Please stop me before I ruin my Libary :-)

Question

Hi
Here's what I'm in the process of doing and yet to do in order to consolidate all of my stray pictures. I have an external disk with 2 partitions - each with pictures from different machines I've had in the past. So far I've added them to my iPhoto 08 Library (making sure to untick copy photos to Library so that my MBP hard disk doesn't get used up).
Next up, I'm hoping to move my iPhoto library by dragging it to one of the partitions on the external HD and then re-tick the copy photos box so that...
1. All of my various External HD pictures will be available so long as it is connected.
2. All of the pictures currently on my MBP will be moved off my hard disk to free up some disk space on my MBP.
3. All new pictures I import will automatically be organised and stored on the External HD partition where I'll be moving my iPhoto Library to.
Is this going to work or am I cruising towards an iPhoto disaster?
Best wishes,
MS-R

Answer 1

Martyn:
I'm in agreement with Terence on this one. An alias based library can work but it puts an lot of extra responsibility, i.e. read work, on the user to maintain the source file and do the deleting of the source files from the Finder when a photo is deleted from the library. It makes it difficult to remember which files you deleted and where they were located on the external HD. You can move photos within events in the library but the source files stay where they were first put. Also if you have any movies in the library you won't be able to use the library at all if the source files are not mounted, i.e. when the MBP is traveling.
Since you're going to put new pictures in the library why not start a new library and import and copy those photos on the external HD. As you copy them you can delete the source folder to keep freeing up space on the HD where you have the library. If you decide to go that way, be sure to set the Event preferences as shown here:
This will insure that each folder copied into iPhoto will end up as a single event. Otherwise a folder could be split into multiple events depending on the dates of the files.
If you put your library on one external HD you can use the other to backup the library with a backup application like Synk and then do incremental backups on a daily basis when you're working on the library.
A possible problem with having a library on an external HD is that if the external HD gets dismounted by accident while iPhoto is open and writing to the database file the library can become damaged. If you don't have a recent backup copy of the library's database file, Library6.iPhoto, then you'll have to start over with a new library. See the tip at the end of my signature on a way to easily make frequent backups of that dB file to protect against corruption.
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.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), 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 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.