IPhoto '11 referenced library problems

I have a huge iPhoto library containing 40 000+ images, as well as a large amount of metadata (comments, Faces,...). Since I need to read-access the image files with other software, I use a referenced library.
Everything was fine until the day I decided to upgrade for a larger HD. So I simply restored full content of my old drive on the new drive using a TimeMachine backup. Nothing else was modified (no directory structure changes, not even the volume name).
Since then, the problems. Essentially, references to the original files are lost: Thumbnails are OK, but upon accessing the larger view, iPhoto asks me to locate the file... After having done so, other pics would load nice, but nothing would stick upon a quit and relaunch of iPhoto... (Funnily, this happens only for pics that were imported *after* I upgraded from iPhoto '08 to iPhoto '11).
I tried many things: rebuilding the database, rebuilding the database on the older drive prior to backup, etc... Nothing would help.
So, my questions:
* Whad did I do wrong?
* Is there a way to "repair" file references? (That should be a fairly obvious functionality of database rebuilding)
* Is hacking into the Library.apdb file part of the officially supported solutions?
Obviously, recreating a new iPhoto library is not an option for me, due to the amount of metadata in my library that I don't know how to transfer. Also, I don't consider upgrading to Aperture, which is just too complex and loaded of features which are totally useless to me.
Running Lion and latest iPhoto update.
Thanks!

YES!!!
I finally managed to recover my iPhoto library!
But it was not easy. I had to hack into the database file to put up things right.
After a significant amount of trial-and-error, here is the procedure I came to, which finally worked for me (use at your own risk):
0. Make sure you make enough backups so as to revert to the previous state if something goes wrong!
1. Make a copy of your iPhoto Library [Show Package Contents]/Database/apdb/Library.apdb to your desktop.
This file contains most of the data involved for managing your iPhoto data.
2. Open this file using a SQLite database manager.
I used Navicat 9.1, which has nice import-export features. For direct editing, Base 2.0 is may be easier.
3. Open the table RKMaster.
This table contains all records for the individual pics of your library.
4. Correct the path of each of your pic files in the imagePath column to their current filepath.
This contains the path of your pic files at the time they were imported, and is not updated by iPhoto even though you have moved your pic files somewhere else.
If you have several thousands of paths to correct, a good idea is to export this column to a text file (also including the modelId column for referencing), and to correct paths using the substring Search&Replace function of your favorite text editor. Be sure to re-import the corrected data properly using the modelId column as references.
5. If needed, correct in the same manner the content of the fileVolumeUuid column to the value of the drive currently containing your picfiles.
If needed, obtain this value considering a pic which was recently imported from that drive.
6. If your drive name was modified, also correct its name in the name column of the RKVolume table.
Identify the proper record by considering its uuid previously obtained.
7. If you're happy with your work, quit the database managing program and put Library.apdb back in its original location inside your iPhoto Library.
Keep the older somewhere in case something goes wrong.
8. Run iPhoto to see if your work is successful!
At this point, you might consider rebuilding the Photo Library (hold alt-cmd while launching iPhoto) and choose Repair the iPhoto Library Database (Be sure to leave the Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup unchecked!). This might correct some possible unconsistencies resulting from your edits. Also, a good thing might be to rebuild all thumbnails. If iPhoto does not bug you for locating files during that process, you have possibly done your work right! If not, back to step 1.
As said, this worked for me, with no visible inconsistencies or side effects to be noticed in the behavior of iPhoto (at least for now). But possibly some knowledgable people might comment and improve that process, and some database script guru might also help automating this. Please comment.
Lessons learned (How I understand the things as far as I know):
A. Library.apdb stores the initial drive and path of the pic files at the time they were imported. This is not modified as the files are moved around.
B. Some other data (BLOBs?) is used to track the files at their actual location. Therefore, it seems OK to move the pic files after they were imported.
C. Unfortunately, this other data is broken if the file is recreated (even with same content and location), for example with a file-based backup and restore (Time Machine).
D. In that case, iPhoto is unable to recover the file if its current drive and path does not match the one when the file was imported, stored in the database. Also there is no mechanism in iPhoto to correct this data.
E. Therefore, it is very important to import pic files in iPhoto only when these are already in their final location! If not, your iPhoto Library won't survive a TimeMachine backup and restore! (Possibly, a block-based drive backup could work... I don't know).
F. ...And Apple should really, really fix this issue! (By correcting the stored filepath and drive to the current file location at least when the database is repaired, and by offering at least some basic file reconnection options).
Hope this helps...
- Pascal

