Moved iPhoto Library - Some file originals can't be found.

Question

I have G5 iMac running Leopard and iLife 06. I moved the contents of my Pictures folder to a partition of an external hard drive (formatted as Extended (Journalled)), as the iMac's HD is getting cramped. When I first ran iPhoto, I got a message saying library couldn't be found (expected) and located the new location of the library on the external drive. iPhoto opens, but starts telling me that it can't find originals of certain files (which happen to be movies from my digital still camera in the same folders as photos. It tries to find many, many of these files - and I am unable to locate any of them using the dialog box in iPhoto. But I can find them via the finder quite easily. What's up with this?

Answer 1

This is the main reason I never recommend using iPhoto in referenced mode.
iPhoto tracks the location of the files by their path, and by moving the Pictures Folder you've changed the path. That's why iPhoto cannot find the files, and worse, because they are movie files iPhoto 6 will not be operational until it tracks them down.
Some things to try:
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 back.
Because this creates a new library and leaves your old one untouched it won't make anything worse.
If you consider converting your library to a managed one, check out AliasHerder, which is mentioned in this thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1356720&tstart=0
Some comments on running a referenced library:
1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
Always allowing for personal preference, I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers.
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, 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.
Your choice, obviously, but best to be aware of all the ramifications. By all means post back if you require more info.
Regards
TD