Looking to transfer photos from several iphoto 6 sources to new iphoto

Question

Hey all,
So I just got a new macbook pro. i want to transfer all my previous photos to my new iphoto. heres the thing i have prob 3-4000 pics that are saved in 4 seperate places (all by simply copying/ backing up the Iphoto Library folder)
I have:
1 iphoto library folder on my old powerbook
1 on my G5
1 on a firewire drive
1 on another firewire drive.
these are all iphoto 6 libraries
i dont care about transferring over the library files or saving the albums because only 1 of these libraries actually has some orginized albums and i'm going to be going thru and reorganizing all once i get them in the same library.
Can i simply just drag all the "originals" folders to the new iphoto's originals folder?
or do i have to drag the contents (photos/vids) of these originals folders into iphoto?
again i just want the pics in my new iphoto. i dont care about albums and i never did any retouching or editing in iphoto
thanks in advance for any suggestions!!

Answer 1

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
You need to import the contents of the Originals folders of these various libraries to the new iPhoto.
Can i simply just drag all the "originals" folders to the new iphoto's originals folder?
No. iPhoto is a database. It cannot see anything that has not been imported. Also, since 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.
So, you may need to read this:
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
*For Users of 10.5 Only*
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!
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
*For users of 10.4 and 10.5* ...
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*:
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.
Regards
TD