IPhoto 7.1.1 Under Leopard 10.5.1 Will not print photo under "save as PDF"

Question

iPhoto 7.1.1 Under Leopard 10.5.1.
Select a photo, choose "print" icon at bottom of iPhoto window.
Choose "print".
Choose "Save as PDF".
Result: Unknown error message appears with white space (no text) in message box, but with "OK" button.
Hit "OK button".
RESULT: iPhoto prints a screen shot of the iPhoto window and renders it to a PDF file.
In other words, *the print function under iPhoto does not work*. It yields an error every time that does not have a message, then *instead of printing the selected photo, takes a PDF screen shot of the iPhoto window*.
This is an example of poor programming. And of course, there is no way to fix it, or to get help.
Is anyone else having this problem?

Answer 1

This is an example of poor programming.
How do you come to this conclusion. It's working fine for me. You're the first to report such an issue.
First repair disk permissions with Disk Utility and delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your User/Library/Preferences folder. A corrupted pref file can cause all sorts of unusual performance problems. If that doesn't help, log into another account and try from there. If it still doesn't work a reinstall of iPhoto seems warranted. To reinstall iPhoto you'll have to delete the current application and all files with "iPhoto" in the file name that reside in the HD/Library/Receipts folder.
It iPhoto performs correctly in the other account then your primary account is the culprit and may be a preference file other than iPhoto's that's at fault. To determine if that's the case try the following;
Trouble Shooting Preferences
Go to HD/Users/Your_name/Library. Move the Preferences folder (in its entirety) to the Desktop and make a second copy of it so you have Copy A and B. Now try the the process again and determine if problem is fixed.
If the problem IS fixed, then go to the new Prefs folder that the OS will have created and open it up.
Open Copy B on the Desktop and select all of the items inside. Drag them into the open new library folder. When the Copy window comes up check the Apply to All check box and then click on the Don't Replace button as seen here. That will keep the new files created and bring back all of the others.
If the problem is NOT fixed, trash the new Prefs folder and move the intact Copy A folder back to the Library folder .
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.