Upgraded to ILife '08 and everything went wrong

Question

Hello,
This is my 1st time to post here and I am kind of new to mac. Hope someone can help.
I recently upgraded to iLife '08. Upon doing so a few things happened:
1. Previously I had a folder on my hard drive called Photo Library and in that folder where all my photos. That folder no longer exists. It is now a non-folder. However, if I ctrl and click and choose 'show package content' I can see my entire photo library.
2. One of the things I really like about iPhoto '08 is the nice box to the left of the iPhoto box that lets you organize all your photos, create events etc. However, that nice box to the left is not even there. I have sense imported new photos to my computer and iPhoto. I can see the photos, but again the box is not there.
3. Lastly, none of my photos from my photo library show up in the iPhoto screen when it is opened.
So, it seems as if my computer is not recognizing the path to my photos. Would you agree? Can you tell me how to fix it? I have considered uninstalling iLife '08 and reinstalling, but I am not sure if that will really fix things. I have sense backed up all my photos to a CD just to be safe.
Any advice would be really helpful.
Thanks,
Mazhenni

Answer 1

Mazhenni
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
1. Previously I had a folder on my hard drive called Photo Library and in that folder where all my photos. That folder no longer exists. It is now a non-folder. However, if I ctrl and click and choose 'show package content' I can see my entire photo library.
With iPhoto 7 (iLife 08) the old iPhoto Library Folder is now a Unix Style Package File. 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. The is never a need for you to go into that folder, period. There are no user-serviceable parts there.
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
For 10.5 users: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
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. 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. With 10.5 you can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
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
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.
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.
2. One of the things I really like about iPhoto '08 is the nice box to the left of the iPhoto box that lets you organize all your photos, create events etc. However, that nice box to the left is not even there. I have sense imported new photos to my computer and iPhoto. I can see the photos, but again the box is not there.
Move the cursor to the extreme left of the iPhoto Window until it becomes a '+' then click and drag right.
3. Lastly, none of my photos from my photo library show up in the iPhoto screen when it is opened.
Hold down the option (or alt) key when launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and point it at the iPhoto Library. If iPhoto sees a valid library there it will open it. If not then you have a damaged library file:
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums back.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
Regards
TD