IPhoto deleted important keywords and over 1000 tags!

I have an extensive list of keywords and two of my most used keywords have suddenly disappeared, along with the tagging of the photos! Has anyone else experienced this problem and is there a way to get my hours of tagging work back?

sallingqueen:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. The tip at the end of my signature may help to resurrect the library in case this happens again.
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 written 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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Similar Messages

Importing photos from ZoomBrowser into iPhoto without losing keywords and star ratings

I have been using Canon's ZoomBrowser EX on my Windows Vista laptop. I have just bought a MacBook Air running Lion. I would like to import all of my photos to iPhoto, but when I do this I lose all of the keywords and star ratings I have associated with my many photos. Is there any way to import the photos into iPhoto while retaining the keywords and star ratings so that I can use them in iPhoto? Doing this manually would be impractical due to the large number of photos involved.
Thanks.
- Charlie

Keywords:
Iphoto can certainly import them if they are written to the correct fields of the standard metadata. They key question is can your Windows app write them to the files?
Ratings
There's no real way to share ratings via standard metadata, but if you can write the keywods, then you can quickly tag the pics with simple keywords (1star, 2star) and when imported to iPhoto recreate your rating system.
So, the question is really about your existing software and what it can do.
Regards
TD

How can I import keywords and albums from iphoto 5?

I have new imac with iPhoto 7.1. I'd like to import the keywords and albums along with the pics from my old imac and iphoto 5. Photos import, but not tags or albums. Any suggestions?

Roy
The trick is not to import, but to update.
Copy the library from the old mac to the new one, then hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. Select 'Choose Library' and point iPhoto at this old one and it will update it to a v7 library, including albums and keywords.
If you already have a new library on your new machine, then use iPhoto Library Manager to merge them or to move the pics from the older to the newer.
Regards
TD

Import keywords and ratings into Aperture from adobe apps?

Hi,
I'm currently using adobe bridge/ps2/pse etc as my main apps. I use keywords and ratings extensively.
When I import my photos into aperture, will I also be able to keep my current ratings/keyword tagging?
Thanks.

I also used Bridge/ACR to rate and add keywords to RAWS (Canon) and also used Adobe DNG converter to make DNG files from these.
No ratings or keywords have imported for any RAWs and DNGs. And, for some DNG files (which I can see in Bridge and iViewMedia), they cannot be displayed in Aperture. It's very strange since I've used the same workflow to create the DNG files over the past year. Some can be imported/viewed, some cannot be viewed. All originally from the same camera/RAW file. I've read in this forum that Aperture cannot read things like keywords from sidecar files.
I am hopeful that Apple will make DNG sidecar file import a big priority.
- Pierre

IPhoto automatically imported EVENT and its photos?

I imported some photos into iPhoto on my MacBook Air this weekend while away. This morning (I'm back home), I started the MacBook Air with the intent of copying the imported photos to my iMac and eventually into the iPhoto library. So the Air is running, but iPhoto is not running on the Air.
I open iPhoto on my iMac. While navigating back to the All Events display, I notice a new event that I created on my MacBook Air ("Easter 2014") pops up on my iMac. I open that event and there are two photos in it. Puzzled, I scratch my head and another photo is added to the event. "Am I looking at the photostream?" I ask myself. No. This is a new event. After a minute or two, all the photos from the same event on my MacBook Air show up on my iMac in the same event.
So this event from the Air is automatically duplicated into my iMac's iPhoto Library, except for the video files. So just like photostream, except this is not in the typical photostream created event name, such as Apr 2014 Photostream.
I can see this being a huge feature, but I'm not sure how it happened. Anyone else experience this?

Easter 2014
Here were the exact steps:
So before I left, there were 20 departure photos that were in both libaries, referenced by iPhoto.
While out of town, on the MacBook Air, I created the event "Easter 2014." I moved the 20 relevant photos out of Apr 2014 photostream event into this new event. So now these 20 photos exist in both libraries, but on the Air, they are in a new event call "Easter 2014"
I then imported, while out of town, about 14 more photos and 3 videos from an SD card into the Air iPhoto library and merged the imported event into "Easter 2014"
This morning, while back at home, I started the MacBook Air but did not start iPhoto. I then started iPhoto on the iMac. In Finder, I navigated to the photos on the Air and copied them. I went to the folder on the iMac that already had 20 photos in it and pasted the additional photos and videos. I then realized that my camera had started over sequentially with the use of a new SD card, so there were duplicate names in the destination. I skipped overwriting and then pressed cmd-z to undo the copy. While contemplating how to handle this, I brought iPhoto to the front and viewed all of the events, that were sorted by date descending (newest on top.) I noticed an event on the iMac, "Easter 2014" and opened it. There were two photos that were only on the Air and in the Photostream. As I contemplated this, another photo was added, then another until all the photos (but no videos).
Just now, I thought maybe the paste action in Finder while iPhoto was open might have triggered iPhoto to believe those photos were "moved" from the Photostream (since they had the same file name and were already there.)
That's my only guess. Since the original event photos were referenced, and the photos that magically appeared are NOT referenced, I can only assume this is what happened. The photos did not become "unlinked" (If that's the right word) when I "undid" the paste of the photos, they are still present inside the library package.
But I think it is bad guess -- because I've always assumed iPhoto has no association of the name of a folder with an event (in Finder, not in the library package.)

