Iphoto Library proper way to copy or export

Hi Folks,
I would like to export or copy my entire Iphoto library over to a new drive for a complete backup. I tried to export and chose Iphoto library (which has 663 files thus far) and it keeps aborting. Can I just copy or drag the whole Iphoto folder over to another disc? Will doing it that way preserve all the necessary data?
Jim

Jim,
First check that the new drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (journaled) because a Windows formatted drive can cause problems with your library.
Copy the entire iPhoto Library folder to the new drive. That's the only way to copy the photos and the database, which includes albums, keywords, and all other iPhoto metadata. Once copied, you can Option-launch iPhoto, choose the library on that drive, and open it to check that it functions properly. You'll have to Option-launch and select your main library to get back to it after you have tested the back-up.
Regards.

Similar Messages

Large iPhoto library - best way to move it off my Mac?

Hi,
I've got a big iPhoto library now - about 5GB in total. I'm looking to move it off my Mac and store the photos so that if I wanted to I could move them back into Iphoto in the future. However, ideally I'd like to:
* keep keyword information and
* keep album information as well
I was thinking that I should burn my library to DVD and copy it to a seperate hard drive, then delete the photos from IPhoto, but will this keep the album information?
Or should I copy the iPhoto folders onto the hard drive and DVD and do them that way?
Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks,
Simon

Simon:
Do you want to run your library from the other drive? If so just follow the instructions in Moving iPhoto Library Folder to New Location.
You can burn a number of rolls using the Share->Burn menu option. This will create a disk, CD or DVD, that can be mounted and opened by iPhoto so you can view the photos. The keywords, comments, etc. will be preserved. It will look like this when mounted. If you need a photo from the disk (assuming you deleted them from the library after burning) you just select the photos you want and drag to the Library icon in the Source pane.
There's also a way to convert over to an alias based system with your source (original) files on an external drive and just have a library of alias and edited files on your boot drive. Of course when the external HD is not connected you can only view thumbnails of the photos, add keywords and comments. No editing, slideshows, books, or anything that requires the full size image file. Here are some Tutorials with tips on how to convert and maintain the keywords and comments. Good luck.

Moved iPhoto Library but instead it copied?

On the same network, I've a MBA, an iMac, and a backup harddrive dedicated to just photos. The iMac's iPhoto Library is stored on the backup harddrive. I wanted to do the same with the MBA's iPhoto Library. Read Help on how to move; closed iPhoto; opened a finder window>Pictures and dragged and dropped the MBA's iPhoto Library to the backup harddrive. Rather than moving it, however, it copied the Library. There is still an iPhoto library in Pictures and another on the harddrive. When I look to switch Library's both Libraries appear. What did I do wrong? Should I try to drag/drop the MBA version into trash? Don't want confusion of 2 libraries.
Thanks, Armando

if iPhoto Library is not stored on MBA, then am I correct that TM on the MBA, which backs up to a separate RAID harddrives, is not backing up iPhoto?
Time Machine will back up both your Mac and the attached hard drive.....IF.....you have removed the attached hard drive from the list of items that are Excluded from backups in Time Machine Preferenes > Options.
In other words, a drive that is connected to a Mac via USB or FireWire will not be backed up since it will be Excluded from backups by default. You have to remove it from the list of Excluded items if you want it to be backed up.
When you do this, Time Machine will back up both your Mac and the attached hard drive on the next pass.

Help! I cant delete a iphoto library I tried to copy earlier

Hi, I tried to copy an iphoto library to an external backup disk earlier (which was unsuccessful). I have since tried to delete the iphoto library from the external backup disk but receive an error message that the item cannot be deleted because "iphoto library is in use"?
Can anyone advise how can i proceed please, thanks!

