Subfolders in iPhoto

I have a great number of albums and don't know if there's a way to collect them, like subfolders--for instance grouping albums together in albums called 2009, 2008, etc.

You can create folders in iPhoto that can hold as many albums as you like - go to "File" in the menu bar and choose "New Folder" You can call it 2009 or whatever, and drag your albums into it.
Here's what Apple has to say about it.
Regards

Similar Messages

Weird subfolders in iPhoto library

Hello. Ever since I upgraded to iPhoto '11, I have noticed that when I import my photos it creates a million (okay, around 3) crazy titled subfolders, many of which are empty. When I click on "show original file" instead of the picture being in a folder titled the date that I took it/imported it, it is titled by month (06) and then there is a subfolder titled by day (13), and then in that folder there are a ton of crazy named folders (20130708-210101) some of which have my pictures, some of which have nothing. This only started after I upgraded, and I don't know how to change it. It is especially annoying, because it is affecting how I view my pictures in Picasa.
Has anyone else run into this problem?
Help, Please!!

You need to decide what you're trying to do. Either your managing your photos - in which case you use iPhoto - or your managing files, in which case you use the Finder.
There is never a need to "access the files in a direct way". If you feel the need to do that then you're doing something wrong.
There is no maze. Want to back up just the original files?
Export them: File -> Export set the Kind to Original
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.
Want to back up everything:
Most Simple Back Up:
Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
Slightly more complex: Use an app that will do incremental back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically.
Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store
The files are stored in a package because users persistently corrupted their libraries by manipulating them via the finder in earler versions.

Invisible or missing subfolders in iphoto directory

Imported my photo library from my old mac to my new imac (ilife 08, v7.1).
When I look in iPhoto, all pictures are there. When i browse to wehere I keep the photos (user/pictures) there is an icon for my iphoto library, but no subfolders for my individual pictures.
However, if I search for .jpg in finder, and slect a pictue in my iphoto library, the path name indicates that it is in a subfolder (say user/pictures/iphotolibrary/originals/2004/IMG008.jpg).
How do I get the subfolders back (or visible) when browsing through finder?
Hopefully these screen grabs help:
1. iPhoto, showing pictures in my library
[IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd64/yshuaw/iphotograb.jpg[/IMG]
2. Finder, showing no subfolders, just my "iPhoto Library"
[IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd64/yshuaw/browsinggrab.jpg[/IMG]
3. Searching in finder, notice path at the bottom shows a subfolder in my iphoto library that was not visible when browsing.
[IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd64/yshuaw/findergrab.jpg[/IMG]

yshuaw
To confirm: you're using v7 - I do this because you're posting in the v6 forum.
With v7, the old iPhoto Library Folder is now a Unix Style Package File.
How do I get the subfolders back (or visible) when browsing through finder?
You can't. Assuming you want to do this to access your picture files, some of the below might help:
There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
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.
To upload to MySpace or any 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.
PictureSync supports many web-based services.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
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. Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves. If you're willing to risk database corruption, you can restore the older functionality simply by right clicking on the iPhoto Library and choosing 'Show Package Contents'. Then simply make an alias to the folders you require and put that alias on the desktop or where ever you want it. Be aware though, that this is a hack and not supported by Apple.
Regards
TD

No photos in iphoto after update

Hi looks like after teh latest update of iphoto, my entire library has gone! Its there in time machine but doesn't seem to want to restore. It gives me a message saying it wants to upgrade the thumbnails, but I seem to have been throught this loop twice now and still no pictures.
Alan
<Edited by Host>

Thanks for responding.
I have used iPhoto forever and have all my photos categorized in iPhoto's folders and subfolders, organized chronologically by events of my liking: sports, holidays, vacations, etc (through the past 6-7 years). I was peeved when a few updates ago, iPhoto made iPhoto's "Events" the substantial organizational structure, and deleted many of my photos in their "Photos" library. Imported photos seemed to be imported only into iPhoto's "Events" and not in the previous huge umbrella of "Photos", many of my photos disappeared in the "Photos" library, they still existed in "Events (another question). I could still however make my folders and subfolders within iPhoto separate from the "Events" structure which I continued to do. Today, however, I went to upload a bunch of my favorite photos that I had put in a folder in June of my daughter's graduation, I wanted to upload these photos in my mac mobile website but all the photos were gone from that grad folder. They are still in an iPhoto "Event", thus they exist but they have been removed from the folder I created only a month ago. Then I noticed ALL my photos in ALL the folders that I have created through the years are gone, there is only a place holder of where the photo used to be. The folders are still there with the names I gave them.
I have not done anything to bring them back.
I don't understand the "managed" library that you mention. I have never had to even think about this.