Can Aperture import keywords and ratings from Lightroom?

Decided to download the Aperture trial, and imported 17,000 images without a problem until I realised that my keywords and star ratings are missing (and even some vertical shots are horizontal).
Is there a way to get Aperture to look at the sidecar files generated by Lightroom? Without that I'm unlikely to use Aperture for anything other than books that iPhoto can't do.
Thanks,
Nigel

Unfortunately, no.
It might be possible by use of AppleScript (the script would need to parse the XML files and put this data into Aperture), but this would not be trivial to write and to the best of my knowledge nobody has done it.
It's a shame, as Aperture can export XMP sidecar files so LR will pick up Aperture ratings and keywords (but not adjustments) just fine.

Script to Export and Import Keywords and Metadata

I have a requirement to mass upload and download keywords and various metadata fields (i.e. File Name, Date Created, City, Country, Document, Title, etc.) into an external database from the Adobe Bridge. Ideally it would be compatible to .txt, .csv, etc type of database format. Currently I have to accomplish this task one at a time. I have an immediate need to upload 1000 plus pictures and various text fields into my website to share with others and be able to sell my pictures online.
My immediate is for exporting the metadata and keywords.
Does anyone know of a script that is aavailable?
Arnold

John,
Thanks for your quick response. Below is the script I just modified this morning. When looking in the keyword field, it returns the word "undefined" for all records.
I tried that yesterday and it didn't work. When looking at the Advance file info on Adobe Bridge I see the below format which had 2 levels. All the others I used only had one. Since I am not a programmer, I need help on that part of the script.
==========================
EXIF Properties (exif,http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/)
- exif:Flash
- exif:Fired: True
====================================
Any luck on determining how to obtain file size.
Again thank you so much for supporting me on my project,
Arnold
=====================
#target bridge
if (BridgeTalk.appName == "bridge")
// Let's create our menu
var menu = MenuElement.create( "command", "Export CSV File", "at the end of Tools");
menu.onSelect = function(m) {
try
// Let's ask what the name of the output file
var f = File.saveDialog("Export file list to:", "Comma delimited file:*.CSV");
// Write the column headings
f.open("w");
f.writeln("Seq Number,New File Name,New File Name Path,Original File Name,Org Dt & Tm,ISO,Exposure Time,F Stop,EV,Exposure Program,Meter Mode,Focal Length,Flash,Lens,Author, Author's Position,City,Country,Description,Title,Orientation,Width,Height,Rating,Label");
// Let's get a list of all the visible thumbnails
var items = app.document.visibleThumbnails;
for (var i = 0; i < items.length; ++i) { var item = items[i]; f.writeln(i + 1, ",\"", item.name, "\",\"", item.path.replace(/\"/g, "\"\""), "\",\"", ListMetadata(item), "\",\"", "\"" ); } f.close(); } catch(e) { } } menu.onDisplay = function(m) { m.enabled = app.document.contentPaneMode == "filesystem" && app.document.visibleThumbnails.length > 0;
function ListMetadata(tn)
md = tn.metadata;
md.namespace = "http://ns.adobe.com/photoshop/1.0/";
varAuthor = md.Author + "\",\"" + md.AuthorsPosition + "\",\"" + md.City + "\",\"" + md.Country + "\",\"";
md.namespace = "http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/aux/";
varLens = md.Lens + "\",\"" ;
md.namespace = "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";
vartitle = md.title + "\",\"" + md.description + "\",\"" ;
md.namespace = "http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/mm/"
VarPreservedFileName = md.PreservedFileName + "\",\"" ;
md.namespace = "http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/"
VarDateTimeOriginal = md.DateTimeOriginal + "\",\"" + md.ISOSpeedRatings + "\",\"" + md.ExposureTime + "\",\"" + md.FNumber + "\",\"" + md.ExposureBiasValue + "\",\"" + md.ExposureProgram + "\",\"" + md.MeteringMode + "\",\"" + md.FocalLengthIn35mmFilm + "\",\"" + md.Flash + "\",\"" ;
md.namespace = "http://ns.adobe.com/tiff/1.0/"
varOrientation = md.Orientation + "\",\"" + md.ImageWidth + "\",\"" + md.ImageLength + "\",\"" ;
md.namespace = "http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/"
varRating = md.Rating + "\",\"" + md.Label ;
md.namespace = "http://ns.adobe.com/photoshop/1.0/";
varKeywords = ListKeywords(md) + "\",\"" ;
function ListKeywords(md)
var varKeywords = "" ;
for (var i = 0; i < md.Keywords.length; ++i) { varKeywords = varKeywords + md.Keywords[i] + ", "; } //strip off final comma and space varKeywords = varKeywords.substring( 0, varKeywords.length-2);
return VarPreservedFileName + VarDateTimeOriginal + varLens + varAuthor + vartitle + varOrientation + varRating + varKeywords;
==============================

