Suggestions for archiving an iPhoto library? (and more questions)

Ok, so here is my issue:
Over 12,000 photos
Over 65GB
New camera that doubles the average file size of most previous pics to ~3MB
I've thought about starting a new library and archiving the current one, but there is one thing I am scared of: having an old library sitting around and not getting progressively updated. The times I have had problems with my library have been when skipping between versions of iPhoto and the library essentially gets "combo" updated (not the program itself, but when it updates the library files as it often does).
I don't think I would like to access the library from an external. It was a mess when I did it with iTunes, and regardless of available space, I think a new library that doesn't have any left over data from when it was started in 2002-2003 would be a good idea.
With that out of the way:
What are your ideas?
What have you done for this?
Just in case there is a drastic change like Final Cut X, or it is dropped like iWeb/iDVD in 10 or 100 years in the future, how can I make a clean backup that does not rely on iPhoto? ("show package contents" is just messy as I have many modified and don't require the originals in those cases.).
Any thing else that I haven't thought of, or any sites you could point me to or personal experiences with this would be great. Thank you!

There are several different questions in there.
I've thought about starting a new library and archiving the current one, but there is one thing I am scared of: having an old library sitting around and not getting progressively updated.
Simple solution: keep progressively updating it? In other words, use it all the time. Move your existing Library to an external drive.
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager
Think of it this way: You have a Master Library which contains everything and another which contains more current material.
I don't think I would like to access the library from an external. It was a mess when I did it with iTunes, and regardless of available space, I think a new library that doesn't have any left over data from when it was started in 2002-2003 would be a good idea.
There is no reason not to use an external as described above, This is also true of iTunes. I have no idea why you might regard it as a benefit not have data from 2002. It's much more convenient to have all the data in one Library.. If it was a mess when you did it with iTunes then respectfully I suggest that maybe you  didn’t do it right . My iTunes Library runs to hundreds of gigs so it has to reside on externals, and does with no problems.
Getting Photos out of iPhoto is simple and safe: File -> Export. You can choose to export Masters. Or just current versions and so on.
Apps like iPhoto2Disk or PhotoShare will help you export to a Folder tree matching your Events.

Similar Messages

  • Help , i just archived my iphoto library, and now it won't open

    How do i unzip the library and put it back? I'm getting a message that the files are unreadable. I've had sooo much trouble with iphoto since upgrading to '06 and now this! I've been getting a messaage everytime i use the iphoto to rebuild the thumbnails, so I read about how to do it with starting with the option key etc, thought i'd also back it up and archived it to use less space on the dvd and now there are a lot of missing pictures; it's like my one library just vanished, there are none of my albums or titles etc. Anyway when I was moving the library folder to the burn folder to burn it, it just vanished, and now all I have is the archived folder.

    How do i unzip the library and put it back? I'm
    getting a message that the files are unreadable. I've
    had sooo much trouble with iphoto since upgrading to
    '06 and now this! I've been getting a messaage
    everytime i use the iphoto to rebuild the thumbnails,
    so I read about how to do it with starting with the
    option key etc, thought i'd also back it up and
    archived it to use less space on the dvd and now
    there are a lot of missing pictures; it's like my one
    library just vanished, there are none of my albums or
    titles etc. Anyway when I was moving the library
    folder to the burn folder to burn it, it just
    vanished, and now all I have is the archived folder.
    Since posting the above I have been on the phone with a tech, I had redownload the stuffit expander, to unzip the file. I had backed up the pictures so will add them later, but here is the issue, I am very low on disk space so have added an external HD which i am trying to put photo libraries in. I printed an article "how to store libraries on exernal HD", in the rticle it says to rename the files on the original HD, can I remove them instead (after saving to disk, of course)?
    Also, I have 15G of disk space we could not account for, the tech suspects hidden files, but says they do not deal with locating them and removing them, reccomended erasing HD and starting over, but would like that to be a last resort. I have four users on my machine two of which are for my grandchildren who use it mainly for "my space" and "Limewire" Has anyone here had a problem with either of these sites? I'm looking for alternaive suggestions about where the disk space has gone prior to erasing my hard drive. This is a very recent problem, and my mac is running poorly due to lack of space on the harddrive. I am moving my photo libraries to the external HD as I had planned anyway so i don't have to worry about space. It is a 250G WDC My Book Essential Edition. I am running the 6.0 iPhoto program. I am calling the support tech for iphoto but think it is unlikely that I have 15G of missing space due to photos, so could use your help. Thanks.

