Iphoto Library: Data Folder versus Originals Folder

Hi. I've been trying to save some space. I realized that I have the same photo stored in 3 different folders: my personal file folder (from where I imported), and within the "iphoto library" in 2 different folders: Originals and Data Folder.
I got rid of the first one (the personal folder - the source). I still have them duplicated in the data and originals folder within the iphoto library.
While reading thru this forum, many people recommend not to mess up with this folders. Thougts?....I still have thousands of duplicates.
Also, how can I share this library with other account on the same computer....without duplicating again??? Thanks.

Carlos
Move the iPhoto Library Folder to the Users/Shared folder OR an external HD.
Set the Permissions on the iPhoto Library Folder to allow everybody read/write access.
In your account - and each account in turn - hold down the option (or alt) key and launch iPhoto. Select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location you have for the iPhoto Library Folder.
From that point on the iPhoto Library Folder will be the default location for each account, so each use shares access and ownership of the library, and any change made by one user is visible to all.
Now for the caveat: iPhoto is NOT designed for multiple users It simply does not have the code to support more than one person accessing the library at the same time. If more that one person manages to access it, (and that can happen) then the chances of database corruption is increased exponentially. If both users try to write to the database file - by changing something, for instance - then the db will be corrupted. So backing up is the order of the day.
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

Similar Messages

Modifying the iPhoto Library Data Folder

Having no idea what havoc it would reek with my iPhoto, I changed the folder names in my Library Data so I could better organize my large (8 mega pixel) originals. I tried re-setting with the command-option suggestion in this forum but I only los more photos and I think my only option is to re-import.
BUT, I'm wondering what I have to do to re-name my large original files once they've been imported into iPhoto. I don't know... I'm all lost with this program for some reason.
Thanks for any help you all can send my way.
-gigiproj-

I changed the folder names in my Library Data so I could better organize my large (8 mega pixel) originals.<<<</div>
iPhoto IS an organizer and your error was in attempting to do the job yourself. The bottom line is that you should NEVER use the Finder to tamper with the innards of the iPhoto Library folder. It's comparable to opening the hood of your car and tampering with the wires and hoses and then expecting the car to run properly afterwards. It's a sure invitation to bleeding ulcers. You can rename the library folder (perhaps because you want several libraries) and you can move it as an entity but don't open it up.
Truthfully, your best recovery at this point is to start all over again. I suggest that you move the library to the desktop and, since it's no longer useful, open it up and trash everything except the Originals folder. Then, open iPhoto and allow it to create a brand new (empty) library. From INSIDE iPhoto, import your photos.
Now, for your problem. Open up the "Information" pane via the "i" at the lower left of the screen. Use that to change the titles of the photos. Go to the View menu and check Titles. Now, while you're inside iPhoto, the titles will replace the file names. If you need to give these files to someone else and you want the title to be reflected as the name, File/Export them to the desktop and select "Use title" as the name.
Go here for a tutorial
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304770
and post back should you need more help.

Should I delete my old iPhoto Library Current folder once everything is transferred to Photos Library Current? Does this mean that all my new photos on any device can come off my Mac and ONLY be in the Photos Library which is in the cloud?

I have 2 questions about the new Photos app for Mac (I'm running 10.10.3 on my MacBook Air 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 mid 2012)):
1.Should I delete my old iPhoto Library Current folder once everything is transferred to Photos Library Current?
2. Does this mean that all my new photos on any device can come off my Mac and ONLY be in the Photos Library which is in the cloud? That would free 59GB off my Mac and that would be very good.

1.Should I delete my old iPhoto Library Current folder once everything is transferred to Photos Library Current?
You can, but I would wait, until you have have been working with Photos for some time and are sure, that everything migrated well. There may be hidden flaws in your library and teething problems with Photos. Don't be in a hurry to abandon iPhoto completely. You may need to go back, until bugs have been fixed. Th Photos Library does not duplicate the photos in your iPhoto Library. the media files are shared and do not need extra space: See: Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support
2. Does this mean that all my new photos on any device can come off my Mac and ONLY be in the Photos Library which is in the cloud? That would free 59GB off my Mac and that would be very good.
If you have enough iCloud storage. But Photos will still need space for local thumbnails on all devices.
See: Apple - OS X - Photos Preview
Fill your library, not your device.
iCloud Photo Library can help you make the most of the space on your Mac. When you choose “Optimize Mac Storage,” all your full-resolution photos and videos are stored in iCloud in their original formats, with storage-saving versions kept on your Mac as space is needed. You can also optimize storage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, so you can access more photos and videos than ever before. You get 5GB of free storage in iCloud — and as your library grows, you have the option to choose a plan for up to 1TB.

