My iPhoto is "hoarding" deleted photos...

Hello,
I'm hoping someone can help me with this...
To give a little background....
A few months ago I started having trouble with my start-up disk being full. I purchased an external hard drive, which I copied (and re-named) iPhoto to. Once copied and the external hard-drive disconnected, I started to delete photos from the original iPhoto library on my desktop. I began to have issues with needing to re-build my library upon opening it, and after reading a couple forums started to delete the photos and empty the iPhoto trash in small increments as suggested. I no longer had any issues with having to re-build the library, but as you can see - even though there are no more photos visible in iPhoto trash, there are apparently still over 18,000 photos taking up space. The really weird thing is, I'm pretty sure that once these photos were originally deleted, the trash said there were 0 items.
My computer has been working fine up until a few days ago. After syncing my iPhone to the computer - it was as if all of the photos on it were new (when I've synced quite a few of them already) and then once the sync was done, I received the "startup disk is almost full" alert. I decided I'd delete them and upload them to my external hard drive, which I did. It wasn't until I was ready to empty the iPhoto trash that I noticed the crazy number at the top. Once I deleted the photos I'd just recently synced from my phone, the trash total did in fact go down that number of photos, but left behind 18,000+ phantom photos.
Is this just a fluke or are there really 18,000+ deleted photos somehow still taking up space on my hard drive??
Any knowledgeable help is appreciated!!! Thank you for your time!!

Back up your iPhoto library, Depress and hold the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - from the resulting first aid window repair permissions and if necessary rebuild your database - if that does not resolve things after restarting your Mac download iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - and use the free trial's rebuild capability to create a totally new library living the existing one untouched for future needs
LN

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2 - from an album, smart album, book, slideshow, card, etc.: select the photo(s) and use the key combination of Command+Option+Delete to move the photos to the trash bin. Then empty the trash bin as above.
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Re: Is Iphoto gone ? i want it back!
in response to Johannes666
Recommended
[DocumentBodyStart:d25bf602-029a-4466-b895-2ab6c98bb4c9]
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How do I delete photos from my ipad ios7.0.1

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Delete photo from iPhoto library and HDD

Hopefully I'm not repeating a previous thread...
Not being an expert, am I correct in saying that iPhoto only changes its version of the photo when editing it?
Also, if you delete the photo by moving it to the trash can, it doesn't physically delete it from the HDD? (When you empty the trash can)
This causes a problem for a few reasons.
I have just loaded Medialink PS3 which allows the iMac to serve the PS3. (BTW - Good product)
If you point Medialink to the original HDD folder then this still includes photos I thought I had deleted.
Also If I want to burn a cd with the photo folder external to iPhoto , the "deleted" photos are also burnt.
I copied all of the photos from a windows PC, and Picasa allowed you to physically delet from its own folder as well as the HDD.
Doesn't iPhoto 09 allow this?
What would iPhoto do if I went through and cleaned up the external folder and deleted jpgs or edited using Canon editing software? If using the external editor, would iPhoto reflect the changes?
Sorry if this is verbose.
regards,

You might want to have a llook at the iPhoto tutorials. They cover a lot of these basics.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#iphoto-hero
And the version of iPhoto you are using?
I'm not at all sure that a Referenced Library is what you want. In fact I strongly recommend against it. But however:
*How to do it:*
Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
*What Happens:*
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1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
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My own opinion:
I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers
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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 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!
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.
+Some Other Comments+
iPhoto will not touch any file outside its library. Period.
It will copy files on import and leave existing files untouched,
It will delete files within the Library but not outside the Library.
When you choose to go with a Referenced Library you are deciding that You want to manage the Files. You want to import them from the camera, you want to sort them however you want and you want to delete them yourself. That's the point of a referenced Library.
I just did a test by editing a photo using Canon Professional and the changes were not reflected in iPhoto. And vise versa.
The point of iPhoto is that you interface with your Photos via the Application. Like Addressbook for your contacts, iTunes for your Music, it's the go-to app for your Photos.
So, you want to edit Photos, you go to iPhoto and use the External Editor:
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

My iPhoto is "hoarding" deleted photos...

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