Syncing iPhoto with Chrono Sync

Read the Help on Chronosync carefully.

It's possible... sort of.

What do you mean by "Sync"?

The general term means when two Libraries (A and B) are compared and files in Library A are copied to Library B, while files in Library B are also copied to Library A so that both Libraries are identical.

This is bi-directional copying and you cannot do this with automatically with iPhoto. No Syncing software is capable of parsing the iPhoto Library in this manner. One or both of your Libraries will be damaged if you try this.

You can have uni-directional copying - files in Library A are copied to Library B - this is essentially backing up. Obviously you can also copy from Library B to Library A.

The nearest you can get to syncing is to use iPhoto Library Manager to move files/Albums/Events plus associated metadata between Libraries. This process cannot be automated.

Regards

TD

Sometmes the terminology here is confusing. So bear with me.

I wanted to Sync it completely, so that Libraries A and B are identical.

That means, if you add pics to Library A and add different pics to Library B that - after a sync - Library A and Library B will both include all the pics.

+You can't do this with Chronosync+ Period. Or any Syncing app. Period.

So far, I have done the first 'sync' by doing a bi-directional sync from Library A (my MacBook Library) to a folder on the external hard drive called 'iPhoto'.

That's not "bi directional". The traffic is only one way. Nor is it syncing. You simply copied your Library to this new location.

When I launched iPhoto again on the MacBook, whilst holding down alt, I selected the new folder on the external hard drive and it opened up the library without a problem.

Of course. You've simply moved your library from one Mac to an external HD, then you've plugged the HD into another Mac and opened the Library. So far you've not tried to move photos +from Library to Library+.

but have realised that my work Mac is iLife'08 where the MacBook is iLife'09 ('09 must have come with the newer MacBook). So that means I can't open them on my work Mac anyway until I upgrade.

Correct. No early version of iPhoto can open a later version's Library.

do you not think that if I did a Sync from the iPhoto folder on the external drive with the iPhoto library on my work Mac that it would sync the files across?

I really don't understand the sentence. Exactly what do you mean by "Sync from the iPhoto folder on the external drive with the iPhoto library on my work Mac"

Clarify the word "Sync".

Yes you can copy the Library on the External to your work Mac. It will overwrite the Library already on your work Mac. Photos currently on your Work Mac that are not in the Library on the HD will be erased.

Regards

TD

When I said Sync, I meant run a bi-directional sync between the iPhoto Package on my HD (lets call it Library B) with the iPhoto Package on my Work Mac (lets call it Library C).

That's not possible with Chronosync or any application.

Read this:

http://www.econtechnologies.com/pages/cs/chrono_tips12.html

ChronoSync can keep iPhoto on two Macs in sync but it can not merge data together.

So, you can copy a Library across machines. So Library B is a copy of Library A.

But you cannot merge the two Libraries: As in Pics in A not in B are added to B +while at the same time+ Pics in B not in A are added to A.

So, if you try and Sync A and B with Chronosync what happens: A overwrites B. It doesn't merge them. Data in B not in A is lost and overwritten. B becomes a copy of A, an A is unchanged.

I'm not really sure how many other ways I can say this...

Regards

TD

When I said Sync, I meant run a bi-directional sync between the iPhoto Package on my HD (lets call it Library B) with the iPhoto Package on my Work Mac (lets call it Library C).

The reason you can't sync two iPhoto libraries with bidirectional copying is that you can't change the contents of each library's database files so that they are identical. When you add photos to A and other photos to B at a later date their database files will be different. Doing a bidirectional sync will replace A's database file with B's because it has a newer modification date. That database file will not have those new photos that were put into A earlier.

*TWO LIBRARIES CANNOT BE SYNCED IN THIS MANNER.*

The only application that can be used to make two libraries identical is, as Terence has already pointed out, iPhoto Library Manager. You will need to manually copy the latest Events from A to B and do the same from B to A.

OT

I have a different problem. I'm doing just a left-to-right mirror backup. Chronosync reports an I/O error with one of my iPhoto libraries from trying to copy to a file whose name starts with ".0photo"

The name of the library is "iPhoto Library 0000Individual and 2009-2010 only"

Here's the error report in the log:

[2010-09-05 09:31:13 -0700] * Error: General I/O error.
[2010-09-05 09:31:13 -0700] Occurred while copying to file:
[2010-09-05 09:31:13 -0700] /Volumes/Galaxy2TB_JBOD/iPhoto Library - 0000Individual and 2009-2010 only/.0hoto Library 0000Individual and 2009-2010 only
[2010-09-05 09:31:13 -0700] * Aborted *

Here's what's odd:
* This started happening only recently.
* It's intermittent; sometimes that library mirrors just fine.
* Chronosync mirrors the same library to a different drive just fine. (I back up to two different external drives.)
* Chronosync mirrors a second iPhoto library to both external drives just fine.
* Spotlight can find nothing with ".0photo" in it on my Mac nor on two external drives.

Any idea what's going on?

There's an application that can make sure each of two libraries have the same photos in it. However, the Events, metadata, etc. will not match, only the photos. Give a look at iPhotoSync


Here's how it works:

1 - it compares the databases and/or album.xml files of Libraries A and B.
2 - the files in A that are not in B are imported into B by copying the original files from A into B's Import folder.
3 - it then does the same for B.
4 - metadata is not copied.
5 - it can be password protected to prevent unauthorized use.

It can be used to just copy from A to B and not sync both ways if desired.

It may or may not work for you.

Well that period at the start indicates an invisible file which makes me think that it's a temporary file that's not being cleared up. The Library is on an External - what format is that?

Regards

TD

All three drives are Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Nuts, I didn't mention that I'm mirroring from one external drive to two others.

Question: Does Spotlight report invisible files by default? If not, can it be made to?

I found a better search application is Find Any File. It can find invisible files and search packages.

No, Spotlight does not report invisible files.

All three drives are Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

That blows that theory...

Regards

TD

Thanks, Toad. Downloaded it. Didn't find the .0photo file, which might be gone anyway, but it's obviously a nice app.

Bill