Merging iPhoto libraries exporting videos

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Level 1

23 points

Merging iPhoto libraries exporting videos

I have 7 external drives on a Mac Mini and at least 5 iphoto libraries (this mess has accumulated over a long time). There has been data corruption to images/videos and iphoto data (faces and locations). No one library contains everything but there is a lot of duplication.

I purchased Iphoto Library Manager and its a great programme but it needs to start with a fresh database as working with existing corruption is not working out.

I planned to export all "originals" from all the libraries into one folder and then create a new library to import all the photos to start fresh.

Problems I am encountering.

A) Videos wont export so I cant delete these old libraries and I cant "see" the videos because there are thousands of photos in the database too and even if I could how do I get them out are they in "Masters" if you go into the show package contents? (Obviously this is not somewhere I would usually go prying but these are libraries that I wish to delete).

B) I have found there are "strays" in the external drives if I run an "import" from the whole drive with the iphoto library still on it will it pick these all up again, can I see where it found the strays so I can delete the originals?

C) I was getting hundreds of errors when I tried to export the photos from the libraries would I be better off to just drag the "stuff" inside each of the masters folders into the folder I am creating for all of it to go in one shot? I am guessing if the videos are in this folder they would be easy to locate and move by sorting by type once all in one place (I do not plan to have videos in my new library)

I know some of the reasons this data became corrupted but not all. One of the things I wondered about is file name length, some of these photos are very old and scanned from family originals and the file name contains the names of all the people in the photo in order (very handy when adding the faces later) but could a lengthy name be part of the cause?

iPod classic, ipod battery is lying

Posted on Apr 9, 2014 6:42 AM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Apr 9, 2014 6:58 AM in response to Megabite47

A - to export videos you must export as kind is original

B - No idea - do not even understand yoru question - however if yu import the whole drive you get all images including icons and other images that are there for different pruposes - it may not be a good idea

C - WHat exact error?

And doing what you are doing loses a lots of stuff including vers, faces, etc

I suggest organizaing yrou Mac a bit - maybe you need 7 external drives but hard to see why and free up one at least twice as big as the compbined size of your 6 libraries (three times would be even better) and moving all of the libraries to it (be sure your bakcup is backing it up so you do not have all of yoru eggs in one basket) and rebuilding each one using the iPhoto rebuild - Back up your iPhoto library, Depress and hold the option (alt) and command keys and launch iPhoto - rebuild your database -- for any that this does not "fix" I would use the IPLM rebuild - once they were in good shape use the IPLM merge command merging into a new library not including duplicates

LN

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Answer 2

Megabite47 Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 9, 2014 7:20 PM in response to LarryHN

Hi Larry thanks for trying to help, my apologies for not explaining myself well.

I tried your suggestion for exporting the videos and used kind as "original" and this is the error I got "unable to prepare video for export" somehow the database has become so badly corrupted that there are multiple "phantom" copies of videos etc.

When I first bought IPLM I was hoping it could fix it all and it tried. There were over 1000 videos showing in just one database and after IPLM tried to fix it this had whittled down to about 300 but whatever went wrong with these databases previously was still creating issues the faces on the photo would be correctly labelled but wouldnt show up when you went to the faces for that person or images that were the right way up on full screen would appear upside down as thumbnails, faces were showing one and saying another yet showing correct in the original...in other words the "data" added is completely beyond repair which is why I am trying to do as you suggested and organise this into one fresh new library with just photos in it and start adding data from the beginning using only the orignal file names and metadata from the camera to assist.

I ran "fixes" and "repairs" when discussing with IPLM support and in essence they understand/support the need to start fresh. I just need help to get the videos "out" and the photos all in one place.

My problem B) is a question of if you point a brand new empty iphoto library at a drive it will find and import all the photos etc from that drive....what happens if there is an existing iphoto library on that drive? Will it import all the images from there too?

Do you think just copying the contents of the folders called "masters" from each of the libraries would give me all the original videos and photos or does iphoto put some things in other parts of the package?

Thanks again any suggestions welcome and I can clarify anything else that I made unclear.

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Answer 3

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Apr 9, 2014 7:26 PM in response to Megabite47

You can create a new library form the masters folder contents - it has the originals and no extra stuff

If you import all of the photos from a drive you get "all the photos (images)" on that drive - iconc - faces thumbnails if they ex, multiple versions o images if there is an iPhtoo library on it - etc - again

however if you import the whole drive you get all images including icons and other images that are there for different pruposes - it may not be a good idea

And if you can not export videos as kind is original then your videos may be missing

LN

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Answer 4

Megabite47 Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 9, 2014 7:42 PM in response to LarryHN

Thanks Larry will copy out the masters folders for each library and remove the videos from there and then run an import on empty iphoto library on each drive to find the strays that are hiding inside folders but then locate the actual file and move it then delete the new library so I dont end up with the icons and other things that you have mentioned may be a bad idea :-)

A huge undertaking but as you mentioned 7 external drives is excessive and caused by inumerous duplication through countless previous computer crashes.

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