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Choose any location for an iPhoto2 library Apps
I was trying to get my iPhoto library folder onto my removable hard drive. I read some suggestions to use symlinks and such, but I think I found an easier way. This is how I did it:
  1. Make a backup of your photos and make sure iPhoto is not running.

  2. Go into your home directory and into your Pictures folder.

  3. Delete your library folder.(No worries, you just backed it up, right?)

  4. Start iPhoto. It will say you don't have a library folder and give you a few choices, one of them being choose where you would like it to be created.
That's about it. It's not the fanciest way to do it but it worked. This was with iPhoto 2; I haven't tried it on the earlier version.

[Editor's note: There's a previous hint that explains how to change the library location in iPhoto, or you could also use a third party app such as iPhoto Library Manager, but the above method worked for me when I tested it -- just make sure you have a backup!]
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Choose any location for an iPhoto2 library | 3 comments | Create New Account
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Choose any location for iPhoto 2...
Authored by: lkoepsel on Feb 11, '03 11:49:12AM

Two comments on this hint:
1) I simply rename the iPhoto Library to whatever I want and that will cause iPhoto to ask for the name or create one dialog. Its simplier and you don't have to worry about deleting your photos.

2) A bigger issue is one that involves iMovie. This gets a little convoluted but it caused me major problems:
a. Lets say you create an album in iPhoto in your original iPhoto Library called Vacation.
b. You want to make an iMovie using that album so you start up iMovie, select Vacation from the iPhoto drop down list and start making movies. Then you close iMovie, iPhoto and have some lunch.
c. Later you realize you want to change over to new or different iPhoto Library so you do the first hint (1) above.
d. You go back into iMovie and now iMovie says can't find iPhoto Library....
e. But you know you have an iPhoto Library because you can open iPhoto and there it is!!!
f. Then I realized that the greyed out iPhoto drop down list contained the name "Vacation" which is an album in the old iPhoto Library and DOES NOT EXIST in the new Library.
g. So I went into the new iPhoto Library, created a album called Vacation and whoomp, there it is! My iPhoto Library (the new one) showed up in iMovie.

Note: That part where I said "then I realized", yeah, that realization took about 45 minutes of trying a bunch of other stuff..



[ Reply to This | # ]
How about merging libraries?
Authored by: jfaughnan on Feb 14, '03 09:25:39PM

This is a harder challenge. How to merge two iPhoto Libraries. If you have a CD burner you can burn a library to CD, then if you insert the CD into a machine that has iPhoto running it's supposed to import (merge) the library.

So iPhoto has the capabilities, in theory. Needless to say, this is an annoying hack. Besides, my iBook doesn't have a CD burner.

So, any ideas on merging, combining or importing libraries?



[ Reply to This | # ]
iMovie finding iPhoto & iTunes
Authored by: LouieNet on Feb 16, '03 05:04:30AM
I've found that for iMovie 3 to find a moved iTunes folder, I had to create a symlink in my ~/Music folder to the new location before iMovie will find it. An alias does not work. (This is useful if you wanted to move your music library to a partition that has a different file backup schedule from your home dir.)


I'm guessing the same procedure should work for iPhoto.

[ Reply to This | # ]