Save iPhoto albums outside of program?

Question

Save iPhoto albums outside of program?

Hi! My iPhoto program is overflowing with pictures, and I need to figure out a way to secure my albums. I have all of the individual pics backed up on my external, but in the files they aren't saved in albums or in the order I arranged them in iPhoto. Is there any way to do this? I've tried dragging albums onto my desktop, and it won't work. I've also double-checked my files, and can't find anything other than "Modified" and "Originals" on my HD under iPhoto. It's really important to me that they stay organized.

Thanks!

C

iPhoto '08, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Nov 21, 2012 4:36 PM

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Answer 1

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,314 points

Nov 21, 2012 4:43 PM in response to cbaillustration

To do this you back up your iPhoto Library. Albums only exist in your iPhoto Library database.

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: Chronosync or DejaVu . But are many others. Search on MacUpdate

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Answer 2

Nov 21, 2012 6:43 PM in response to Yer_Man

When you say "iPhoto Library database," do you mean the file titled, "AlbumData.xml?" Is there any way to see my album organization in a folder on my HD? My concern is that my iPhoto will die someday soon, since it crashes nearly every time I open it, and if all I have are files (which have already been backed up) that only mean something to the iPhoto program, then that doesn't really help me until I buy iPhoto again.

Thanks!

C

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Answer 3

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Nov 21, 2012 7:20 PM in response to cbaillustration

Nope - the iPhoto library - it is a SQLite database - the albums are not physical things but simply entries in the iPhoto library

As to crashing - then you have a problem you need to solve - post the first 50 lines of the crash report

LN

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Answer 4

Nov 21, 2012 7:49 PM in response to LarryHN

That's a bummer. I guess I need to figure out what the problem is then.

Could the number of photos be the problem? I have... A lot, to understate. Where do I find the crash report? It doesn't have anything pop up when it crashes.

Thank you for all of your help!!

C

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Answer 5

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,314 points

Nov 21, 2012 10:57 PM in response to cbaillustration

With iPhoto 08 you can have 250,000 images in any one library.

What happens exactly when the app crashes?

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Answer 6

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Nov 21, 2012 11:12 PM in response to cbaillustration

Could the number of photos be the problem? I have... A lot, to understate.

Sure - since you do not tell us how many photos you have and we are not mind readers we have no idea == iPhoto '08 can handle 250,000 photos - do your have more than that?

When you have a crash what happens?

LN

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Answer 7

Nov 22, 2012 9:01 AM in response to Yer_Man

Right now I have 15,244, and some of them are short videos, but a small amount. Usually when it crashes, it'll be whenever I'm scrolling through pictures or attempting to edit anything. I can't have any other programs open when I'm using it, and it's super slow the whole time. When it crashes, that spinning rainbow orb shows up, everything freezes, and eventually the whole window just disappears. Sometimes it'll even freeze up the whole computer because it can't seem to shut itself down. Eventually, the window comes up that says it "quit unexpectedly," and that I can "ignore," "report," or try to open it again.

Thanks for your help! Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

C

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Answer 8

Nov 22, 2012 9:02 AM in response to LarryHN

Larry, I appreciate your help but you don't need to be condescending like that. I wasn't on my computer when I replied last time and couldn't see the number of pictures. Happy Thanksgiving.

C

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Answer 9

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Nov 22, 2012 9:04 AM in response to cbaillustration

Back up your iPhoto library, Depress the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - rebuild your iPhoto library

LN

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