Find photos in Library that are not in an Album

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Level 2

222 points

Find photos in Library that are not in an Album

My mum has made the classic mistake of deleting her images from Albums rather than the Library when using iPhoto.

Anyone know how to find all photos in the Library but not included in albums?

I found a script for iTunes to do a similar thing with tracks not in playlists but can;t find one for photos in iPhoto.

Or, is there another solution?

iMac G6 24", iPhone 3G, iPods (Various), Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Aug 30, 2010 5:09 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Aug 30, 2010 5:15 PM in response to Jaymz

File menu ==> new smart album - album is not any

LN

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

207,541 points

Aug 30, 2010 5:18 PM in response to Jaymz

Create a Smart Album with the criteria "Album" is "None". That will give you all photos not in an album. You can move those photos to a regular album and then delete from there by using Command OptionDelete. That moves them to the iPhoto Trash bin where you'll have to empty the trash.

iPhoto is known to lock up if you try to delete a large number of photos at a time. So just select about 100 at a time to move to the trash and empty.

OT

TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier versions) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. There are versions that are compatible with iPhoto 5, 6, 7 and 8 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

NOTE: The new rebuild option in iPhoto 09 (v. 8.0.2), Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup" makes this tip obsolete.

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