Reducing Library Size

Hi all,
I've read through various threads here on the difficulty of reducing the iPhoto library size. Nevertheless, I shall have to do it soon, even though I'm already using an external hard drive.
Here are the basics:
--My library is currently 50Gb. My photos, though, are only 18.7Gb.
--I've deleted all duplicates, going from about 17,000 photos to about 9800.
--My library has remained exactly the same size.
--I have no iPod, nor, AFAIK, any iPod cache.
So, what gives? Would a rebuild of the library possible help out? I could do this following Apple's pointers or using iPhotoManager.
Thanks for any pointers,
Franz

Terrence et al.,
Thanks, this was fascinating. Looking through the Library, I found it did total up to the indicated 50Gb. But I also found out there were folders in both the Modified and Originals folders named "1939." I believe this is because one photo has the incorrect creation date of 1939. At any rate, in these folders were 9654 photos totaling 18.75Gb in the Originals folder, much less in the Modified folder.
I believe these are either the photos I attempted to delete or the photos I attempted to save. So, I did an experiment: I removed these folders, plus the 1939 folder in Data. I restarted iPhoto, but it had trouble.
For really stupid reasons we don't have to go into, I recently had to extract all my images, then delete thousands (maybe 9654?) of duplicates. All these photos, originals and duplicates were in one event, the results of the extraction. Two new photos are in a new event, so there are only two events in my Library. Everything in that first event has its correct name, but no thumbnail and iPhoto will not bring up an image for any of them. BUT, when I am scrolling down through the photos, they do display as long as my finger is selecting the scroll button. This is true in the Photos folder and also when viewing albums. The second event functions perfectly.
So, I think I'm going to either
1) try to rebuild the Library again, and see if iPhoto can reorganize its database.
or
2) put the 1939 folders back, delete the other folders, and see what happens.
Perhaps I'll try the second option (because it's faster) and report back.
Thanks,
Franz

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Reducing library size by deleting original photos

To save hard drive space, I have used the following method to get rid of unwanted originals:
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5. delete trash
I've discovered that the cropped photo is often significantly smaller than the original (a 3mb file might be reduced to 300kb for instance, depending on the chosen quality).
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1. Anyone know a better or easier way to do this?
2. How come I discover that some of the deleted originals are still in the library? (They do not appear in iPhoto but when I view the package contents, I see that many are still there thus defeating the whole purpose of doing this!)

For feature Requests:
IPhoto menu -> Provide iPhoto Feedback
But it's worth noting that Apple have had 7 iterations of iPhoto and never changed this way of working. Might make you think.
First off -
I disagree with some people here that being forced to save such "originals" is such a necessary blessing forever and for all users.
You are not being ”forced“ to do anything. You have multiple choices all over the place. The most basic is that you can always use another application that works the way you want it to. Claiming that iPhoto ”forces“ you to protect the original is like complaining that Excel ”forces“ you to work in Spreadsheet Cells.
IPhoto is a Digital Asset Manager. It is designed to work on the best principles of DAM and always treats the original file as a film photographer treats the negative. If you do not want this feature, why on earth are you using a DAM?
Next off: Learn how to use iPhoto:
For those who prefer editing in Photoshop but the photo library management in iPhoto, I did notice that when you drag an iPhoto picture to the Photoshop icon, edit and save it, iPhoto does not realize that the image is modified and that prevents the duplicated data. Note, however, that this also means iPhoto's previews in smaller sizes show the original image (e.g. dull sky that you may have brightened in Photoshop) and the item info attributes, including size, dimensions, etc. are also as embedded in the iPhoto library when the photo was first imported.
That is not how you use iPhoto and Photoshop together.
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.
Apple giving us the ability "Revert to Original" is a great tool - especially so newbies do not to damage or destroy precious photos. But, Apple should consider that over time people become power users and should be treated as adults who should have the facility to delete such wasted, unneeded originals which will never be seen again.
Love the disparaging reference to ”newbies“. Every professional I know always keeps the original file. Every single one.
The first thing an Adult might do is consider that a Spanner is not an appropriate tool for putting in a screw and go and get a screw driver. How ”adult“ would it be to persist in trying to insert the screw with the spanner and complain about it?
I'm not sure just what a ”power user“ is, but it wouldn't the definition include being able to distinguish between a Digital Asset Manager and a Photo Viewer? Or knowing how to use the app with an external editor? It's worth noting that all the professIonal apps - Lightroom, Aperture etc. - are DAM apps too. They all work to preserve your original. Must be something that ”power users“ want a lot.
So, I too use the method you use. Edit, export, reimport (if I am not in the mood to do Photoshop editing). Kind of silly to have to do these extra steps to get rid of useless files when on an OS that is all about convenience and user friendliness.
Kind of silly to be disabling one of the apps key features - non destructive editing - and making a whole lot of work for yourself when you could do what an adult ”power user“ would do: find an app that works the way you want.
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Sorry if this has been dealt with before (I did a search and found nowt).
I'm fairly new to Aperture, and my Library has grown to 14GB (14,000 files). All files are referenced on an external drive (31GB of referenced files). I use a MacBook Air with SSD, so I start with 56GB after formatting. There were lots of duplicate photos (because I merged my iPhoto library with some offline archives I had). So, it was time to get rid of the dupes.
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I do not find this software very user-friendly, in particular because I can no longer locate the files of these pictures. I kept fortunately a copy of my complete set of my photo collection.
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in particular because I can no longer locate the files of these pictures.
There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
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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.
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Aperture library size

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Can someone explain to me why after importing a 139Gb iphoto library into Aperture, the Aperture librbary file is 250Gb?
If I look at the 2 database they both have the same amount of originals and versions.
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Reducing Library Size

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