Thumbnails

I, too, would like to know how to create the thumbnails. I mistakenly deleted the thumbnails for all of my pictures. It's really hard to work with them now.

iPhoto is designed to do everything working in the program. iPhoto keeps what it needs in a special way in the database - the iPhoto Library Folder. If you make any changes directly to the database you will mess up iPhoto.

You can move or backup the database but you have to use the whole iPhoto Library Folder, not pieces from inside the folder.

The thumbnails iPhoto creates in the database or for viewing purposes in the program only. The are not the same as an icon preview which is part of the actual photo file.

When I copy photos to another file (e.g. a back up location) some of them are shown as thumbnails and some as JPEGs.

What you are describing has nothing to do with iPhoto -- these seem to just be Finder file copies. Open that folder in Finder and choose "Show View Options" from the View menu. Check the box to "Show icon preview".

Michael Carter4 wrote:
Perhaps I should copy the iPhoto application to my hard drive, too, so that the picture data remain in their natural environment.

The only thing that needs copying is the database - the ENTIRE iPhoto Library Folder - to preserve all your iPhoto info. No need to copy the application.

There is only one way to look at photo files that are in iPhoto - in the program window. If you are going into the database to look at files through the finder you are just asking for confusion and grief