iPhoto library. How does it work ?

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Level 1

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iPhoto library. How does it work ?

Hi there. I am new to the whole iPhoto thing. But I went out and bought the iLife 08 and for me it just rocks. Everything I need to do.. It´s there. Great.

But I can´t really figure out how the iPhoto library work !?...

Normaly I just had all my pictures on my hard drive. I imported all those pictures (around 6000).. But instead of making a iPhoto library with the same size as all my pictures it´s only 5Gb instead of 25Gb !??! What´t the deal here ? Can a delete all my pictures and only work with the iPhoto library or is that only the size of the thumbnails it created ? and is useing my "original" photos on my hard drive ??

Any help on this would be great
THANKS

macbook black, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Aug 26, 2007 1:51 AM

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Answer 1

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,290 points

Aug 26, 2007 2:10 AM in response to a.roos

a.roos

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.

Did you make any changes in the Preferences to iphoto? By default iPhoto will copy the pics into the iPhoto Library. If you changed the setting at Preferences -> Advanced, then iPhoto will only create aliases to your pictures.

If you're not sure, a simple test is to right click on a pic and go Show File / or Show Original File (if that's available). Where does it take you? A file inside the iPhoto Library, or somewhere else on your HD?

Regards

TD

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

207,373 points

Aug 26, 2007 11:56 AM in response to a.roos

Your Advanced preferences in iPhoto should look like this:

If not then you're only using alias (link) files in the library pointing back to the "source" files that you imported. NO you can't delete those files you've imported. If your preferences are not as displayed, I suggest you move the library package to the Desktop, launch iPhoto and create a new Library. Then set the Advances preferences as shown above and the Events' preferences like this:

Now reimport your "original" photos again by dragging them into the open iPhoto window. The Evenrts preferences will insure that each folder imported from the Finder will remain in one Event instead of being split into multiple events based on the time frame set in the Events preferences.

Do you Twango?

TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

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