If I Move iPhoto Library to External Drive Does It Keep Organized?

Can anyone tell me:
In iPhoto 09 8.2.1 if I take the time to organize, edit, "faces" "events" etc...and I move iPhoto to an External Harddrive, a Western Digital "My Book"...Does moved library stay edited, organized face tagged, etc?
Thanks

See this document how to format a drive for photo libraries: (it explains it for aperture, but it is done the same way for iPhoto)
Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture
Also if I do format the drive how will that effect what is already on there (not just photos but documents, etc)?
I thought you were buying a new drive to use with iPhoto. If there are already documents on the drive, you need to copy them temporarily somewhere else. Reformatting will erase a drive completely.
Disk Utility (it is in the "Utilities" folder in "Applications") will show you, if your drive needs formatting.
The left pane shows your disks and disk partitions, and the right pane lets you do useful things, like reformatting and repairing your drive.
If you select the drive in the left panel, you see the formatting in the footer of the panel.
Is your drive correctly formatted?

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Can't move iPhoto library to external drive

My poor little iMac only has 200 MB of hard drive space on it, so I need to make some room! I'd already moved my iTunes library from it last year, but I figured now I need to move my iPhoto library to my external hard drive too.
I went to Apple help for instructions, which said drag the iPhoto library folder to the hard drive. I couldn't find an icon that looked like a folder in Pictures, but I found an icon that said "iPhoto Library" so I moved that icon to my external hard drive. On the hard drive, the icon turned into a blank document icon. I put my iMac's iPhoto library in the trash, reopened iPhoto, selected "choose library" and tried to choose the iPhoto library that was on the external hard drive, but it was grayed out, so I couldn't! I went through all these steps several times.
Also, just for curiosity's sake, I double clicked on the iPhoto library blank icon on the external hard drive. It said it needed an application to work with it, so I tried to choose iPhoto, but that wasn't working either.
I have iLife '08, by the way. The hard drive is a 250GB WD. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

What is the size of the resulting file on the external HD? Also how is the external HD formatted? If it's one of the FAT formats for PCs that may be the problem. Try copying that file back to your desktop and see if it will reconvert back to a library. If that's the case, reformat the HD to OS X Extended (journaled).
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 created 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. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries and Leopard. 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.

Move iphoto library to external drive

Hi everyone. I'm a first-timer here. I'm trying to free up space off my local hard drive and want to move an iphoto librabry to an expernal drive. When I do I get this message after more than an hour: "The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “File Name” can’t be read or written. (Error code -36)". I wonder what I can do to move the library? If it's a corrupt photo(s) or video(s) how can identify which one(s) is/are corrupt as there are literally thousands of photos and videos. Any help is appreciated. Cheers.

What format is the extrenal drive? How are you moving the iPhoto library?
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
LN

How to move iPhoto Library from external drive to new mac?

I have exported a copy of my iPhoto Library from my old mac to an external hard drive. How can I import entire library into iPhoto of new mac? When I click Import to Library, I'm unable to highlight iPhoto Library file listed on my external hard drive in Finder. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Is the iPhoto library on the new computer empty? If it is, quit iPhoto and just drag the iPhoto library on the New Computer to the trash and drag the iPhoto library from the EHD to the pictures folder on the new computer - there is no importing involved - you NEVER want to import an iPhoto library into another iPhoto Library
If you want to run the new computer with the iPhoto library on the external drive simply launch i{Photo while depressing the option (alt) key and use the select library to point to the EHD
LN

Move iphoto library to external drive...now what?

I copied my iphoto library over to my external drive and now I would like to delete my iphoto library. Before I do that, I want to know what to delete. The largest folder is called "originals" then i have a bunch of folders that are named years...etc. What should I delete? What should I not delete? Can I now copy my husband's iphoto folder to the same external folder so that we can share? We may just use one account on our imac for music and photos...too complicated to share.