Iphoto 5 cannot add photos to library

hi,
most of the photos that i have on my computer are not showing up in iphoto. they're all in the correct folders (iphoto library with automatic date subfolders), and iphoto used to display them. i have tried several times to re-add the images to the library, but every time i get an error message:
Unreadable Files: 1 [or # of photos i'm trying to add]
the following files could not be imported (they may be an unrecognized file type or the files may not contain valid data).
these are just standard jpegs (and a few movies taken with a digital camera), and they work fine when opened in preview or photoshop. not that i have much use for iphoto anyway, but it would be nice to be able to use it once in a while.
i recently bought a new digital camera, but i doubt that this is the issue - both the old and new cameras are canons and work fine. any ideas?
thanks,
adam

adam
Sounds likr you may have a corrupted databae. Have a read of this article for help in recovering the situation:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107947
iPhoto will not import pics that are in the iPhoto Library Folder - a sensible precaution against duplication.
Regards
TD

Iphoto 4.0.3 data storage subdirectories seem random

I have iphoto 4.0.3 neatly organized into smart albums and some regular albums. I am trying to back up all my data onto an external harddrive, therefore I am telling the harddrive to move over everything in photolibrary. When I look on the harddrive, all the data is there, but my smart albums don't even show up and my regular albums are there, but empty. All of the pictures seem to be saved in some kind of arbitrary, long list of subdirectories that iphoto creates. For example, when I open iphoto and look in the album 'Family' all family photos are there. When I look for the same photos externally to iphoto, they would appear in a tree of files like:
2005->02->04->10 and they are saved as their original titles like DSC_0023.jpg, not the title of 'Family' that I assigned them in iphoto. The other issue is that I think the harddrive is not saving all the photos because the filenames are too long when they include all the subfolders that iphoto is assigning them. Basically, when I look in my external harddrive, all I want to see is all my iphoto albums in different files with all the photos assigned to that file, all saved as JPEGS. Anyone know how to resolve this issue? Also, I was wondering if this is still an issue in 6.0.2 and if its better to just buy the upgrade? Thanks.

Hi Marlene,
iPhoto 6 organized your files in the finder a little differently. It still does not show your albums,slideshows, books, etc. as the info for these are in data files.
Here is a screenshot of the iPhoto 5 and iPhoto 6 library folders in the Finder and an explanation of each.
This is a view of how the iPhoto 5 Library looks in the Finder.
It is organized by Year folders. Inside the Year folders are Month folders. Inside the Month folders are the days of the Month. Inside the day folders are the photos you took on that day. If you imported video clips and RAW files on that day they will be in an Originals folder. If you have edited any photo imported on that day, the original will be in that folder also.
iPhoto 6 Library folder in the Finder
As you can see the structure is now related to rolls. Rolls are created for each folder you import and each import session from a camera.
It is very easy to change the names of film rolls within iPhoto to make them easier to find images within. Open the info panel in iPhoto by clicking on the "i" icon. Once it is opened, click on the roll title in the viewing window.
Click on the word "title" in the info pane and type in your new title. I like to use a date and text format such as 12/25/05 Christmas at Mom's, 1/05/06 my birthday, etc. Once the roll names are changed within iPhoto, they are also changed within the Finder, making it easy to locate an image.
When importing from a camera, make sure you name the roll with a date and text before the import.

Transferring photos from PC contained in subfolders.

