I was exporting photos to a slideshow in iPhoto with no problem, until now, when I try to, I get a msg. saying 'Unable to create/Users/'my user name', etc...
I'm using iPhoto '08, version 7.1.5. I've tried exporting a much smaller amount, and clearing out space in the computer, but to no avail... Thanks.
Mac OS X (10.3.9)
Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and right click on it. From the resulting menu select 'Show File (or 'Show Original File' if that's available). A Finder Window should open with the file selected. Does it?
Regards
TD
Hello - it does show file info., but only when clicking on one photo. Sorry, prob. should have included that what I have in iPhoto and am trying to export, are several photos at a time. For example, I have a bunch of photos together labeled by the date they were taken. So, I click and drag to select them all at once, then export.
Like I said, it did seem to work for a while, and was able to export large amounts of photos to slideshows, but, when I tried continuing, I wasn't able to. So I narrowed down the amount considerably, but still doesn't seem to work. Thanks!!
Did you try the 'Show File' test? Your answer is not clear. It's about bring you right to the exact file in the Finder not "file info"
Regards
TD
Yes. I did. And yes, The Finder window opened, and showed the file. But this only works for one photo, and am trying to export several. When I highlight on the 'box' of the several photos I want to export, there is no option for that, but if I click on the box, and the numerous pics show up, I am able to perform the 'show file' test on only one individual photo. So how does this pertain to what I am trying to do? Many thanks...
It's a test of the integrity of the Library. One reason you may not be able to export is of iPhoto can't find the files.
When you try and export a number of files, there is a chance that more than one of them may have the same name, and this will cause a problem, as exporting two files of the same name would cause one to be overwritten.
Explore the naming options in the Export dialogue - especially the sequential one. Will they export if named diferently?
Ok, I do see what you are saying, when trying to export as a 'File Export', as I did get that error msg., as I don't want to replace the files that already have the same name. But this shouldn't be the same reason that I can't do an export to a Quicktime slideshow is it?
What I really want to do is find a way to save all of my iPhotos, so as to have a backup, and clear the space from my computer, w/out having to do it manually on something like Snapfish, etc... Thanks again...
To back up your iPhoto Library make a copy of it on an External hard Disk.
Exporting as a Quicktime Slideshow will nt back up your photos, rather it will leave you with a move if them only.
Regards
TD
Ok, I do understand that, but would think that backing them up online would be the more 'safe bet', as something could possibly happen on an external drive. Also, what if I do want a movie? That was my original reason for coming to this forum. It was working just fine, and I was happy w/it, and now am getting the 'Unable to create' msg... thank you!!
Mke the slideshow in iPhoto and then export that, rather than exporting to the QuickTime movies. You'll get better quality.
On the subject of backing up:
*Most Simple Back Up:*
Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
*Slightly more complex:*
Use an app that will do *incremental* back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically. Examples of such apps include Chronosync or DejaVu. But are many others. Search on MacUpdate
My Library lives on my iMac. It's Backed up to two external hard disks every day. These disks are permanently attached to the iMac. These back ups run automatically. One is done by Time Machine, one is a bootable back up done by SuperDuper
It’s also backed up to a portable hard disk when ever new photos are added. This hard disk lives in my car. For security, this disk is password protected.
I have a second off-site back up at a relative’s house across town. That’s updated every 3 or 4 months.
My Photos are backed up online. There are many options: Flickr, Picasa, SmugMug etc. However, check the terms of your account carefully. While most sites have free uploading, you will often find that these uploads are limited in terms of the file size or the bandwidth you can use per month. For access that allows you to upload full size pics with no restrictions you may need to pay.
Every couple of months I test the back ups to make sure they are working correctly. It’s very easy to mis-configure a back up application, and the only way to protect against that is to do a trial restore.
Regards
TD
Hello - thank you for all your help on this, and all of your suggestions. I will indeed look into to all of these possibilities, and hopefully come up with the best possible solution - thank you again!!
Had same problem. Discovered that pics with "Superfine" 4000 x 3000 resolution setting on my Nikon Coolpix couldn't be edited in iPhoto and then exported without the "unable to create" problem. Those edited pics showed 0KB for file size, both in iPhoto and the Finder.
I took all those "Superfine" resolution files, opened them in Preview, cropped them (like I'd wanted to in iPhoto) then saved them. Then I launched iPhoto again. Editing and exporting then worked like it should. However you'll have to rebuild the iPhoto thumbnails to reflect any changes to the pics you make with another app (like I did using Preview to crop).
To rebuild thumbnails, hold down Command+Option when launching iPhoto and select the first two options: 1) "Rebuild all of the photos' small thumbnails" and 2)"Rebuild all of the photos' thumbnails (this may take a while)". I'm using iPhoto '09, OS 10.6.7 on a Macboook.
I suspect that "Saving As" from another image application like Preview or Photoshop, then reimporting those new files into iPhoto will do the trick but I haven't verified. Which makes me suspect that iPhoto can't handle some digital camera image formats like it should.
Hope this helps.
Did you try create a new Library and see if these images work correctly in that?
Regards
TD
TD:
I just created a new Library with iPhoto Library Manager. Imported the same 4000x3000 "Superfine" files from yesterday (transferred from the older iPhoto Library and not the camera). Same problems with editing then failing to export. I took pictures at lower resolutions, imported, edited and tried to export. Failure. To add to the frustration, this doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes when I revert to original, then crop and/or enhance then click "Done", the iPhoto info box will indicate the edited pic having a file size greater than 0KB, which means I can export successfully.
I give up. I'm going to import with iPhoto, edit in another app, and just keep iPhoto for management. However, at this point, iPhoto is on the chopping block. I hope my mother never gives me a tech call with this problem. "Sorry mom, iPhoto is a piece of garbage. We'll have to find something simpler that actually works for nearly computer-illilterate people like you and me."
Speaking of which, any good alternatives to iPhoto?
Would you mind emailing on of these shots to me? I'd like to experiment and see if I can reproduce the issue:
Slam10 at mac.com
Will get me.
I import NEFS from a D5000 larger than these (4288 x 2848) and my wife imports Jpegs from a Coolpix S8000 that are even larger with no issues, so I'm very curious.
Regards
TD
TD, I tried sending you an email at Slam10 at mac.com and got this:
Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com.
I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.
17.148.17.46 does not like recipient.
Remote host said: 550 5.1.1 unknown or illegal alias: slam10@mac.com
Giving up on 17.148.17.46.
Let me know if I'm doing something wrong.
Unable to export iPhoto
