IPhoto 6 - Combing Libraries - Is it Possible?

I have multiple libraries that I want to turn into one file... Is that possible?
How do yo do it?

midav:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. Yes it is possible. You'll need the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager. It will allow you to merge libraries while maintaining the keywords, comments, and other organizational info. At the present it's then only know method to accomplish that.

Similar Messages

Can't open my photo library after upgrading to iPhoto 11. is it possible to load iPhoto 9.0.1 after loading 11? have followed all other instructions but it still won't let me open iPhoto.

can't open my photo library after upgrading to iphoto 11. Is it possible to download iphoto 9.0.1 after installing '11. Have followed all the other instructions and am in a loop which doesn't allow me to access iphoto or my photos.

when iphoto wouldnt open we read the trouble shooting info and it said that we may have needed to download 9.0.1 if we had an older version. We obviously didn't download it before the upgrade and wondered if it would cause problems or indeed solve the problem if we downloaded it now!
When we try to open iphoto is says:
To open your library with this version of iphoto it first needs to be prepared
To prepare the library use the iphoto library upgrader available from Apple.
We have downloaded this twice now and it still sends us this message when we try to open iphoto.

How does one merge existing IPhoto 11 Libraries on an External HD?

I have an IPhoto 11 Library on my IMAC. I have multiple IPhoto Libraries on my external HD. I use Snow Leopard 10.6.8, IPhoto 11 (v. 9.2.3).
I am not sure how I got them, other than Apple at one point backed up all my files onto my external Seagate HD in order to completely wipe out and do the most extensive reinstall they could due to a malfunction of Time Machine located on a Lacie External HD.
In addition, I must have backed up my IPhoto Library onto my Seagate HD.
My question was how to merge two or more libraries located on my Seagate HD, backup my IPhoto Library onto the Seagate, and eliminating duplicates.
I think I have found my answer after 3 days of searching YouTube, Apple Discussions, Books, google.
It may be long and convoluted but I think I am doing nothing wrong. I wish comments as to improvement or flaws in my procedure.
From what I can glean, IPhoto does not permit merging of multiple libraries, that external programs such as IPhoto Library Manager and IPhoto Duplicate Annihilator are what most recommended. In addition, Aperture vs. Lightroom were discussed.
My solution using just the external HD's and IMAC for transferring photos in their original format (RAW, Jpeg, etc) from my IMAC to an individual IPhoto Library on my Seagate HD.
1. Locate proper IPhoto library, the one on my IMAC by holding the ALT/Option key then depressing and holding the IPhoto Application key located on the Dock until a window pops open, slide my mouse to the window to the line that says, "Open" and releasing only the mouse key while still depressing the ALT/Option key. This will open a window which will permit me to select from the different IPhoto Libraries. If some bear the same name, a look at the pathway on the bottom of the window will show which are on the Seagate HD.
2. Click on the library desired to be opened, in this case, the IMAC IPhoto Library. This will open IPhoto.
3. Select an image, from the Events, Open that image, Open the Info pain (lower right) noting name of file and file size, example CRW_0555 6.5mb a Cannon Raw file. Click on "Edit" which will permit editing.
Hover over image of photo and Right Click with Mouse, window will open, slide cursor down to "Duplicate" the photo and Left click. A duplicate RAW file will be made.
4. Click on Info to close out the Edit mode, Click on the Date Arrow (Upper left of IPhoto window) to get back to the name of the event.
5. Highlight the selected photo or photos, File > Export, select "Original", not the Jpeg that automatically appears.
6. Click Export. New window will appear, in my case telling me it will go to Pictures. Move cursor to window and select via arrow, Desktop to export to. The duplicate RAW file will now appear on your Desktop.
7. Close IMac IPhoto Library.
8. Follow steps 1 & 2 above to Open the desired Library on the Seagate External HD.
9. Drag the RAW desktop Image into IPhoto Library, either into Events or Last Import.
10. Close IPhoto Library.
11. Reopen IPhoto Library by clicking on the IPhoto App located on the Dock. The last library opened, will now be the default, which was the Seagate External IPhoto Library, will open. Click on the RAW image you imported from the Desktop, verify through Info that the Image name and file size and type are exactly the same, in my case, CRW_0555 6.5mb.
12. Drag Image on the DeskTop into the Trash. (Empty at will).
13. You have now taken a duplicated Image or group of selected duplicated images which you created, which you have highlighted in IPhoto on your IMac, dragged them to your Desktop, switched libraries to a selected library on your External HD. and transferred an exact copy into that external IPhoto Library.
Utilizing this basic technique, you can now do any of the following.
Backup your entire IMac Library onto an External HD into a library of the same name.
Take one or more selected images, highlighting each image in an particular Event on your IMAC HD.
Transferring an exact copy of those Images into any particular IPhoto Library on your External HD.