Deleting imported keywords.

I’ve imported photos to Aperture that had keywords assigned to them from a PC version of Elements. I don’t want to use these keywords anymore so I’ve used the search keyword feature to select the photos and remove the existing imported keywords assigned to them.
Now I would like to remove the reference to those keywords from the keyword search HUD, but I can’t find how to do that. When I open the keyword HUD it doesn’t show the keywords that were imported. It only shows the Aperture keywords that came with the program. Now all my old imported keywords are cluttering up the keyword search HUD.
Any thoughts on how to get rid of these?
Ken

I don't think this is right. The information
contained in
~Library/Application Support/Aperture/Keywords.plist
is the same information that's in the Keyword HUD.
You have full edit capabilities... no need to edit a
.plist.
<...>
If I understand the poster correctly, the issue is
with the Keyword SEARCH HUD. I, too, had this
problem.
<....>
The problem is with the database. Aperture looks to
the database when compiling a list of keywords for
the Keyword SEARCH HUD and doesn't appear to remove
keywords that no longer actually exist in the
database. I did some searching and found a web site
where someone had discovered that Aperture is using
open source SQLite. He only listed a few commands and
I was not able to figure out how to clean up my
database without corrupting it. In the end I ended up
restoring it. Not the best solution.
<...>
Looking back I see you may be correct... As you note at the end a database rebuild will cure this problem, since it will only load keywords you are actually using.
For a more pure solution a way to remove keywords from the database is better. However I am not quite sure that what you are describing is a problem in Aperture, or at least not quite as common a problem as I had first thought it might be from your description. As a test I tried adding and removing a keyword to an image. With the keyword gone, the keyword was also removed from the search options.
Now for something more like the example you gave, I tried two keywords with the same name, one located at the top level and one under another keyword. The keyword did show up twice (after I applied this new keyword to an image), however the one in the folder now showed additional text after it showing you which keyword it was under (which is the correct bahaviour since they are really two different keywords as far as specific keyword searches go). When one of the keywords was removed that keyword vanished from the search options once more.
So, I think removing a visible search property from the database would indeed cause issues because if a keyword appears there it seems it's being used. However, if someone wants to investigate the proper SQl further the SQ to select an IPTC value given a key looks like:
Select ZPROPERTYSPECIFICSTRING
from
ZRKSEARCHABLEPROPERTY, ZRKPROPERTYIDENTIFIER
where
ZRKSEARCHABLEPROPERTY. ZPROPERTYIDENTIFIER =
ZRKPROPERTYIDENTIFIER.Z_PK
AND
ZRKPROPERTYIDENTIFIER .ZPROPERTYKEY =
'ImageType'
If you properly remove rows from ZRKSEARCHABLEPROPERTY and ZRKPROPERTYIDENTIFIER using the links between the tables in the above query I see no reason why it should not work. If you only removed a row from one and not the other I could definatley see how it would crash Aperture.
If you can post a specific scenario that leaves behind truly unused keywords I can look at this a little closer... I just can't get it to misbehave with the testing i've done (and so far I've mostly been adding keywords, not removing many).

