Photos moved from an external HDD to another: Search and replace paths?

Question

Hi everyone,
I've been using iPhoto for a few years now and today I have iPhoto '09. I never let iPhoto copy my photos in its library when importing them, since I have most of them stored on an external hard drive. (Also, if the folders within the library would be properly dated like "2008-09-07" and not named like "7-Sep-2008" and "8-Apr-2008" making the former getting listed before the later, and if I could easily manage external volumes, I would be happy. But, I suppose that's a job for Aperture or Lightroom.)
I have moved my photos from a small 160GB external hard drive to a new 2TB external hard drive. The problem right now is most of my photos in iPhoto can no longer be displayed. It offers me the option to locate a file every time I open a photo, which I can do, but doing the same task for each and every picture among thousands is daunting.
To manage photos not stored within its library, iPhoto creates an alias to each picture file. I found a Bash script allowing me to perform a search and replace on all symbolic links in a specific directory. However, the problem is aliases are not the same as symbolic links.
Is there any way for me to perform a search and replace on all the aliases within the iPhoto library in order to make them point to the new hard drive now containing the pictures?
By the way, I'm also having a similar problem with iTunes:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2190505

Answer 1

This issue is the main reason why I never recommend a Referenced Library. Some folks have had success using an app called _[File Buddy|http://www.skytag.com/filebuddy]_ to reconnect the aliases. If that fails then I'm afraid then you will find yourself reconnecting them manually.
Running a Managed Library this issue simply doesn;t arise. And of course, you can easily run a Library from an external disk and easily move Libraries between disks.
Should you wish to consider converting from a Referenced to a Managed library, then AliasHerder is an application that will replace these aliases with the actual files, and so preserve your Library and all your work in it. As always: back up first.
(Also, if the folders within the library would be properly dated like "2008-09-07" and not named like "7-Sep-2008" and "8-Apr-2008" making the former getting listed before the later, and if I could easily manage external volumes, I would be happy. But, I suppose that's a job for Aperture or Lightroom.)
How iPhoto names the folders within the Library Package is irrelevant as you never access them that way.
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.
Regards
TD