"iPhoto Library" icon/folder deleted by mistake, how do i recover it?

Fist off i am not a iMac genius, so bear with me as you read . I Just bought an Imac (21.5 monitor and 1TB with OS X Lion 2012 version). After transferring all my photos in the "Picture" folder (click, drag and drop into the "finder" then into the "picture" folder (not iPhoto yet) I then selected all the photos (dozens of folders and over 8,000 photos) click and drag then into iPhoto and they all successfully transferred (which took several minutes). I noticed when transferring most of the photos over it gave me the option to either transfer or discard duplicates, i chose to not import the duplicates. Since i had ALL my photos in iPhoto i decided to delete the old file that i copied earlier and empty the trash. In the deleting frenzy i accidentally deleted the "iPhoto Library" icon/folder )or whatever that picture is) and every time I open up iPhoto now it asked to either locate "iPhoto Album 1" (which can not be found) or start another album (which would be "iphoto Library 2" which opens up with none of my pictures.) Sooooo, after freaking out i downloaded 2 file recovery software program which seems to have found most if not all the pics (still need to pay to get a key code to get them back), however since i delted the photos that transferred into the finder>picture folder and did not delete any photos form iPhoto itself is there a way to get back the "iPhoto Library" that housed all my pictures? In theory all my pics are still in the hard drive but i do not know where to look for that little "iPhoto Library" icon/folder. What is the best Apple/Mac recovery software to purchase to get them back? Or are they all the same? Or is there a file buried deep in the hard drive that are hiding all my photos that tech support can guide me to? And if there is, how to i search for that? Any help would be great!

however since i delted the photos that transferred into the finder>picture folder and did not delete any photos form iPhoto itself is there a way to get back the "iPhoto Library" that housed all my pictures?
No.
Inside that package are thouands of files - your photos, thumbnails, face thumbnails, database, metadata, cache and other files. To reconstruct the Library you would need to get all of these in exactly all the correct locations. That's not going to happen.
Best you can hope for is to recover the actual photos and then start over from scratch.
Unless you have a back up of course...
Do you?

How does an "iPhoto Library Copy" folder get created? It has an icon that looks like a stack of photos with a pink flower. It contains all my photo's (as far as I can tell) and the original "iPhoto Library" only contains "AlbumData.xml?

I upgraded to Lion last month AFTER wiping the hard drive for the second time on my 2011 macbook pro. I am now suspecting that transferring my photos (I have over 8,000 saved on sd cards) to my computer is bringing all this trouble.
I was able to rectify some problems by dragging import file from library to desktop etc... But I am worried that these Copied Libraries and recovered photo files and AlbumData.xml file are a sign of something darker loomng ahead...

Sorry but we have no idea what's going on, or gone on, on your machine. Neither can we see it. We only have your somewhat sketchy post. You mention that you can rectify "some problems", you mention "all this trouble" but neglect to mention what these problems and trouble actually are. So, I'm afraid it's hard to respond to your post in a meaningful way.
A couple of thoughts: 8,000 photos is not a problem. iPhoto is good for 250,000 in any one library. So, unless you have very limited HD disk space, this is not the source of whatever issues you are having.
If you're dragging parts of the iPhoto Library around the place, yes there could be trouble ahead. Don't change anything in the iPhoto Library Folder via the Finder or any other application. iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things, deleting them or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
There are two ways to get a copied library: one is to duplicate the Library yourself (either accidentally or deliberately) or while restoring from back up.
Regards
TD

IPhoto library/Pictures folder on mac

I started using iPhoto a few months ago. Before iPhoto I saved my photos to my pictures file in my hard drive. Can I just select all and import them into iPhoto and then delete them? Will iPhoto make a copy like iTunes does when you import items?

The default is that "copy items to iPhoto Library" is checked - any thing you imported while it was unchecked is referenced (pointed to by an alias) instead of being included in the iPhoto library so for those photos if you try to look at the original photo and the media holding the original is not available (the thumbnail is in the iPhoto library) you will get a message asking for the media
Larry Nebel

IPhoto Library: Data Files

Does anyone know how to access the actual data files with the photos in the finder as in previous versions of iPhoto?

