to import the old library into my new iPhoto library (on my new mac i7 running Mavericks), iPhoto ended up with over 35,000 photos.
iPhoto was literally creating events for single photos when the old iPhoto library never had such events. I already tried doing a search in this forum and googling but didn't come across a similar issue. The names of the events were gibberish as in the names of folders you would see if you controlled clicked and selected "show package contents" and drilled way down.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Sounds like you imported the library into iPhoto on the new machine.
Never import one Library to another. Every version and thumbnail is imported like a distinct photo, you lose all your Albums, Keywords etc., the link between Original and Previews is destroyed, the non-destructive editing feature is ruined and so on. In summary: it's mess.
To move an iPhoto Library to a new machine:
Link the two Macs together: there are several ways to do this: Wireless Network,Firewire Target Disk Mode, Ethernet, or even just copy the Library to an external HD and then on to the new machine...
But however you do choose to link the two machines...
Simply copy the iPhoto Library from the Pictures Folder on the old Machine to the Pictures Folder on the new Machine.
Then launch iPhoto. That's it.
This moves photos, events, albums, books, keywords, slideshows and everything else.

Saving a low resolution copy?

I want to make a low resolution copy of an image from my iPhoto to use as an Avatar on a chat board. The site will only allow up to 20KB images. How can I do that?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
Select the pic in the iPhoto Window and go file -> Export. In the export dialogue you have the option to resize the photo.
Regards
TD

HT1229 How do I go about copying my Iphoto library to an EHD without replacing an earlier version that I have previously saved?

I have previously saved a version of my Iphoto library on an external hard drive.
At which point I then deleted lots of photo's from my Mac in order to free up space - leaving only the most recent photo's.
My hard disc is once again nearly full so I want to delete some more photo's from my Mac and once again back up my photo's on the EHD.
How do I save my latest folders in Iphoto on the EHD?
When I save the latest photo's on the EHD I want them to be in the same Iphoto library.
IS there a way to simply copy my current Iphoto library without replacing the original version? (which would obviously mean overwriting this version and loosing lots of photo's)
Sorry if I'm not 100% making sense....hope you can understand me?!
Help?

Create a Folder on the Extertnal, drag the Library to that.
Going forward there are better ways to do this.
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager

I am trying to transfer my photos from old mac to new mac. I copied the iPhoto library to an external hard drive, then imported it to the new iPhoto. It turned my 2000 photos into 12,000!! What happened?

And how do I turn off FACES?

I copied the iPhoto library to an external hard drive, then imported it to the new iPhoto. It turned my 2000 photos into 12,000!!
According to you youo did not do what I instructed - you said you imported the old library into th enew library which can easily take a 2000 photo library and turn it into 12,000 including two ro three versions of each photo pus all the face thumbnails
The correct procedure has NO importing involved
drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity from the old Mac to the pictures folder of the new Mac - launch iPhoto on the new mac
That is it
LN

Is it possible to copy the iphoto library and albums from a G5 to a macpro

I would like to copy my iphoto library and albums from a G5 10.5.8 iphoto 8 to a macpro 10.6.2 with iphoto 9. I would like all the photos and albums to appear in the macpro just as they were in the G5. I have vantecs ezshare adapter that allows you to drag files between two computers mac or windows. Copying photos should not be a problem but its the albums I want to go with the photos and appear in iphoto 9 on the macpro.

iPhoto '09 will open and convert any previous version of the iphoto library - if it is working correctly on the old system it should convert
Firewire target mode is a good way to transfer the iPhoto library - make the connection and drag the entire iPhoto library at one intact as a single entity to the new computer (put it on the desktop or somewhere so as not to mess up what you have done - depress the option key and launch iPhoto on the new system and select the library you just copies (be sure not to select the one on the old computer - you do not want to convert it - conversion is a one way operation) - it should open and convert and be ready to use - then you can quit iPhoto and place it where you want and do the option launch again to tell iPhoto where it is - and do the option launch any time you want to switch between multiple libraries
LN

I own a MacBook Pro and an iMac. How can I copy my iPhoto library from my MacBook to the iMac?

I own a 13" MacBook Pro and a 27" iMac and I have different iPhoto libraries for each one of them.
How can I copy the iPhoto library from the MacBook to the iMac without losing the pictures I have on the iMac library?
Is it possible to merge the libraries?
Can I do this without using an external HDD? (e.g. connecting them through an ethernet cable?)
Thanks for your help!

