Use Dropbox as iPhoto library location?

I need access to my image files from several computers, and am wondering whether I could simply locate my iPhoto library on Dropbox, and access it as needed. I am, and would continue, backing up to a remote hard drive, so the Dropbox would not be the only location of my iPhoto library.

You can use Dropbox to run iPhoto from multiple computers but, unless you want to purchase additional dropbox space, the library's size must be less than 2 GB in size. See Old Toad's Tutorial #20 - "Syncing" a Small iPhoto Library between Multiple Macs with Dropbox for more info. Be sure to read the warning in the tutorial.
You must allow sufficient time for changes made on computer A to be synced to computers B and C (they must be up and online to do so).

Similar Messages

My iphoto library, located on time capsule ( +/- 50G) does not load at all after upgrade to OSX to Yosemite ?

Dear all,
I am guessing, this is not the end for accessing to my iphoto (last update) library, my life memories, but after upgrade to OSX Yosemite, my iphoto library, located on time capsule (+/- 50G) does not load at all. I have sent the report to Apple.
I am, worried to save or see my pictures back.
Thanks fo your help.
Clémentine

eurclem wrote:
Hi Larry,
Sorry, for the delay, in the meantime I have restored my previous OS.
But to answer you, basically , I use the time capsule as both a backup volume and an external drive.
It's a 1 To Capacity.
Best Regards,
Clémentine
That is a bad idea
1 - since you have files on the same disk as your backup you have no backup for those files which apparently includes you photos - having no b means it is just a matter of time until you lose them
2 - The TimeMachine backup grows until it fills the volume it is on - when the TC is full iphoto (and maybe other programs) will stop workig due to lack of space
You need at least two external hard drives - one for the iPhoto library (this one needs to be directly connected with a fast wired connection like Thungrbolt, Firewire or USB and be formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) ) and a separate EHD for you TM backup
LN

How do two users on the same iMac use the same iPhoto library?

How do two seperate users on an Imac, use the same iphoto library?

See iTunes: How to share music between different user accounts on a single computer.
tt2

Using Time Machine to back up an iphoto library located on an external hard drive.

I'd like to back up my primary iphoto library that currently exists on an external Simpletech hard-drive. I have a separate WD Passport external hard drive also attached to my iMAC. When I turn on Time Machine, it only seems to allow me to choose one of the two hard-drives to receive the back-up, and automatically excludes the Simpletech where my iphoto library is located from the back-up. Am I missing something?

This is normal. If you wish to back up your Hard Drive with the iPhoto library follow these steps:
Open the time maching preferences in system prferences,
Click options,
Choose the hard drive with your iPhoto library,
Click the - button to remove it frok the list. T
Time machine will now back up all the information on this disk as well as that on your hard drive in the computer to your Time Maching Hard Drive.
Hope this helps!!!

Do NOT use Dropbox for iPhoto backups - corrupted library

So after a couple of weeks of problem solving I've just been able to recover part of my 72gb iPhoto library.
My office was burgled a short while before Xmas so I was left to recover my stuff all from Dropbox which I have set to synchronise, together with iTunes. Problem is, Dropbox sees the iPhoto library in a totally different way to OSX, so when I grabbed the package, it wasn't coherent.
I've had to do a lot to try to rebuild, repair both the database and thumbnails, but there's still so many missing thumbnails etc and there appears to be an entire year missing. So I have a huge task of manually pulling images back in from the backed up (corrupted) package.
Can anyone tell me, what's the original folder? Is it Originals or Masters??
Meanwhile, how can I fix this?
Thumbnail is correct, when I click on file:
I get this:

If all else fails and you can confirm that the Masters folder contains your original source files you can try this:
Starting over from scratch with new library
Start over with a new library and import the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from your original library as follows:
1. Open the library package like this.
2. Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
3. Drag the subfolders of the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from the open iPhoto Library package into the open iPhoto window a few at a time.
This will create a new library with the same Events (but not necessarily the same Event names) as the original library but will not keep the metadata, albums, books slideshows and other projects.
Note: your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.

Iphoto library located on ext hd will not open

iphoto library is located on ext hd and accessed by old imac. attempted to make it accessible to both computers, but it would not open. now when i point the new mac to ext library it asked to rebuild thumbnails and shows no pictures. please help
Message was edited by: kzb3

Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 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 and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

