SEVERAL different iphoto libraries - need to consolidate

I have had a couple macbooks and now an imac. Have also done a lot of moving stuff around using drives/time machine etc. In short, I have a bunch of different iphoto libraries on various different drives and need to consolidate.
I am thinking of just exporting all photos in original format from each library onto one large drive and then importing onto one library then basically starting all over again getting them organized. I think I can then also more accurately weed out duplicates etc. I assume that the various different albums I have on the different libraries will not be kept and might lose meta data etc. But not sure how else to proceed.
Suggestions would be appreciated

What version of iPhoto?
With iPhoto '11 version 9.3 and Aperature 3.3 you can merge libraries in Aperature
Otherwise the only solution to merging is the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ -
Your exporting and importing merges teh photos but no versions, no metadate, etc
LN

Similar Messages

Unify 3 different iPhoto libraries in one

Hi
I had in the past years 3 differents mac.
All of them have 3 different iphoto libraries.
How can I make fomr all 3 libraries only one ?
Is there any software that can make from those 3 libraries only one that i can use on my actual mac, having once in a while all my pictures ?

You have two choices:
1. Use iPhoto Library Manager -- but not with the latest version of iPhoto!
2. Wait until September for bugs to settle, then buy Aperture 3.3 and consolidate Libraries within Aperture.
I'd recommend #2.
More here:
http://tech.kateva.org/2012/03/iphoto-8-to-aperture-3-migration-notes.html
Mercifully, thing have changed since I wrote that, but it will give you a flavor of what's involved.

Is there a way to order several different iPhoto projects at one time, on the same order? (to avoid paying shipping on each individual project?)

Is there a way to order several different iPhoto projects at one time, on the same order? (to avoid paying shipping on each individual project?)

No, unless they're all prints.
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How to sync different iPhoto libraries to different ipads

I have 2 iphoto libraries; 1 for me and 1 for my mum. I sync her iPad and my iPhone on my same iTunes copy. Is there a way I can chose different iPhoto libraries for our devices from 1 iTunes?
Or should I set up a new iTunes application just for her on a separate login on my MacBook?

iTunes will always sync with the iPhoto Library that has last been opened in iPhoto.
Before syncing her iPad, quit iTunes and iPhoto and double-click her iPhoto library to open it in iPhoto.
Then relaunch iTunes and connect her iPad. Now you should see her iPhoto library in the panel to sync photos.

Two different iPhoto libraries on the same iPod

Is it possible to synchronize two different iPhoto libraries on the same iPod Touch ? And, if yes, how ?
Thank you for your help.
Francis

Please explain in more detail what you are wanting to do.
Do you want to have two different versions of iPhoto, have two different Libraries or Share iPhoto with multiple users?
Two different iPhoto versions (06 and 08, 08 and 09 for examples) is a problem and I say no because the older version can not use a Library that the newer version has modified.
For iPhoto support articles, see > Apple - Support - Mac Apps - iPhoto
To Share a Library with other users, see > iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users
To Move a Library, see > iPhoto '11: Move your iPhoto library to a new location

