Thumbnails not appearing in iPhoto 6.

Brian

Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the apple and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild.

Regards

TD

Hi,
I think I am reacting to several of your messages at the moment. Thanks for your time. Like others I have experienced the missing thumbnails on many occasions. I am a bit surprised that this happens in the first place (meaning that Apple haven't found a way to avoid this) but also that there is not a simple command in the menu to start the cache build up, or am I missing that one. So I just did your suggestion, Apple plus command and reopened i Photo. The first time they asked me to rebuild the cache. I said yes and my mac didn't reconnected with the thumbnails. So i tried again and now I am not even asked if I wanted the repair job. Is there another way to repair the thumbnails?

like I said, thanks for your time
ton

Thanks for your kind comments.

I am a bit surprised that this happens in the first place (meaning that Apple haven't found a way to avoid this)

The question is why does it happen? There are any number of reasons why it might.

that there is not a simple command in the menu to start the cache build up,

There is a simple command:

Apple plus command and reopened i Photo.

That's it.

This sound lie your db is damaged.

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 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

I have followed this discussion, but have got myself into a mess. Earlier today I installed Leopard. Before that I had already lost the thumbnails in iPhoto 6. I tried to create a new library as described in this discussion, and appear to have done so. However, along the way I lost the old one, which in Finder showed up as containing a large amount of data, but on opening iPhoto showed "0 photos". I cannot get any sense out of the new library either, as in place of about 20 well organised folders containing about 5000 photsI have only an entirely unsorted morass. I have probably made things even worse by importing to what seems to be the original library some 1800 of the original photos which I have on CDs. (The "new library"does not get any listing in iPhoto at all.)

Is there any way of getting back to where I started, please?

jls2000

Well the first thing is to find the First Library. Where is it? Did you drag it to the desktop? Is it in your Pictures Folder? Do a search for

library6.iphoto

which is the main database file.

Regards

TD

Thanks very much for this helpful guidance. I have found the folder, but when I try to open it am getting a pop-up which contains the following message: "Unreadable files :1 The following file could not be imported. (The file is in the iPhoto Library folder.) /Users/johnsessions/Pictures/New Library/Library6.iPhoto"

Is there a way of getting access to this file, please?

Regards

John S

John

You've found the file... are the photos with it? That's the key question...

1. iPhoto will not import files from the active iPhoto Library Folder - this is a sensible precaution against duplication.
2. You're trying to import not a photo but a sql database file - it doesn't import anyway.
3. But given that you have found the folder and it's active (1 above) but there are no photos showing in the iPhoto Window then we can assume that the database file is damaged.

So, now we need to create an populate a new library:

To create and populate a new library:

Note this will give you a working library with the same Rolls and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.

Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop

Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.

Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the +Originals folder+ only drag the individual Roll Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.

When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.

In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.

Regards

TD

Terence

Thank you very much for this. I have been away and off-line, hence long delay in replying to thank you.

I followed your advice, and it worked perfectly. I now have a new library. I am still left with the problem which started it all - I have lost the thumbnails and therefore find myself unable to create a webpage of photos of a recent trip to Bhutan, other than by uploading one photo at a time. (In any event, that seems to end up with a webpage with just one photo.) I will now follow again your guidance as to how to overcome this problem of the lost thumbnails.

Thanks again.

John

Terence

I have now tried three times to reconstitute the thumbnails in the way you described. The machine purported to be doing it, but at the end the screen goes back to one large photo (as it happens the first frame of a short video taken on our "still" camera). The "show thumbnails" command is greyed out. Have you any more ideas, please?

John

John

There's a slider on the lower right of the iPhoto Window - drag it to the left.

Does that help?

Regards

TD

Terence

Just back from another holiday! Tried your suggestion, and it has solved the problem. Thank you very much.

John