Similar Messages

OK to use Aperture to maintain iPhoto Referenced Library

I have Aperture and iPhoto. We are an OSX and Windows household. But thanks to the Windows 8 debacle, my wife (the diehard Windows user) has abandoned her PC with all regard to photos and videos (viewing, editing, sharing). Now, I use Aperture most of the time, but my wife uses iPhoto 100% of the time. I manage all the imports with Aperture. (I currently have one referenced library that I use in Aperture of all files and a second default iPhoto Library that is managed but only has post-2010 files in it. Both created in their respective programs, if that matters.)
Coincidentally, we are also at a point where we need to quit adding photos/videos to the PC or we'll exceed its backup capacity.
Now that she is using the iMac, I would like to get the Library organized and minimize my workflow and eliminate duplication. I do not have enough contiguous disk space for single managed aperture library. I have avoided proceeding because iPhoto and referenced files are not recommended by most of the experts here, for well founded reasons. However, now that both apps can use the same library, and Aperture handles referenced libraries so much better... why not go referenced now? I can leave the pre-2010 files on the PC, and keep all the post-2010 imports on the iMac, all in one Library. The fact that nobody is getting into the files on the PC virtually eliminates all the problems I've had in the past.
Is there something I'm missing?
Thanks for any thoughts on this, or hidden gotchas.

No assuming that you have the latest version of both iPhoto and Aperture so there is total interoperability between them
LN

IPhoto Managed Library and Referenced Library. What is the difference?

In a reply regarding iphoto TD mentions managed library and referenced library. What is the difference and how do you set them up?

A Managed Library is the default setting, photos are copied into the iPhoto Library on import. In this scenario, iPhoto is responsible for the file management.
A Referenced Library means that iPhoto does not touch the files when you import them. They remain where they were and iPhoto References them in their location.
Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
Now iPhoto will not copy the files, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file. It will still create a thumbnail and, if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.
However, you need to be aware of a number of potential pitfalls using this system.
1. Import and deleting pics are more complex procedures
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
Always allowing for personal preference, I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers.
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity 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.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, 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!
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.
*For working with an External 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.
Lots of folks are attracted to the idea of a Referenced Library - well I can see my files! But, frankly, unless you're an experienced Mac user I would stay well away. Not infrequently we see folks here complaining that iPhoto has "lost their photos" when what has happened is that they have imported from the Camera Card in Referenced Mode, then erased the card. Even more common, any change in the path the the file - renaming a disk, folder or file - for instance when migrating to a new machine, when trying to make space on the start up disk by moving files off the an external - also causes big problems.
If you really, really want to run a Referenced Library check out Aperture. It has tools that are much stonger in the area - like migrating tools and reconnecting tools.
Regards
TD

IPhoto referenced library, importing

iPhoto looks like a pretty nice app, but I use my photos with a large collection of different picture utilities and keep copies on both Mac, PC and NAS drives. This made using iPhoto with a "referenced" library pretty much a must so all the programs can use the pictures easily.
So unchecking "copy into library" worked ok for me....but one little problem. When I insert an SD card it goes right to iPhoto and when you do an import the new pictures get copied straight into the iPhoto library. Can iPhoto do an import that just drops the files from the SD card into a selected folder?
If iPhoto can't import this way, how do you setup things so iPhoto doesn't automatically launch when you stick in an SD card? ie: just have the SD card (or camera) show up as a folder on the desktop.
Also, I've got hundreds of thousands of pictures in my collection from a lot of sources, does the iPhoto app have a library size or picture count limit?