Unifying different iPhoto libraries & photos not in a library

I am still trying to fix some iPhoto issues that have cropped up due to hard drive failures. We have had 3 hard drives in about 2.5 years. We have several thousand (maybe 20K?) pictures in our library. Because it takes so long to back-up the library, and because I have been told that intense things like working in iMovie and backing up huge iPhoto libraries physically wears down the hard drive, I had tried backing up by adding new rolls of film to my external hard drive. THESE ROLLS WERE NOT ADDED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE IPHOTO LIBRARY, and I now realize that I have messed up iPhoto's cooperation between Modified, Originals, and Thumbnails. But, I'd like to have one cohesive library again, and just from now on back up the entire library every time. So, here's my questions:
(1) Before this last hard drive crash this spring, I had two iPhoto Library back-ups of the entire library on external hard drives. One from 7/2006 and one from 10/2006. These include thumbnails, originals, modified, everything.
(2) After 10/2006, I have the year-named folders (from the Originals folder, I believe) saved separately. I.e., I have the 2007,2006, etc folder saved outside of the iPhoto library on my external hard drives.
(3) When this last internal hd failed this spring, I imported the back-up from 7/2006, rather than the later one from 10/2006. Photos have been added to this library since then. So...now I have my active iPhoto library containing photos up to 7/2006 and since 3/2007. Photos taken from 8/2006 to 2/2007 are missing.
(5) I still have all the entire library up to 10/2006 saved.
(6) The missing photos from 8/2006 to 2/2007 are contained in separate folders stored only by their yearly folder, not stored within the iPhoto library.
How can I combine all this to make one cohesive library, always to saved as a unit, never to be picked apart again? I need to do this soon. I appreciate all your help!
Deanna
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Deanna:
Here's what I'd do.
1 - launch the working library that has the most files in it.
2 - locate those photos that are in folders only and not in any library and import into the primary library. If there are duplicates in there for any reason, iPhoto will alert you and you can opt not to import duplicates.
3 - use iPhoto Library Manager to copy the rolls of the other library(s) into your primary library like this. You can set the options to not import duplicates. Using iPLM will let you keep comments and keywords intact between the libraries.
4 - once you have your primary library up to date and are satisfied that it is current, delete the other library(s) and folders of files.
5 - copy the primary iPhoto Library folder to the external HD as your backup.
6 - use a backup application likeSynk (other backup applications were reviewed by MacWorld in their Feb issue- also online I think) to backup the library on a regular basis. Using a backup application only those files which have changed or added are copied making it very quick.
7 - follow the tip at the end of my signature to make a backup of the database file, Library6.iPhoto, after every import, after any considerable work on books, calendars, etc. and at least once a day.
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. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
MBP 2.16Ghz; G5 Dual Core 2GHz, 2G RAM ea, 250G HD; G4 Dual 1Ghz, 1.5G RAM; Mac OS X (10.4.9) 22" LCD, 710G FW HDs, Canon: SD700IS/i850/LIDE 50, Epson R200, 30G iPod, 2G Nano

My iMac has created different iPhoto libraries? Why and how can I bring all back to one library?

My iMac has created seperate iPhoto libraries for some reason. So now I have all my photos seperated amongst 4 libraries.
Why did iMac do this or what did I do unwittingly that caused this?
How do I combine all the photos back into just one library?

Your iMac has not created seperate ;libraries - that can only happen if you direct it done adn only you know what you did.
What are the names of the 4 libraries?
what version of iPhoto do you have? Do you have Aperturte? Unless you have iPhoto 9.3 and Apertrue 3.3 or newer the only way to merege libraries is using the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ -
LN

Compare two different iPhoto Libraries

Is there any program that could compare two iPhoto Libraries and let me know the difference between them? I've got two libraries, they should have the same pictures, but for some reason one is 80GB bigger than the other one.
I know there are duplicates, but 80GB seems a lot for only duplicates, so I want to compare both of them and see what pictures are missing.

How many photos does iPhoto indicate in each of the libraries? Open the Photo mode, do a select all and see how many are indicated at the bottom of the window. See if that corresponds to the number beside the Photos icon under the Events library. Be sure to turn on Item Counts in iPhoto's General preference pane.
Which is the larger: the old or the new?
OT

I have lost my most important iphoto library. I have several different photo libraries that use and the one that I have been using for this entire year disappeared when I switched back to look at photos from an old library, please help, thank you.

I have also tried searching for them in finder and going through the trash, i have had no luck yet and confused on where they might be.

With the amount of information you've provided it's impossible to offer a solution. We can't see your computer so we need to know the details of your problem and setup, i.e.:
what version of iPhoto are you using?
what system version are you running?
what do you see in the iPhoto window when iPhoto opens?
what fixes have you tried?
where is your library normally located?
did you apply any updates or upgrades just prior to the problem occurring?
are you running a "managed" or "referenced" library?
how much free space on your boot drive?
If you launch iPhoto with the Option key held down you'll get a window with all libraries that iPhoto an find. What do you see in that window?
If you select a library in the window it's location will be shown directly beneath that window.