I'm preparing to transfer about 12,000 photos from a PC that are contained in hundreds of subfolders organized by date. Can I simply drag the main folder into iPhoto to transfer the files, or will I have to do each subfolder individually? Will the folder system remain intact? I don't necessarily want it to, I just want to know what to expect. Ideally, I would like to be able to transfer all of the photos without any subfolders, unless I have to do it manually. Thanks for any insight/tips. Never used iPhoto before.

o, if I simply drag the top-level folder to iPhoto, will it ignore the additional layer of subfolders and automatically pull out and import all of the photos?
No. If you drag a folder containing subfolders into iPhoto each subfolder will become an Event with the same title as the subfolder had.
OT

Help with importing huge photo collection

Hello,
my brther switched to Mac and want to use iPhoto. His pohoto collection is about 40GB and many, many folders and subfolders. The structure of the folders and subfolders are like this example:
-X-mas     ->2009
               ->2010
               ->2011
Moto-trip ->Germany 2008 -> My photos
                                        -> Toms photos
                                        -> Mikes photos
               ->Switzerland 2009     -> My photos
                                                -> Brothers photos
etc...
Is there some possibility (maybe some script or 3rd app) of how to import all this pictures and for example automaticaly create Albums with subfolders in iPhoto?
Importing each subfolder would take days...
Any idea?
P.S.: He uses Mountain Lion and the latest iPhoto.

The structure you outline here is one for Files and not Photos. Using that structure in iPhoto is a bit pointless as it remains as limited in iPhoto as it is in the Finder.
iPhoto offers much more varied organisational opportunities, leveraging data that the file browser doesn't even know about - such as Exif and IPTC.
For Instance: anything date-based is done automatically based on the date and time of the Exif metadata in the Photos. So, Events are made this way, automatically. You can search by date using Smart Albums or the Calendar search in the search box: Therefore can easily find all the photos from any specific day, month, year, or in any time range using one of these tools.
If, in the example above, Tom and Mike have different cameras, then again you can sort these from each others with a simple Smart Album.
Next: Albums hold Photos. There is no such thing as a subfolder in Albums. You can have Folders. They can contain Albums nested Folders, which can also contain Albums.
As for importing folder tree: there's some stuff here that might help
http://www.macworld.com/article/1139658/iphotoimport.html
but I don't believe that there is any way to create a folder and move an Album into it.
Regards
TD

Multiple Folders

I am new to iphoto and really confused about the various folders and subfolders that iphoto seems to generate. I am not sure which to go to when I want to attach a photo file to an email.
When I go into my photos folder I have my iphoto photo library folders broken down by year and then a set of 'data' folders, 'original' folders and 'modified' folders again by year.
Can someone explain what these all mean and what goes where?
Thanks!
Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Weasel16:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. First be aware of the warnings in Don't tamper with files in the iPhoto Library folder from the Finder. Do do so is committing the cardinal sin of iPhoto.
Regarding attaching to mail, if you use Mail, Eudora, Entourage and have it set up as your email application in iPhoto's preferences you just need select a photo and click on the Mail button in the bottom toolbar.
If you're using a web based email then you may have to export the file(s) to the desktop and then add them from there to the email. If you're using GMail there's a way to set Mail up to use it. Check the GMail site.
The Data folders are the thumbnail files. The Modified folder contains those edited photos. The edited copy is placed there so the original is untouched in the Originals folder. Do not edit, rename or move a file or folder inside the iPhoto library folder from the Finder! Under normal use of iPhoto you should never have to go into the library folder via the Finder.
Do you Twango?

MY PICTURES folder on Mac

I imported all my photos in MY PICTURES (and its subfolders) to iPhoto - and then spent many hours re-organizing them into iPhoto Folders. I am happy with the result.
But the folder MY PICTURES on my Mac is a mess. What I would like to do is blow the whole thing away and duplicate the iPhoto subfolders into MY PICTURES. Can I do this, and if so, how?
TIA.

