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where did my photo/video files go?

Hi all,


I rarely use iphoto so apologise in advance for any lack of expertise shown here! In fact im using what i guess is probably quite an old version - iphoto 9.2.1.


I have a lot of photos and videos in iphoto and alwyas found the files in my pictures folder - iphoto library or ipod photo cache....something like that. However today I was looking around my desktop for a video. When I couldnt find it anywhere i realised it was imported from my iphone in iphoto so immediately opened iphoto's files to find it...however i couldnt. I opened up iphoto and there it was....however all my files seem to have disappeared. Well, not all....but a number of videos and pictures that are playable/viewable in iphoto dont have files anymore...i searched for the file names with no success.


Seems as though i've been quite lucky as I have changed computer a few times recently/replaced hard drive (restoring from back ups etc) and the pics/videos themselves are not lost completely....

Therefore, i'm wondering if anyone knows why one day the files might have disappeared (but would still be on iphoto?), and secondly, where are all these pics and vids i can see on iphoto stored? are they contributing to my total being used of my hard drive?

also does anyone know what will make these fles appear again? should I drag everything to a folder? would a time machine backup do it? should i take everything out and re-import it all?


Many thanks!

Rob

macbook pro, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Oct 22, 2012 9:31 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Oct 22, 2012 11:24 AM

If you're using iPhoto then it replaces the Finder and you access your photos and videos via iPhoto.


By default - that is, unless you changed the settings, the material is stored in the iPhoto Library


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.


User uploaded file


(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:


User uploaded file


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.

1 reply
Question marked as Best reply

Oct 22, 2012 11:24 AM in response to dj_rag

If you're using iPhoto then it replaces the Finder and you access your photos and videos via iPhoto.


By default - that is, unless you changed the settings, the material is stored in the iPhoto Library


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.


User uploaded file


(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:


User uploaded file


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.

where did my photo/video files go?

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