iPhoto looks like a pretty nice app, but I use my photos with a large collection of different picture utilities and keep copies on both Mac, PC and NAS drives. This made using iPhoto with a "referenced" library pretty much a must so all the programs can use the pictures easily.
You really can not successfully do that - at best you will be working only with the original photos sans any modifications made in iPhoto
So unchecking "copy into library" worked ok for me....but one little problem. When I insert an SD card it goes right to iPhoto and when you do an import the new pictures get copied straight into the iPhoto library. Can iPhoto do an import that just drops the files from the SD card into a selected folder?
No
If iPhoto can't import this way, how do you setup things so iPhoto doesn't automatically launch when you stick in an SD card? ie: just have the SD card (or camera) show up as a folder on the desktop.
In the iPhoto preferences set action when a camera is connected to "do nothing"
Also, I've got hundreds of thousands of pictures in my collection from a lot of sources, does the iPhoto app have a library size or picture count limit?
250,000
LN

IPhoto Referenced Library: repair aliases

Hello everyone, I have an iphoto referenced library of about 58 thousand pictures, I have the originals stored on a 1TB lacie hard drive ("castor") connected through firewire 800. Tonight I was doing some funny stuff in order to get that drive clean and empty for re-partitioning (since disk utility wound't let me erase a couple of mac journaled partitions I didn't need anymore without reformatting the whole volume), so I took all the pictures, documents, applications, and a mac os tiger (from which I boot sometimes) to another daisy chained 1TB lacie (pollux) and once I was done, back to it's original home ("castor"), I thought that, even formatted, it would keep it's original path, but may be it didn't for when I tried to open my library all of the files where missing. There were only thumbnails and once at full screen it would ask me for the current location of the picture and if canceled, it would show just a huge exclamation mark.
I remade some of those aliases manually but there are 58,000 + files. So I am looking for a clever solution to get all those aliases fixed automatically without having to re-import all the folders containing my pictures again (not yet).
A few days ago I had a rather similar problem with iMovie which I solved by following a tutorial; editing the project's binary file by turning it into html via terminal and then modifying it with the correct location of the files. I hope there might be some trick like this for my mess. I would guess all of the ilife applications have a similar architecture and way to work.
I will post back if I find any fix for others to learn. Meanwhile, thanks in advance for your useful help and sorry for my english, I am Mexican... greetings! .

Good day, unfortunately filebuddy did not work for me, however I found on the internet a hope for all of us having issue with our referenced libraries: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=711230
This man affirms that by double clicking in one of the files and manually finding it's location when prompted (as expected in iTunes) was able to regain the order of his library.
And in http://thedigitalstory.com/2010/05/reconnecting_master.html this function appears to be more reliable and may be I am upgrading to Aperture now.
My "referenced videos" iphoto library seems to be working quite well, even though it passed through the same odyssey of getting out and back to my external hard drive, and it's also within an intricate directory structure.
I certainly have the need of a referenced library since my computer's hard drive is laptop-size and therefore it can't run as fast for browsing 4 years of amateur digital photography, so I think there's no workaround about that, in fact it is a pretty amazing feature.
Meanwhile I managed to solve it using automator: renaming folders, making aliases, and replacing the dead ones with these. The only problem is that the aliases made by automator which uses (I think) a similar method as Finder for creating aliases is that these links occupy much more hard disk space that the ones generated by iPhoto. I am sure I read on some other post that I can get into the iPhoto application package and mess around with its vital files to get the aliases repaired, in a similar fashion as I did to iMovie. Thank you for your help.
Message was edited by: sighi.dmor

How can I move my old iPhoto library into a Referenced Library format and use that as my default?

