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
Regards
TD

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How to synchronize iPhoto libraries over network

how to synchronize iphoto libraries on multiple macs?

What do you mean by "Sync".
The general term means when two Libraries (A and B) are compared and files in Library A are copied to Library B, while files in Library B are also copied to Library A so that both Libraries are identical.
This is bi-directional copying and you cannot do this automatically with iPhoto. No Syncing software is capable of parsing the iPhoto Library in this manner. One or both of your Libraries will be damaged if you try this.
You can have uni-directional copying - files in Library A are copied to Library B - this is essentially backing up. Obviously you can also copy from Library B to Library A.
The nearest you can get to syncing is to use iPhoto Library Manager to move files/Albums/Events plus associated metadata between Libraries. This process cannot be automated.

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

How to unmerge iphoto libraries?

i accidentally merged two different user's iPhoto libraries on my mac. How do i spereate them so that one users photos only stay on their iPhoto account?

Not at all sure what you are saying since there is no way to merge libraries using iphoto - by mistake or intentionally
But the most likely answer is to restore the backup from before you made this mistake, what ever it was
LN

How to access iPhoto Libraries folders

Hi Helpful Apple Lovers!!!
First, thanks for all the past help.
I want to erase the useless original images once they are modified to save on hard drive space. How can I access the contents of the folders, without having to reach it through finder? WIll this allow me to add new folders to a back-up of my past iPhoto Libraries? Thank you all again.

I want to erase the useless original images once they are modified to save on hard drive space. How can I access the contents of the folders, without having to reach it through finder?
No you can not do this - if you do it via the finder you will corrupt your iPhoto database and lose data - as you have read on these boards iPhoto ALWAYS maintains teh original of every photo in its daabase and you always have the capibility to revert to it
You can export the photos you have modified, delete them in iPhoto, empty the iPhoto trash and import the ones you just exported
WIll this allow me to add new folders to a back-up of my past iPhoto Libraries?
You can always add new photos by importing them into iPhoto - depending on your backup software you may or may not be able to add to old backups
LN

How merge 2 iphoto libraries?

I wish to combine separate existing iphoto libraries into one and have been unable to locate help with this on my own.
Thanks in advance.
power pc G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) iphoto 6.0.4

Allie's absolutely right. iPhoto Library manager is the only option currently available to achieve what you want.
Do not try using a syncing application as that will only ruin both libraries.
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.

How to merge iPhoto Libraries?

Hello!
On my iMac, I have 2 iPhoto libraries. I want to merge them. What would be the best (or easiest) way to do that without

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
You can export from one library to the finder and afterwards import to another, but this is not merging libraries.

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 manage iPhoto libraries

How to easily switch from one iphoto library to another, move photos from one library to another etc.

David Neale1 wrote:
iPhoto '11 9.4.2 has the menu item File>Switch to Library…
Can you not manage libraries that way?
No - you can not manage libraries that way - you can switch libraries that way - exactly the same as the more general
You can switch libraries by depressing the option key, launching iPhoto and using the select library command
but you can not manage them that way or move photos between them that way
You can move photos (but not versions) by exporting from one and importing to the other one
But all that being said twice
IPLM. http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ is the best tool for managing multiple libraries
It lets you move photos between libraries keeping all versions and all information
LN

How to transfer iPhoto libraries to an external hard drive.

I would like to transfer my iPhoto library from my iMac (2004) and my MacBook (2008) to an external hard drive (WD EX2, formatted for Mac). I will be purchasing a new MBP soon and handing down the older Mac's. I would like to be able to keep all of the photo/video information intact and maybe one day amalgamate them.
First things first though, any suggestions on the best way to transfer the files from each computer to the EHD?
Thanks in advance

I installed iPhoto Library Upgrader on both machines
Yes, I chose the transfered library by pressing "Choose Library".
You only need the iPhoto Library upgrader, if you want to open the library in the current version, iPhoto '11. If your current version is iPhoto '09, as you are saying, you do not need it. But for a new Mac with iPhoto '11 you will need to upgrade any iPhoto'07 libraries.
. I opened iPhoto and "switched to" the imported library. It opens but there are no files in it. I know the original file that was transfered is 50G.
Your screenshot is showing an empty, new iPhoto library. And that iPhoto Library simply cannot be an iPhoto '09 library. Just look at the icons in the library source list. These gray icons have been introduced with iPhoto '11, version 9.3 or later. We need to get the version numbers straight. When iPhoto is running on your MacBook, is the Dock icon blue/cyan or sunset-coloured? What version number are you seeing in the About panel "iPhoto > About iPhoto"?
If you are really runnin iPhoto '11, try to open your transferred library by selecting it directly and double clicking it.
Do you by any chance have two iPhoto versions on your MacBook?
I hope, LarryHN is still following this thread and can help, with getting the versions sorted . I have only the most recent iPhoto '11, version 9.5.1 available for testing.

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?

How to combine iPhoto albums to make 1 book

I have 7,000 pics from a recent trip. In my iPhoto Library, I created iPhoto albums for each location, e.g. Paris, Croatia and have arranged all the photos in each album in a certain order. I am now creating a Book and I while I have noted previous discussions that one cannot merge two books I was hoping that there was another fix to this by being able to merge ALBUMs when making the book without losing the order of photos. I tried it but when I merged the photos in Album 2 (say Croatia) with Album 1 (say Paris), the order in which Album 2 photos are arranged is not followed when the photos are copied into Album 1 - thus necessitating spending hours rearranging the photos again
Alternatively, is there a way for iPhoto to add photos to a Book other than the original album used? SO say I create a book using Album 1. I went to my Album 2 and copied all the photos and dragged them into the Book but they do not appear. On book mode, i clicked on Photos and then Show -- but it only shows photos from the Project and photos like last 12 months, last Import -- not ALBUMs.
thanks in advance

Order is an issue - photos in book project I believe are displayed in date order
Adding photos is trivial - drag them to the book project in the source pane on the left
LN

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

Merging iPhoto libraries on mac with 2 users

Hi, I have iphoto manager but can't figure out how to merge iphoto libraries
I have my daughters macbook as she passed away in May
I used time capsule to move the contents of my macbook to hers but it made as new user
I want all the photos in one library on my user account but I can't choose her iphoto library as
it says I don't have permission
Weird how everything is on one computer but having 2 users seems like you can only access your own stuff
I just want to have all photos on my iphoto
Any help?

This worked thank u so much
Another quick question, iTunes doesn't seem to be aware that id like to use this computer as my new home base
I think I already had it authorized as we shared songs.
I had checked that I wanted certain faces from iPhoto but it included quite a few I didn't have checked
I'm not sure how to tell it this is my "new computer"

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

How to combine iphoto libraries

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