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Q: Match up iPhoto image keywords

One of my Libraries got corrupted. I didn't know that, and the clone backup got corrupted. (The digital photos themselves have on- and off-site backups.) The Library shows thumbnails with titles and keywords, but it does not show the full images. Repair attempts failed. I imported my photos into a new Library. All works well, and the photos have same file names and titles as the originals. However, these 8000 photos have no keywords. The photo keywords are accessible in the damaged iPhoto library. Is there any way to copy the keywords to the new Library and link them to their respective photos? I’m proficient in AppleScript and Terminal and can handle difficult solutions.

Mac Pro (Early 2009), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Sep 12, 2016 5:49 AM

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Q: Match up iPhoto image keywords

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  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Sep 12, 2016 6:37 AM in response to iTBotB
    Level 10 (107,112 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 12, 2016 6:37 AM in response to iTBotB

    Repair attempts failed.

    Did you also try to repair with iPhoto Library Manager? If not, try that. (download here: iPhoto Library Manager)

    The free trial version can rebuild the library.


    See Terence Devlin's post here:  Re: uprgraded to yosemite all good but iphoto crashes every time I attempt to upgrade the photo library

  • by iTBotB,

    iTBotB iTBotB Sep 15, 2016 8:26 PM in response to iTBotB
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 8:26 PM in response to iTBotB

    Yes, I tried iPhoto Library Manager without success and then e-mailed their tech support. The conclusion was irreparable damage to one or more database files. I've looked at the database files, but they aren’t decipherable to us non-Apple employees.

     

    At present, my only solution is to display my new iPhoto library on half my screen and use iPhoto Manager to display the damaged library with keywords. I will go through the laborious task of reading the keywords on the right side of my screen and entering them on the left. Thankfully, many groups of photos use the same keywords such as "New England Vacation."

     

    I use a daily clone and weekly versioned document backup system. I switched to a new user due to a problem a few years ago, and I forgot to add the iPhoto library to the list of files to be backed up. My last backed up library was 4/13. I'm the central repository for all family photos, which is why I could have so many photos in three years. Moral: Review list of files to be backed up whenever you make a big change.

     

    I'm putting this off for a while in the hope that some brilliant contributor can figure out how to automatically correlate photo name with keywords.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Sep 15, 2016 9:31 PM in response to iTBotB
    Level 10 (84,725 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 15, 2016 9:31 PM in response to iTBotB

    While it is not impossible that someone can solve this it is extremely unlikely - I think there is little chance - that is why I do hourly TimeMachine backups plus a daily clone - clones are quick and easy recovery if you catch the issue quickly but TM gives you the  history ad the ability to go back

     

    LN

  • by iTBotB,

    iTBotB iTBotB Sep 15, 2016 11:18 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 11:18 PM in response to LarryHN

    Clones backups are of no help with a discarded or damaged file if you don't discover the missing or damaged file before the next clone backup. Clone backups are mostly for recovering from hard drive failure. If you keep an off-site clone, you can recover from a catastrophe such as a fire. I keep a desktop clone that I use daily and an off-site clone I use weekly. It was weeks before I discovered the damaged iPhoto library, which is why neither clone was of use.

     

    I prefer versioned backups to Time Machine backups. Versioned backups focus on documents. System files, applications, utilities, etc. are not backed up. Because of that, I have many years of versioned backups (from Retrospect) on a single 2 TB external drive. Time Machine would have dumped all the older backups, and I sometimes need them. (I once had to recover ten-year-old tax and home purchase info that was only on my Retrospect backup.) I don't need hourly backups of cookies, launch agents, framework files, and caches. I use Time Machine now because it overcame some of the numerous data-losing problems of its early days, because I have lots of external hard drive space, and because I sometimes have brief periods of confusion and screw up files. I still do a weekly versioned backup that I keep off-site. All my data security failed in one instance because of one error I made three years ago. Still, I have all the photos. The keywords are useful but not required.

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Sep 16, 2016 12:31 AM in response to iTBotB
    Level 10 (139,547 points)
    iLife
    Sep 16, 2016 12:31 AM in response to iTBotB

    For the benefit of others who might read this thread:

     

    Time machine back ups are versioned back ups. You can exclude any file or folder including System Files from your TM back up. So, what you're doing with Retrospect could be done with TM if you configure it appropriately. TM will not dump any back up unless you agree to it, it asks first. Give it as much space as you've given Retrospect and it will have the same option to revert as far as you have with Retrospect. Things like cookies, caches and so on are automatically excluded from TM back ups anyway. You can also choose the intervals between back ups with a simple trip to the terminal and via multiple 3rd party utilities.

     

    An offsite back up is always a good idea.

  • by iTBotB,

    iTBotB iTBotB Sep 16, 2016 6:02 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2016 6:02 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    I'm still using 10.6.8 Snow Leopard, so I doubt that were using the same version of Time Machine. Time Machine does not have versioned backups. When I need to recover a file, I tell Retrospect to retrieve that file over a specific date range. It will list all the versions (with backup date and time appended to the original file name) and give me the option to retrieve some or all of them. I can examine each file and see which one is best. With Time Machine, I have to manually retrieve the file from each backup in the desired date range. Each retrieval is a pain because I must respond to the Keep Original, Keep Both, Replace dialog box. I waste more time because many of the files may be identical, but I won't know it. The file names are the same, so I would have to rename them to work with them. These are not characteristics of a true versioned backup application.

     

    The Time Machine version I have can do a complete restore of my bootable drive, so it has to back up almost everything. When the disk with the Time Machine backup starts getting full, Time Machine dumps older backups. It doesn't ask. I cannot change the saving pattern of the number of hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly backups retained by TM. I cannot specify the contents of Time Machine backups as I can with Retrospect. For example, I tell Retrospect to back up my Documents folder and any file or folder I tag as red. I add the Pictures folder, the Preferences folder, the Keychain folder, some items in the Application Support folder, and my eMail folder. Can Time Machine be that specific? Each Retrospect backup takes much less disk space than a Time Machine backup.

     

    Time Machine is a poor hybrid of a while-you-work backup app, a versioned backup app, and a clone backup app. It should have stuck with the first. I would love to have an app that saves open documents and changed files every five or ten minutes. It would be even better if it could capture keystrokes (organized by document) so you can go back more than the twenty or so undo steps that most apps allow. Well, I can dream.

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Sep 16, 2016 6:14 AM in response to iTBotB
    Level 10 (139,547 points)
    iLife
    Sep 16, 2016 6:14 AM in response to iTBotB

    You need to be careful when making canonical statements about 7 year old versions of an app. Things change. And my reply was addressed to others who might read the thread.

     

    For example, I tell Retrospect to back up my Documents folder and any file or folder I tag as red. I add the Pictures folder, the Preferences folder, the Keychain folder, some items in the Application Support folder, and my eMail folder. Can Time Machine be that specific?

     

    Yes.

     

    TM does have versioned back ups, what you're complaining about is how you access them. You can avoid the 'Keep both' question by the simple expedient of restoring to a different location. I don't recall details from 7 years ago but I'm pretty sure TM had an option to exclude things even then and it certainly does now.

     

    Time Machine is a poor hybrid of a while-you-work backup app, a versioned backup app, and a clone backup app

     

    How would you know?

     

    would love to have an app that saves open documents and changed files every five or ten minutes. It would be even better if it could capture keystrokes (organized by document) so you can go back more than the twenty or so undo steps that most apps allow.

     

    You'd be amazed by 10.7...