Imported pictures not organized by date

Same problem. I just upgraded to 10.6.4 from 10.5, 'thusly' upgrading my iPhoto '09 I suppose, and now I've got the same problem with importing photos. I used to separate them into Events (starting with "YYYYMMDD-EventName" for some semblance of organization. So when I control-clicked a photo to "Show File" it would take me the folder named after the Event folder. Now the last week's photos I just imported on the new system are in one giant folder named after the import date, NOT all different organized folders named after the Event name. Just plain silly.

I've looked in Preferences to go back to the old way, but can't see anything! Suggestions?! thanks.

jordisan

Yesterday I did an import of those folders into iPhoto for the first time (somewhat new to Mac) and it did import the pictures, but it threw them all into a folder dated Jan 1 1980.

Where is this Folder? in the iPhoto Window? On the HD somewhere?

My organization that I had by date is all lost.

If you want to duplicate your Folder Tree in iPhoto:

Start at the bottom of the hierarchy and drag a folder of images to the Album Heading in iPhoto. The pics will be imported and an Album of the same name created.

You can then create the Enclosing Folders in the iPhoto Window (File -> New Folder) and drag the Album to it. Folders can contain other Folders (Nested Folders) and Albums.

However, is your folder system date based? Then this form of organisation is a bit pointless in iPhoto when Smart Albums or the Calendar tool (Click on the wee magnifying glass in the Search Box) mean you can find the photos taken on any day, month or year at a click. With Smart Albums it's easy to find photos from specific range - say, June 3 to August 25, 2009 etc.

If your folder system is theme based - Xmas pics, Birthday pics etc, then you'll find Keywords are much more flexible, and can be used in conjunction with other criteria for making Smart Albums and searches.

Regards

TD

I just upgraded to 10.6.4 from 10.5, 'thusly' upgrading my iPhoto '09

No, upgrading the OS does just that, it does not upgrade iPhoto. To do that you need to install a new version from a disk.

So when I control-clicked a photo to "Show File" it would take me the folder named after the Event folder.

The strict relationship between the structure of the folders in the Finder and the Rolls/Events in the iPhoto Window changed in iPhoto 09 and no one outside of Apple knows why.

But it's really just another example of how iPhoto does not support you accessing the files via the Finder. Never has.

You can achieve more by accessing the files in the supported ways: Select the Event in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export.

You then can select among the options under Kind:

Originals will get you exactly that: the original files. These will be the contents of the Event as per the iPhoto Window regardless of the arrangement of files in the underlying file structure.

Current will get you the most recent versions of the files: a mix of edited and unedited pics. Again, the contents as per the iPhoto Window. There is simply no way to get this by accessing the files in the Finder.

All the other versions allow you to write the metadata - tiles, keywords, descriptions and locations - to the files on export - again, something not possible with accessing the files via the Finder.

Regards

TD

I can create albums in iPhoto by dragging folders directly from finder?

Yes.

Will they not be imported into iPhoto then?

Of course the are imported. But I think you mean are the +copied into the Library on import+, yes?

And yes, they are because that's another setting...

Or, is there any way to import the pictures into iPhoto without having to actually make copies of the photos?

Yes there is, I don't recommend it, but there is.

because I don't like how i need to have 2 copies of my pictures (the originals and the ones in the iPhoto library).

You don't need that. If you let iPhoto copy the files into the Library on import, then the original filing system is pointless. Trash it. Don't do it immediately, wait until you're confident with iPhoto, but they are not necessary.

Anyway, you can run a Referenced Library:

*How to do it:*

Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.

*What Happens:*

Now iPhoto will not copy the files, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file. It will still create a thumbnail and, if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.

*Some things to consider:*

1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
4. Because iPhoto has no tools for managing Referenced Files, if, for some reason, the path to the photos changes then you could find yourself resolving aliases for +each photo in the Library+ one by one.

My own opinion:

I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organiser

If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:

1. Quit iPhoto

2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.

3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.

4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.

If you're concerned about accessing the files, There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:

*For Users of 10.5 and later*

You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.



You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:



*For users of 10.4 and later* ...

Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:

To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.

This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail

If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.

If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.

*If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running*:

For users of 10.6 and later:
You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu. Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.

For Users of 10.4 and later:
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser

Other options include:

1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.

2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.

3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.

Regards

TD

Thanks for the info which gives me a workaround to re-create the organized folder system I need. (When I said I upgraded systems from 10.5 to 10.6, that was because I bought a new computer, and THAT, I guess, changed my iPhoto.)