IPhoto library Location Question

Hello Apple Discussion wizards, though this is my first post, i've used this forum extensively and you have all helped me with many problems.
Anyway, old macbook was killed by humidity, currently on new imac.
old iphoto library was recovered and loaded to an external. my new iphoto library had around 300 pics, old one had around 12000, all organized by albums and such, so naturally i wanted to move the new iphoto library photos into my old one, and make my old library the default on my new computer.
essentially, i dragged the files from my old iphoto onto the desktop, held option while i opened iphoto, seleected the old library, then dragged the 300 pics into it.
now, currently iphoto opens with all my pics. the library location is
/Users/claycohen/Pictures/iPhotoLibrary1
everything seems cool, but im worried about the location/permissions of the library
for example, if i go to change my desktop photo in system prefs, when i browse finder, my iPhotoLibrary1 is greyed out and cant be selected.
MAIN QUESTION:
Is there a way to reset my current library to factory location and settings but keep all my albums/photos etc?
thanks for your help everyone, if that didn't make sense i can try to re explain. to quote thom yorke - i just want "everything in its right place"

Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Include the option to check and repair Library permissions.
Regards
TD

IPhoto library location setting

I moved my iPhotos library, but iWeb seems to still be looking at the old location. Does anyone have an idea how to reassign the location of that directory?
(I'm pretty sure this is the issue. The symptom is the Media area of iWeb has not changed since I moved the location, but I left the old iPhotos location intact, and so I think that is what it is looking at.)

Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Include the option to check and repair Library permissions.
Regards
TD

Can i use an old iPhoto library for referenced images?

I upgraded to Mavericks today (from Snow Leopard) and want to find a way to continue to view + edit images from my old iPhoto library.
My version of iPhoto is 8.1.2, and is 390GB. I have also been using Aperture for some time, and now have 3.5.1. The Aperture library is 71GB of Managed Images.
I have several backups of the iPhoto library of external disks. Can I set things up so that the images can be accessed by Aperture as Referenced Images'?
And if so, will the iPhoto structure (events, folders etc) be retained?

It's achieveable, but somewhat of a hack, and the best you'll get is something close to your event structure, but not albums.
I'd really recommend lêonie's approach above.
However, if you really want to play...:
There are two main problems to solve.
1) The files are inside the iPhoto library bundle which is not selectable from the import panel.
2) You'll have a combination of master, non-destructive edits, and previews. I no longer have an 8.1 library to check so I can't decribe the structure). You'll need to decide if you want to bring in originals and edits (where available).
You'll need to have a look around the iPhoto library structure; navigate to it in finder, right-click the library and choose 'Show package contents'.
Explore this until you are happy you know where the images are stored (orginals and edited copies), these are the images you can access directly.
To make them accessible for import in Aperture, drag any folders your are interested in (eg: originals, masters, previews, etc) to your finder favourites sidebar. This doesn't move them anywhere, it just gives you shortcuts to those folders that reside inside the iPhoto library bundle.
In Aperture, use 'Import->Folders as Projects' from the file menu. Here you can specify that the images stay in their original location (imported as referenced) and you can use the shortcut on your finder sidebar (created above) to navigate into the iPhoto library to pick up the images.
You can try the different options for the stucture of the import ('Folders and Projects' or 'Projects and Albums'). 'Folders and Projects' will probably work best as it will give something approximating your import history which may match your event structure, but the project names will likely not match the event names.
Once you've got them in Aperture, youll probably need to tidy up the structure, but in Aperture you can move and change projects as much as you want withouth affecting anything in the old iPhoto Library. The things that can impact the iPhoto Library are deleting or relocating any of the masters.
As I say, it's a bit of a hack, and in the long run you will probably be better off by just importing the library and relocating the masters. This will keep your event and album structure and be much cleaner, but it will give you an additional copy of the images, which I suspect is what you are trying to avoid.
Also, if you get future problems with your images, you'll have to explain all the above or people may have trouble helping you!
Andy

How do I use an Older iPhoto Library with an Updated iPhoto application?

Hey Everyone! I seem to be stuck.
My MacBook Pro was running OS X Lion and I needed to reset the computer. When I was exporting the photos, it would stop and say it was not able to export the photos. So I just copied the actual file from the Pictures folder in my user and after wiping the hard drive and starting with a clean install, I downloaded again iPhoto, updated it to the newest update available, and dragged the file to the Photo folder. When opening iPhoto, a message appeared saying "You have made changes to your photo library using a newer version of iPhoto. Do you want to quit and use the latest version of iPhoto, or do you want to create a new photo library?"
What am I supposed to do?!?
PLEASE HELP!
Thanks
Matt

So I just copied the actual file from the Pictures folder in my user
By this do you mean you copied the iPhoto library (a package - not a file)?
updated it to the newest update available,
What version of iPhoto do you have now (the latest is version 9.4.2)? What version did you have?
One thing to try is Back up your iPhoto library, Depress and hold the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - rebuild your iPhoto library
LN