Brian
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
What specifically are you trying to do? When you say "data files" do you mean your pics? Or the library database files? Or the thumbnails in the /Data folder?
With iPhoto 7 (iLife 08) the old iPhoto Library Folder is now a Unix Style Package File. The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves.
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
For 10.5 users: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
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. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
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.
Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
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.
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.
Regards
TD

IPhoto library-file deleted - and originals missing in Aperture....

Just moved my Aperture-library to my new iMac. Unfortunately almost all pics came from my old iPhoto-library which is gone now.
I can't do anything but look at the pictures. Can't edit, export, share etc.
When trying to e.g. export a file Aperture says 'The selected original image is either offline or not found. Please reconnect it and try again.'.
Don't ask about the backup from Time Machine - that too is gone...
Now what?
Thanks.
Thomas

How did you import your old iPhoto photos? And with what Aperture version?
Before the unified Aperture - iPhoto library has been introduced, it was possible to import an iPhoto library as referenced. This left all originals in the iPhoto library, so iPhoto continued to work, but Aperture could use the master files. Is that the way you imported your iPhoto library, with the master files in there original location?
When trying to e.g. export a file Aperture says 'The selected original image is either offline or not found. Please reconnect it and try again.'.
That is the typical error message, when Aperture cannot access the original files. And Aperture wil not be able to do anything with your images, unless you restore the missing originals.
Just moved my Aperture-library to my new iMac.
Where did you move your Aperture library from ? From an older mac? From a backup?
Did Aperture work on that old Mac and could access the originals?
Do you still have that old mac, and is there any chance that recovery software could retrieve the missing original files on that mac?
Sometimes Aperture reports originals as missing, even if they are managed inside the Aperture library.
You can find out, where Aperture is looking for the original files, if you select some image files in the browser and use Aperture's command "File > Locate Referenced Files".
In the panel that opens, you can see the path to missing files in the upper right corner below the thumbnail.
What do you see, when you use that command?

PSE 12 Organizer: iPhoto import creates an 'Abobe/Organizer/iPhoto Library Media' folder but I see nothing in the tool after it completes the import task.

I have run the import several times and get a huge folder from the 29K plus images and video in iPhoto but then nothing shows in the organizer tool.

Let me add to this list a number of issues that seem to be widespread with respect to the sync engine:
Sync engine does not recognize existing content on install of PSE7 if it's an upgrade from a previous version. Changed photos get sync'd, but you have to make a change to everything to get it all picked up by the engine.
Sync stalls regularly. No indication is given to the user that sync is no longer progressing (double green arrows remain). However, the sync process stops consuming CPU and stops communicating with API.PHOTOSHOP.COM (both verifyable using resource manager).
Sync is extreemly slow. The upload times are an order of magnitude longer than my available bandwidth would permit. This appears to be due to the excessive handshaking necessary for each individual upload (no bulk transfer implemented).
Not necessarily a bug, but the lack of status information about the sync progress is dismal.
Let's hope the PSE7 team is as receptive to user help in troubleshooting as the PS.COM team turned out to be...

Partially corrupt iPhoto Library

I am using iPhoto 6.0.6
Recently, some of my older Rolls have had their photos seemingly disappear. They are actually moved under a folder ~iPhoto Library/Originals/2009/SomeNewRoll. This folder has 2400 photos in it, but the corresponding roll, SomeNewRoll, only shows 30 pictures within iPhoto.
For the old rolls, such as MyOldRoll, I have a corresponding folder under ~iPhoto Library/Data/2000/MyOldRoll, but folders like this have no pictures in them.
What is the easiest way to fix this problem of my moved pictures? I attempted an iPhoto repair (the first 3 options, not the 4th).
Will iPhotoLibraryManager fix this problem? I have an external HD that I created a backup of the photos on.

I am not sure how the files got moved. My wife is the primary user, I am the guy responsible for fixing it....
The backup that I have is a bit old, so these older photos that were mysteriously moved will show up in the proper rolls, but I will need to figure something out with the newer rolls.
I am currently 18 hours into the rebuild option with iPhoto Library Manager, backing up to an external 4200 RPM USB drive. I am hoping this fixes it.

Move Photo Files back in the iPhoto Library

Before a few months ago, I had not checked the "copy files into the library" (or something similar, my iPhoto is French-speaking...).
As a result, whereas my newer photo files are in the iPhoto library special folder, the older ones are not (there are plenty of them).
I have successfully moved my iPhoto Library to an external hard drive, all is well for the newer files, but how do I handle those files that are not in the library?
Ideally I would like them to be integrated in the library so I don't have to bother anymore, very much in the way iTunes can copy all files in the iTunes Library, basically.