Restart your Mac and try again
Regards
TD

Proper way to copy contents of a drive

I have a 500GB G-Raid mini drive that has about 400GBs of various material on it,...mostly video. I need to copy the entire contents of the drive to a LACIE 500GB mini hub drive.
Problem is that when I SELECT ALL (contents on the G-RAID), COPY and go to paste that to the LACIE, it starts copying fine but inevitably there comes up an error that there is something on the G-RAID that can't be copied, stopping the entire process.
I've encountered this when copying data between lots of different types of drives and what I've found is that if you copy the files individually, they go fine and can be copied, but when you try to copy the entire contents in one shot, you get the error stating individual files can't be copied.
Is there a "correct" methodology for copying all data from one external drive to another external drive?
Thanks for any input.

BEST way would be to get Carbon COpy Cloner (free...versiontracker.com) and use it to clone EVERYTHING on the drive.
Next best way is to highlight everything and then DRAG AND DROP. COpy/Paste of contents from one drive to another...dunno about that. Never tried that. Drag and Drop is good though.
But use Carbon Copy Cloner...that is the best way.
Shane

Slideshow on iPhoto is taking way too long to export...

I created a slideshow of about 1,200 photos on iPhoto with a slide duration of 13 seconds and an HDTV aspect ratio (16:9). When I tried to export the slideshow i noticed it took an excessive amount of time. I attempted to export it 3 times, all of which I had left overnight for the task to be completed, and when I checked on the project in the morning I saw that it had only gotten halfway through the process but it was stuck on "saving slideshow" for the rest of the day. I've checked numerous websites and Google for help but found no answeres. Is there something I'm doing wrong or is there a problem with iPhoto?

I think that a 1200 shot slideshow is too big for iPhoto to work with (and might also prove a challenge to an audience too )
I think you'll need to use a dedicated app for that job, and make sure you have lots and lots and lots of free disk space as the scratch requirements for that will be enormous.
Alternatives to iPhoto's slideshow include:
iMovie, on every Mac sold.
Others, in order of price: PhotoPresenter $29
PhotoToMovie $49.95
PulpMotion $129
FotoMagico $29 (Home version) ($149 Pro version, which includes PhotoPresenter)
Final Cut Pro X $299
It's difficult to compare these apps. They have differences in capability - some are driven off templates. some aren't. Some have a wider variety of transitions. Others will have excellent audio controls. It's worth checking them out to see what meets your needs. However, there is no doubt that Final Cut Pro X is the most capable app of them all. You get what you pay for.
Regards
TD

Exporting iPhoto library

I have exported my iPhoto library to an external hard drive which is formatted MS-DOS (FAT). So far as I can tell, it is all working fine. Have I missed something? I have read posts which say that the drive must be journaled for iPhoto to work properly and do not want to continue working the way I have if I am storting up issues for the future.
Many thanks.

I have exported my iPhoto library to an external hard drive which is formatted MS-DOS (FAT).
What do you mean by "exported my iPhoto Library" ? Have you copied it to the external drive? And what is your iPhoto version?
The iPhoto User Manual does not say so, but I would refrain from using drives not formatted Mac OS X with a Photo Library - you are risking to corrupt the library and to lose images.
Aperture and iPhoto share a unified library format - each application can read and write the others libraries, and for Aperture it is clearly stated in Apple's support articles, that the library needs to be on a locally connected volume, formatted Mac OS X extended (journaled). IT is reasonable to assume that the same goes for iPhoto.
Other disk formats may cause iPhoto to lose the reference to the original image files because of imconsistencies between image file names.
Regards
Léonie

Copying of iPhoto library going very slowly

Hello, all,
Yesterday I purchased a brand new 1TB firewire 800 external drive. It's correctly formatted for my Mac. I had wanted to put my iPhoto library on this drive, OR use it as a backup location for the library. Either way, I needed to copy it over from my iMac's internal drive.
I tried twice to copy the library (using the Finder), which lists itself as 89GB. Each time the Finder progress bar indicated the copy would take two to three days. That sounded like way too short a time over Firewire 800. To test things out, I did a different backup copy of my *iTunes* library, which is also over 80GB. That library lives on a different external drive, using Firewire 400. THAT copy took less than an hour, and it had to go downstream from one external and then upstream to the new external. A second copy of other files from that external drive also went swimmingly: 22GB in about 12 minutes.
Does anyone have any insight into what might be happening? Is there something unusual about iPhoto libraries that makes them copy more slowly than other kinds of files?
Thanks for your help!