Basically I like some features of iPhoto, namely the interface and the ability to scan quickly through an Event with the cursor, and to email seamlessly. And of course I need it to import any photos and movies from the iPhone. But otherwise the program for me is one of the worst in the Apple family. In its own proprietary way, you cannot add universal IPTC core info which is just ridiculous. And I don’t keep full sized 12MB photos on my laptop, when any editing would be done in Photoshop, not iPhoto. So I use iPhoto for snaps really, like iPhone images, or Powershot images. I don’t use it for D-SLR photography.

So here is how I have been processing my photos (“snaps”), which will now have to use your workaround...
1) I’ve been importing the photos from camera to computer using iPhoto. Then I create and name my events based on the YYYYMMDD-EventName system. That would create the different organized folders for each event.
2) I would then choose a unmodified horizontal photo and right-click ‘Show File’ to take me to the original photo inside the properly organized YYYYMMDD-EventName folder (iPhoto Library--Original--Year--YYYYMMDDEventName). Then step back one folder level to drag that YYYYMMDD-EventName folder out of the iPhoto nestling system into a Separate folder somewhere else. I would then have a folder outside of iPhoto that I could process in a real photo organization application like Adobe Bridge.
(Now -- with your workaround -- I will have to create and name an Event in iPhoto, then copy the name of that Event, then highlight the Event, then, like you said, go File--Export (Kind:Original/Use filename), then create’ New Folder’ outside the iPhoto hierarchy, then copy the Event name from clipboard as a new folder name, and click OK! Phew)
3) Make sure once the folder is OUT of the iPhoto hierarchy, you go back into iPhoto and grab the same Event and drag it to the iPhoto Trash. Then EMPTY iPhoto Trash! This will get rid of any remaining references to these specific files in the Modified folder (vertical images? - ***) and Thumbnails.
4) In Adobe Bridge, navigate to the YYMMDD-EventName folder. Process all the photos using Bridge -- batch re-naming, rotating, adding metadata (author, URL, descriptions, keywords, copyright, etc)
5) Then, still in Bridge, select the specific photos in the YYMMDD-EventName folder you would want to add BACK into iPhoto. Then go to Tools-->Photoshop-->Image Processor...
6) That opens up just those images in Photoshop's Image Processor. For settings, I've been using 1200px x 1200px, JPEG at 8 compression format. And I'm saving them to the same folder. Click Process. (It won’t make them square. It will maintain aspect ratio, but attribute 1200px to the longest side, whether V or H.)
7) That will leave the processed photos in a separate folder called ‘JPEG’ inside the original YYMMDD-EventName folder. They will have the same file names as the larger files, only they will be 200KB as opposed to 12MB (or whatever your camera shoots--1.1MB if it’s my iPhone). Rename this folder to the title ie. ‘YYYYMMDD-EventName’. (Be aware you now have a YYMMDD-EventName folder with small jpegs nestled inside a same-named folder with the large jpegs.)
8) Open iPhoto, and ‘Add to Library…’ Navigate to the YYYYMMDD-EventName folder (with the SMALLER JPEGs), click IMPORT, and you're done. Most importantly, ANY information you added in Bridge will also be retained in iPhoto, ie. Bridge-added keywords will also show up in iPhoto’s keywords. (This does NOT work the other way.) Anything you entered in the Bridge ‘description’ box will also show up in iPhoto’s Comment box! (This does work the other way.) And all the photos will reflect your batch renaming scheme.
9) Once the small jpegs have been imported into iPhoto, then delete the ‘YYYYMMDD-EventName’ folder -- the one OUTSIDE of iPhoto, and most importantly, the folder with the SMALLER JPEGs.
10) Finally, I take the ‘YYYYMMDD-EventName’ folder with the full-sized, fully-metadata’d images and drag it into an archiving system on an external hard drive (Raid 1). I then Trash the folder which is still on my laptop (the large jpegs outside of iPhoto).

Now I can now reference all the snaps in iPhoto using very minimal space, but containing all the proper metadata and descriptions. If I need to edit or print anything, I can reference the photo quickly in iPhoto, then find it quickly on the external hard drive, because it has the exact same name and metadata.

Anyway, If you got this far I’m impressed. Yeah, might sound a bit weird, but that’s how much I loathe iPhoto’s inability to have a functional photo-organizing system.

thanks,
gcw

What an absurdly complex workflow!

SImplify it by about 4 steps straightway simply by not putting the pics into iPhoto +until you're finished with Photoshop+

So,

1) I’ve been importing the photos from camera to computer using iPhoto.

Don't do that. Simply use the Finder to drag the folders to the HD - or if you're using a Canon use Image Capture (in your Applications Folder) to do it.

Then process your photos in Bridge, Photoshope etc and then import the product.

Yeah, might sound a bit weird, but that’s how much I loathe iPhoto’s inability to have a functional photo-organizing system.

I would quibble... iPhoto has a perfectly functional photo-organizing system, just not the one you want...

Regards

TD