Hi, I have been using iPhoto for photo management where all the jpegs have been living, in organized events by date and subject for some time. I recently upgraded to aperture and am using the same iPhoto library. The issue I have is that I use Carbonite for my cloud back up and I am able to look at the pictures I have on my PC with the same folder organization I have them on my PC hard drive. This is apparently not possible for iPhoto library. The only way to access a picture on the iPhoto library in the cloud is to go through the master and hope you can find the specific picture since they are not organized in a comprehensible manner (like events or folders) in there.
So the only solution I can think of is to move the current iPhoto library to a referenced image library and use that as my default library from now on. This way I get cloud access and the events will hopefully turn into folders with dates and subjects that I can continue to keep organized to satisfy my OCD tendencies.
So the question I have is that:
1. How can I make a reference Library for Aperture/iPhoto?
2. How do I move the current library to the Referenced Library in an Organized manner? My wish list would be a series of folders labeled with the date and the subject, like I have in my iPhoto library right now.
3. If there is any alternative, your suggestions and recommendations would be much appreciated.
My computer: Mac Mini (Mid 2012), Lion, 16GB RAM.
Thank you kindly,

Or is there a way to go through aperture to make a new reference library that I can move the masters into later?
you do not move the masters into a references library - you turn your current library into a referenced library. As Terence Devlin said:
File -> Relocate Masters
What you should set up:
Select a folder, where you want to store your referenced files - probably on an external drive.
Decide on a hierarchical folder structure inside this folder - that is completely up to you.
Select a project from your library and use the command "File -> Relocate Masters/Originals" to move the original image files to the folder where you want to go them to. Only take care not to send two projects to the same folder.
Alternatively, if you do not care about the folder structure Aperture will use, select all images at once from the "Photos" view and let Aperture decide how to assing the folders - in the "Relocate Originals" dialoge you can specify a subfolder format.
Regards
Léonie

Can you use iPhoto as your referenced library in Aperture 3?

Hi folks, new to the forum here and I've searched around older posts for an answer to this dumb question but can't seem to find it. Any insight much appreciated.
I'm a relatively new mac user, migrated over just under 5,000 photos from Photoshop Elements on the PC to iPhoto on my new iMac and very happy with it. I was going to get the new PSE for Mac to use as my editor with iPhoto, but now that Aperture 3 is such a ridiculously good price on the App store I've been testing that out and I love it!
So the question is, as I start to get more serious about my photography I would love to be able to use Aperture for everything - but the rest of the family just want the simplicity and great interface of iPhoto for the family shots. Can I / we keep importing, storing photos in the iPhoto library, and everyone else just uses that for the cropping, red-eye removal etc., but I can access the library in Aperture (sort of like a referenced library) make changes, add versions etc. without messing it up?
Hope that makes sense, and again, apologies for what must be the millionth time this question has been asked.
James

In a word, no.
Aperture and iPhoto are entirely different applications that work in very different ways.
The only communication between the two is as follows:
Aperture is able to parse the iPhoto Library to allow it to import the contents while stacking the Originals and Modified versions, preserving metadata and so forth.
Aperture can share its Previews with the iLife apps, including iPhoto.
That's it.
So, specifically, what interaction there is between the two is designed to facilitate migration from iPhoto to the more powerful app. After that, iPhoto has exactly the same relationship to the Aperture Library as, say, Pages or iMovie.
Regards
TD

IPhoto and Aperture referenced library issues

Hi,
For the last couple of days I've been busy trying to get my iPhoto/Aperture library to work properly. I recently created a referenced library using Aperture because of lack of space on my internal ssd. I can see all of my Projects, thumbnails, metadata etc. in both iPhoto and Aperture when my external drive is disconnected. However, there are two major issues:
1) Most of the video thumbnails are broken, both in Aperture and iPhoto. By double clicking a thumbnail of a video (.mov, .avi etc.) it sometimes starts playing (with the external drive connected), sometimes it doesn't, totally inconsistent. I can export the video and it works just fine.
2) While using iPhoto with the external drive disconnected, all Events are there, the thumbnails are there, everything looks ok, but I can only view some of the previews/photos after double clicking the thumbnails. A dialogue opens up saying "The volume for [imagefilename] cannot be found. Insert the disk or connect to the server volume..", but I can actually see the full size preview behind this dialogue. By clicking "Cancel" the photo dissapears and is replaced by a black screen with a grey exclamation mark. This does not occur while using Aperture, I can see all of my previews in full glory when the external drive is disconnected. However, with the external drive connected everything works in iPhoto (except above mentioned issue with videos).
Please boys and girls, I need your help on this one!
System information
OS: Maverick 10.9.1
Aperture: 3.5.1
iPhoto: 9.5.1
Thanks!
//Michel