Transfer one image in an external HD IPhoto Library-1 into another external HD IPhoto Library-2 on the same HD (by simply opening up HD IPhoto Library-1, selecting photo, duplicating photo, Exporting Photo to Desktop, Closing IPhoto, Switching Libraries to IPhoto Library-2, opening that Library, dragging Desktop photo into IPhoto Library-2.
You can identify all IPhoto Libraries on all drives and rename them as follows.
1. Open Finder and locate IPhoto Library on the MAC HD under "Pictures", looking for the IPhoto Library Icon in the My Picture Folder (at least in my case). It is simple to find, as it is brightly orange colored and as a description it states, "IPhoto Library" not to be confused with the similar Icon which has a camera in front of it, identifying it as an Application.
2. Double click on the IPhoto Library name and rename it. I named mine "IPhoto Library IMAC-1"
3. In Finder click onto Macintosh HD. In the Search field, type in "IPhoto Library". All of your IPhoto Libraries will show up that are on your IMac and on any currently connected HD's.
4. I renamed them, example, IPhoto Library Seagate 3TB 1, IPhoto Library Seagate 3TB 2, IPhoto Library Seagate 3TB 3, IPhoto Library Lacie, IPhoto IMAC-1.
Items like Library6.IPhoto of only 4Kb (when one opens "Get Info" in the finder, is listed as an "IPhoto Library" "Kind" of file type.
When opened, it appears to contain full size images in a full size library, so perhaps this represents the icon pointing to the "Last import".
Can anyone tell me what that represents? I will not rename nor delete that.
By keeping the names of the IPhoto Libraries, consistent, descriptive of type of drive and the name of the Library you have assigned to it, then simply opening Finder and searching for "IPhoto Library" and looking for the colored icons, one can see, at a glance where each is located (by looking at the bottom of the Finder window for the path which will tell what drive it is located and the pathway to reach it). One will see each of their names.
This saves me from purchasing 3rd party programs to locate duplicates, to merge and establish and rename libraries. This probably will work well if I do no more than a batch of 50 pictures at a time.
It would appear that I will only do this massive procedure one time, making one library on my External HD, eliminating all of the duplicates as long as I let them have the same first part of the name, i.e., CRW_0580, and simply making a search. They should all pop up in my search. I can add on additional suffix names such as CRW_0580edit1, or pano, etc.
Does anyone see anything flawed in my above procedure?
Is there an economical easier way?
I am not sure I want to purchase Aperture, which apparently is overdue for an upgrade. I may want to wait. I may decide on Lightroom, my Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 provides for far better editing capability than IPhoto, at least in terms of exposure corrections.
Pros as I see it to my method -
Inexpensive $$$, no extra cost for extra programs
Full manual control as to what gets transferred, picture by picture
Cons
Seems quite timeconsuming for a first runthrough of the 3,000 photos, both individual and edited.
May have unforeseen consequences that I am not aware of.
Advice is appreciated. Though I have had this machine for several years, I am still trying to learn and have limited understanding. I find written instructions hard to understand and follow, escpecially not understanding the differences between different what I believe to be synonymous terms. I find YouTube videos informative but now answering all of my questions.

The duplication is unnecessary. Exporting creates a duplicate of the file. So now you'll have a duplicate of a duplicate. Exporting is not "working on" a file.
No it's not merging, it's exporting from one to the Finder and into another. No matter what lose something. If you export the Original you leave behind all the work you've done in iPhoto. If you export anything else, you lose the non-destructive editing and the ability to revert to the original. With merging you preserve that work. Yes, you can trash the old Library when you have completed the manoevre but no it's not the same thing as merging.
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue. But in brief:
Current gets you the iPhoto Preview, used for sharing via media browsers. It's a jpg, medium quality missing metadata. Original gets the file you imported, unchanged and then you can export different version of the current version at different qualities. If you choose to export anything except the Original you do not get a Raw. There's no such thing as an "edited Raw", and you lose the connection between the original and the exported version. That means you've taken a non-destructive workflow and turned it into a destructive one.
The Tiff will certainly be higher qulaity and less likely to suffer generational loss in future editing but the file sizes are vast, often more than 10 times the size of the jpeg.
Put it this way, it would be cheaper to buy Library Manager than the disk you'll need to contain all the Tiffs. Unless you plan on a lot of editing, I'd go for a high quality jpeg as a reasonable compromise.
To be clear:
So, I guess my new question is, how can I edit the Raw image and keep it in a RAW format that IPhoto recognizes so that I can reprocess without any loss at a future time, or is it that once you edit a RAW image, then it is no longer a RAW image?
Once you edit a Raw it can no longer be a Raw. End of.