2 libraries need to consolidate. Is there a way to combine these?

I moved all my files to a new external drive. Then I added a few more files but now I have 2 library files in 2 locations. One location has all the old files, the other location has the new files.
Is there a way to combine these two library files?
All of the music files in both libraries are in the same iTunes folder, but one library is IN the iTunes folder and the other is OUTSIDE the iTunes folder.
Now when I "choose library" I have to go to one or the other library. I need to combine these.
What can I do???
Message was edited by: oraange

All the music is in the same folder. But for some reason I have 2 libraries that locate different tracks within the same iTunes music folder.?!

Best way to merge multiple iPhoto libraries from several external hard drives into one, while deleting duplicates?

Problem: My wife and I both have MacBook Pros (MBPs). We take a lot of pictures and import them into iPhoto. When the storage capacity of our MBPs gets full, I have been moving our iPhoto libraries into external hard drives, which are now multiple (3 or 4). The problem I now realize we have been making, is that once the iPhoto libraries were copied onto the external hard drives, we were only deleting about half of the photos in each iPhoto library remaining in our MBPs (because we wanted to keep some of the important ones in our hard drives). Once the storage capacities of our MBPs got full again, I would repeat the whole process again and again. In essence I now have several large iPhoto libraries (each about 80 GB), each with multiple duplicate photos, divided among several external hard drives. And I am running out of space on my hard drive again. So what is the best way to:
a) merge all of these iPhoto libraries into just one, while simultaneously being able to delete all the duplicates? (or would you not recommend this?)
b) prevent this from happening again?
Thanks. BTW I am using OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 and iPhoto 8.1.2 (2009)

If you have Aperture 3.3 or later and iPhoto 9.3 or later you can merge libraries with Aperture.
Otherwise the only way to merge Libraries is with the paid ($30) version of iPhoto Library Manager
The Library Manager app can be set avoid duplicates.

IPhoto 6 is duplicating rolls of film on other iphoto libraries

I am having a lot of issues with iPhoto 6..... I hope there is someone out there who can give me some guidance as I am really bewildered.
iPhoto 6 asks if I want duplicates added, but then proceeds to add the duplicates -- just ignoring my instructions. iPhoto 6 not only duplicated rolls of film on different iPhoto libraries, but it duplicated some photos within a roll -- not all of the photos on the roll, just a few. It is noticeable that the first and presumably the original has JPG after the title.... The second picture doesn't have JPG suffix, but says FORMAT is JPEG Image. Also the size is the same for the duplicate as the first one, but the KB or MB is less than the first one.
I had created new libraries (12) earlier when the number of photos on a library was thought to slow it down. Some of these libraries hadn't been opened for a while. I recently noticed that my Pictures folder was taking up too much space and I began an examination. When I opened some of the libraries, I'd get a message that the library needed to be rebuilt to improve performance, so I agreed. Then on several occasions, I was told that a certain number of photos had been "recovered" and would I like to import (over 500 and up to 1300 at a time). Well, I had no idea what they were of or why they were "recovered." I was hesitant to add that many more photos as they were already taking too much space, but I did.
I soon learned that all or most of these recovered pictures were already on another library. What a MESS! There is no title on the library once it is opened and there is no list of all the film rolls so that one can know where the duplicates are. So I have gone through all the libraries, put them in film rolls and typed up a rough index. Now I am trying to decide which ones to delete.
I have not been as pleased with iPhoto 6 as with its predecessors and certainly do not want to upgrade to iPhoto 8 until I have some assurance that this isn't going to happen again. The problem is on my eMac 10.4.11, but I also have a MacBook and a picture iPod.
Can anyone help me make sense out of this? I've like to know what caused it so that I don't have a repeat performance. Thanks for your help in advance.

