splitting the iphoto library

Question

splitting the iphoto library

hey everybody.

i have about 7000 high-resolution pictures in iphoto. now with all the music in itunes and the other stuff - and my hd only being a 80gb disc- my hd is full. since i need all my data and music with me, i'd like to save space by putting fotos on an external drive.
but: i don't want to put the entire library on an external drive. i thought that maybe i could keep the good ones as originals on my hd and put the others on the external drive.
so, is it possible to split the library? and, is it possible to move photos between the two libraries afterwards? how is it done? are there any negative aspects of doing this? ...

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.10), iphoto 6.0.6

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 1:48 AM

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Answer 1

Yer_Man

Level 10

166,098 points

Jun 22, 2008 2:35 AM in response to i_photo - i_fun

1. Copy the iPhoto Library Folder from your Pictures Folder to the External Drive.

Now you have two full Libraries.

2. Launch iPhoto. It will open the Library on your mac. Delete from it the pics you don't want to have with you: (Put them in the iPhoto trash and go iPhoto Menu -> Empty Trash). (Hint: Do this in batches of less than 100 at a time. iPhoto won't trash more at one go: protection against little ones being er, helpful)

Now you have a Full Library on the External and a sub-set of it on the Mac.

To choose between libraries: hold down the option (or alt) key on launch and select 'Choose Library'.

Managing multiple libraries is greatly facilitated by using iPhoto Library Manager. It is also the best way to move albums/rolls/pics and metadata between Libraries.

Regards

TD

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Answer 2

Jun 22, 2008 3:13 AM in response to Yer_Man

thanks.

that's actually quite an easy (and obvious) way to solve the issue - though i wouldn't have come up with it.

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