Where is the iPhoto library folder?

I was getting confused because if something is safe how is it not advised??

Just remember, that more than 10000000 members are browsing these forums, and many more casual visitors, not only the original poster. You cannot rely on all of readers being experts, and not all of them will read the whole thread, when they see an advice. So it is necessary to add a caution to any potentially risky post, even if the original poster is an expert mac user.

That sidebar is in Open/Attach/Browse dialogue wildows, not Finder windows. As an example launch Preview and scroll down the sidebar till the Media icon appears. It will be at the bottom of the list:

OT

Try the following:

Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library

Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.

Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.

To use the library on the EHD launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and select the library on the EHD in the window that comes up:

Make sure the backup drive is formatted OS X Extended (journaled) with ownership set to be ignored.

Then any Mac on your LAN which is using the same version of iPhoto as you have can access the library to edit, etc. It must be the same version!

Happy Holidays

You can export all of your Events to folders with the same title as the event via the File ➙ Export ➙ File Export and the following settings:

When you create a new event it can be exported to the EHD with the same settings. However, the EHD will have to be formatted as FAT 32 so the PC can read it. You won't be able to store an iPhoto library on it or use it to run an iPhoto LIbrary from. It'll only be for files to be accessed by the PC.

On my finder, where it shows "All My Files" there's an "Images" folder. I know some of the pictures on there are from my desktop pictures, but I'm afraid of deleting all of them because I have Google Photos Backup, Flickr Backup, Photos App and still use iPhoto. Idk why it shows I have 16,000 pictures if on my Photos App, it has 30,000, and on iPhoto I have like 40,000 pictures. I'm just afraid of deleting the wrong thing and I think those pictures shouldn't be there. Ever since I noticed there was so many pictures on my Finder my Finder has been really slow whenever I scroll up or down and my Macbook Pro isn't that old. I just got it last year and it's usually Fast and Furious for everything else. Sometimes even the rainbow wheel appears when I'm on finder. I hope I'm making sense :/

I just hope these are duplicates to the Google Photos App, so that I can delete them without worrying they're the only original files to iPhoto or something 😕

An any program go to the file menu and use the Open -- or -- Attach -- or -- browser command in the fi8le menu

What program are you using to try to access your photos? Under the file menu in it you will see one of those

(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)

LN

There's nothing complex or even cryptic about if you understand the application you're using, and if you don't, I'd pretty much wonder why you are using it.

The problem with your suggestion is what it risks - damaging the library - and what it fails to do - access any edited versions. You only get the original version that way.

All the other methods are - for a few seconds learning - more useful, faster and actually give you the option to choose between the versions you have. Check them out sometime.

For help accessing your photos in iPhoto see this user tip:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4491

The problem is, of course, that unless you a: only looking for the original it's of no use, b: it's a whole lot slower - as you're rooting through many, many obscurely named folders and c: it's dangerous to your data. But what the heck.

The supported are here

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4491

and most of them don't need iPhoto running either, and they're faster and safer too.

Directly accessing the iPhoto Library from the Finder is not supported, nor has it been on any version of iPhoto.

The First of these is what you want:

There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto: 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.

(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)

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

There's a similar option in Outlook and many, many other apps. 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 10.5 Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser

Other options include:

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

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.

Show File: a. On iPhoto 09 and earlier: 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. 3.b.

b: On iPhoto 11 and later: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Reveal in Finder -> Original. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.

"Directly accessing the iPhoto Library from the Finder is not supported, nor has it been on any version of iPhoto."

Sure it is. Users->Pictures->iPhoto Library (or wherever you keep your iPhoto Library) then right click on the iPhoto LIbrary and select Show Package Contents.

But to grab a handful of pictures, the method that Terence mentioned, using the Photo Browser is easier.

If you need more than that, exporting them directly from iPhoto would be a better way, depending on how your photos are organized.

Very well. I was just going by the iPhoto '11 Library support article which tells you how to get there. It does give a Warning that "Altering" the contents of this package "Could" cause issues. But that's it.

And going directly into the library makes if difficult to get the correct version of the photo and you do not get metadata - again of course yu can do unsupported things but it is not a good idea and is not recommended

LN

@elyseinwonderlandd

Did you even read this thread? Yes you can do that

BUT

It is DANGEROUS and is unsupported and there is no reason to do it - and lots of reasons not to

If you are going to suggest extremely dangerous, unsupported actions that can cause users to lose their photos then you must include the warnings along with your recomendation - you do what you want, no one cares - but when you make recommendations to other users you need to suggest supproted methods and give warnings about the potential conquences of unsupporte actions

And to revive a months old thread by giving poor advice is especially bad form

LN

TD,

Thanks for the detailed post. I can't get that first window - my side bar doesn't show the "Media" sub category. I can get to the Iphoto library using Browse photos in the mail option. Any suggestions on how to get "Media" to show up on the side bar?

Thanks, DR