jap0nica
In what way is your Pictures folder a mess?
It is strongly advised that you do not move, change or in anyway alter things in the iPhoto Library Folder as this can cause the application to fail and even lead to data loss
What I would like to do is blow the whole thing away and duplicate the iPhoto subfolders into MY PICTURES. Can I do this, and if so, how?
No you cant. iPhoto simply does not work that way.
iPhoto is a database, and like any database it needs you to manipulate the data via the app itself, not through a back door like the Finder.
The usual reason people like to try and organise the iPhoto Library Folder is because they fear they will be unable to find a file if they need it.
There are three ways (at least) to get files from the iPhoto Window.
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.
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.
Finally: a Note about the iPhoto Library Folder:
In this folder there are various files, which are the Library itself and some ancillary files. Then you have three folders
Originals are the photos as they were downloaded from your camera or scanner.
(ii) Modified contains edited pics, shots that you have cropped, rotated or changed in any way.
This allows the Photos -> Revert to Original command - very useful if you don't like the changes you've made.
(iii) Data holds the thumbnails the the app needs to show you the photos in the iPhoto Window.
Regards
TD

Lost with 10000 photos on a external hard-drive!

hello-hello, I have just bought a new-mac.
I've got just over 10.000 photos on an external hard-drive.
These photos are from all sorts of places, old cameras, scanned in, emailed over, downloaded etc...
On my external hard-drive they are organised into about 300 folders and sub folders more subfolders.
When I import them into iphoto its obsessed about 'events'
Is there a way I can import my folders and subfolders into iphoto and view them through that?
Cheers

You can recreate your current folder structure in iPhoto using Albums, not Events.
Start at the bottom of your hierarchy and drag a folder of images to the Album section of the left hand pane in the iPhoto Window. iPhoto will create an Album of the same name. You can then create the enclosing folder in iPhoto (File -> New Folder) and drag the Album to it. You can nest folders inside folders as well.
A couple of general comments, as an fyi. Mimicing a FInder set up in iPhoto Window is not making best use of the additional organisation possibilities of iPhoto.
If you're folder system is date based then the calendar tool and/or smart folders make that form of organisation pretty pointless. The calendar tool makes it possible to find all the pics taken o0n a specific day/month/year at any time.
If the folders are Theme based, then keywording is also more flexible.
Regards
TD

Importing a large (7500) photos from an external HD used with a PC into an

How can I Import a large (7500) library of photos from an external HD used with a PC into iPhoto? I know how to import, but can't figure out how to keep my folders (by year) and the sub folders in order. When I import they all end up in the library unorganized.

Hi AzBill,
I hope the following info might help you a little bit...
Importing Images from the hard drive, CD, or DVD
To import a folder with subfolders of images maintaining the same organizational structure (or close to it):
Drag the folder with the subfolders into iPhotos viewing area.
A film roll will be created with each sub folders name (the subfolder has to have images in it. To view the rolls in the Library you need to first go to the menu bar and choose View>by film rolls.
To make each roll into an Album, highlight the title of the roll
Go to File>new album from selection.
You will now have an Album in the source column with the images from that roll. Do this for each roll if you want them to be an Album. This is your choice.
Next, go to the menu bar and hit File>new folder
Name this new folder with the year or whatever the name was of the Parent folder containing the subfolders that you had dragged into iPhotos viewing area.
Next drag all the Albums into the respective new Parent folder you just made.
Albums- collection of images from one roll or many rolls. The Albums will be listed in your source column when you make them. The albums only contain placeholders for the images that are still in the library. They are not duplicates.
Rolls- rolls are created when you import folder of images. It will be given the name of the folder you are importing.
Rolls are also created from each import from your camera. You are given the option to name the roll at import.
Folder-a folder you create manually using the File>new folder command
Folders can hold Albums, slideshows, books, another folder, etc.
One other way you can import a folder of images and have an Album created for it as the same time it is imported as a roll in the Library view:
Drag each folder of images into the source column of iPhoto. When you see the plus sign, drop it in the source column.
An album will be created in the source column, and the roll that the album was created from will be in the library view window.
Hope this helps!