  • Can't open iphoto in airbook. Asking to upgrade then says must rebuild library then warning about missing files. When click rebuild all I get is continued- waiting for iphoto library- and, never rebuilds

    can't open iphoto in airbook. Asking to upgrade then says must rebuild library then warning about missing files. When click rebuild all I get is continued- waiting for iphoto library- and, never rebuilds

    -1.The photo library needs to be upgraded to work with this version of iPhoto.
    Your photo library will not be readable by previous versions of iPhoto after the upgrade. The upgrade process for very large libraries may take an hour or more to complete.
    2. iPhoto is unable to open this library.
    The library has issues that require rebuilding to correct
    3. Warning
    Would you like to rebuild the library "iPhoto Library"? 
    The library "iPhoto Library" is missing required database files and must be rebuilt before it can be opened.
    4. Waiting for iPhoto library
    iPhoto will open as soon as the iPhoto library is available
    Time Machine might be backing it up

  • Is it possible for Apple Time Capsule place iphoto library and use it with my macbooks

    Is it possible for Apple Time Capsule place iphoto library and use it with my macbook pro & macbook air? How about the simultaneous use? Will I as well open it in my ipad and iphoto?

    How Come? I thought that to an external drive move iphoto library is not a problem  -  https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3012995?tstart=0. And Apple Time Capsule including the an external drive.

  • Delete photo from iPhoto library and HDD

    Hopefully I'm not repeating a previous thread...
    Not being an expert, am I correct in saying that iPhoto only changes its version of the photo when editing it?
    Also, if you delete the photo by moving it to the trash can, it doesn't physically delete it from the HDD? (When you empty the trash can)
    This causes a problem for a few reasons.
    I have just loaded Medialink PS3 which allows the iMac to serve the PS3. (BTW - Good product)
    If you point Medialink to the original HDD folder then this still includes photos I thought I had deleted.
    Also If I want to burn a cd with the photo folder external to iPhoto , the "deleted" photos are also burnt.
    I copied all of the photos from a windows PC, and Picasa allowed you to physically delet from its own folder as well as the HDD.
    Doesn't iPhoto 09 allow this?
    What would iPhoto do if I went through and cleaned up the external folder and deleted jpgs or edited using Canon editing software? If using the external editor, would iPhoto reflect the changes?
    Sorry if this is verbose.
    regards,

    You might want to have a llook at the iPhoto tutorials. They cover a lot of these basics.
    http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#iphoto-hero
    And the version of iPhoto you are using?
    I'm not at all sure that a Referenced Library is what you want. In fact I strongly recommend against it. But however:
    *How to do it:*
    Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
    *What Happens:*
    Now iPhoto will not copy the files, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file. It will still create a thumbnail and, if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.
    *Some things to consider:*
    1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
    2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
    3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
    4. Because iPhoto has no tools for managing Referenced Files, if, for some reason, the path to the photos changes then you could find yourself resolving aliases for +each photo in the Library+ one by one.
    My own opinion:
    I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers
    If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
    If you're concerned about accessing the files, 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.
    +Some Other Comments+
    iPhoto will not touch any file outside its library. Period.
    It will copy files on import and leave existing files untouched,
    It will delete files within the Library but not outside the Library.
    When you choose to go with a Referenced Library you are deciding that You want to manage the Files. You want to import them from the camera, you want to sort them however you want and you want to delete them yourself. That's the point of a referenced Library.
    I just did a test by editing a photo using Canon Professional and the changes were not reflected in iPhoto. And vise versa.
    The point of iPhoto is that you interface with your Photos via the Application. Like Addressbook for your contacts, iTunes for your Music, it's the go-to app for your Photos.
    So, you want to edit Photos, you go to iPhoto and use the External Editor:
    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.
    Note that iPhoto sends a copy+ of the file to Photoshop, so when you save be sure to use the Save command, not Save As... If you use Save As then you're creating a new file and iPhoto has no way of knowing about this new file. iPhoto is preserving your original anyway.
    Regards
    TD

  • I know many have this issue but i can't find a solution to the problem. i get message saying insuffisiant disk space in the volume iPhoto library and i have plenty of space available. i have the new macbook pro with retina display.

