drag and drop in iphoto library

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Level 1

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drag and drop in iphoto library

My MacBookPro from 2006 died this week so I got a new 2013 MacBookAir. I am a digital artist and my iphoto library contains over 13000 images in it which I work with daily. I had them in a specific order but when the files were all loaded onto my new Mac they are all in a huge jumble. I'm at wits end trying to figure out how to make sense of them. In my old iphoto I could drag and drop them wherever I wanted them. I'm not sure what I'm doing now. I don't seem to be able to drag and drop in the library like I used to. I used to ignore the events thing, I didn't like it. Now it seems like events are more important. I was trying to work with them but I have 13000 events too - I started out trying to merge them but it will take forever. This is a real problem for me, for one thing I had them ordered by what rights I had purchased and where I got them from - that's all lost now but I would at least like to get them in order of subject. Any help out there? Maureen

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5), receipt just says OS-X

Posted on Oct 1, 2013 7:36 PM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Oct 1, 2013 7:41 PM in response to wyattwesley

It sounds like you made a major mistake and imported your old iPhoto library into your new one - NEVER import an iPhoto library into another iPhoto library

Simply Connect the two Macs (or your external drive) together (network, FireWire target mode, etc) or use an external hard drive formed Mac OS extended (journaled) and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity from the old Mac to the pictures folder of the new Mac - launch iPhoto on the new mac and it will open the library and convert it as needed and you will be ready move forward.

Without knowing exactly what you did we can only guess as to the solution - the above is the most likely guess

If you transfer the iPhoto library correctly nothing will have changed on the new system - it will be identical to the old system

LN

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Answer 2

wyattwesley Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 1, 2013 9:10 PM in response to LarryHN

Larry, I must not have been clear. I didn't import it, the people at the Apple Store in Madison WI here transfered the iphoto library of 13000 images from my 2006 MacBookPro that died - it went black - into the new MacBookPro creating a new iphoto library. Once we saw my images were there they wiped the old one clear. After I got home I realized I had a mess on my hands. If I could drag and drop like before it would take forever but I could eventually get them in some sort of order but I can't seem to be able to click, I can drag sometimes, but I can't drop - am I doing something wrong? My work is is such a mess - it's frustrating Thank you Larry, Maureen Tillman

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,408 points

Oct 1, 2013 10:45 PM in response to wyattwesley

Have you explored the options under the View -> Sort Photos menu?

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Answer 4

wyattwesley Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 1, 2013 11:09 PM in response to Yer_Man

Yes if I do that the one in the drop down list I need is "manually" and that is not highlighted. Apparently you have to go thru "events" to get manually able to click on. I could merge images into events but I have 13000 events too as each image is one event. When I go back to "photos" I can click on and drag an image to another spot but I can't drop it - it just pops right back to it's original place.

Maureen

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Answer 5

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,408 points

Oct 1, 2013 11:11 PM in response to wyattwesley

You can't drag and drop in the Library. Both Photos and Events are views of the Library. If you want to manually sort then you need to put the photos into Albums.

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Answer 6

wyattwesley Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 1, 2013 11:28 PM in response to Yer_Man

Well ok I guess. I could always drag and drop in photos in my 2006 version - it's the only way I organized them all these years. I didn't like the event thing so I just ignored that. I liked to be able to see them all in order everyday - its how I got my inspiration. They must have changed it since then. Frustrating. Thanks. Maureen

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Answer 7

Old Toad

Level 10

207,751 points

Oct 2, 2013 10:32 AM in response to wyattwesley

You can sort manually in the Photos mode if you uncheck the option to view the Event titles in the View menu.

You would be best served by using albums and keywords to group the images as you need them. Smart albums can be created to display all images with a particular keyword assigned to them. Makes for quicker access to a specific group.

A little extra work up front can save a lot of effort later on.

OT

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