I found a fast soution 45 Gb Library copied in ~30 min. over USB 2.0
I did a semi-manual copy, by opening the iPhoto Library - "Show package contents" (in right click menu) then copying the contents to a new iPhoto libaray "Package"
Instead of copying all at once copy the small files/folders in one batch, wati to complete, then copy the larger files folders. You can copy the package contents one folder at a time or a few at a time. I found that copying the Library files in one batch, then copying the Masters, Previews, & Thumbnails in a second batch seemed to work well without choking up.
Here's the steps
Connect your hard drive or Mac in Target disk mode
navigate to the folder containing the iPhoto Library you wish to copy
'Right click' Show Package Contents
You'll see apx 19 files - select all but exclude 3 folders: Masters, Previews, & Thumbnails you'll come back for theses later
Copy these files to an empty folder on your destination drive/Mac (Later you'll use iPhoto to make a new libary "Package" then you'll put these files inside it) The copy should take a few minutes, high volume + tiny files
When the first copy is finished, go back and copy the remaining 3 folders Masters, Previews, & Thumbnails. This is the opposite as previous step, lower volume + larger files. Copy speeds should be normal ie 30 min. for 45 Gb over USB 2.0.
Once all these files and folders are copied you need to put them into an empty iPhoto Library container. An easy way to do this is
Launch iPhoto holding the Option key
Choose 'New Library' (choose an apprpriate name)
Quit iPhoto
in Finder go to the new Library you just created (User/Pictures/) - be sure its the one you just made
Right Click (Control + Click) the iPhoto Libraray
Choose - Show Package Contents (now you're looking at the contents that makup an iPhoto library)
Select all these files and folders and delete them to the trash Open the folder that has your freshly copied files and put them in this empty iPhoto Library package.
Close finder windows (disconnect your hard drive or Mac)
Launch iPhoto (you can hold the Option Key while launching iPhoto to choose the correct Library if you have more than one).
Viola. You should have a functional copy from your old Mac/External hard drive.
REMEMBER!
The easiest way to mess up your iPhoto Library is to move things around inside the "Package contents" of your iPhoto Library. Its hidden in there for a reason, so don't go mucking about under the hood. Best practice is to touch nothing inside the "Show Package Contetns" of your iPhoto library. As described above, we're merely just speeding up a file transfer and copying files so they mirror their source in a new destination. Good luck.

I've lost my photos (crashed hdd, iPhoto library on Time Machine corrupt too). Is there a way to create a picture from the thumbnail that remains in iPhoto? The quality is obviously poor, but better than nothing.

I've lost my photos (crashed hdd, iPhoto library on Time Machine corrupt too). Is there a way to create a picture from the thumbnail that remains in iPhoto? The quality is obviously poor, but better than nothing.

Time machine should have a good copy - how are you determining that it is corrupt
If you want the thumbnails as photos right click on the iPhoto library and make a copy of the data folder and then import it into a new iPhoto library - it contains your thumbnails
LN

Unable to copy iphoto library to time capsule

I have a 24Gb iPhoto library that is saved on my macbook pro hard drive. I connect to the time capule vía wifi N. Everything I transfer via wifi copies extremely fast except the iPhoto library. Initially the copy process is fast but halts at 125Mb and then sits there doing nothing. I can copy the library to an external drive connected via USB and is copies fine and quickly. I have tried to copy the library in terminal instead of finder but the same happens.
Any help would be appreciated.
thanks in advance

I don't think has anything to do with speed or the connection. The iPhoto Library has hundreds (and hundreds and hundreds...) of files within it and all you need is for one of these to have incorrect permissions on it for you to have a problem.
However, in that case you would normally get some kind of error message (often a -35 error). So what I don't understand is why you're not getting some sort of communication.
Try use a back up app to copy the Library over : Chronosync or DejaVu . But are many others. Search on MacUpdate
See how that gets on.
Regards
TD