How to use a single iPhoto Library from multiple macs

I'm trying to help my brother out with his iPhoto Library and his Mac network. He has a Library on a MacBook Pro that is about 65GB. I am moving it to his Mac Mini to make it the primary Library. What he wants to do is be able to load new photographs from any Mac in his house and have them appear in the primary Library. If I make the Mac mini shareable and point iPhoto on each of his Mac's to the Library on the Mac Mini, will that work?
Are there any down sides to doing it this way? Can you create multiple Libraries for iPhoto, the other thing we are thinking about is to organize his Library by years.
Thanks
Elliot

What do you mean by "make the Mac mini shareable"?
Iphoto is not really designed for this kind of use, but there are some possibilities - with limitations.
I'm assuming you want to use the same library for each machine, so there is only one.
Put the Library on a disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and set to ignore ownership and permissions.
Then point each machine at it in turn.
Remember only one machine can access the Library at a time, and attempting to do so with multiple machines can cause damage.
How are you connecting to the Library? A strong warning: If you're trying to edit the Library (that is, make albums, move photos around, keyword, make books or slideshows etc.) or edit individual photos in it via Wireless be very careful. Dropouts are a common fact of wireless networking, and should one occur while the app is writing to the database then your Library will be damaged. Simply, I would not do this with my Libraries.
Regards
TD

Backing up iPhoto library located on external hard drive

I recently moved my iPhoto 09 library to a 500gb WD portable hard drive in order to free up space on my MacBook Pro hard drive. What I would like to know is can I back up this external library to another external hard drive so that I have two copies of all my photos. Would it work if I had an external hard drive connected to my airport extreme?
Thanks

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. Examples of such apps: Chronosync or DejaVu . But are many others. Search on MacUpdate

How do I get iPad to use a different iPhoto library?

I had to make a new copy of my iPhoto library and now it is current on my computer. the iPad is still referencing the original library. How do I reset this on the iPad?

Start iTunes on your computer and connect your iPad. Select your iPad in the left column of iTunes on your computer and select photos in the right column. Under Photos check the sync selected albums choice and select the albums you want to have on your iPad. iTunes uses the active library used by iPhoto on your computer so the album list that appears should be your new library. Once you have selected the albums you want on your iPad select Apply or Sync. The sync process will take place, your old photos on the iPad will be removed and the new albums copied to the iPad.

Reason to use Aperture or iPhoto library?

A few months ago I purchase Aperture, on install I selected the option to let is use my iPhoto library. While "learning" to use Aperture, I didn't want to totally abandon iPhoto in case I wasn't pleased with it. Now I will be using Aperture solely, still doesn't do all I want, but better/close than iPhoto.
So, my question is, is there a reason to transfer all of the iPhoto images to a new Aperture library, or is there no real difference between the two types of libraries? I have already created an Aperture library for some commerical work that I am doing, whereas the iPhoto is primarily a personal/family album.
P.S., is the Aperture library accessible / sharable with my iPad? I take the iPad with me to show customers the photos I

Yes, I haven't tried syncing the two. I have imported into aperture, but haven't tried going the other way, or a two-way sync.
Syncing? Neither Aperture nor iPhoto supports syncing of photo libraries so far. Aperture can merge iPhoto libraries and Aperture libraries, but it cannot keep two libraries in sync with each other.
There would be one minor advantage, if you import your iPhoto library into a new Aperture library. Aperture is a bit more economical with additional files, like faces and previews. iPhoto will always scan imported image files for faces, and iPhoto will always create high quality previews. In Aperture you can disable faces and previews, or set the size of previews to a smaller file size. So, an Aperture library might be smaller than a corresponding iPhoto library, when you create it new.
And I am not yet quite sure, what will happen, if new Aperture versions and iPhoto versions will be released, that require a paid upgrade. To use an iPhoto library with Aperture, right now it has to be upgraded in iPhoto to an iPhoto version compatible with Aperture. You cannot open iPhoto '9 libraries directly in Aperture, you need iPhoto '11. If it stays this way, you might be required to buy a paid upgrade to iPhoto to upgrade your combined iPhoto-Aperture library to be used with a new Aperture 4, even if you are no longer using iPhoto. In this case, it would be safer to convert the iPhoto library to an Aperture library by importing the iPhoto library into a new, empty Aperture library.

IPhoto is not using/recognizing the iPhoto library

An iPhoto message recently popped up saying that my library was currupt and that it was going to run a script to fix it. I clicked ok and then another message popped up letting me know that the script had finished running.
When I went to open up iPhoto I was meet with a pop up asking me "Which photo library do you want iPhoto to use?". No libraries are listed and when I click on "Other Library..." my iPhoto library is there, but when I clcik "Open" nothing happens. Below is a screenshot of the windows I described here. My device is a MacBook Pro 13 Retina, iPhoto is version 9.5.1. Any advice you can provide will be much appreciated!

When I double-click on the iPhoto library it opens up iPhoto and I have to go through the process above. Also the only way I can reach my pictures folder is through Terminal.

Use Dropbox as iPhoto library location?

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