1. By eirher a: renaming one of the Libraries or b: copying them to another folder
2. If you have Aperture 3.3 or later and iPhoto 9.3 or later you can merge libraries with Aperture.
Otherwise the only way to merge Libraries is with the paid ($20) version of iPhoto Library Manager
3. Yes.

Can I copy the iPhoto Library to a different user on the same computer?

I have spent a lot of time organizing my iPhoto library.
My wife also has a user account on the iMac. She would like the iPhoto library I currently have, but (for many reasons) we do not want to share the same library.
Another words, I want to copy my iPhoto library to her side, then both maintain independent libraries.
Can I copy the iPhoto Library icon (in the Pictures folder) on my side to the the shared folder, then delete and replace her iPhoto Library file with mine in her Pictures folder? Or is there something about how the library is set up that will cause problems if I copy my iPhoto Library to her side as well?
Thanks,
-Lee

TD,
Thanks. I deleted her iPhoto Library, and replaced it with mine. I did hold down option and command the first time I opened iPhoto as you suggested. However, it did not ask me anything. It just opened as I might normally expect it to.
The library works perfectly, it is definitely my library that copied over.
Should I be worried that it did not ask me anything (like about rebuilding or repairing library permissions)?
Thanks,
-Lee

I copied my iPhoto library to an external hard drive and all the event windows are black. Once you click on a square the photos are still there. How do I fix that?

I copied my iPhoto library to an external hard drive and the event windows show up black.
The photos are still there once I click on an event but they don't show in the window.
My next step is to delete the iPhoto library from the internal memory to free some memmory space but I don't want to do this until I see that the library works fine on the external hard drive.
How do I fix that?

Hold down the "option" + "command" keys and launch iPhoto.
Select the "Rebuild Thumbnails" choice.

I tried to copy my iPhoto library to a second external drive and now the pgm, running on an iBook with 10.5.8 does not open the original library on launching?

Hi Guys, I copied my iPhoto library to a second external disk. Now my version of iPhoto (5.0.4) does not display the original library on the orignal external drive. I have reinstalled the iPhoto and it seems to make 2 attempts to find the library but fails. The iPhoto menu bar is available but does not function. The screen is blank. Any help appreciated,
Gethin

Are you indicating that you don't get this window when you hold down the Option key while launching iPhoto?
What do you mean by "nothing happens". What library opens when you launch iPhoto normally?
OT

I just backed up my photos by copying my iPhoto Library onto an external drive. Now the Library on my MacBook won't open. I can only open the photos if the external is plugged in. How can I resolve this issue?

I just backed up my photos by copying my iPhoto Library onto an external drive. Now the Library on my MacBook won't open. I can only open the photos if the external is plugged in. How can I resolve this issue?

Exactly what did you do?
The correct steps are
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
My guess is that that you have not switched iphoto to use the external drive yet - opttion launch and select libary
LN

How do you copy your iphoto library to ext. hard drive?

I am sorry to ask this lame question, but: How do you copy your iPhoto library to an external hard drive, just to back it up? I'm confused, because of three things: a) I can't seem to find, in iPhoto pref's, where you select what the "path" is to the library; b) in the iPhoto library folder on my computer (which is NOT on my boot drive, but a different internal drive..) the newest "year" folder in there says 2005, yet we have imported many newly-taken photos for the last 3 years, AND c) in the user>Pictures folder there is a "file" called iPhoto Library, but I can't quite figure out exactly what that is, what it does, etc.
So, I apologize, but if someone can help me figure what I would like to think should be a very simple backup, I would be grateful. Thank you very much.

I am sorry to ask this lame question, but: How do you copy your iPhoto library to an external hard drive, just to back it up?
Drag it to the external drive
a) I can't seem to find, in iPhoto pref's, where you select what the "path" is to the library;
There not one - you change the path by launching iPhoto while depressing the option (alt) key and using the select library option to repoint to a different libary - however you would not do this to a backup library - it would just be a copy
b) in the iPhoto library folder on my computer (which is NOT on my boot drive, but a different internal drive..) the newest "year" folder in there says 2005, yet we have imported many newly-taken photos for the last 3 years,
This is probably an unused older library - a backup for a previous version
c) in the user>Pictures folder there is a "file" called iPhoto Library, but I can't quite figure out exactly what that is,
That probably is your iPhoto library and it is probably not a file but a Unix style "package"
Launch iPhoto and in events view select a photo and right click (control click) on it and select the show file option to see the path to the currently active library - I find the column view the easiest to see the path
LN

Creating low resolution copy of iPhoto library

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