1. Are these videos different formats? Or the same?
2. See my answer to your duplicate post.

Aperture & iPhoto referenced library issues

Hi,
For the last couple of days I've been busy trying to get my Aperture library to work properly. I recently started using a referenced library because of lack of space on my internal ssd. I've generated previews on all of my 40000 photos. I can see all of my Projects, thumbnails, metadata etc. when my external drive is disconnected. However, there are two major issues:
1) Most of the video thumbnails are broken, both in Aperture and iPhoto. By double clicking a thumbnail of a video (.mov, .avi etc.) it sometimes starts playing, sometimes it doesn't, totally inconsistent. I can export the video and it works just fine.
2) While using iPhoto with the external drive disconnected, all Events are there, the thumbnails are there, everything looks ok, but I can only view some of the previews/photos after double clicking the thumbnails. A dialogue opens up saying "The volume for [imagefilename] cannot be found. Insert the disk or connect to the server volume..", but I can actually see the full size preview behind this dialogue. By clicking "Cancel" the photo dissapears and is replaced by a black screen with a grey exclamation mark. This does not occur while using Aperture, I can see all of my previews in full glory when the external drive is disconnected. However, with the external drive connected everything works in iPhoto (except above mentioned issue with videos).
Please boys and girls, help me out with this!
System information
OS: Maverick 10.9.1
Aperture: 3.5.1
iPhoto: 9.5.1
Thanks!
//Michel

I don;t use iPhoto much so I'm no expert but looking at other posts asking a similar question sems to indicate iPhoto is not capable of doing this.
See Can iPhoto view pictures on a disconnected external drive in a unified photo library? for one example.
Again if Aperture is working correctly on the referenced images on the disconnect drive and iPhoto is not you will need to ask the iPhoto folks.
regards

Converting library from iPhoto 5 to 6 problems

OK, I converted my library through the network, while it was on my iPhoto 5 comp...So here's the deal:
PowerBook G4 (iPhoto 5): An unreadable iPhoto library (it says I have to upgrade to iPhoto 6)
iMac C2D (iPhoto 6): Readable library, but all of my albums/rolls are not saved.
This all happened after I opened my PowerBook's library from my iMac. Ahhh!
There must be a way to manually create a new library...Maybe delete some storage files and have iPhoto rebuild them? I am clueless.
Also, I am clueless to as how iPhoto's file sstem works (originals, modified, pictures, 2005, 2006, etc).
Thanks.

Andrew
1. [i>PowerBook G4 (iPhoto 5): An unreadable iPhoto library (it says I have to upgrade to iPhoto 6)
Yes, the v6 library is not readable by an earlier version. There is no cure for this unless you rebuild your v5 library from scratch, using v5.
2. iMac C2D (iPhoto 6): Readable library, but all of my albums/rolls are not saved.
Where did this library come from?
This all happened after I opened my PowerBook's library from my iMac. Ahhh!
Guess you figured out the problem there, then.
To rebuild a version 6 library: Move the iPhoto Library Folder from Home/Pictures to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library Folder on your desktop and find there the Originals folder. From there drag the individual rolls to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library Folder on your desktop.
A Note about the iPhoto Library Folder:
In this folder there are various files, which are the Library itself and some ancillary files. Then you have three folders
Originals are the photos as they were downloaded from your camera or scanner.
(ii) Modified contains edited pics, shots that you have cropped, rotated or changed in any way.
This allows the Photos -> Revert to Original command - very useful if you don't like the changes you've made.
(iii) Data holds the thumbnails the the app needs to show you the photos in the iPhoto Window.
When upgrading, many people are afraid that they will not be able to find a desired photo in the new structure: There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
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.
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.
Finally: It is strongly advised that you do not move, change or in anyway alter things in the iPhoto Library Folder as this can cause the application to fail and even lead to data loss
Happy Christmas*, Xmas*, Holidays*, Hannukah* or Monday* to you.
Regards
TD
*delete as appropriate

IPhoto managed library imported like a referenced library?

