Finding original photo

My copy of iPhoto 08 has lost its links to some of the photos in an album I created. I see the thumbnails, but when I try to open the photo, it says it can't find the original and asks if I want to try to find it. I found the photos earlier in the Finder; they are in iPhoto Data folder, under the date they were imported. However, I can't get to them in the dialog box in iPhoto when it asks me to find them because the iPhoto Library folder is dimmed. Holding down Control and other key combinations does not illuminate the icon.
How can I get to the originals if iPhoto is blocking me getting into its Library?
Am I going to have to delete the thumbnails (about 50 of them) and import them again? What do I do with the originals in the Data folder?
Thanks for your assistance.

Mark:
Does your iPhoto Advanced preference section look like this:
To open the iPhoto library package control click on it and select "Show Package Contents" in the contextual menu.
Do you Twango?
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 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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Similar Messages

Error message when compiling book "file is corrupt" referring to a photo. Or "cannot find original photo". Can you use photos that have been "edited" out of "Book Mode"?

Error message when compiling book "file is corrupt" referring to a photo. Or "cannot find original photo". Can you use photos that have been "edited" out of "Book Mode"?

I did copy it to my desktop, but it still won't let me open it. I think the file on the disc might be corrupt or something like that though the cd itself checks out fine as far as viruses go. I was able to verify the disc, but that's about it. My husband tried it on his iMac and we have the same issue. It's unzipping the folder, but won't let us open the folder on both the Mac Book Pro or the iMac by double clicking, going to file/open or right clicking. It just keeps saying the same message as I posted above. I think I'm just going to have the client put the pictures on either a memory card or a USB memory stick so she won't have to compress the files for zipping purposes. It's been too frustrating trying to open this folder on this cd she gave me. She said she created/zipped the cd on her Mac Book Pro but it sure won't open on mine.

IPhoto can't find original photos, but I can!

When I launch iPhoto, I get error messages telling me photos are missing, and asking if I want to "find original" or cancel. If I try to find the original, I can't navigate into the library file itself, even though a search in spotlight reveals the missing photo is inside the iPhoto library bundle itself.
So I hit 'cancel' but I have to do this dozens of times each time I launch iPhoto, which is a huge hassle.
The 'missing' photos show up as blank thumbnails with a dotted white line around them in the photo viewer. If I scroll around iPhoto's viewing pane, the same message appears constantly.
I have rebuilt the library, repaired disk permissions, and even tried reverting to an older library from backup. No dice.
I'm out of ideas, other than exporting all the photos and then creating a new library and reorganizing everything. Seems like a huge hassle for 9000 photos, though.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the insights, Terence. I'm glad I didn't export then re-import.
I did try iPhoto Library Manager before posting here, but it told me it couldn't rebuild the database because it was corrupt! Yikes.
Okay, so I did what someone suggested on another thread, and tried to identify all the 80 or so photos that were supposedly 'missing'. I wrote down the name of every photo on a text edit doc.
Then I did something strange that seems to have worked: I went to Spotlight, and searched for one of the image names. I found it inside the iPhoto library. (I'm not sure why you can't navigate to photos from inside iPhoto, but you can from Spotlight - note, you can't find them in any other finder window, just Spotlight).
I dragged the culprit file to my desktop. Then, when the alert came up again, I used File > Reveal in Finder to navigate to the photo...interestingly, iPhoto then pointed to the original location of the missing file...I then dragged the photo from my desktop back into iPhoto's library via the Finder. Voila, the photo was re-linked.
But here's where it gets interesting. Somehow other photos got re-linked, too!
I quit the program, and the same problem reoccurred. So I took the steps again above, but this time I did something slightly different afterward.
I went to the TextEdit doc, and I found each and every photo, and dragged it into an album I'd created (I called it something like "Photos to Fix" or something). I then went to the Trash, and found some broken aliases in there, too. I emptied the Trash, after clicking 'cancel' on each error message. Then, I quit and restarted iPhoto several times. The problem is gone! I then moved the photos out of the "Photos to Fix" album, and the problem has not returned.
In short:
- Find a broken photo in iPhoto, note the name
- Navigate to the photo in Spotlight (not finder)
- Drag it out of the iPhoto Library and onto the desktop
- Go back to iPhoto
- Select "Reveal in Finder" on the broken thumbnail
- iPhoto will go to the location the photo USED to be
- Go back to Finder
- Drag the photo back into its old location
- Go back to iPhoto
- Move that photo, and any other problem photos, to a new album
- Empty Trash if there are any problem files there, too
- Restart iPhoto
- Problem solved
That's what worked for me, though I admit it is wonky and illogical. Maybe someone can shed light on why this worked.