Can't Open iPhoto 6 Libraries in iPhoto 7

I can't seem to open any of my iPhoto 6 Libraries in iPhoto 7, even in iPhoto 6 on another computer than the original it doesn't work.
The only way I can open them now is using iPhoto Buddy on the original machine with iPhoto 6. But even here I can't add any of the libraries that aren't listed in iPhoto Buddy's catalog. The only Libraries I can open are the ones that are listed in the iPhoto Buddy Catalog, and this only on the original machine with iPhoto 6.
In any other circumstance they are greyed out.
They show in the format "Library6.iPhoto"
I tried renaming them, but that doesn't help either.
I need to wipe this machine and am desperately looking for a way to migrate all my libraries to a newer computer and iPhoto 7.
Did anybody else experience this problem?
Thanks for any hints!
Christoph

Christoph
Are you pointing iPhoto to the iPhoto Library Folder and not to any of the Files inside?
Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and point it at the iPhoto Library Folder. F iPhoto sees a valid library there it will open it. If not, then it suggests that the Libraries are damaged.
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Roll Folders 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 on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
or for v7
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders 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 on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
Regards
TD

I would like to copy pictures stored in Events in iPhoto '11 on my iMac to my MacBook Pro which is running iPhoto '09. Is this possible without losing the organization of the Events?

I would like to copy pictures stored in Events in iPhoto '11 on my iMac to my MacBook Pro which is running iPhoto '09. Is this possible without losing the organization of the Events?

Only way to do it:
Export each Event to folders in the Finder from the iPhoto 11 machine, copy those folders to the 09 machine. Import them.
Apps like iPhoto2Disk or PhotoShare will help you export to a Folder tree matching your Events.

Merging iPhoto & Aperture libraries

I want to merge iPhoto & Aperture libraries but I have three questions before I do this:
1. Both programs have different events and albums organizing my photos. When I merge the libraries, does each program keeps the photos organized the way that are right now or does it also merge events and albums? After I merge the libraries, when I creat an album or an event in either program, does the event or album appears in both programs?
2. After I merge the libraries, when I import photos from a camera or the iPhone, does it automatically refreshes in either programs and the new photos appear in both programs? I guess this is a dumb question but I just wanna make sure.
3. I Have an external HD backing up my aperture library in a vault but my iPhoto library is not set to back up automatically like the vault thing in aperture. After the merging, now the vault is going to back up the whole master library?
I appreciate the help and guidance with this questions.
Proto V.
PS: I am mexican so english is my 2nd languaje, I apologize if I commited a gramatic mistake

The key question here is what versions of iPhoto and Aperture do you have?
If you have the latest vesions of both, then merging is as simply as using Aperture's File -> Import -> Library command.
Again, if you have the latest versions of both, thereafter both apps use the same library. So, new photos don't "appear in both programs", they go into the Library and you can use either app to see them.
Yes, after merging the vault will back up the Library.

Two iPhoto '08 Libraries, One External and One Internal...

Hello,
I have Two iPhoto '08 Libraries, One External and One Internal. I moved my original iPhoto library to my external HD and all was good. Now about six months later I am noticing that I have two libraries, the external one is 15.8 gigs and the internal one is 17.66 gigs. Can I merge these and how or are one of these an older version of the library that I could delete? Any assistance would be great!
Thanks,
Pete

Pete
Welcome to the Apple user discussion forums
are one of these an older version of the library that I could delete?
Sorry - these are user forums - not physic users forum
my best guess is that you never directed iPhoto to use the external library and that is is a back up of your old library and that your internal library is the complete library - but that is just a guess
To switch libraries and look at the launch iPhoto while depressing the option (alt) key and use the select library function - once you figure out what you have you can delete the old or or use iPhoto library manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - to move photos between them
LN

IPhoto '08 libraries are messed up....