How to move iPhoto Library without making copy

I just updated to the new 10.10.3 and the new iPhoto came along with it. When I try to open my iPhoto library it won't let me and gives me an error message. This link show me how to handle it https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204484.
Here is the problem I'm running into. My hard drive is 1 TB total, I'm using 800 Gigs of that and of that 800 Gigs 450 gigs is my old iPhoto library. The solution I'm being given is this:
1. Open the Terminal app.
2. Type the following command and press Return. Substitute the name of your user account for your_username.
sudo chown -R your_username /Users/your_username/Pictures
3. When prompted, type your OS X user account password and press Return.
4. Type the following command and press Return. Substitute the name of your user account for your_username.
sudo chmod -R 700 /Users/your_username/Pictures
5. Quit Photos, then hold down the Option key and open Photos.
6. When Photos asks you to choose a library, try to migrate the library again.
My iPhoto library is stored on my "Macintosh HD" drive and not under a user. When I try to move the iPhoto library it says I don't have enough storage space to make a copy of the file, as its 450 gigs and I don't have a free 450 Gigs on my HD.
Does anyone know how to handle this?

First: verify that iphoto is the same version or later version on the iMac, compared to the Macbook Pro. It must be the same version or a later version.
Second: in your Pictures folder on the iMac, rename the existing "iPhoto Library" to something like "iPhoto Library_old", so you have a copy in case something goes wrong.
Third: copy the iPhoto Library file (it's actually a package file, which is like a folder) from Pictures folder on the Macbook Pro to the Pictures folder on the iMac. You can do this easiest via a USB drive that has enough space to hold this file, moving it from one machine to the other. [You can also do it directly if both machines are on the network.]
Fourth: start iPhoto on the iMac, it should open the newly copied over iPhoto pictures that are in the iPhoto Library that you just copied to the iMac. If the iMac has a later version of iPhoto, it will indicate that it needs to convert the library to a new format, you should agree to let it proceed with that. If you have many pictures, it might take a while, minutes to even hours.
Fifth: don't delete the iPhoto Library on the Macbook Pro until you have verified that iPhoto is accessing all the photos and events in the iMac. Make sure the number of photos is correct.