    I know many have this issue but i can't find a solution to the problem. i get message saying insuffisiant disk space in the volume iPhoto library and i have plenty of space available. i have the new macbook pro with retina display. i have never seen this message before and i have 2 other macbooks and have had many other also. i am assuming this is a problem with the new macbook retina. does anyone know the exact fix to this issue? i have seen many sugestions to try to fix this issue but none have solved the issue for anyone that i can find in the Apple Support Community. thank for looking into this in advance.
    ******A true apple fan********

    Actually your suggestions are the ones that i have tried. i have seen that you have tried to help others with this issue and the only one that i could find that said they found the problem said that it was an ilife update issue and it fixed it and i have no available updates. i know it has to do with something in photo stream because it happens when i create a new library and it is loading the photos but i get the message before i reach the maximum 1000 photos. so i've tried updating, new library(first backing up photos and then deleting them from iPhoto), reinstalling OSX many times, running disc utilities. I called Apple the first day i had this issue and i was the first person to call them for support with the retina display and i actually had it escalated to a senior advisor and we thought we fixed the problem but we did not. i am pretty fluent in dealing with troubleshooting these type of issues and this is the first time i'm reaching out to the community. i figured now that the retina has been out some time now that there would be an obvious answer to this issue. thanks for the quick reply.
    Bebers5

  • I need to create a new iPhoto library and import 'ORIGINALS' from a time machine backup on an external hard drive.

    I made the mistake of installing OS 10.9 on my older MacBook Air and the machine has become horribly slow and unpredictable. I visited the Apple store and questioned a 'Genius' about getting rid of 10.9 and reinstalling the previous OS 10.6 for which I have the disks. He advised that I should reformat the Air, reinstall 10.6 and then restore from the Time Machine backup that I have.
    He explained that of course, after I reinsatll 10.6,  I couldn't import the iPhoto Library from the backup drive complete because it had been recreated using the OS 10.9 and wouldn't work with 10.6.  I would have to create a new 10.6 iPhoto Library and move the actual ORIGINALS, from the backup into it.   He actually had the path to the iPhoto library shown on my Air to the point of >Pictures >iPhoto Library > ORIGINALS.
    I didn't question how he got the path to the point of > ORIGINALS and figured that it wouldn't take too much to do what he suggested. Now I can't find how to get to point of seeing the ORIGINALS in the path. When I go through the path >Pictures >iPhoto Library, the next column shows me the iPhoto Library icon and the info re size, creation date etc.
    Can anyone advise how to get to the 'ORIGINALS' in order to import them and does anyone have any further suggestions that might help in completing this procedure ?
    Thanks, in advance, for any assistance available.
    p.s. is there any way of looking at a Time Machine backup and finding what O.S. was present when the backup was produced ?

    Rather than do that, which means starting over from scratch, losing all your edits, organisation and so on, why not simply use iPhoto Library Manager to revert the Library to the older version? Easier, less destructive.
    The instructions on that are here
    If you really want to start over: you can access the Originals folder simply by going to your Pictures Folder and finding the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.

  • I have lost my entire IPhoto Library and albums

    IMac OS X  V 10.6.8
    I have lost my entire IPhoto Library and albums. 
    How do I restore?

    Your only other option is to stop using your Mac as soon as possible to minimize precious data being overwritten to, purchase a high quality, fast external hard drive, preferably a FIreWire external hard drive such as these
    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
    using an OS X Snow Leopard install disc, format this external drive as a Mac OS extended (journaled) formatted hard drive with a GUID partition scheme and then, using a install disc of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, install a fresh copy of OS X Snow Leopard and boot your Mac to that external hard drive by using the Startup Disc icon in the OS X System Preferences Panel to boot your Mac to the external hard drive. Once your Mac is booted and running from this hard drive,  then use the OS X Software Update feature to update that version of OS X Snow Leopard to OS X 10.6.8.
    Then, you need to do a web search for a Data recovery software such as Prosoft Engineering's Data Rescue and purchase, download, install and use this software to perform data recovery of your iMac's internal hard drive following the proper instructions on how to use the software. to recover the data.
    Be advised that any images you recover will no longer be in a format that IPhoto will read and most like will just be a folder with just the images alone without any more linkage to the IPhoto library, but I am not completely sure about this as I always have redundant backups of my entire system.
    If this seems all too complicated and complex to you, you need to stop using your Mac ASAP and either contact an Apple Store or Apple Authorised reseller/service/repair center to find out how much it will cost for them to recover your data and bring your Mac in for a more professional data recovery.
    I still strongly advise you purchase a high quality, large storage, fast, external hard drive to use for future data backups to prevent such a catastrophic data loss from happening, again.
    Every  computer user SHOULD have, at least, one external backup drive and having redundant backup drives is even better.

  • Reloading iphoto library and streamlining iphoto file system.