IPhoto not importing keywords

I use Nikon ViewNX for pulling files off of my Nikon DSLRs, iPhone and point&shoot cameras. Then I cull, sort and keyword the files. I then import the files into iPhoto. For some reason, the keywords do not come with the files from the Nikon cameras (RAW and jpeg on D200 & D800). The keywords seem to stick with the iPhone and point&shoot files. Interestingly, I can see the keywords using Finders Info pane, but iPhoto seems to strip them off. Can't see the keywords with Aperture either. Am I missing a setting somewhere? Thanks.

Add keywords to a couple of photos with the ViewNX app and then open them with Preview. Bring up the Info window for that image (type Command+i in Preview) and click the the IPTC button:
If the keywords show up there then iPhoto should be able to read and display them If they don't then the ViewNX is not writing the keywords to the correct field so iPhoto an read them.

Can I prevent iPhoto from importing keywords with photos?

That's it.
I add some photos of public domain stuff from the web and they may come in with two dozen keywords, not in my system.

No.
Remove them before importing.
Or, aftr importing use the Manage Keywords window to remove them.
Regards
TD

IPhoto '09 importing keywords,ratings & other data from Aperture

<Edited by Moderator>
Will Faces & Places work with pictures I import from Aperture? I there a way of viewing the Aperture Library and then dragging and dropping a Project/Event to iPhoto with the data to make Faces and Places and Ratings etc show up in iPhoto 09 (which I do not have but might get)...
Thanks

Thank you for your reply.
I tried to export from Aperture to a folder, but it seems to work only with masters, not with versions (or at least I can't find an option to export metadata in File->Export->Versions).
What I'd need iPhoto for is to catalog and display my elaborated pics. So I could copy only my iPhoto Library to my MacBook.
Best regards,
Oskar.
Message was edited by: oaks70

How do i import keyword tags from PSE12?

I have just downloaded PS and LR5 from Adobe CC. I was using Photoshop Elements 12. How can I import my keyword tags from the PSE Organizer. I saved them as .txt files but they will not import because they contain "special characters." What do I do? Please do not tell me I have to start over... ~

is there a way to import tags from PSE 12
The PSE 12 Organizer and LR 5 use different file formats for exporting and importing keyword hierarchies. PSE uses XML format, while LR 5 uses a tab-separated format. If you're a programmer or technically minded, you could convert from one to the other using your favorite scripting language.
But the approach suggested by dj_paige can be modified to accomplish what you want without scripting, by copying the keyword hierarchy from the "upgraded" LR catalog that was created from your PSE catalog to your "good" LR catalog:
1. Make a manual backup of your "good" LR catalog: Lightroom Help | Back up a catalog.
2. In LR, open the catalog that you created previously by upgrading (converting) the PSE catalog -- you can usually get to that catalog by doing File > Open Recent.
3. Go to grid view in the Library by doing Window > Library followed by View > Grid (usually you're already in Library grid view, but just in case...)
4. Make sure the Keyword List panel is showing on the right by doing Window > Panels > Keyword List.
5. You should see the keyword hierarchy from your PSE catalog. If you don't, stop and post a screen shot of the entire LR screen.
6. Do Metadata > Export Keywords to export those keywords as a LR-format text file.
7. Open your "good" LR catalog by doing File > Open Recent.
8. Do Metadata > Import Keywords and select the file you exported in step 6.
9. All the keywords that were exported in step 6 will be added to the current catalog, and there will be duplicate keywords if there were already keywords of the same name in the catalog. Those new keywords will not be attached to any existing photos in the current catalog.

PSE 13 "Import Keyword Tags From File" Fails

Whenever I try to do the above command, it fails. As shown in the attached figure it gets to 9%. Does anyone have any ideas on how to troubleshoot this error?
Thanks in advance.

is there a way to import tags from PSE 12
The PSE 12 Organizer and LR 5 use different file formats for exporting and importing keyword hierarchies. PSE uses XML format, while LR 5 uses a tab-separated format. If you're a programmer or technically minded, you could convert from one to the other using your favorite scripting language.
But the approach suggested by dj_paige can be modified to accomplish what you want without scripting, by copying the keyword hierarchy from the "upgraded" LR catalog that was created from your PSE catalog to your "good" LR catalog:
1. Make a manual backup of your "good" LR catalog: Lightroom Help | Back up a catalog.
2. In LR, open the catalog that you created previously by upgrading (converting) the PSE catalog -- you can usually get to that catalog by doing File > Open Recent.
3. Go to grid view in the Library by doing Window > Library followed by View > Grid (usually you're already in Library grid view, but just in case...)
4. Make sure the Keyword List panel is showing on the right by doing Window > Panels > Keyword List.
5. You should see the keyword hierarchy from your PSE catalog. If you don't, stop and post a screen shot of the entire LR screen.
6. Do Metadata > Export Keywords to export those keywords as a LR-format text file.
7. Open your "good" LR catalog by doing File > Open Recent.
8. Do Metadata > Import Keywords and select the file you exported in step 6.
9. All the keywords that were exported in step 6 will be added to the current catalog, and there will be duplicate keywords if there were already keywords of the same name in the catalog. Those new keywords will not be attached to any existing photos in the current catalog.

