Help with Package please

Question

Hi - I posted my question in the iPhoto forum and was directed me here! (The reply began "That's really an Operating System issue not an iPhoto one. The fix is done in the Terminal, but I'm not terminal expert ...") So here goes:
I recently installed iPhoto Library Manager and it worked fine for the first two libraries I created but then I created a third and after opening it, the Pictures Folder (listed under PLACES on the left of my Macintosh Harddrive window) turned into a "package" with a new sort of icon instead of a folder.
When I try to open it, I get a window that reads "There is no default application specified to open the document ‘Pictures’ " and a prompt to "Choose Application." I tried deleting the 3rd library from iPhoto Manager (I still have the photos elsewhere), but that didn’t help.
When I go into my users folder, I find this same Pictures Package with its new sort of icon and right beneath it I find a folder called "Pictures_" Inside the "Pictures_" folder I find exactly what used to be in my Pictures Folder.
In the new Pictures package (which I view by rIght clicking on it & selecting show contents option) I found all my iPhoto libraries and files that used to be in the Pictures folder (when it was under PLACES) plus 8 more items. They are: AlbumData.xml; iPhoto.ipspot; Library.data; 3 folders - Data, Modified & Originals; and Library.iPhoto & Library6.iPhoto – which look like two new iPhoto Libraries, and when I click on either of them, my iPhoto Library opens up, but when I get info on them, they are tiny (4KB & 2.7 MB) as opposed to my actual library (30.44 GB)
There is only one item that did not copy over to the new package. In Pictures_ there is a folder called ‘Contents’ but the only thing it contains is a 4KB plaintext document called “Pkginfo.”
I tried to search through the Discussions for an answer to my problem before posting, and the closest I came was "Photo library problem" Posted by Simon: Jun 30, 2008 8:04 PM. My first question is the same as Simon's:
How can I return the 'package' to a folder, so I can open it and point iPhoto to my library(s) inside?
Here is LN's response: "RIght click on your "new" package and select the show contents option - find the iPhoto library and drag it to the root level of the External Hard drive -- You should now be able to point iPhoto to it."
As a novice, I need to ask for clarification. How exactly does one "drag it to the root level of the External Hard drive?" That is to say, where is the root level of the External Hard drive, how can I find it??
Also, is this the right solution for me, given as I have multiple iPhoto libraries in this "package"? Would I have to drag both my iPhoto Libraries to the root level? And can I delete the new Library.iPhoto & Library6.iPhoto (tiny files that look like two new iPhoto Libraries) which were created?
OR in my case, should I delete the package and put the Pictures_ folder in its' place? I'm not sure this is possible. I tried to put the pictures package in the trash (since I still have Pictures_) but I get a message, “”Pictures can’t be modified or deleted because it is required by Mac OS X.”
What is a package, anyway? How does it compare to a folder?
Any help would be truly, truly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
FranArt

Answer 1

If I'm understanding your problem, your normal Pictures folder has turned into non-openable bundle which the Finder sees as a file, so when you double click the Pictures icon instead of the folder opening the Finder asks you what application you want to use to open the "file"--many applications are structured this way, and so is the iPhoto Library itself in the newest version of iPhoto. And you can't trash Pictures because in Leopard a special sort of permissions was added to it by Apple to prevent people accidently trashing important stuff, like their pictures.
I know you can reset the bundle bit using Terminal if you have Developer Tools installed, not sure if Apple added that command to the default set of Terminal commands in Leopard. You can get the commands you need here if you didn't install Developer Tools:
http://homepage.mac.com/francines/.Public/getsetfile.zip
Unzip the file and you will have a folder with two files in it. Try the first to see if it works, this example assumes that the zip file went to your home Downloads folder.
1. Open Terminal by double clicking it, it is in your Utilities folder
2. Now open the unzipped folder and drag and drop the GetFileInfo file into the Terminal
3. Next open your home folder and then drag and drop Pictures into the Terminal (you must use the Pictures that displays when the home folder is open, NOT the one in the Sidebar)
4. Hit return and you will something like this:
NoobiX:~ francine$ /Users/francine/Downloads/getsetfile/GetFileInfo /Users/francine/Pictures
directory: "/Users/francine/Pictures"
attributes: avBstClinmedz
created: 11/07/2007 16:36:43
modified: 08/31/2008 01:34:46
I suspect the attributes will show a capital letter "B" as in the example above, instead of the lower case b which is normal. If that is true, then the bundle bit has been set. To reset it drag the SetFile command into the Terminal, drop it, then type
-a b
followed by a space, and drag the Pictures file into Terminal and drop it and press Return. The Terminal will look something like this:
NoobiX:~ francine$ /Users/francine/Downloads/getsetfile/SetFile -a b /Users/francine/Pictures
The Pictures folder will now be a folder again. Where my example shows the name of my computer, and my user name, yours should show your user name and something other than "NoobiX" for your computer.
Francine
Francine
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