    I had a hard-disk failure recently, and lost a lot of photos: basically all the full size files. Only the thumbnails remained on the system disk, so when I had the new drive installed, the engineer made these the iphoto library.
    Fortunately, I had most of my photos backed up on a separate harddrive (in the 'originals' folder). What is the best way of putting these into my iphoto library in place of the thumbnails already there? (ie, don't want to see both in iphoto).
    I'd put the iPhoto library on the separate hard-disk, but unbeknownst to me, about a year ago, iPhoto began saving imports on the system drive again, so these were the pictures I lost.
    On another point, since I installed iphoto 6, the location of photos has become confusing, with the whole photo library pre-iphoto 6 duplicated in a folders called 'Originals' and 'Data'. Neither of these maintain the original easily navigable and logical date hierarchy file structure, but have saved all photos in a folder marked 2007, by roll number. The date folders which remain only contain a 'data' folder containing .attr files. Not very practical.
    In short the whole thing is a mess: for some photos the system has saved 5 copies in various places.
    Is there anything that can be done to consolidate the iPhoto library and put it back on a date-based filing system?

    raggabishp
    To start at the end:
    Is there anything that can be done ... put it back on a date-based filing system?
    No, once you use iPhoto 6, that's the file system. But it's not that difficult to follow: 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.
    Finding the Picture file is easy: 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.
    Rolls in the iPhoto Window correspond exactly with the Roll Folders in the Originals Folder in the iPhoto Library Folder. You can move photos between Rolls, you can rename rolls, edit them, create them, as long as you do it via the iPhoto Window. Check out the Info Pane (wee 'i', lower left) the name and date fields are editable. Edit a Roll Name using the Info Pane, the Roll Folder in iPhoto Library Folder/Originals will also have the new name.
    So the structure is different, but - especially if you use the Film Rolls view - very straightforward.
    There is no easy way to rid yourself of these 'thumbs become originals'. If the thumbs have the same filenames as the Originals, then you could overwrite the thumbs with the Originals, but you would need to do that on a file by file basis, I'm afraid.
    Other than that, compare the full size pics with the thumbs and trash the duplicates is all I can suggest.
    Regards
    TD

  • I have deleted the iphoto library and lost my photo's......

    i have deleted the iphoto library and cleared my trash and now all my photo's are gone. I have bought software to retrieve deleted data but not sure what file I am looking for. Can anybody help?

    best solution is to restore yoru backup form before you made this error - that is the reason you must always have a good backup
    If you don't you should start backing up immediately
    to use the photos you recovered you look for photos (typically they have a .jpg or .jpeg extention to the name - and select the largest version  of each photo and import it into iPhoto
    Note that for not much more that the cost of the data recovery software you could have had an extrnal hard drive and been running TimeMachine so none of this would be required
    LN

  • I am trying to rebuild my iPhoto library and noticed my backup contains aliases (pointers?) and not the actual file. What's the best way to rebuild my library?

    I am trying to rebuild my iPhoto library and noticed my backup contains aliases (pointers?) and not the actual file. What's the best way to rebuild my library?
    Facts:
    In moving to a new iMac, I copied the iPhoto library to an external HDD assuming that I would point the new iMac to the backed up iPhoto Library
    All worked fine when I pointed the new library but noticed that some folders contained aliases and not the original file. So when I attempt to open that photo it can't find it because the alias is pointing to another drive.
    I do have all original photos from a couple of external HDDs. In the folders titled, "Originals" (from older versions of iPhoto) and "Masters" (from current iPhoto)
    I'm thinking I can create a new folder and drop the original files and make that my new iPhoto library. Is there a better way to rebuild my library? I do not want to create any future aliases.
    Thanks in advance for any help!

    do you have a strongly recommended default "managed" library (the iPhoto preference to "copy imported items to the iPhoto library is in its checked state) or a referenced library - you have unchecked that option?
    It sounds like you have a referenced library and are now experiancing one of the very siginificant drawbacks of a referenced library and one of the many reasons they are strongly not recommended
    Also note that iPhoto '11 may use alises in the originals folder as part of the upgrade
    It is important that we understand exactly what you have and what is not sorking - what error messages you are getting
    You must NEVER make any changes of any sort to the structure of content of the iPhoto library - there are no user servicable parts in it  --  and you can not rebuild yoru librtary - only iPhoto ir iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ -  can rebuild a library unless you are a SQL programmer and understand the structure that iPhoto uses
    LN

  • Hard drive packed up, but had Time Machine backup. I installed new sad and upgraded to Mountain Lion., but I can't find iPhoto library and photos or iTunes songs? Is there an answer to this?  Graham

    Hard drive packed up, but had Time Machine backup. I installed new ssd and upgraded to Mountain Lion, but I can't find iPhoto library and photos or iTunes songs? Is there an answer to this?  A backup run did not install either photos or songs. Graham

    Thanks so much but none of that helped.  It was driving me crazy because it would back up another external drive.  I just changed the name of the drive from iPhoto/iTunes Library to Media Libraries and IT WORKED!! I guess for some reason it didn't like the drive being called iPhoto or iTunes ???? I don't understand but I have tried so many solutions and exchanging things out but the name change did it????!!!
    Thank you for your help and replying to this.  Guess I made my own issue!