Yep, it's true. Here's what's happening. When I go into my Home Folder to Pictures and right click on the Pictures folder and Show Package Contents, all my albums are not there. I have 5, all I can access via iPhoto Library Manager and all open correctly. BUT if I click within the Pictures folder on a particular album, it's the same one that opens up each time- whatever one I opened up last in IPLM is the one that opens up when I go into the Pictures folder. That's issue #1. The other issue is the missing album. It's not listed in the Pictures folder. Once again I can access it via IPLM but not within the Pictures folder- the pictures appear in 2 different folders but they are not 'album' folders- they are regular blue folders. The blue folders are the Data and the Originals folders. That is problem #2. Something is messed up. I am using the latest version of iPhoto- 7.1 (347) and ran Repair Permissions after the update. I will appreciate any insight into this issue, Judy

I use iPLM to manage 12 libraries and do it by always launching iPLM first and then selecting the library I want. I leave iPLM in the Dock and use it instead of iPhoto. I find it cuts the time to change libraries by a large factor and the time to decide which library to open the first thing in the day. I never have to go to my Pictures folder.
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 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. 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.

I am making an album with Snapfish and would like to download ome of my photos from iphoto to snapfish, is this possible?

I am making an album with Snapfish and would like to download some of my photos from iphoto to Snapfish, is this possible?

You mean "upload"?
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:
Drag and Drop: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
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.
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. 3.b.
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.

Possible to use iPhoto 9.3 to merge iPhoto & Aperture libraries?

i use aperature to edit and organize. i'd like to export certain projects as individual libraries so that i can send to family members (via shared dropbox folder) so they can easily add to their iPhoto library without having to re-organize, assign faces, locations, etc.
i know it's now possible to do this aperture 3.3 [http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5296], however who i'd like to send to only use iPhoto. Any ideas or workarounds?

No. Importing Libraries as projects are Aperture only features.
However, they could use the paid ($20) version of iPhoto Library Manager to merge the Libraries.

One computer can't see any other iPhoto shared libraries

My Powerbook can't see any other computer's shared iPhoto libraries. However, all my other computers can see its iPhoto library.
All computers are running the same version of iPhoto.
I posted this in the iPhoto forum, but I'm reasonably sure this is a networking problem. Why? If I create another user on my Powerbook, it can see all the other shared libraries. So, the problem exists on only one account on one computer. I think there is a corrupt system setting in that account's ~/Library/ somewhere. Any suggestion which file it is? I've already dragged out likely culprits to no avail.
I have no problem sharing iTunes libraries; that works fine. So do file transfers to and from.
Here's what else I've done:
Verified iPhoto Preferences is set to "Look for shared photos" and "Share my photos" (obviously).
Tried requiring a password, and not requiring a password
Verified System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall has "iPhoto Bonjour Sharing" checked.
Deleted ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iPhoto.plist
Deleted ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist
Deleted ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iApps.plist
Deleted ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.digihub.plist
Turned off Little Snitch
Quit / restarted iPhoto a few times
Logged in / out, rebooted a few times
Researched iPhoto Help
Researched the discussion boards
Repaired permissions on both (as you can see, I'm resorting to voodoo tactics)
Dragged my iPhoto Library out of ~/Pictures and created a brand new empty library (more voodoo)
Googled the problem
Posted this topic
That's all I can think of to do.
So... what haven't I done?

If iPhoto works for one user on a computer, it ought to work for all users. So the program itself can't possibly be a problem. Right?
Apparently not. I deleted iPhoto, and reinstalled it. That fixed the problem for the one recalcitrant account.
The problem with voodoo is that sometimes, it works.

IPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users

I'm thinking to buy the first Mac of my life...
Sorry for writing here but I'm an engineer and I don't like to much answer from commercial people...
Studying how to set up the new iMac, one possible problem is that my wife and me are working on Win 7 on the same photo library with two different account (while our little daughter cannot access it).
I've found this article in the apple support:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1198?viewlocale=en_US
But I’m not fully persuaded of the two possible solution.
- usb external drive with “ignore permission on that volume” (I suppose that also an internal partition can be good)
- image disk on shared folder
If I choose the partition with ignore permission I’m worried that my daughter can delete everything and I’m not sure that it is possible to backup everything with time machines…
If I choose the image disk “sparse” I’m worried about the performance (20gb of photo increasing…) and I’m not sure if I can exclude the image file from time machines and I can backup the mounted disk instead….
Is there any other solution, considering that could be even enough a read only access for my wife account (just to see the photo library and synchronize with her iPhone)
Many thanks
Riccardo