TS2932 Does anyone know what to do when after importing photo's it says "Can't Find Original Photo"

Hey so I imported my photo's and such from my GoPro, but when I go to look at the photo's it says, original photo not found... Does anyone know how to fix or [find] this?

How did you import? Check the settings for "Store files" in the "Import Settings" window.
Have you set this to "Store files in the Aperture Library" or is it set to a different location? If you selected "In there original location", then Aperture is referencing the files on the external device you imported from and you need to connect it again to be able to access the image files. Always import managed with "Store files in the Aperture Library", if you want your image files safely stored inside the Aperure library.

Iphoto cannot find original photo

I cannot open photo files in iphoto from pictures I have imported the photos several years ago. I'm just sick...these are old family pictures I want to use. iPhoto can't find the original...what the heck...it's popping up for me to see I just can't do anything. I don't have the original files that were used to import. HELP!

What are you seeing when you try to view a full size photo? An exclamation point in a triangle or just a black window?
Make a temporary, backup copy (select the library and type Command+D) and 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 #1, followed by #3 and then #4 as needed..
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
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
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
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 but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Can't Find Original photo that I have used in my iweb

Hi
I hope this is something with an easy answer. I have several photos in a website. I now need the originals of those photos for something else. I am think they're somewhere in iphoto, but I have gazillions of photos and trying to find the exact one (out of many similiar photos seems daunting)
so, is there a way in iweb that I can find the original name of the photo, or title and then I can look in iphoto with that extra piece of information and narrow the photos and put them in their own folder, so I can find them the next time I need them.
Thanks

Moving this discussion to the Adobe Creative Cloud forum.
Frustrated... I am sorry you are facing difficulty locating the e-mail address associated with the Adobe ID tied to your membership. If you need assistance locating your account then please contact our support team at Contact Customer Care.

Finding original photos on HDD

After downloading my photos in iPhoto, I often do not find the originals on the hard drive. Any suggestion? I am using a card reader/writer to transfer my photos as I had problems with a direct connection from my Canon EOS to dowload.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
Assuming you're using iPhoto in its default settings, then your files are stored in then iPhoto Library in your Pictures Folder.
Since iPhoto 7 (iLife 08) the old iPhoto Library Folder is now a Package File. This is simply a folder that looks like a file in the Finder. The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves.
Want to see inside? Go to your Pictures Folder and find the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.
Standard Warning: Don't change anything in the iPhoto Library Folder via the Finder or any other application. iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
Want to use your Photos with another editor? You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.
Note that iPhoto sends a copy+ of the file to Photoshop, so when you save be sure to use the Save command, not Save As... If you use Save As then you're creating a new file and iPhoto has no way of knowing about this new file. iPhoto is preserving your original anyway.
Otherwise: 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!
(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)
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

IPhoto can't find original photos after volume name change

I had to reformat my drive and do a fresh install of Mountain Lion. I was pleased that the Migration Assistant imported all the user accounts, apps, etc. from a Time Machine backup. Never could have done *that* with Windows...
However, in iPhoto, I *do not* copy pictures from my Pictures folder into the iPhoto library and iPhoto can't find them. I expect that this is because I changed the volume name when I reformatted the drive, which is embedded somewhere in the iPhoto package in my Pictures folder.
Does anyone know which iPhoto files I can edit or batch edit to change references from the old volume name to the new one? Is this information stored in text or XML files that I can edit or is it embedded in binary files? I thought I might be able to reimport the photos from the current volume and iPhoto would sort out the duplicates (not a great option if I get prompted for each one though...) but I wasn't sure if that would preserver events, faces, etc.
When I try to rebuild the iPhoto library, I get a dialog indicating each file cannot be found on the volume. While it provides an option to browse for the location, this isn't practical due to the 1000's of photos and movies on the drive.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

As OT says, the primary reason not to run a Referenced Library, and, most especially, not one where you have the Library on one Volume and the photos on another.
You're going to have this problem again and again any time you make a change to your hardware set up - including upgrading your machine and so on.
Going forward: Do you have Aperture? This has a command to Locate Referenced Masters which should help. Other than that, how are you at hacking SQL databases? That's what this guy did:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3216539?tstart=30
back up first...
Regards
TD

Iphoto can't find original photo

Back when I was new to iPhoto I imported some high resolution photos and apparently renamed the folder where they were located in the Originals folder. I now know this is a big "no no". I've searched using Spotlight for the file name of one of the photos. The only results I get are for the small res file located in the Data folder. I can see the thumbnail of the photo in iPhoto but when I double click to edit it doesn't show anything. However, the photo info still says its 3 MB. I don't believe I deleted the high res photos - just renamed the folder. Is there any way to find the high res files on my computer? I've search the Originals folder and the Modified folder and can't find them.

