iPhoto 2.0 Thumbnail Question

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iPhoto 2.0 Thumbnail Question

Hello all.

I currently have about 2,600 photos in my iPhoto library. But I still have about 14,000 thumbnails in my album folders from all of the photos I've imported over the years.

I rebuilt my library the other day and my photo count swelled to that 14,000 number, but 11,400 of them were just tiny thumbnail images...

My question is.. can I trash ALL the thumbnail folders, then do a rebuild... and will iPhoto then recreate thumbnails of the actual existing 2,600 photos I have on my hard drive.

Or is deleting those thumbnails a bad thing..

Thanks.
Greg

imac dv, Mac OS X (10.2.x), 1,024mb ram

Posted on Nov 1, 2008 5:43 AM

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Answer 1

Brie Fly

Level 5

7,925 points

Nov 1, 2008 3:51 PM in response to greg1701

Greg,

Where are you seeing these thumbnail files? Do you see them in your photo collection when you're running iPhoto?

BTW, how did you get rid of the duplicate originals you described in your other thread? Did you drag them all to the iPhoto trash basket?

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Answer 2

greg1701 Author

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Nov 1, 2008 4:13 PM in response to Brie Fly

1. I saw the thumbnail images AFTER I did the rebuild. As of right now, they aren't there because I went back to the original library and trashed the "rebuild library". But there are folders of thumbs in my current library that if I do a rebuild, they will appear "magically" into my directory. That's why I was wondering if I just deleted all of the thumbnails, and then did a rebuild, it would only create thumbnails of the 2,600 photos I currently have... thoughts?

2. I deleted the original files by just dragging the old library and old photos to my trash on the desktop and deleted them. I did not delete them thru iPhoto, but I didn't see the need as I deleted EVERYTHING from the old library... so the images are long gone. But the 12,000 or so "old thumbnails" still exist in the library. Thankfully they aren't loaded now, but if I do a rebuild they will reappear.

I was just wondering about getting rid of the thumbnails then doing a rebuild if it would speed up my performance, which is still glacially slow...

thanks

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Answer 3

Brie Fly

Level 5

7,925 points

Nov 1, 2008 5:09 PM in response to greg1701

Sure.

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Answer 4

greg1701 Author

Level 1

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Nov 2, 2008 5:08 AM in response to Brie Fly

okay, trashed all the thumbnails, rebuilt the directory... and STILL got 14,000 photos in the new directory instead of the hoped for 2,600. Is Iphoto keeping these phantom thumbnails in the Data File?

Either way, I dont have anything titled other than albums. Wouldnt it just be easier at this point to create a new library and then reimport the 2,600 photos manually and start over?

G

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Answer 5

Brie Fly

Level 5

7,925 points

Nov 2, 2008 11:01 AM in response to greg1701

Greg,

I'm still not sure we're on the same page. We're trying to help via remote control and only you can see what's happening, but I'm not always sure the answers you are giving are to the specific questions being asked. For instance, I asked where you were seeing these orphan thumbnails, and you answered when, so let's try this another way.

If you are deleting any iPhoto Library files or folders in a Finder window, stop doing that unless you are intending a subsequent database rebuild. Normal file additions or deletions should only be made through the iPhoto user interface. If you are seeing the thumbnail images in the "Photo Library" view of the iPhoto window, have you tried moving them from there to the iPhoto trash? When you subsequently empty the iPhoto trash, do those images go away? (deleting an image from an album does not delete the image from your library -- albums in iPhoto are analogous to playlists in iTunes; if your rogue thumbnails are in the Photo Library, that's where you have to delete them from)

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Answer 6

greg1701 Author

Level 1

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Nov 2, 2008 6:44 PM in response to Brie Fly

I have reImported all my photos into a new library, and I now have over 10,000 photos... I'll have to delete 7,500 of them to get back to my original 2,500 photos.. but, maybe, then I'll have a Iphoto that works faster than a computer that is Underwater.

I have spent over a month working on this and I'm no closer, in fact farther away, from my original goal at this point. I have talked to "macGeniuses" at Apple Stores where I was told to make an appointment a week out just to have someone answer a question... and of course Applecare is brutually useless...

So I came here and BrieFly has been incredibly thoughtful and given his/her time to help, but I'm no closer to a solution. And probably, have many days ahead deleting the 8,000 or so photos that are duplicates, originals, whatever...

I've been a mac user for 20 years. That ends on my next computer purchase in 2009. I'm so sick of this crap I can't even articulate it.

I've preached the gospel for 2 decades. No more. So long Apple. good luck with your "genius bar", "apple stores" and other insane ******** I've put up with for too long without saying a **** thing.

Insanely Great?

No. Just Insane.

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Answer 7

Nov 3, 2008 12:10 PM in response to greg1701

Man I know 100% what you're talking about. I have been a Mac user since march or so and I am already of MacOS hiding things, thinking it could do better than I. I have been struggling with this iPhoto Folder management - finally understanding the file structure - now nowing to NEVER import the DATA folder but always only the Originals. Now that Mac updated to 7.1.5 iPhoto all thumb nails are gone. It offered to "upgrade" the thumbnails later but appearantly IT NEVER DID. This app is driving me nuts!!!!!

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Answer 8

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Nov 3, 2008 3:28 PM in response to OJ-Bandit

Hi, OJ-Bandit, and welcome to Apple Discussions. There is no requirement that you use iPhoto if you don't like it, understand it, or think it should work the way it does. It's just an available option that was provided with your Mac. Feel free to see whether there are other software options you might like better.

If you'd like to learn how to use iPhoto effectively, post questions instead of ranting, and other users here will be happy to help.

The first two less-than-obvious things to know about iPhoto are:

Never add, delete, move, rename, or otherwise alter any file or folder that resides inside an iPhoto Library folder or package, except by using the options and commands that are available in the open iPhoto application. Do nothing to the contents of an iPhoto Library in the Finder. If you do, you'll corrupt the database that records and maintains all the relationships among the many parts of the library. At best, the library will have to be rebuilt; at worst, it will have to be recreated from scratch.

Never try to Import into an iPhoto Library anything that is already inside an iPhoto Library — the same one or any other. It won't work. You can import pictures from anywhere except an iPhoto Library.

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