Hi there,
I originally tried to work a referenced library on my new Macbook, changed my mind, deleted all practice libraries and tried to import again. Checked the box saying somethign about 'copy photos to library' in preferences. Now when I have imported it is still looking like a referenced library by using all my folder titles from my old PC filing system. I thought that by going managed, everything would sort into date under events and I would have to rename them and create new folders etc as I needed. I have now tried this twice, deleting the library completely from Trash before starting again to ensure I wasnt pulling up the original one that wasnt correct.
Any suggestions on what might be causing this? Or is this how it should be working, using folder structure from filing system?
Cant figure out how to do a screen shot to show how it looks, but let me know if that is helps and I will learn something else new today.
Cheers,
Cathy

Thanks Larry, I am using the File>Import to Library and then just selecting the 'pictures' folder from the external hard drive. Within that folder there are 2007, 2008 etc folders and then within the years there are 2013-10-01 Event name folders. The folders showing in iPhoto import are the year and event level photos.
Another weird thing that is happening, not sure if it jsut coz this is the first time I have set it up, but it is 'updating thumbnails' on every open - takes ages so eventually I just stay 'finish later' but as a consequence only maybe 50-60% of the thumbnails are visible - the other folders just have a black square representing them. I can open the photos but no thub nails are visible.

IPhoto 08 library problem: originals 'lost'? invalid alias?

Having read a lot of posts, I finally write this as I have not found any help.
I recently moved my iPhoto library from one iMac to another. On the old iMac, I had the iPhoto library on an external drive, now the library is right on the new iMac. iPhoto still displays thumbnails for all my pictures correctly sorted in Albums, but when I try to access any of them, I get "The volume for “photo1234” cannot be found."
Carefully looking inside the library package, I see that "Originals" only contain aliases pointing to the original files in a separate photo folder (that I still have). However, the alias path is wrong, i.e. it's pointing to the external drive that I no longer have.
"Modified" folder has full-size files. iPhoto thumbnails accurately leads to most of them, but even some of the full-size "Modified" files can't be found (it just say's "can't be found", i.e not the "volume can't be found")
Maybe I missed checking "copy items to the iPhoto library" sometime in the past?!?
* Is "Originals" folder only supposed to include aliases?
* Is there a utility that will allow be to do a batch conversion of the alias path?
* Any idea how not to loose modifications made to pictures?
I have tried both built-in rebuild and Library Manager rebuild, but neither helped. My guess is because library basically don't know where the original files are. I could re-import everything, but I am working hard to save my albums (I have a lot set up).
* Any brilliant ideas for how to get all my pictures back 'into' the library and matched up with the albums set up and metadata already in there??????
Any help MUCH appreciated!

zefrog
Welcome to the space between the rock and the hard place.
Maybe I missed checking "copy items to the iPhoto library" sometime in the past?!?
More likely, you unchecked it as it's on by default.
You have a referenced library: in a referenced library the Originals only contain aliases.
Now you want to turn it to a managed library? This is made rather more complex because you have moved the files and now iPhoto cannot resolve the aliases, which is why the trick of using iPhoto Library Manager won't work.
At heart, what you need to do is copy the originals into the Originals folder, overwriting the aliases there - making sure that each pic goes with the correct alias.
I'm sorry but, short of copy and paste, I know of now way of doing that. You might be able to whip up an apple script, but again, because the link to the aliases is broken, that might not work.
You can try re-establish the aliases - that is go into the Originals Folder and click on an alias. It will tell you that it can't find the original file, and ask if you would like to find it, then find it... if you're lucky, finding one alias in each folder will be enough to get the rest working, if you're unlucky then you'll need to re-attach the files individually.
Or try and put the pics back where they were.
If you can re-establish the aliases, have a read of this thread http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1172120&tstart=0
Regards
TD

How to consolidate, iPhoto photos IN library and photos outside of library but visible in iPhoto