Iphoto library jailbreak crew needed

Help you mac wizards....Iphoto dilema has caused me to post my first question.
I was so excited to find this old post (shown below) that explains my exact dilema. The answers did not answer my question however. Thank you to Nayeli for posting, http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1898201
I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to explain what my situation was. Hopefully you don't lose yours reading all of this. Please scroll down to read the post from Nayeli so you have a better idea what's going on, then come back to where I join the discussion describing my problem.
(A side note, why does apple not give an option to edit the post, i only see "post message" or "discard and cancel." What about EDIT? I had to copy paste it into another program just to revise. When I click discard, it asks "are you sure you want to discard." No I don't but where is the EDIT option? Am I missing an obvious needed feature?)
My photo management is in the same mess as below. Pictures held hostage by iphoto and years of backups that I'm now trying to get out of iphoto and consolidated into a nice, beautiful, joyful, streamlined system that makes taking pictures fun again. Recently I got a new mpb and had been using a powerbook since 04 with 04 photo backups scattered about due to storage limitations here and there.
Over the last weeks, I've committed to cleaning up my mess and have slowly been getting a handle on things. Forums like these are invaluable. I've sorted it out as best I could with 5 different iphoto libraries. (They were originally 5 different i photo libraries, backups of hard drive and external hard drive, poor management and some of which pictures could be overlapping duplicates) All of which I can access in old iphoto format (from old old backups) instead of new 8 that iphoto converted them to that doesn't let you look thru folders without clicking find photo. I want to stop using iphoto and get into something like picassa where you have the benefit of file management but not the nightmare of having your images locked into a third party software program that takes mountains of work to free.
At this stage....i'm trying to do this in gradual steps.
As mentioned, I have 5 libraries, and all five folders in their original old iphoto 4 format so you can see piles of subfolders. I do not want to sift manually through folders to select which ones i want to export as there are 30,000 images or more. When Iphoto launches the libraries, it shows rolls, thumbs, etc.. there are 3 versions of the same photo. If I export, I have to pick, whereas I want to export the entire library and then enjoy the process of sorting photos when I can access them easily outside of iphoto, where I can have just ONE image not three. If I do a sort in finder for jpgs, it also gives me duplicates. What is the best way out of this iphoto octopus?
Apple Care told me to drag and drop the old library into new computer and that was WRONG. Creating the pile of excess files. I deleted them all and started over. Another mac friend said use extractor. That didn't work either. Another friend said use migration manager. Yet apple care said that won't work because old photos are iphoto 4 and new computer is iphoto 8. However due to the fact it "updated" the old library when I brought it into new computer, is it now ready for migration manager and will this program only bring one not three files of each image? If I had known how iphoto program really works years ago, I would have never entered into using it. Another friend only uses finder on her mac to organize and find photos, but I like to have more creative options than that, like what I see in Picasa.
Aperture came preinstalled on my new mpb but I've never used it and I don't know if it traps photos into a similar iphoto program or not. It gives me an option to import iphoto library. Will it import only 1 image, not thumbs, etc.. of each picture and how will it handle duplicates. I tried it just to see what would happen and an hour later, its still stuck on one image saying its importing thumbs. So this is not playing nicely with iphoto either and does import ALL images. So I'd still be stuck sifting out the original photos I want to start fresh from.
Should I first run a photo duplicator program to try and eliminate the excess thumbs and low res files, leaving me the original single image file?
Then I can export the entire library? As I said, I can't select the photos I want as solution was given below to someone in my boat, due to the fact I'm not sure where or what to select. And a manual select of individual photos would take me 20 years. I just want to extract my original photos and get them out of iphoto, where the date taken is intact. Right now, many of the photos in iphoto libraries are totally wrong, going back to 1970. I have spanked myself for waiting so long to tackle this disorderly photo management issue, but seeing now how much work is involved creating a solution, I am greatly anticipating liberation of iphoto and the development and use of a great new photo management system. WHich i haven't figured out. Step 1 is just to free my photos! Freeyourphotos.com would be a great website for someone who wants to develop a site just for great photo management steps, options, resources and posts for people looking for some education on this iphoto issue. Maybe next version will be like Picasa and let you manage photos better.
What exactly is batch change command and how does it work?
I want to start over, with all of my photos in one big photo folder that i can work with independent of anything else. Any tips for photo management comparisons from other high volume photo takers out there?
Sorry for the long post. I will be super grateful for help.
Thanks so much.
Lisa
Getting photos OUT of iPhoto
Posted: Feb 7, 2009 4:46 PM
Hi all,
I used to use iPhoto 4 a long time ago, and then stopped using it as my photos took up so much more space in iPhoto than kept outside of the software library in folders. I had a really small hard drive and no external drive at the time. Then at some point I tried using iPhoto 6... and to make a long story short I now have an incredible mess of photos, some of which exist both in an iPhoto library (either 4 or 6 or both) and in folders elsewhere, some of which are only in folders outside of iPhoto, and some of which are only in an iPhoto library. I now have a much larger hard drive and external drives, and am trying to set order to the mess (it will probably take me the rest of the year!)
To complicate matters even more, I just now accidentally updated one of my myriad versions of iPhoto Library to iPhoto 7.1.4 (the version I have currently installed), and have noticed that you can no longer see the originals folder inside the iPhoto library in the Finder, UNLESS you right-click on a photo in iPhoto and select "Show File", and then you can browse through the folders of the iPhoto Library. I suppose they made this change so you wouldn't mess with those folders and files.
Looking at the folders inside the iPhoto library that I accessed in that way for the library I accidentally upgraded, I see they are a mess...some dates have two folders, other folders say "Roll X" instead of being separated by date, etc.
*I want to extract all the photos that are in the iPhoto Library to folders outside of the program*--just the original photos--so I can
A. Have a backup of the pictures outside of any iPhoto Library, and
B. Reimport all my pictures once I make heads and tails of what is where (or perhaps just have iPhoto reference the originals in folders outside of the iPhoto Library, since I read that is now possible).
My question is this:
What is the best way of getting the pictures out of the iPhoto Library? If I get access to the original folders within the library by right-clicking any photo and then being able to browse inside the library, am I going to have any problems if I copy or move those original pictures directly to a folder outside of the iPhoto Library? Would it be better to export the pictures? Does exporting using "current" under "Kind" give you the original more safely?
Also, any suggestions on how to best have photos OUTSIDE of an iPhoto library organized so that iPhoto can reference them, but your backup is also organized? I'd like to have my photos organized by date in the backup as well, so that I don't have to backup all my pictures every time I add new ones, just add the latest to the backup drive.
Re: Getting photos OUT of iPhoto
Posted: Feb 7, 2009 5:16 PM in response to: Nayeli
Solved
My question is this:
What is the best way of getting the pictures out of the iPhoto Library? I
Select the photos you want out and export them as JPGEs - kind = current for the current edited version - kind = original for the original
f I get access to the original folders within the library by right-clicking any photo and then being able to browse inside the library, am I going to have any problems if I copy or move those original pictures directly to a folder outside of the iPhoto Library?
Copying photos out will not be a problem if you make no errors - for me that is not a good bet - it is best to stay out of yoru iPhoto library
Would it be better to export the pictures?
Yes
Does exporting using "current" under "Kind" give you the original more safely?
No - it gives you the current version which may be the original if no changes have been made or will be the current edited version if edits ahve been made
Also, any suggestions on how to best have photos OUTSIDE of an iPhoto library organized so that iPhoto can reference them, but your backup is also organized?
In the iPhoto preferences un check the advanced preference to "copy imported items to the iPhoto library"
HOWEVER - this is not recommended - it makes importing more complicated, deleting more complicated and makes replacing a hard drive or going to a new computer much more difficult - and it puts you totally in charge of your original photos - being sure that they are there and do not get moved
I'd like to have my photos organized by date in the backup as well, so that I don't have to backup all my pictures every time I add new ones, just add the latest to the backup drive.
Finally, any suggestions on what to do with pictures that you scan so that they appear by the date they were taken as opposed to the date they were scanned? Is there a way to modify the date of the photo info?
Select the photos in iPhoto and use the batch change command under the photos menu - the tiem and date option
LN