I've search the Originals folder and the Modified folder and can't find them.
Well if there are not in either of those folders, then they are not in the Library.
Regards
TD

How do I find the original photo that is used in one of my contact photo in "Contacts"?

Hi everyone,
I am in a bit of a dilemma. I desperately need to find and/or access the original photo used as a contacts photo in the OSX built in app "Contacts". I can resize the photo and I can see it in full but I can't find the original anywhere and in any way.
I'd really appreciate some help here, as the photo is dear to my heart but seems to have gone missing. It was originally scanned in but isn't showing up where all my scanned photos are saved. Eek!
If anyone has any pointers on where I could find this photo in its original size, please do share them!
Ta,
posies

Hi DonTimo,
I've tried doing that, but in the said folder there are only default pictures. I can't find the images of any contacts in the app "Contacts" anywhere. The thread you refered me to and many others that are smilar to it, date back to about 2009-2010.
Really need this photo. Any other pointers?

How to find original iPhoto Album photos in Library (by Album content)

I have run out of Macbook space (OSX 10.7.5) and want to put all my photos on an external hard drive and share them between MacBook and iMac (no cloud please). I want to do this by "Album" name because that's how they are organized. I don't get the "events" thing in iPhoto, nor am I interested in the "Faces" stuff. Just simple file access is all I want.
QUESTION 1: How can I find the original photos after exporting by album? I want to delete these permanently from the Library -- from my MAC.
QUESTION 2: Is there a smarter way to get these photos onto my external drive than using "export?" And, is there a way to re-size a batch of files as opposed to one by one? I made all my camera photos the largest size possible, one reason I've run out of disk space. But to individually re-size would be impossible.
Note: I'm in a mess with photos. Have 20K on MacBook and about 25K on my iMac. There are 8 different iPhoto Libraries on my iMac, created by me in an effort to organize but I didn't know what I was doing and they are a total mess. My goal is to get them all into this hard drive from both computers then start all over again. But they need to be by album. I'm not an "Event" person -- doesn't make sense to me, so I've put all my photos in albums. When I start over I may not use iPhoto. Thinking of going back to Windows actually.

Sorry I'm terrible at explaining and even using my macbook haha. Let me try again. I imported some photos that I wanted to group together into an album. I forgot to create the album before importing a new set of photos which then took the place of the previous ones in the "last import" album. Is there anywhere or any way I can easily find the selection of photos I forgot to put into an album together without having to select them one by one from the "all photos" section? These would be the only pictures in my Photos application that haven't been organized into an album yet if that helps; however, these photos were not taken on the same date.

IPhoto can not find the original photo, does iPhoto copy the photo or just make a thumbnail?

Hi,
I'm scanning and putting all of my (paper) photos into my computer and then into iPhoto, tagging them, and doing all the time consuming things necessary to build a good library.
I've tried to open a few of the events and look at the photos I put in but I get an error that iPhoto can not find the original photo. When I put a photo into iPhoto does the program only make a thumbnail copy with a link to the original, or does it actually copy the photo into the library? I'm thinking the former. Because I have a Time Machine backup, a hard copy, and (presumably) a copy in iPhoto, I have been deleting the photos AFTER putting them into iPhoto. Do I need to keep the photos I put in iPhoto on my computer? Will I need to go into TM and restore them? Will I loose the information like Faces, Places, Keywords, if I do?
Thank you much,
I'm working with 9.1.2