Imported keyword tags, image tags, main tags in PSE 12

I have converted an older catalog to PSE 12 for Mac. I have tags in Imported Keywords, and that also show up in the Image Tags, but not all show up in the main tags lists (People, Places, Events). How do I get these all in the main tag groups?

Saurabh288--
Yes, now I see the tags under "Image Tags," and if I right click the tag in that spot, I have the option to remove it. Thank you.
As to the Remove Keyword Tag option, "should be" appears to be the operative phrase here. It should be, but in many cases isn't. The option appears for some photos but is grayed out for others, even when the "others" have tags showing under "Image Tags." But I can live without this option working, since the "Image Tags" list gives me a woraround. Thanks again.

Incompatibility issue with imported images losing keywords and other metada

I am reposting this with a more descriptive title in hopes that the powers that be will look into this. This really nice piece of software is currently doubling the time in my workflow by having to re-input keywords, etc. after importing.
Wayne_N
Posts: 5
From: Texas
Registered: Sep 24, 2006
Re: import keywords and ratings into Aperture from adobe apps?
Posted: Nov 18, 2006 2:40 PM in response to: Egg
Click to reply to this topic Reply email Email
I am getting the opposite result. I have lost a lot of my keywords and various other data input in Bridge. Is there a setting I'm missing? I also put in Country name, city, state, contact, etc. in my Brdige metadata, but this is not importing with the RAW files. I am referencing images if that matters, although it shouldn't.
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
pvonk
Posts: 19
Registered: Mar 2, 2005
New! Re: import keywords and ratings into Aperture from adobe apps?
Posted: Nov 18, 2006 3:25 PM in response to: Egg
Click to reply to this topic Reply email Email
I also used Bridge/ACR to rate and add keywords to RAWS (Canon) and also used Adobe DNG converter to make DNG files from these.
No ratings or keywords have imported for any RAWs and DNGs. And, for some DNG files (which I can see in Bridge and iViewMedia), they cannot be displayed in Aperture. It's very strange since I've used the same workflow to create the DNG files over the past year. Some can be imported/viewed, some cannot be viewed. All originally from the same camera/RAW file. I've read in this forum that Aperture cannot read things like keywords from sidecar files.
I am hopeful that Apple will make DNG sidecar file import a big priority.
- Pierre
MacBook Pro, 2.16 GHz, 2 GB SDRAM Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)

I have been testing Lightroom since beta 2, but after reading The DAM Book, I decided to hold off committing to LR since it was not clear that it would fit into the workflow recommended in the book.
I had processed some of my recent photos, adding ratings and keywords (and doing some editing - but I knew that was not necessarily permanent due to LR's incompatibility with PS/Bridge when it came to metadata).
I had briefly looked at Aperture a while back, but was turned off by the price (then $500) and the fact that it couldn't reference the original files. When the 1.5 demo came out with its improvements, I tried it and loved it! After much thought about the workflow I had developed, I decided that I could alter it so that Aperture would fit in - in fact it would be my main app (giving up Bridge/ACR/iViewMedia Pro).
As per The DAM Book, I had begun converting my Canon RAWs to DNG (fortunately kept most of my RAWs). The first thing I discovered in the demo (I have since purchased the app, 1.5.1) was the fact that none of my ratings and keywords came through. Also, I used the color labels in Bridge to help during the evaluation phase, those didn't come through either, but I expected that. As I also noted in the previous post, some of my DNGs can't be viewed in Aperture even though they can be viewed in Bridge and iViewMedia.
Fortunately, I had not "processed" all that many photos in my collection, so I can easily start again with the ratings and keywords. BUT there will be many photographers who have, and if Aperture hopes to tempt them away from LR or the other workflows, the Apple team should seriously consider providing support for Adobe's keywords/ratings found in sidecars and perhaps in DNGs. Also, good support of DNGs might be another thing to look at, as many users have been converting from RAW as I have.
Just my three cents (inflation).
- Pierre

IPhoto deleted important keywords and over 1000 tags!

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