Given your post I have to say that your chosen nickname is amusing.
All the folks here who post in response to your issue are other users giving their time for free. Do we really have to wade through 1900+ words just to find out what the issue is? Frankly, after the first digression (and by the way, it is possible to edit posts for up to 15 minutes after you post) I nearly lost the will to live.
It is really better to
1. State as simply as you can the problem.
2. Mention any efforts you have made to solve it
3. Don't editorialise. Don't drift off into side issues.
(See how annoying it is when you've read this far and haven't even got to the answer yet?)
To leave iPhoto is really simple: Select the pics in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. Set the Kind: to Original. Export to a folder on the desktop and off you go. Exporting will not export "the whole Library". It will export the Original or the Current versions of your pics, depending on what you set in the Export dialogue. There is no need in the world to use a duplicate finding application.
If the Exif on the camera was set to the right date then your Photos will still have that date.
If you don't want to export (why? because that's too simple?) but prefer to root around inside the Library:
Go to your Pictures Folder and find the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.
Ignore the contents of the Data folder, they are just thumbnails. Your Edited pics are in the 'Modified' Folder, the Originals are in the 'Originals' folder.
Exporting the Current version will do the same job.
If you find iPhoto frustrating and difficult to understand then I strongly advise you to avoid Aperture. It's not unusual for an Aperture library to have Originals, multiple virtual versions, Previews and thumbnails.
iPhoto, Aperture (and, I think) Picasa are Digital Asset Managers. They are databases. They treat your original file like a film photographer treats the negative and always protect it. Though they work in different ways, they all will have multiple versions of your photo. If you don't want this use a Photo Editor and the Finder to manage your pics.
For the record:
Your Photos are not "trapped" inside iPhoto;
With iPhoto 7 (iLife 08) the old iPhoto Library Folder is now a Package File. This is simply a folder that looks like a file in the Finder. 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 Users of 10.5 and later*
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.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
(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:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
*For users of 10.4 and later* ...
Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:
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. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
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 later:
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
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.
Batch Change allows you to change some of the metadata on a photo in batches.
Regards
TD