Migoo
In the iPhoto Library Folder/ Originals you now have alias files for these pics. You need to copy the full files into the Originals folder and overwrite the aliases that represent them.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1172120&tstart=0
is a thread that details some efforts in the area.
Regards
TD

HT1338 iPhoto library won't open.

My iPhoto library was working fine until recently when I tried to import photos from my camera to my library. Now when I try to open iPhoto, I get a spinning wheel and none of the pictures in my library show up. I have the latest software update, and have tried restarting my computer and compressing the contents of the library (which I cannot see) into a zip. Please help! Thank you!

You can right click and "Show package contents" on the iPhoto Library and open your Originals folder and remove problematic files, or copy and remove the good ones.
Perhaps both or some of each in your case.
You don't want to zip up the iPhoto Library, perhaps it made a copy when it zipped, it needs to stay unzipped.
Zipping is compression for transfer use mostly.

Migration of Iphoto library from old portable hard drive

Hello all,
I have salvaged my old hard drive from a previous PPC imac which developed problems. The hard drive is now in an external portable casing.
I would like to access my Iphoto library contained on the old hard drive , however the message "You can't open your current photo library using this version of iphoto" appears.
Any ideas how I could transfer the iphoto library?
Is paying for a copy of "iphoto Library manager" the only solution?
Cheers
John
Message was edited by: JohnnoF

Dennis
To import your entire old library, open the new iPhoto and go to the menu bar and select File, then drop down and select Import to Library. Then navigate to the User Folder / iPhoto Library / Original Folder of the old hard drive and hit the Import button. If you only want part or parts of the old Library, do the same as above and just navigate a little deeper to the Year, Roll or even Individual photo's and Import only those.
Just an FYI:
If you import an old iPhoto Library you will lose all your previous organisation - Albums, titles, Keywords and so on, and end up with massive duplication. If you only import the Originals, you’ll get just that - the pics as downloaded from your camera, losing any editing you have done. If you then Import the edited versions, you will have duplication and lose the ability to revert to original.
The best way to do this is simply to have iPhoto update the old library: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'. When iPhoto has done this you will have the same library functioning correctly, with all your albums, titles, descriptions and keywords intact, the edited and Original versions still related to each other and so on.
If you then want to merge a library to another one, the best way to do that is with iPhoto Library Manager.
Regards
TD

Iphoto library......everything gone!!!!!help!!!!!

hello,all,this is my first post,for some reason,my iphoto library has made all my photos up to the last import disappear,gone,there is no evidence that they ever existed.My iphoto library icon/folder is showing a file size over 20odd gig but i can only see a couple of 100mb worth in the actual iphoto application.please tell me how i can restore my iphoto library to include all the photos somewhere in there,i tried moving the iphoto libaray folder/icon and then reselected it when prompted but to no avail.?????please tell me this is a stupid error of mine and i will once again see all our pics.thankyou.

Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the apple and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 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, faces and places 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.
Regards
TD