Hi megan,
If you have launched iPhoto with the Option key and chose to open another library and chose the one on the external and everything is working fine, you can delete the entire iPhoto Library folder in your Pictures folder.
iPhoto is now using the library on the external.
You can copy your husbands to the external if you wish but it cannot have the same "iPhoto Library "name or it will replace yours when it is moved there.
If you want to merge the libraries though, you can use iPhoto Library manager (paid version)
the situation is a little more complicated and has different steps depending on what you want to do.
If you are wanting to use the same library I would purchase iPhoto library manager, use it to merge yours and your husbands library.
Copy the merged library to an external. To share this library, the external must be set to "ignore permissions"
Instructions are on the iPhoto Library Manger documentation link for sharing la library.
iPhoto Library Manager
iPhoto Library Manager documentation
this page will show you everything you can do with iPhoto Library Manager.

Can't read iPhoto library from external drive

I suddenly can't can't read iPhoto library from external drive. I have talked to WD and nohing is wrong with the network drive. I can open images and files from it. But, I can't read in iPhoto Library.

Network Drive? a NAS?
iPhoto needs to have the Library sitting on disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Users with the Library sitting on disks otherwise formatted regularly report issues including, but not limited to, importing, exporting, saving edits and sharing the photos.
Basically, you need to move the library to a correctly formatted disk.

IPhoto library to external drive?

My MacBook Pro hard drive is almost full and I would like to move iPhoto library ro externam hard drive. What is the best solution?

For those who my find this thread later:
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.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

Burning cd's from iPhoto library on external drive

ok, here is my problem... I've got an old powerbook g3 which I gave my mother for storing and sorting her photos. As the disk space on this powerbook is quite limited I though of buying a firewire card and an external firewire drive and load the whole iPhoto library onto it. My question is; is there some way to burn cd's or DVD's out of iPhoto from this external drive on my powermac G5?

Blanche:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. You won't be able to burn the disks directly from within iPhoto but if you're just wanting to burn a disk containing image files you can do that.
In iPhoto create an album of those you want to burn. Then select the album and use the Share->Export->File Export menu route to export the full sized files to a folder on the desktop. Name the folder appropriately and insert a blank disk. When the disk mounts on the desktop drag the folder to the disk. Once copied to the disk, make sure the files are full sized (a couple of times I got aliases only so make it a point to double check before burning). Then drag the disk icon to the Trash which will turn into a Burn button.
But iPhoto will only recognize internal drives for burning iPhoto formatted disks right from inside.

Trying to move my iPhoto library to external drive

I'm trying to clear up room on my internal drive and so trying to move my library to an external drive. I've copied the photo library to the external drive. How do i point the iPhoto application to this new location so that I can delete the library on my mac's drive. Follow up question, do i need to make any changes with time machine so that the new location continues to get backed up?

1 - Option - launch iPhot
2 - Yes - in the TM preferences under options be sure that drive is not excluded
3 - what format is the EHD? It MUST be Mac OS extended (journaled) to work for the iPhoto library
The general answer including those points is
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
LN

Cannot access old iPhoto library in external drive that i used white macbook

I just bought new MBP and I tried holding down the command key and selected my old white macbook iPhoto library but it does not show any photos- help? (i already repaired permissions based on some instructions i found here - alt+command and double click iphoto) but still does not show the photos.
Please help, I have almost 200gb of photos here

move the library to the new machine - Connect the two Macs together (network, firewire target mode, etc) or use an external hard drive formed Mac OS extended (journaled) and 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 and it will open the library and convert it as needed and you will be ready move forward.
LN

Want to move photo library to external drive

I want to move the '08 iphoto library to an external drive, as I am running out of space on the iMac. However I have numerous picture folders (2007, 2006, etc) within my 'pictures' folder in addition to the iphoto library. The photos from these folders all appear in iphoto.
My question: Do I have to copy/move these folders as well as the iphoto library?
Thanks for the help.