  • Splitting iPhoto library and social media

    Greetings,
    I am in the process of breaking up my gargantuan iPhoto library into smaller libraries, by year (this scheme works perfectly fine for me).  However, I ran into a problem last night which I would like not to repeat.  Starting with all of the photos from 2013, I had exported all of them out of iPhoto.photolibrary into folders on my desktop.  Then, I had created "2013 iPhoto Library" and mass-imported all the files from the desktop.  When I was satisfied that I had everything I wanted, I both securely deleted the desktop files and also the albums from within iPhoto.  However, when I started doing the latter, they began removing themselves from Facebook.  It makes sense, but it's an undesirable side effect.
    Since I plan on doing this reorganization at the end of each year, I obviously don't want to keep this from happening, i.e. I'd like to leave my albums which take me a great amount of time to put together for sharing on Facebook in place so that they don't get removed.  My proposed solution is something like the following:
    1. Continue the process all the way back to 2005 and before (since I hate to have a disconnect with last year's albums gone but none of the others deleted, I might as well delete them all from my Facebook).
    2. Leave 2014's photos in "iPhoto Library" (thus leaving my photos still connected to my Facebook albums.
    3. When 2015 rolls around, rename "iPhoto Library" to "2014 iPhoto Library" and create a new "iPhoto Library" (hoping such a name change is permissible).
    4. Repeat 2. and 3. every year.
    Can anyone tell me if this is a recommended solution, or if this will/won't work?  My main concern is that "iPhoto Library" is somehow special and has to be left as-is, i.e. I can't rename it, or have a new file called "iPhoto Library" which might corrupt something
    Thanks,
    Mike

    The Social Media albums are attached to the library that created them. So step 2 works. Yes you can rename libraries.
    The way you're splitting the Library destroys the non-destructive editing feature of iPhoto and, depending on a: what you've done in iPhoto and b: the exact export settings you are using, risks significant dataloss. If you must split the library (and deal with all those inconveniences) use  iPhoto Library Manager to do it, and preserve all your versions and data.
    For the sake of others who may read this: iPhoto can only open or search one Library at a time. That's just one of the inconveniences of multiple libraries.  An iPhoto Library can contain up to 1,000,000 million items

  • Recently I went to my iphoto library and noticed that some of my albums of photos were missing. Any help appreciated, Recently I went to my iphoto library and noticed that some of my albums of photos were missing. Any help appreciated

    Recently I visited my iphoto library and noticed that photos were missing and several Albums. Any advice would be appreciated.
    I'm running OS 10.6.7 on a Mac Book Pro

    What version of iPhoto are you running?  Any other items missing from the library? 
    You can try the following (assuming iPhoto 11): make a temporary, duplicate copy of the library and try the three fixes below in order as needed:
      Fix #1
    delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your Home/Library/Preferences folder. 
    delete iPhoto's cache files that are located in your Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
    reboot, launch iPhoto and try again.
    NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding the the Option key.  You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
    Fix #2
    Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library.
    Select options #1, #2 and #6. 
    Fix #3
    Rebuild the library using iPhoto Library Manager as follows:
    Using iPhoto Library Manager  to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
    Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
    Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
    Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
    In the next  window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
    Click on the Create button.
    Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
    OT

  • Ihave 51 iphoto library and they keep increasing and i do not know why

    My iphoto has 51 libraries and they keep increasing and i do not know why, i would like only one iphoto library and consolidate all photos in that.

    If you're using an IMAP account, also check your other devices to be sure you don't have some filters or rules set up that either delete or move emails to subfolders. You can see all Emails on your iPad, but displaying the sidebar showing Mailboxes, tapping the email account you are having trouble with (NOT the Inbox, but the section below), then tapping All Mail or something similar depending on your provider.
    If the mails are there, they are somehow being moved by one of your mail clients or by a rule you set up with your provider.

Maybe you are looking for