Iphoto "Vanished" from my computer!..

One day last week, I was happily working on one of my magnificent iphoto
slideshows...
Yes, it happened!.....as quick as a puff!.... "all gone!".... I remained calm since I knew I was an old hand at this kind of shock!..
And, I knew I had done nothing to goad this malfunction into oblivion...
I then retraced my previous steps, and still came to the conclusion that I was not to blame for this mini disaster..
I immediately made an appointment with Apple Pro Care in my area and lugged my most prized possesion "QuickSilver 933" into the loving hands of an eager "ProCare Genius"...
It then took him about three taps on the keyboard, and my whole iPhoto library came back to life!...
I wiped away my tears of joy!....I kissed him on the lips, then humbly asked "Could you show me how you did that, so that I'll be able to do the same if this ever happens to me again?"...
He then happily proceeded to explain to me what he did.
But, having the low IQ that I was cursed with, I now only have the slightest
recollection of what he patiently had told me..
I do recall that in iphoto, he held down the "option" key, and a window popped up saying something to the effect " do you want to create a new library?".... something like that....
And he did mention "Switching between photo libraries" also.
I also tried getting some info in the "iPhoto help section" but I got nowhere..
Therefore, I'd appreciate any info that would assist me in recovering a
iphoto library, so that I could then refer to it if any future disaster ever
again occurs.
Thanks
S. Pedi

I'll elaborate on TD's succinct reply. When you Option-launch iPhoto, it brings up a dialog box asking you to either Create a new library or Choose a library. Some people like to keep more than one library. You might want to place older photos in one library and keep your more recent photos in a separate library. Or keep one library for work and one for personal photos. Option-Launching is the way to switch between libraries. iPhoto can only open one library at a time. It will always open the library that was used when iPhoto was last closed.
Another reason to bring up this dialog box is to move your iPhoto library. For example, if you wish to run iPhoto from an external hard drive, you simply copy the iPhoto Library folder to the external drive, then Option-Launch and navigate to its new location. This is also the correct procedure for restoring your iPhoto library from a backup, whether it is located on a hard drive or a DVD. You would first copy the iPhoto library folder back to your preferred drive, then point iPhoto to it.
If you were running iPhoto from an external and the power went out to that drive, iPhoto would not be able to locate the library. It would then be necessary to turn on the drive and use that dialog to navigate back to the iPhoto library folder.
In case you haven't seen Old Toad's tip for preventing database loss, I'll tell you now. After you close iPhoto each time you have worked and made changes to your library, you can Duplicate (File > Duplicate) the file called Library6.iPhoto. It is located just inside your iPhoto Library folder. Duplicating it will create a copy called Library6 copy.iPhoto, which is your insurance policy. If you have a power outage while iPhoto is writing to the database and everything seems to be lost, you replace the damaged Library6.iPhoto file with its copy and the database is restored to where it was the last time you duplicated the file. This can save you days of work that you otherwise would spend trying to recreate your library.
Remember, this is the only thing you should do in the iPhoto Library folder from within the Finder. (And only do it when iPhoto is closed.) Otherwise, stay out of that folder and do everything from inside the iPhoto application.
I am glad that your library was restored easily. The fact that you remained calm and sought help demonstrates that you are not lacking in IQ points, after all. Plus, you do tell a great story!

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