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.

Similar Messages

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

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

"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 can I back up the iPhoto library when iPhoto won't open and I can't simply copy the iPhoto library packet because "some of the data in the packet cannot be read from or written to"?

How can I back up the iPhoto library when iPhoto won't open and I can't simply copy the iPhoto library packet because "some of the data canny be read from or written to"?

Regarding not being able to open iPhoto. As a test launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Were you able to create a new library?
If so then your current library is damaged and needs to be repaired.
Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Since only one option can be run at a time start
with Option #4 and then #1 as needed.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

I'm trying to transfer my pictures from my iPhoto library to my external hard drive. I dragged the iPhoto Library folder into the drive and after waiting a while it says Error Code -36. I need to free up space asap, what should i do?

I'm trying to transfer my pictures from my iPhoto library to my external hard drive. I dragged the iPhoto Library folder into the drive and after waiting a while it says "Error Code -36 The finder cannot complete the operation because some data in 'iPhoto Library' could not be read or written". I need to free up space asap, what should i do??

Yes, the Old Master file has a folder for each year where I find all photos from that specific year. I am attaching a screen shot of the file.
In the meantime i have managed to download all photos (it did not download any video files though in mpg, avi, 3gp, m4v,mp4 and mov format) to a new iphoto library. Unfortunately the photos are quite mixed and often doubled up. I ma considering to purchase iphoto library which checks all duplicates in iphoto. this will save me a lot of time. What do you think?

HELP! Copied the iPhoto Library folder to backup, but files are smaller

Help! To get more space on my laptop, I copied some photos to a backup hard drive, following the instructions in iPhoto help: "Copy the iPhoto Library folder on your hard disk to another disk." I then deleted many of the photos from my laptop.
Now I'm looking at the photo files on the backup hard drive, and noticing that they are much smaller in size than the originals, for example 45 KB versus 1.1 MB. I tried a test photo by copying a photo from the hard drive back into iPhoto on my laptop, then opened the photo next to the original. Much smaller resolution!
Then I go to the laptop's iPhoto Library Folder (where all the photos are supposed to reside) and find this particular photo, and sure enough, it shows that the file size is indeed much smaller (45 KB) than the photo information shows when I have the photo open in iPhoto (1.1 MB).
So what's going on? Have I lost the detailed information on all of the backed-up photos, or does iPhoto get more information from somewhere? Am I really backing up everything when I follow the iPhoto Help instructions and just copy the iPhoto Library Folder?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. It sounds as if you copied the Data folder only which contains the thumbnail files. If you don't have a backup or the entire library or the original files I'm afraid you're out of luck. You could try recovering them from the HD (if you haven't used it much since deleting the image files) with SubrosaSoft FileSalvage. It will let your run it in demo mode to see what files, if any, can be recovered before you have to purchase it.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

Lightroom cannot identify my photo data in the iPhoto Library

I am the new user of Lightroom 4, after installing the program I then tried to import (add) pictures from my iPhoto Library to the Lightroom, the iPhoto Library folder did not show on the source column. My iPhoto Library is under the Pictures folder and which is under the User folder on my Apple's hard drive, both User and Pictures phoders did appear on the saurce column except for iPhoto Library. What should I do to allow Lightroom to identidy the iPhoto Library so that I can import the data to start using the ptogram?

Sara
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
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.
Look there for a Folder called 'Import' or 'Importing'.
Drag it to the Desktop. *Make no other changes*.
Start iPhoto. Does that help?
Regards
TD

How can I "see" the folder structure behind the iPhoto-library?

Within iPhoto (iLife 8) I can right click on a picture and, through Show File, find it in its respective subfolder. BUT, when I go to finder and highlight the iPhoto library in Pictures, I only get information about the total library (size, location etc,) but not its underlying folder and subfolder structure(as was customary in iPhoto6). What changes in settings do I need to make to show the folder-structure?
Thanks in advance
Veit

Viet
What changes in settings do I need to make to show the folder-structure?
None, you can't do it.
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. You can look inside there simply by right-clicking on the iPhoto Library and going 'Show Package Contents'.
However, It is strongly advised that you do not move, change or in anyway alter things in the iPhoto Library Folder as this can cause the application to fail and even lead to data loss. There are no user serviceable parts in the iPhoto Library.
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

Whenever I try to open iPhoto, a message comes up saying that 148 photos have been found in the iPhoto Library that have not been imported. It asks me if I want to import them and I say NO but then it places them in a recovered photo folder. I keep deleti