Here i am giving u my folder structure

This is my folder Structure
1.Ejb1
     -Com package
          --com.insu.InsuranceBean(Session Bean)
          --com.insu.InsuranceHome
          --com.insu.Inurance(Remote)
     -META-INF
          --sun-ejb-jar.xml
          --ejb-jar.xml
     --Ejb1.jar
2.web
     -WEB-INF
          --sun-web.xml
          --web.xml
          --Classes
          --lib
     --jsps
     --web.war
3.Application
     --META-INF
          --application.xml
     --App.ear
     --Ejb1.jar
     --web.war
Here i am deploying App.ear in the sun one Application server. Then i am getting this error
Error
Deployment Error -- Error while running ejbc -- Fatal Error from EJB Compiler -- -- Failed to load deployment descriptor for: App cause: I/O error while reading web xml into object representation

Thanks for responding.
I have used iPhoto forever and have all my photos categorized in iPhoto's folders and subfolders, organized chronologically by events of my liking: sports, holidays, vacations, etc (through the past 6-7 years). I was peeved when a few updates ago, iPhoto made iPhoto's "Events" the substantial organizational structure, and deleted many of my photos in their "Photos" library. Imported photos seemed to be imported only into iPhoto's "Events" and not in the previous huge umbrella of "Photos", many of my photos disappeared in the "Photos" library, they still existed in "Events (another question). I could still however make my folders and subfolders within iPhoto separate from the "Events" structure which I continued to do. Today, however, I went to upload a bunch of my favorite photos that I had put in a folder in June of my daughter's graduation, I wanted to upload these photos in my mac mobile website but all the photos were gone from that grad folder. They are still in an iPhoto "Event", thus they exist but they have been removed from the folder I created only a month ago. Then I noticed ALL my photos in ALL the folders that I have created through the years are gone, there is only a place holder of where the photo used to be. The folders are still there with the names I gave them.
I have not done anything to bring them back.
I don't understand the "managed" library that you mention. I have never had to even think about this.

Yosemite Photo settings choose library nothing

After installing Yosemite, iPhoto will not open, a window appears which library to choose. But there is no library in the window to choose from.
Two buttons 'other library' or 'make new one' don't work. So I am stuck and can not get to my photo's.

WHen I select other library the panel drops down and shows two folders: iphoto library and ipod photo cache (being part of pictures) . But when I select one and press button OPEN, nothing happens. I tried several subfolders in Iphoto library to OPEN without success.
So my iPhoto library is in Pictures, but I do have the impression going to several subfolders that it might not be the complete library. I keep coming back to a selection of recent pictures.

How can I transfer/copy my entire iPhoto library from one iMac to another iMac whilst keeping all the folders and subfolders intact?

We recently purchased a new iMac for our office (8 GB memory, 2.7 processor, version 10.9.2) and we need to copy the iPhoto library from our other iMac (version 10.9.4) onto the new one. The photos are essential for our work and there are around 53,000 of them all organised into folders and subfolders and then the photos are manually ordered within the albums.
We have tried connecting the computers but when we tried to access the iPhoto library on the new iMac it says that iPhoto is locked and we do not have permission to view it. We updated iPhoto on the old iMac as we thought that might be the problem but the message still appears. We've been advised to use an external hard drive but we're worried that will corrupt the organisation of the library. We have also been told not to do it over AirDrop / the Server because of the sheer quantity of photos.
Any advice on how to safely do this would be much appreciated.

No idea exactly what you did
if you followed the instructions
Simply copy the iPhoto Library from the Pictures Folder on the old Machine to the Pictures Folder on the new Machine.
Then launch iPhoto. That's it.
This moves photos, events, albums, books, keywords, slideshows and everything else.
then you have exactly the same thin on your new system that you had on the old
If you do something differently - like import the library instead of simply opening it - then it will not work
did you dimply drag the iPhoto library from the pictures folder of the old machine to the pictures folder of the new machine and then launch iPhoto on the new machine?
and to help it is important to use word correctly since that is the only communications method we have - in iPhoto folders do not contain photos - you view photos in events and you can organize them using albums (which view photos) and folders (which hold either albums or other folders - folders never have photos in them) so your description of the problem is not at all clear since it uses folders incorretly
LN

Subfolders in iPhoto

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