Misplaced Movie Clips in iPhoto Library

Hello
I'm hoping that you may be able to help me out with the following situation and advise me if I am on the right lines or need to stop and do something else! I have searched through the forum for similar problems and have tried to follow the suggestions found.
I fear something strange has happened, although I have been careful to heed the dire warnings about fiddling with things in the iPhoto Library folders. I include information which I think may be relevant.
Over a period of time (years!), I have imported a series of photos and 30 second video clips of music concerts from a Canon camera and they are sorted into Film Rolls. In some instances in order to remember which songs the video clips represent I have renamed the file - e.g. MVI_0052.AVI is now RTY MVI_0052.AVI. When clicking on the renamed file, it plays in QuickTime, but the name that displays at the top of the image is the original MVI_0052.AVI.
Q: Does renaming the file create a duplicate, or does it simply create a link from the renamed file to the original?
Q: Would it be better not to rename the files, but to use keywords to differentiate them? If I edit the renamed files and revert them to the original name will this help with the problem below or confuse things more?
Some of the video clips will not play when clicked on in the Film Roll; they seem to have converted from .avi to .jpeg.
If I do a search in spotlight on (for example) just the MVI_0052 tag, the original movie clip is usually found in the Movies list, often with the following location:
/Users/myname/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2001/01/01/Originals
I can drag this clip to the Desktop, Import it into iPhoto Library, move it into the correct roll, where it retains the MVI_0052 tag. So, I now have two copies of the clip in the appropriate roll. Whichever one I click on, both play as MVI_0052. Should I delete one from the film roll? If so, which one - the MVI_0052 I just dragged in or the renamed one RTY MVI_0052?
Incidentally, the 2001 folder is vast, contains 37.8 GB and seems to have been created in August 2006. The sub-folder /Users/myname/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2001/01/01 contains an assortment of files:
a) The majority are jpeg images of MVI files, e.g. MVI_0008.jpg; these show the jpeg icon against the file name until you click on it and then the picture (which seems to be a still of the MVI file) appears.
b) Within this folder there are just a few genuine MVI files, e.g. MVI-0008.AVI
c) There are also a few AVI files which have the QuickTime Player icon against the file name. These will also play when clicked on.
The file: /Users/myname/Pictures/iPhoto Library/2001/01/01/Originals contains only .AVI files and many of them.
Some of the movie files have simply disappeared. That is, they exist in the Film Roll, but nothing happens if I click on the file; a Spotlight search does not find them anywhere on the hard drive. I suspect these are lost forever and would be better deleted.
If anyone can tell me whether I am doing the right thing by dragging the .avi file from the spotlight finder location to the desktop and then importing it into the iPhoto Library again that would be really helpful. I fear it will take some time to work through all the film rolls and verify each movie clip, but I imagine this is the only way to find those that are retrievable.
I am wanting to move the iPhoto Library to a LaCie external hard drive and delete from my laptop, but before I do I think I need to sort this out. Apologies for such a long post, I have tried to give all the information that might be relevant.
Thanks for your time and interest.....and yes, I do know I should have backed it up along time ago; some lessons are learnt the painful way
Jill

Thanks Terence for your swift response.
Terence Devlin wrote:
Q: Does renaming the file create a duplicate, or does it simply create a link from the renamed file to the original?
Did you rename the File? Or add a Title to it in iPhoto. It sounds like you added a title in iPhoto, and this does not rename the file. Renaming (or titling) a pic/movie does not create a duplicate - nor is there "a link to the Original". It's simply an entry in the iPhoto database. If you want to use the title as filename then you can do that using the Share -> Export command - it's one of the options there.
So, if you title a movie "RTY - Whatever", it shows in iPhoto as that, but when played in QT it's still just 'Whatever' as the filename hasn't changed.
You are right: I simply added a Title to it in iPhoto. Thanks for clearing this up...
When you import a movie it goes to the Originals Folder and iPhoto creates a jpeg of the first frame. This is used for the thumbnail.
If anyone can tell me whether I am doing the right thing by dragging the .avi file from the spotlight finder location to the desktop and then importing it into the iPhoto Library again that would be really helpful.
It's best to search the iPhoto Library Folder from iPhoto. Spotlight finds all the versions - thumbnail, preview jpeg and the Movie. This is not especially helpful and is a source of confusion.
I'm not sure what you achieve by dragging a movie out of iPhoto and then back into it?
The reason for this is that at some point I had to rebuild the library and since then some of the video clips will not play from iPhoto. I searched the forum and read the following from Lori DiLoreto and have been trying to follow this advice.
"The thumbnails (jpeg pointer files) were made by iPhoto when the movie files were imported.
I'll tell you what happened to me when I did a library rebuild. It messed up the link between the jpg point files and the movie files.
when the rebuild of the library was done I had the jpeg pointer files pointing to nothing. When those were double clicked in iPhoto nothing would happen.
i had to navigate through the iPhoto Library folder in the finder and find all my movie clips and drag them all to the desktop. Then I had to go through my library within iPhoto and delete all the jpeg pointer thumbnails that were pointing to nothing. It was a major pain."
So I have used Spotlight to see if the movie file still exists (within Spotlight I have the search grouped by "Kind" so it is easy to see which are the Movies). If it does, I have then dragged it to the desktop and reimported it. If I do this I have 2 representations of the video clip in the film roll - the one that originally would not play now does, the one I just imported also plays. However, I am not sure which it might be safe to delete.
My aim is to get this into a fit state to save onto an external hard drive, delete and start afresh. However, it is proving to be a challenge!
Thanks again for your help.
Jill

Iphoto Library: Data Folder versus Originals Folder

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for