Whenever I try to open iPhoto, a message comes up saying that 148 photos have been found in the iPhoto Library that have not been imported. It asks me if I want to import them and I say NO but then it places them in a recovered photo folder. I keep deleting the empty recovered photo files but it just keeps asking me every time I go to open iPhoto! I'd love to just get rid of the "found" photos (I can't open them anyway!)
How do I get rid of them so that I can just open iPhoto straight up without this?
Linda

Open your iPhoto Library package with the Finder.
Click to view full size
look for a folder titled Import or Importing and move it to the Desktop. Launch iPhoto to see if the message goes away. If there is no message check the contents of the Import folder to see if you want to keep any of those image files (usually they have not been imported into iPhoto). If you want to keep them then drag the folder into the open iPhoto window to import.
OT

I have an external hard drive connected to my iMac 2006; the OS on this iMac has been upgraded. I wanted to have back up copies of all our photos on iPhoto; I moved the iPhoto Library folder to the EHD. Now I want to delete a lot of the photos on the iM

I want to delete the photos on the iMac's hard drive but I want all the copies on the EHD; to free up space on the iMac. I experimented by deleting one photo in the iPhoto library on iMac but when I checked the EHD, it was deleted there, too. How can I delete photos from iMac w/out deleting from EHD?

Photo Library icon that sits on my desktop
Do a Get Info in the Finder on that, is it an Alias pointing to the external drive?
Open the iPhoto Library folder on your actual internal drive in the Finder, is that deleed pic stil there?

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

I am not able to open iPhoto, when I have used the iPhoto Library Manager, I get the message that "the iPhoto Library folder could not be found" Help!

Help! I can't open the iPhoto! I have os x 10.5.8 and I have tried using the iPhoto Library Manager only to find out that the folder for the iPhoto Library could not be found.
I have also tried the Fix #1 from the user Old Toad who said to delete the preference file :com.appleiPhoto.plist - I could do that, but I couldn't figure out how to delete iPhoto's cache fie, Cache.db because I couldn't find it? I'm not sure how to find the file by it's directory path name of HD/User/Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto .
Help is very much appreciated!
vernawithav

Download and use Find Any File to search for "Library6.iPhoto". It's a file that is present in every iPhoto library. If you don't find one on your hard drive then your library has gone missing entirely.
Another thing you can try is to use the Search For - All Images feature in the Finder window to see if you can see any of your photos.
That will tell you if they are on your hard drive but somewhere other than the library.
What do you see when you insert the DVD into the optical drive? Can you open it and any folders on the disk? If the disk is titled iPhoto Library then open the disk, the the iPhoto Library folder and finally the Originals folder. Check the subfolders to see if your photos are there.
Your original photo files will be in the Originals subfolders.

How do I get photos from the iPhoto import folder to the iPhoto library? It uploaded, but hung while deleting from my camera, so no imported photos are in the iPhoto library.

How do I get photos from the iPhoto import folder to the iPhoto library? It uploaded, but hung while deleting from my camera, so no imported photos are in the iPhoto library. I watched it upload about 400 photos, one by one. They're somewhere, but they don't appear in the iPhoto library. As iPhoto was deleting them from my camera, it got hung up, then a message came "you should eject before disconnecting a device." I hadn't touched the camera. The message came by itself. I couldn't get iPhoto to respond, so I disconnected the camera and did a Force Quit. Opening it back up, the pictures were gone. Can somebody help me?

What version of iPhoto are you running? Assuming it's iPhoto 9 or later Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
2 - run Option #4 to rebuild the database.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button and select the library you want to add in the selection window..
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Photos have been found in the iPhoto Library folder that were not imported

Whenever I start iPhoto, I get an error that says:
5 Photos have been found in the iPhoto Library folder that were not imported. Would you like to import them now?
http://www.fredmccann.com/error.png
If I say no, the dialog goes away but you get it the next time you start iphoto. If I say yes, then iphoto tries to import something (I don't know what) and hangs. I've let it run for two hours and nothing ever gets imported. What's worse is that every time I try to let it import, it increments the number of pictures it thinks is missing. The first time it said 3 photos. I let it attempt an import and it froze. The next start it claimed there were 4. It's up to 5 now and I've figured out that letting it try to import whatever it thinks is missing is a bad idea.
Has anyone seen this problem before? Any suggestions?
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

booleanman:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. This Apple KB document may have the solution to your problem: Unimported photos found in Library when iPhoto is launched.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.

Modifying the iPhoto Library Data Folder

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