I have exactly the same problem except my photo is named "L1000093.jpg" and it's been there for a year now, but suddenly, when I wanted to view it in it's album, ("Favorite" which has been there for a year too), it says "The photo P1010311.jpg cannot be found"!!! What the heck is going on? So I canceled, went back to the album, clicked on L1000093, clicked "show event", went over to Event, clicked "reveal in finder" and there it is, iPhoto Library/Master/blah blah blah... L1000093.jpg!
Where the hack did that P1010311.jpg came from? Sure I have that photo, but it's in a completely different event and a different album! What's is iPhoto 11 / Lion / iTunes 10.5.3(3) up to?
So I threw L1000093jpg into the trash, went into Lightroom, find the original, re-export it, load it again into iPhoto, added it again to the album (favorite), and guess what? I just did all those and the same "The bloody photo cannot be found" message popped up and when I go to finder, there it is.
This is a bug. It's been a bug since 2006 as far as I can remember. And Apple had never done a complete fix. It's an if thing!
And the most frustrating part: Althought they call this an Apple forum and you have to sign in to participate, I have never seen one Apple software guy here saying "this is what to do", just us victims helping each other and many non-Apple folks guessing to the best of their ability to comfort us.
Oh, toys are toys. I sometimes wonder if Steve had fought so hard yet the cancer in Apple actually won!

Can't find original files after uploading photos through iPhoto

I'm a recent "convert," and yesterday I uploaded some pictures directly through iPhoto for the first time. Then I tried to log onto Facebook to create a photo album and couldn't find the original photos in my "Pictures" file or anywhere else. I found I could access the "iPhoto Library" option but it distorted my photos by zooming in on the faces of people in the picture!
Where are my original files?

iPhoto used to place the photos in a standard directory "iPhoto Library" but this has now become a package, which hides access to the contents--just like in many applications--to keep you from rearranging them. You (or I) cannot directly access the contents but the "package" is just a specially marked directory. If you know a filename of one of the pictures or albums then you can search for that and it will find the file/photo. Then you have access to the directory and can go up, down, or over. It uses the same names in several of them.
The head shots you are seeing may be the "Faces" feature of the new iPhoto. They will be in a separate directory, as well as directories for original, modified, and others. Interesting, it did not find the photo names on the backup disk. Differing degrees of hiddenness? You can get there with Terminal. This is what I found in mine--notice the thumbnails used in album views:
2001 Dir.data Thumb64Segment.data
2002 Library.data ThumbJPGSegment.data
2003 Library.iPhoto face.db
2004 Library6.iPhoto face_blob.db
2005 Library6.iPhoto.bak iPhoto Selection
2006 Metadata Backup iPhoto.ipspot
AlbumData.xml Modified iPhotoAux.db
AlbumData2.xml Originals iPhotoLock.data
Auto Import Roll 249 iPhotoMain.db
Data Roll 251
Data.noindex ThemeCache
Your best bet is to select the photos you want and export them where you can have the JPEGs.
After import, I export so I can use shootShifter to adjust the names to be their exposure dates in yymmdd hrmise format. (You did set the camera's date.)
-Ken

How to find the original photo behind faces

How to find the original picture behind Faces

That is not the original photo - it shows the entire current photo with edits so you can see the context of the face - you can not see the original photo while in faces - you can in edit mode by depressing the shift key
LN

Horrors: How do I get all my original photo files back out of iPhoto 9.1.2?

In my heart I KNEW I should never have upgraded iPhoto when the update came in for 9.1.2. But I had no idea what it was going to do. Now, to my horror, I have found out.
It has EATEN all the original photo files in my Home/Pictures folder and hidden them inside a single iPhoto database! Yikes.
I discovered this nightmare when I tried to find the original hi-res of a certain photo, and searched my Mac for it by filename – the one assigned to it by my camera.
All the original and modified versions of the file should have appeared in the search box – but no original appeared, sending me into a total panic. I also searched my laptop and back-up drive to no avail. Then I looked in the Home/Pictures folder and there were no photo files there, when there used to be hundreds. Just one single iPhoto Library file.
I felt sick, I thought I had lost all my original photos.
So now I have two problems, and questions:
1) iPhoto only displays photos from the last 18 months, so how do you access all the photos from years back now?
2) How can I export ALL my photos back out of the iPhoto database so I can have them where I can see them on my Mac again – as individual files in my Pictures folder like they were before?
Oh, and one other question:
What can I use instead of iPhoto? Can I revert to an earlier version? Or is there an application that I can import photos to that will leave the original files where they are? Then I can make a back-up of the originals before importing them into iPhoto.
Thanks,
Sarah
PS: How do I change my Apple Discussions username?

There's no reason to use the Finder to access your photos. That's what iPhoto is for. THe following is from a post by Terence Devlin on accessing photos for use outside of iPhoto. It's the definitive treatise on the subject.
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
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.
(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
There's a similar option in Outlook and many, many other apps.
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 10.5
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:
a. On iPhoto 09 and earlier: 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.
b. On iPhoto 11 and later: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Reveal in Finder -> Original. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
OT

Finding original photo

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for