Hi guys,
What follow below is the whole explanation of how I got into the mess I am in. but what I want to know is:
How can I 'fully' import Photos , that I have previously imported to iPhoto using the "import: copy items to the iphoto library" unticked.
It not really feasable to locate all the individual events that are imported as a link , deleted them , and re-import the originals because there are hundreds and they are not ordered.
I need a way of doing this on mass, without creating hundreds of duplicates.
I need some sort of a function that says, if not in the library, the find the original and import it.
once that has been done, iPhoto library consolidated and tydied up, I will then be confident about backing it all up , either remotely or on a second hard drive.
The Story :
I have a mac book air 2008 , and I am using iPhoto 09, (vs 8.1.2)
I started an iphoto library on the internal hard drive. this was going fine , until I conviced the wife to upload all of her old picture from the PC into the iphoto library also.
All of a sudden the library was pushing 15GB and on my little 60 GB HD this was starting to eat up all the space on the hard drive.
So , I add an External hardrive to act as over flow, but, ideally I didn't want to move the iphoto library onto the external harddrive. my thinking was that if the library file remains on the Internal HD , I will be able to organise the pics and at least view thumb nails without connecting the hard drive.
So , any new additional photos have now been placed on the external hard drive , but only imported to iPhoto using the "import: copy items to the iphoto library" unticked, so that the thumbnails and meta data would be in the iphoto library on my internal HD and the actual photos would be on the external hard drive.
Brilliant....
Except , space continued to become a problem , so I moved the iPhoto library onto the same harddrive anyway.
Not the end of the world I guess...
Except! now I am looking at backing up my entire iPhoto library to an online storage service, (drop box , or google drive) , because I am in the extremely procarios possition of having only 1 copy of all of our pictures!
I am aware that if I back up my iPhoto library (the iPhoto file) , that will not back up the associated files that are connected but not imported into the library.
I haven't tried this , but I suspect that even if I purchase a regular back up drive, and move all pictures and iphoto library onto the new hard drive, I may still have issues with the iPhoto library trying to locate the original picture on the original drive, rather than the copies that are stored onto the new back up drive.
I say this because I am already having error messages from iPhoto telling me it cannot locate the original...
Sorry for the massive post.
Any help will be extremely welcome!

Basically you need the photos available a tthe path the they had when they were imported, check the option to copy imported items to the iPhoto library and then you use the iplm rebuild -
Photo Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - can rebuild a referenced library into a managed library but only if the original photos are accessable via the path in iPhoto
Or if you have iPhoto '11 9.4.2 and Aperture 3.3 or newer you can use Aperture to reconnect the photos
LN

Referenced Library Copying Vertical Photos

Using iPhoto '08 with a referenced library, I find that when importing photos, it automatically copies photos it deems "modified". I have a Canon Powershot camera, which is one of many that automatically tags photos for the proper rotation (a basic accelerometer is in the camera). When I import horizontal photos, they are referenced, but if they were taken vertically, they are copied into my iPhoto library package. This results in a rapidly growing library package, but only with copies of photos I already have. Is there a way to tell it to not consider automatic rotation an "edit"?

Although Picassa shows the image without actually rotating them, when iPhoto does it the new file created can be used in other applications that do not read that rotation tag, like Safari, iMovie and iDVD. Drag one of the original files into any of those applications and you'll see that they do not display the file rotated.
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.

Restore referenced library

I'm trying to move a referenced iPhoto Library to an external drive.
Has anyone tried restoring a referenced iPhoto Library form a Time Machine backup?
Will it keep the references and description info?

I'm trying to move a referenced iPhoto Library to an external drive.
You can't unless you can Hack SQLite or upgrade to the latest version of the OS and iPhoto and purchase Aperture - one (of the many) reasons that a referenced library is strongly not recommended is that there is no suppoted way to change the path to the referenced library
Has anyone tried restoring a referenced iPhoto Library form a Time Machine backup?
Will it keep the references and description info?
That is not a problem as long as the path to the referenced photos has not changed - it it has then you can not - see above
For more information on the many reasons NOT to have a referenced library see the User tip on iPhoto and file management
LN

IPhoto '11 referenced library problems

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