Rita:
I suggest you use iPhoto Library Manager to manage the libraries. It puts the name of the library in the top frame of iPhoto so you know what library you're in. You can also merge libraries, telling it not to merge duplicates and I believe it will do a better job than iPhoto. You can test it out with a couple of smaller libraries.
Are you importing from a camera or from the Finder? I found that importing from the Finder would exclude duplicates while from a camera would not. I find it safer to upload from the camera to a folder on the Desktop and then into iPhoto much safer.
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 created 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 and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Combining multiple iPhoto libraries into 1.

I have 4 different iPhoto libraries on my external hard drive that I collected in the last 5 years. I'm tired of switching libraries each time I need to see a different time period. What is the easiest and best way to organize everything in one place? I hear that Apeture is good for this. IS there a video tutorial that covers this process?

The best way woud indeed be Aperture: Here is a knowlege base article by Apple explaining the procedure:
Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries
Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture
But since Aperture is not exactly cheap, you might prefer not to invest into Aperture, unless you are considering to switch to a more advanced image management software anyway. Then that would be a very good investment. Aperture has more advanced image editing options than iPhoto and better organisational tools. It works well with very large photo libraries. You'll find some tutorials, the manual, and other help on the Aperture Support Page: Aperture Support
Another option would be the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager, but that would not be able to maintain all metadata.
Regards
Léonie

Merge iphoto libraries onto an external HDD

We have 3 macs at the house and they all have different Iphoto libraries. I would like to merge them all onto the one Library of the Imac with an External HDD. The problem is that a bunch of the pictures are on more than one of the computers. I was hoping that there was a way to import them but not import the duplicates like when I import from a camera.

You'll need to use iPhoto Library Manager to merge the Libraries. There is no other way to do it without losing versions or metadata.
Regards
TD

HELP! 24,700 photos - can I/should I merge iPhoto libraries?

I've been using iPhoto Buddy for a couple of years now to manage 3 different iPhoto libraries. I have coming up on 25,000 photos going back to 96 with my first digital camera. This has become a real pain switching libraries. Also - it limits how I can distribute the content (i.e. AppleTV/iTunes will only look at one library) I seperated them a while back because iPhoto wasn't stable enough to handle too many pictures in a single library without being prone to crashes.
I know nobody really knows if iPhoto 8 will help in this area (as I do plan to soon get a new 24" iMac)... but in general, is there any way to merge all 3 libraries and preserve keywords, film rolls, etc?

Apple deleted (record time!) my post on the merge topic, see the text below. (I omitted a few lines that might have pushed Apple's hypervigilant complaint monitoring team over the line, the full text is on "Gordon's Tech".
I spent some time over lunch with iPhoto 7. It's a good improvement and well worth what I paid to buy a copy. There is NO SUPPORT for library merging, but the .Mac support is better. You may be able to publish albums to .Mac and then import at the album level. Obviously, this is not satisfactory.
In my post below I comment on iPhoto Library Manager, an app I greatly appreciate and admire but which does not meet my requirements completely. I think Apple's unofficial answer is "buy Aperture", but you should know Aperture does not allow you to edit date metadata (so you can't sort scans, for example).
You're traveling with your MacBook. Organizing photos, adding metadata, creating albums, slideshows, etc. You get home. You want to import your travel library to the main library, preserving ALL the versions and metadata.
You have just married the Mac Geek of your dreams. You need to merge Libraries into the shared folder (which can't be shared over a network, but let's just ignore that). How do you do that?
You created and used separate Libraries back with iPhoto bogged down at 2000 images. Now you want to combine them, preserving version relationships, album relationships, descriptions, titles, keywords, roll information, photo books, slideshows, etc, etc.
Yes, I know about iPhoto Library Manager. I license and use it. It does miracles with Apple's limited merge support, but some metadata is lost. I also had so many issues with earlier version merges that, even though I use it all the time, I'm gun-shy. Sorry, merging Libraries is very complex. It's hard to believe that anyone but Apple can do it safely.
iLife 2008 (iPhoto 7) is the fourth release in a row to disappoint those of us asking for Library management....
tags: jfaughnan, jgfaughnan, import, merge, combine, library

SEVERAL different iphoto libraries - need to consolidate

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