Dimitri
Welcome to the Apple user to user assistance forums
No - iPhoto is only concerned with the iPhoto library - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library as a single entity to the external drive - launch iPhoto while depressing the option (alt) key an use the select library option to point to the new library location.
LN

Moving iPhoto library to external drive

Is it possible to move an entire iPhoto library intact to an external drive. i.e. including all events and naturally all photo edits, descriptions, titles, and other META data?
If so, how is it best accomplished please?
(Using iPhoto 9.4.3)

Here's how:
first make sure the drive is formatted OS X Extended (journaled).
drag the iPhoto Library to the external HD.
launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and select the library on the EHD.
once you've confirmed that the EHD library is complete and working properly you can delete the library from your Pictures folder.
OT

Transferring iPhoto Library to External Drive/Time Machine

Hi LarryHN and Terrence Devlin (and any others who can answer my questions);
I have successfully transferred my iPhoto Library for the first time to an new external drive (thank you LarryHN and Terrence Devlin for your awesome threads). Would I be able to do this again when my iPhoto Library on my laptop requires another transer without changing the first transfer?
However, another part of LarryHN's thread is that the iPhoto Library transfer to an external drive is not a back up, why is it not considered a back up? I am trying to utilize Time Machine (also for the first time) but they are recommending I use an external drive with nothing on it (as they would be wiped out). Luckily I haven't wiped out my iPhoto Library on my laptop and am willing to re-do that after I set up Time Machine.
I appreciate your recommendations!

If you're running the library on the EHD as your working library then it's not a backup, it's your working copy.
To have a backup you must have two copies of the the working library on different hard drive. so to use Time Machine you need a dedicated HD just for it. When set up TM will backup your MB Air hard drive and any other EHD connected to it.
If you need to run your library from an EHD because your MBA doesn't have enought room and you want to use TM to backup your files including the iPhoto Library you'll need to have 2 EHDs.
So where do you want to run the library: on your MBA or on the EHD?
If you intend to run the library on your MBA make sure it's up to date and then reformat the EHD as OS X Extended (journaled) with Disk Utility. Connect it to the MBA and launch TM. It will ask if you want to use that drive for you backup and click yes. From there it's automatic. The first backup will take a while so have your MBA plugged in to a power outlet and let TM do it's thing.
This website has the best information on TM available: Apple OSX and Time Machine Tips
An alternate solution would be to use a backup application that can make incremental backups like Synk Pro. It will copy only those new or modified files from your working library to the backup copy on the EHD. I use it and have it configured to do the copy as soon as I quit out of iPhoto to keep the writing to disk at a minimum. Synk Pro will backup any selected file or folder you select so it doesn't have to be the entire hard drive if you don't want it. Personally I think TM would be a better solution for you as it will backup other files that may be important to you, i.e. music, documents, movies, etc.
OT

Accessing iphoto library on external drive via wireless

I'm running out of room on my macbook so I moved my iphoto library to an external drive (after reading other posts on how to accomplish this, copied to the external drive and connected without a problem). However, i'm accessing the external drive wirelessly from my airport extreme and now iphoto is painfully slow - it takes several seconds for each photo to resolve properly. Any suggestions for the best way to manage? Do i need to keep older photos in a library on the external drive and a library for more current ones i want to access regularly on my local? I don't think i want to have multiple libraries but the performance this way is driving me crazy.

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
A strong warning: If you're trying to edit the Library (that is, make albums, move photos around, keyword, make books or slideshows etc.) or edit individual photos in it via Wireless be very careful. Dropouts are a common fact of wireless networking, and should one occur while the app is writing to the database then your Library will be damaged. Simply, I would not do this with my Libraries.
A wired connection is the best way to have your Library on an external.
Regards
TD

How to move iPhoto Library from internal drive to ext. drive?

Hello,
If someome can assist me with the procedure on how to move my iphoto library from my internal drive to external drive, so that I can keep and access all my iphoto library files primarily from the external drive. In addition I would also like to know once the process has been completed if it would be safe to delete the internal iphoto library? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jag

First and foremost, before you begin, make sure you're doing some sort of backup of those photos and your systems. Preferably with Time Machine to some sort of external drive (besides the one that will store the photos) or Time Capsule.
Then you can follow these steps:
1) Make sure the external drive is formatted for the Mac. You can use Disk Utility (applications-->utilities) and select the drive to find out if it's HFS Extended format.
2) Quit iPhoto, then drag the iPhoto library onto the eternal drive and let it copy.
3) Once it's done copying, hold down the Option key and click to launch iPhoto, it will ask you to select an iphoto library and you would choose the one on the external drive.
4) You're safe to delete the original iPhoto Library from there.. however I still recommend you've made extra sure to back your stuff up.

If I Move iPhoto Library to External Drive Does It Keep Organized?

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