Losing Events, Places, Faces and other problems in iPhoto

Question

Bought the new iMac in January; carefully transferred photos from old G4 and took ages updating the details using the great events/places/faces etc facility. Recently 2 things happened - I bought a new camera (Nikon D500); imported and updated event/place/face etc; all working fine. Days later got an upgrade iPhoto message - dutifully did so. Next time opened iPhoto got message to upgrade database - did so. I think there was a message reporting that this was necessary to secure the database; but I was not really concentrating on this merely assuming that my "new" software would not create any problems (how wrong could I have been?!)
RESULT?
- lost ALL place/face details;
- photos still grouped as Events folder but only with with the old camera date format.
- "Albums" directory with titles from old iPhoto version on G4 machine re-appeared!
- In Finder file-path from root Pictures>iPhoto>Library>[subdirectories by year etc] replaced by a single iPhotodatabase that can only be accessed by opening using iPhoto
- iPhoto created a "recovered photos" subfolder in "albums".
I also notice that the Browse facility used to attach photos in Mail is also rendered useless - clicking one photo fails to attach a photo; i can click and drag one photo into an e-mail; but this goes into the e-mail body rather than as an attached item.
Any suggestions that allow me to recover the information so painstakingly entered will be useful.
I notice a lot of comments suggesting problems with iPhoto 8.1.1 - but I cannot see anything on the site similar to my problem - is this something that Apple are aware of and working on?
Steve

Answer 1

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
Lets clear some things up first:
In Finder file-path from root Pictures>iPhoto>Library>subdirectories by year etc replaced by a single iPhotodatabase that can only be accessed by opening using iPhoto
This is normal. 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. (See below for details on how to access your files)
I also notice that the Browse facility used to attach photos in Mail is also rendered useless - clicking one photo fails to attach a photo; i can click and drag one photo into an e-mail; but this goes into the e-mail body rather than as an attached item.
This is normal. That's how Mail works with Photos in an Email. Altering that is a matter for Mail. Elect to send Plain Text Emails. Note that how the email looks on your Mac has very little bearing on how it will appear on the receivers machine. It's pretty much 100% dependent on the setting on their email client.
As to the missing Faces/Places etc. This sounds like a damaged database file:
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command 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.
Failing that, restore from your back up.
As promised:
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.
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.
Note that iPhoto sends a copy+ of the file to Photoshop, so when you save be sure to use the Save command, not Save As... If you use Save As then you're creating a new file and iPhoto has no way of knowing about this new file. iPhoto is preserving your original anyway.
Regards
TD