Macbook pro iphoto 6.0.2 won't recognize iphoto library (backup from DVD)

Just purchased a Macbook Pro with iphoto 6.0.2. Had a G4 powerbook with iphoto 4.0.2 and backed up that iphoto library to 2 DVD's. I loaded the photos and albums from the 2 DVDs to the iphoto library on the macbook. when I launch the iphoto 6.0.2 it does not load any photos and states there are no photos.
Is this an issue of the DVD back up being made under iphoto 4.0.2? Is there another way to back them up if it is....any help would be appreciated....thanks in advance...-D

Hi kaiman,
I have all the advise in one post here (including Old toad's)so as not to confuse you.
Backing up your iPhoto Library
1. Burn the iPhoto Library folder in the Finder to a CD or DVD
This method will give you a burned iPhoto Library folder that can be copied back to your computer to replace a damaged library. You can also use this method to backup an old library when you want to create a new Library to use as your current library.
insert a blank CD into your internal or external CD-RW drive and copy the iPhoto library to the CD icon on your desktop. When you drag the CD icon to the Trash/Eject button in the Dock, you are given the option to burn the CD. Click Burn and the CD is created. To burn a DVD backup of your digital images, use a DVD and a SuperDrive-equipped Mac
The easiest way to burn an iPhoto Library folder in the Finder that is larger than 4.7 gig to fit on one DVD is to burn sections of the folder.
For an iPhoto 5 Library:
Drag the iPhoto Library folder to the desktop
Double click the folder to open it.
Drag each Year folder to the desktop.
You should be left with the iPhoto Library folder containing all the data files, and the Year folders.
Combine whatever year folders that amount closest to a DVD burn size on one DVD. Make sure that you have burned all the Year folders, then the iPhoto Library folder with all the data files.
If you ever need to use this backup, insert the DVDs into your computer and copy the folders to the desktop. Put all the Year folders back into the iPhoto Library folder. Then put the iPhoto Library folder back into the Pictures folder.
For an iPhoto 6 Library:
Do almost the same thing except there are three main folders to backup now. the Data, Originals, and Modified. Then the iPhoto Library folder and all the data files within it. It might get too confusing so it might be better to get disc spanning software.
You can also check out applications for disc spanning:
Disc-spanning software
DropDMG
Toast
Dragon Burn 4
Retrospect Express-comes with some external drives
Retrospect for Macintosh Desktop Edition
2. Copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library to an external drive formated for a Mac. Do not use this as your only back up as the external can also go bad.
3. Copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library to your iPod in disk mode
4.Creating your own CDs and DVDs for viewing in iPhoto
This method is a great way to back up Albums of older photos or even your entire library if it is small enough to fit on a DVD. This method will give you a library that will mount within iPhoto in the source column to be viewed. To import any images from this library they need to be dragged into your library in the source column.
If you just want to backup the images in your library:
1) Within iPhoto select the images, albums or rolls you want to backup. Go to Share>Export and export them to a newly created folder on the desktop. Follow the directions in the next link.
Creating a CD or DVD to be viewed in Windows or by a photo processing company
1.. If you backed up the entire iPhoto Library by burning within iPhoto or burning the folder in the Finder, make sure the burned copy is a good working copy before you delete the iPhoto Library folder in the Finder. You delete the iPhoto Library in the finder by dragging it to the trash when iPhoto is closed. When you next launch iPhoto it will create a new empty library for you to start anew.
2. If you burned just the images, be aware that that is all you are archiving. No metadata will travel with the images such as comments, keywords, etc.
You can then delete those images within iPhoto by highlighting them and hitting the delete key, then empty iPhoto's trash. Do this often and in groups so iPhoto will not choke on too many images.
And here is the info for transferring a library from one Mac to another:
Copy iPhoto Library folder from one Mac to another
-If the library is small enough, burn the ENTIRE iPhoto Library folder to CD/DVD.
Drag the iPhoto Library folder from the CD/DVD to your Pictures folder of the iMac.
-If the computers are networked, copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder of the other Mac.
-If you have an iPod, copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library folder to the iPod. Connect the iPod to the other computer and copy the iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder of the other Mac.
-If you have a firewire cable, copy the ENTIRE iPhoto LIbrary folder to the Pictures folder of the other Mac
Things to keep in mind:
-If the usersnames are different you might have to set the permissions on the iPhoto Library folder to Read/Write for the new user. Check the "apply to enclosed items" at the bottom of the "get info" window.
-If there is another iPhoto Library folder on the other Mac, change it's name so it doesn't get replaced by the iPhoto Library folder you are copying into the Pictures folder...or....drag it to another place on your hard drive.
Now that the library is in the Pictures folder, launch iPhoto and it will open the library. If the library you moved to the new Mac was created on an older version of iPhoto, iPhoto will tell you the library needs to be upgraded. Let iPhoto do the upgrade.

