IPhoto File System

I thought this was a pretty simple process.
I heard that you can make it so that when you import photos into iPhoto it will leave the pictures and/or folders in their original file system and NOT import them into iPhoto's file system.
I was really excited about this because I HATE how iPhoto organizes photos...I can never find one if I look for it in Finder.
So I unchecked the button under Advance so that I could keep my own file system/organization.
I cleared out all the photos from iPhoto and deleted all files in the iPhoto Library folder.
I have several folders, about 15, which have names such as "My Birthday" or "Sister's Birthday" and corresponding pictures in the folders. These folders are inside one folder on my Desktop.
I thought that if I simply dragged that single folder into the iPhoto window it would import all the folders, BUT KEEP THEM THERE. I thought that it would use that folder as reference.
But this did not happen. It still copied all the photos into iPhoto's goofy file system/organization.
Please tell me there is a way to do what I want and that I'm not misunderstanding this feature.

Thanks that cleared a few things up.
I imported that single folder off the desktop into iPhoto. Now if I go into my iPhoto library and into Originals I'm presented with the year and if I go into a specific year then I can find all my files easily...in my own file organization.
The year thing is no big deal, even though one year says 1969. I can deal with it.
However, each individual picture files is now an alias.
The whole reason I wanted to do this from the beginning was to:
1) Get MY photos in MY own organization.
2) Save disk space
You see, because I don't like iPhoto's organization at all I've been keeping two different "libraries".
I have the folder on my desktop with ALL the pictures in MY own organization.
Then in iPhoto I have ALL the same photos, but in iPhoto's organization. I don't use iPhoto for editing at all so I never get confused about whether iPhoto or my desktop folder has the newest version.
So a quick run through:
I'll have taken picture with my digital camera. I pop the card into the reader and copy the files into the desktop folder and name/organize them etc. Then I will copy that folder into iPhoto.
The resultant is I have my own "library" on my desktop to quickly access photos and then I have the same exact photos in iPhoto, but where I can easily mail them and show them off.
Do you understand how I have this set up...? I know it's a little confusing.
As you can see have these two libraries double disk space. So I want to only have the iPhoto library, but in my OWN file organization so that I can find it easily.
Now back to the alias thing...
It seems if I delete the folder off the desktop then the alias will be looking at nothing and then I won't have any photos. yikes!
Hopefully you followed this.
All I want it to be able to use iPhoto, but have its library so that I can organize it.
Thanks again. Major points for you if you can help me some more.

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    A while ago I moved all my pictures from a 2007 MacBook to a 2006 iMac. I bought the iMac from the school I attended and it was running an older version of iPhoto. Instead of "Events" they were "Rolls." Anyway, I've since updated to iPhoto '11 9.2.1. On my MacBook I frequently opened the iPhoto library to access photos for emailing or uploading rather than going through iPhoto. I've never modified any folders or photos or anything else within the file system, only in iPhoto. Ever since I updated iPhoto, however, something strange has occurred. The file tree used to mimic the events in iPhoto so it was easy to locate the pictures I wanted. Now, it is very confusing. All previous events from my MacBook are the same, but new photos aren't. After importing photos and organizing them into events, the file system doesn't reflect it. Instead, my photos within the file system are all over the place. The organization is based on the date of importing and not the events in iPhoto which frustrates me to no end since I am a bit OCD with file organization. Anyway, does anyone know what I can do? It drives me crazy. In iPhoto itself, the photos are organized by event exactly like I want. In the file system in Finder, however, it is not. You might ask why I care.... I just do. Obviously something is wrong and/or different than before.
    If this has been answered before, I apologize. I've tried to do some research so if you know where, just point me in the right direction. Thank you SO much for any help!

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    There is no easy way to rid yourself of these 'thumbs become originals'. If the thumbs have the same filenames as the Originals, then you could overwrite the thumbs with the Originals, but you would need to do that on a file by file basis, I'm afraid.
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    TD

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  • I am on 10.6.8, after trying Yosemite.  Now I can't access my iPhoto file

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  • Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired.

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  • File system management when sharing photos/music with other users in Mac OS

    I'm a new convert from the Windows world. I'm trying to setup multiple accounts for each user within my household. However, I'd like us to all share the same set of folders for photos within iPhoto and music in iTunes. Is it best to just used the "shared" folder instead of keeping them in the standard home directory and trying to share those folders with other users? What is the best approach to this. I would imagine most people do this for managing their music if not photos as well. Just trying to learn best practice on the file system management before I copy over gigs of files from my old PC.
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    champlir
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  • File system IS journaled extended

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