iPhoto and New External Hard Drive

Follow the instructions in this article, moving the copy of the iPhoto library that remains on the hard disk after the copy.

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That Apple article is pretty old, and there are a few differences in the procedure here.

Before you begin using your external hard drive, use Disk Utility to format it Mac OS Extended (journaled). This will optimize the drive for use with your Mac. You don't want to leave it formatted for Windows, because problems will develop due to limitations of file size and/or filenames.

1. Drag the iPhoto Library folder from your internal drive to the desired location on your external drive. (This creates a copy, not a move.)

2. Hold down the Option key as you launch iPhoto. Select "Choose Library" then navigate to the new location of the iPhoto Library folder and Open.

3. iPhoto will open the library from the new location. It should look and act exactly the same as it did before you copied it. iPhoto will open from this location by default unless you Option-launch and change it. If you launch iPhoto with the external drive unmounted, you may be asked to choose your library (or it may default to a library on your laptop).

4a. When you have thoroughly tested the library and are sure that all is well, you can Trash the iPhoto library folder on your internal drive to free up the space.

4b. Or, if you'd like to keep a library on your laptop, Option-launch to choose the laptop's library and use iPhoto to delete the older photos that you don't need to access all the time. You can keep a small, current library on your laptop, and transfer newer photos to the external drive when you are ready. You can use iPhoto Library Manager to preserve the iPhoto structure and metadata when transferring rolls/albums from your laptop to your large library on the external drive.

Regards.

Hey Smtr, will those last instructions work on iPhoto 08 (on Leopard) ?

Thanks for posting!

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.

Yes, this will work with iPhoto 08. The only difference I can think of is that the iPhoto Library is contained in a +Package File+ rather than a standard folder. That doesn't make a functional difference here.

I am assuming that Leopard makes no difference, although I can't be 100% certain since I haven't upgraded. (I'm 95% certain 😉 ) If you would like to double-check, you could search or ask in the iPhoto '08 forum, where many users have upgraded.

Regards.

Hello,

Can anyone please explain this package and how it works? I'm new to iphoto '08 and noticed that when I recently tried to locate a particular file, navigating from my hard drive - ex: user:pictures:iphoto library it no longer functions like a traditional folder and I cannot access the files thru it. I'm used to locating my files from within the library folder from time to time but have noticed that this iphoto library folder or now "package" acts like an application. The data folders etc. are not accessible from there. Is my iphoto functioning improperly or am I just confused by this new package procedure?

kahleys

Welcome to the Apple Discussions.

Your iPhoto is functioning correctly. With iPhoto 7 the old iPhoto Library Folder has become 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.

It has never been recommended to browse or surf the iPhoto Library via the Finder or any other app - every time you do you risk corrupting the Library.

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.

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.

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.

Any of the above are much faster and safer than what you've been doing.

Regards

TD

TD,

Thank you very much for your quick reply. Getting to these files this way was not to use them in other ways but to ultimately and quickly just delete the unwanted pics completely after import in order to save space. My thinking is still a bit "old school" and my iphoto experience still limited so your options are not quite sinking in yet. I will review them more carefully, however, and am sure to find that one of them will work much better for me. Thanks again.

Can you recommend the best way to delete unwanted files completely from their final resting place ( on HD or external drive )without interrupting iphotos location process?

just delete the unwanted pics completely after import in order to save space.

*It is strongly advised that you do not move, change or in anyway alter things in the iPhoto Library Folder as this can cause the application to fail and even lead to data loss*

Do it the iPhoto way: Put them in the iPhoto trash and empty it. (iPhoto Menu -> Empty trash)

Regards

TD

Understood. Thanks for your time and advice Terence.