How can I transfer my iphoto library from a Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) harddrive to a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) hard drive?

Community,
Every time I try to transfer my iphoto library from a Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) harddrive to a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) hard drive, I receive the attached message: "You can't copy 'iPhoto Library' because it has the same name as another ideon on the destination volume, and that volume doesn't destinguish between upper- and lowercase letters in filenames."
My theory is, if I am able to unpackage my iphoto library, I can transfer each folder one at a time so that I can trouble shoot any "duplicates." Will this work?
Let's say that works. How can I repackage the library so iphoto recognizes it?
Is there a better way?
Thank you,
Jonathan

Can we assume that I don't have any naming conflicts? Clearly there are or else I wouldn't get the error I'm getting.
The error doesn't mean you have name conflicts. It means that the Finder won't take the chance that you might have them.
You're suggesting that all I would need to do would be to use Carbon Copy Cloner to transfer the files from the case-sensative harddrive to my Extended Journaled harddrive?
Yes. But I would just use the built-in rsync shell command. First, back up all data if you haven't already done so. Launch the Terminal application by entering the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Copy or drag -- do not type -- the line below into the Terminal window, then press the space bar:
rsync -aE --delete
Now drag the iPhoto library you want to copy into the window. You should have something like this:
rsync -aE --delete /Users/you/Pictures/iPhoto\ Library
Drag the Pictures folder on the destination volume into the window. Now you have this (line will wrap on the page):
rsync -aE --delete /Users/you/Pictures/iPhoto\ Library /Volumes/something/Users/you/Pictures
Press return. The copying operation will start. When it finishes, you'll see a new dollar-sign ("$") prompt below what you entered. If there were no errors, you're done.

How can I move pictures, with their videos, from a different iPhoto Library to my new that I already have been using?

I replaced my hard drive in my MBP a few months ago and started using a iPhoto Library and have been ever since. Now that I've actually taken the time to get most of my files off my old hard drive, I want to import all my albums, hopefully in the same order, to my new iphoto library.
I know I can export pictures, and it works well, but when I do so for the videos in those folders, all I get is a second-long video of the original.
I don't want to have to opt-click everytime to select either of my libraries. I do want to combine them but have not figured out how. I ask if anybody has the answer. Thanks in advance.

The only way to merge Libraries is with the paid ($20) version of iPhoto Library Manager
I know I can export pictures, and it works well, but when I do so for the videos in those folders, all I get is a second-long video of the original.
File -> Export and set the Kind to Original
Regards
TD

Iphoto Library proper way to copy or export

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