Thanks for your answer,
You don't have to use an external disk or partition. You can simply put the Library in the Users/Shared folder and work from there.
Are you sure? The apple article HT1198 says: If two or more users attempt to use the same iPhoto library and the library is not on a volume where permissions are ignored, unexpected results may occur. This includes the inability to see or edit certain photos, or the inability to open the iPhoto library. Follow the steps below to avoid sharing iPhoto libraries in this manner.
If you're concerned about your daughter accessing the Library and trashing it: here's a way:
Create an extra Account on your Mac, call it Media. Create an iPhoto Library there. (BTW: This will work for iTunes too.)
Enable Sharing on the Library:(Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and use Fast User Switching to open the other accounts. In those accounts, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. The Library will appear in the other source pane.
This means that both all users will be able to see the pics. If you want to use a pic then simply drag it from the shared Library to your own in the iPhoto Window. This means that each user can have their own edits.
If you want to add or delete photos to the Library: Log into the Media account for that purpose. Obviously, don't give the kids the password for the Media account.
To make it all seamless: Set your Mac to log into the Media Account automatically. Set iPhoto to launch on log-in. Then switch to your own account using Fast User Switching.
Net result: a Library that's permanently available to all users but also protected. Each user can have their own versions of the pics if they want.
No partitioning, no permissions issues. Uses no extra disk space. What's not to like?
This could be perfect!!! I will see all feature of iPhoto on the shared library (events, places, faces, albums)? And is it also possible from my account to see the albums in iTunes to synchronize it with my iPhone?
Many thanks again for your help
Riccardo

How to merge iPhoto v2 libraries into one iPhoto v11 library

Hi,
I just are going through a major upgrade from my iBook dual USB (500 MHz Power PC G3, OS 10.4.11) to my brand-new MacBook Pro (2.3 GHz core I5, OS 10.6.8).
As my old iBook was running so slow, I had splitted my libraries into two using IPhoto Library Manager some years ago running with iPhoto 2. Now I need to merge these two libraries into one and then transfer it to my new computer and let iPhoto 11 upgrade the library at once.
Based on very helpful earlier threats, I intend to follow the process below:
Merge libraries using iPhoto Library Manager (registered version) to get one library (on my old computer)
Copy this library into the Pictures folder of my new computer
Open iPhoto (shift key will give me the option to select if needed) and it will automatically upgrade my library.
So far so good - but I experience one issue I did not manage to solve. I use iPhoto Library Manager version 3.5.2 on my old computer, but after starting the merging process it tells me I need iPhoto version 4 at least; but I have version 2 only. I guess I cannot use iPhoto version 11 on my new computer as I first need to merge the libraries as old versions, as the iPhoto version 11 cannot work with the not yet upgraded libraries, can it? I have the IPhoto Library Manager registered version 3.6.8 installed on my new machine.
Before I make a major mistake to my pictures (> 20 GB): is it possible to upgrade both old libraries separately in iPhoto v11 and then merge them in iPhoto v11?
Many thanks for your advice!
Best regards,
Markus

Rename the second iPhoto 2 library to something other that iPhoto Library and put it in the Pixtures folder next to the other library on your new MBP. Then open it with iPhoto11 to convert.
Once both are converted to the same version you can use iPLM to merge them into a new library.
HOWEVER if you don't care about any metadata you might have in your last iPhoto 2 library you can use SyncPhotos
to import the photos in your iPhoto 2 library into your iPhoto 11 library.
Here's how it works:
1 - it compares the databases and/or album.xml files of Libraries A and B.
2 - the files in A that are not in B are imported into B by copying the original files from A into B's Import folder.
3 - it then does the same for B.
4 - metadata is not copied.
It can be used to just copy from A to B and not sync both ways if desired. It will work with 2 libraries that are different versions, i.e. between an iPhoto 08 and iPhoto 09 library.
OT

Is Therea Way to merge all my iPhoto/Aperture Libraries"

After many years and thousands of photos, I have found myself with many photo libraries, Is there a way to merge them all? this would be very, very helpful if it was possible.

The only way to merge iPhoto Libraries is with the paid ($20) version of iPhoto Library Manager
You can't merge Aperture and iPhoto Libraries, you can import iPhoto Libraries to Aperture. There are ways to merge Aperture Libraries if you're running Aperture 3 or later.
Regards
TD

Iphoto 11 - Libraries

History
I have recently had to reinstall my OS Snow Lepoard. When restoring I found iphotos 9 would not reinstall due to corruption.
Scenario
I have now bought Ilife 11 with iphoto 11 on as I decided now would be a good time to upgrade.
After installing how do I get it to point to my 4 libraries one will be on my macbook pro,
3 are an external drive.
Any help welcome...

iPhpoto will upgrade as necessary when you open the libraries as long as they were created by iPhoto verson 8 iPhoto '09) or later - for version 7 and earlier libaries you must run the iPhoto library upgrader first and then open with iPhoto
LN

IPhoto 6 - Combing Libraries - Is it Possible?

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