Merging two iPhoto libraries - Digital Scrapbooking Community

maureenreynolds · #1 (**permalink**) 10-04-2011, 04:30 PM

I have realized that two of my old libraries are not really in a good order and I'd like to merge them. Both live on an ehd, and end at 2011. 2011 is my current and well managed library.

I googled info for iPhoto9 and while many say you can export and import, I've never done that for a whole library. The one I'm planning to move is 8GB and the one receiving it is the larger at 41GB.

I am willing to purchase PhotoManager which also seems to get great recs on the Mac forums. The trial version does not let you use the merge option. At $19.95 it's not a big deal. However, I'm not sure I'll use it again?

1. Has anyone here done an export import?
2. Anyone use PhotoManager? and after I do this merge, will I ever have a need for it again?

katie pertiet · #2 (**permalink**) 10-04-2011, 04:37 PM

I have done import/export with iPhoto with limited success. In fact, I curse the day I started importing my photos into iPhoto because it's made it nearly impossible to get at some of my pics

I've never used PhotoManager though...

good luck!

anxela · #3 (**permalink**) 10-04-2011, 06:26 PM

Smaller libraries tend to be faster, too. But I don't use iPhoto for my photos, just to make books.

lizj · #4 (**permalink**) 10-04-2011, 10:31 PM

As it happens, I was at One to One training TODAY and we discussed this very subject. I was actually trying to do the opposite, which is separate an existing library into two. The trainer recommended creating a different user to perform this, with a whole separate set of libraries for user 2... I thought that sounded like a lot of trouble, particularly as it would require logging in as whichever user I needed to be each time I needed to access a particular library. Bleh. It seems to me if you find a tool that is relatively inexpensive, as Photo Manager sounds like it would be, that would be a good buy. Will you use it again? I don't know. But I do know that I often end up with idiotic events in iPhoto that I didn't intend, and then I feel like I'm stuck with them. Do you think you'll use Photo Manager to move digital supplies from one library to another? Not just for photos? That would justify the cost, definitely. If you do get it, I'm all ears on how it works for you, Maureen!

maureenreynolds · #5 (**permalink**) 10-05-2011, 07:38 AM

Thanks all. I'm still on the fence about this now that I see it's more trouble than I thought it would be.

Katie and Heidi, where/how do you store your photos?

Liz, I had started a digital supply library but I ended up having more tags than the iPhoto dropdown keyword search menu could show. When doing a search in iPhoto, the full keyword screen wouldn't fully show. Thus if I wanted to do a search for 'animals' it would be in the part of the keyword list that wasn't visible. If it wasn't visible, I couldn't select it.

Sadly, the genius guys told me they had never seen anyone use the keyword aspect as much as I did. Now my photos don't have that many tags/keywords but my digi stuff did.

Lightroom is sounding a lot more appealing.

maureenreynolds · #6 (**permalink**) 10-05-2011, 07:57 AM

Liz, footnote since I timed out on the previous message.

I want to have all my dig supplies together not in sep libraries. I don't want to open one, then close that then open another one for either papers vs overlays or Designer Digitals vs another store. My dig stuff is now in a good folder system but I then still have to go search for the small things that are in each kit or template file. e.g. There can be this great layered template that I bought primarily for a swirl-brush. Finding THAT swirl is hard without some tagging etc

I'm not sure what you mean by the idiotic events. DH seems to complain about his events but he doesn't spend much time doing anything to his imports. I usually do an import at least once a week - 365 gets you in THAT habit - and name every event by the date. Today will be 11 10 05. Sometimes I only keyword simply with "11" so that I can have a smart album that pulls every photo taken in 2011 to it. Since most of my photos are trips or family, I can usually recall the year.

My current library is fine. It's the older two that still need some renaming of events, especially ones that I got from dh via a flash drive.

Now that I say that I'm thinking I may just export and import via a flash drive. DH got me an 8GB one so it would resolve my issue?and I'd still have the old library as a backup.

I think that would also work for you if you want to split a library. When dh gives me his photos he just copies them to a folder on a flashdrive and then hands me the flashdrive! Now do keep in mind both of us just use iPhone photos. btw, the dragging is just the same way I do to get a photo into PSE.

Can you describe what kind of library split you have in mind?

katie pertiet · #7 (**permalink**) 10-05-2011, 08:00 AM

I just have a "file folder system" and, sadly, things aren't tagged. When I was a consultant art director, we would use Cumulus and tag everything for tracking large product photo libraries. I'd love to switch to ACDSee and have that for my photos and design resources too... I need to hire a technical assistant for that!

maureenreynolds · #8 (**permalink**) 10-05-2011, 08:52 AM

Sadly, I don't know that I'd spend the money for ACDSee. (If I could send it to you Katie I would!) I'm just not able to figure it out on my own enough and I haven't found the forums helpful. I know Kayla Lamoreaux will be discussing it in her Lightroom class, and why she switched from ACDSee to Lightroom. Since she is a Mac user, I take her advice more than I might take others who are working in Windows.

anxela · #9 (**permalink**) 10-05-2011, 10:06 AM

I use Lightroom to organize my photos. It's pretty neat. I use the import dialogue. I have a top folder on my EHD called Lightroom, and inside that folder for each year. Then inside the year folder, I have months folders. And inside them, day folders. In the Lightroom import process, there is an automatic procedure that makes these folders and place the photos in the right folder using the metadata information. I don't have to do anything.

I use a rather simple tagging. I flag my "picks" with the p on my keyboard (marks them with a white flag), and reject the bad ones with an x. I add keywords, too. I have one keyword for each family member, and in addition one called "scrapworthy" and one called "scrapped". So I know which photos I want to scrap, and which I have scrapped already. I also have a "monthly" keyword.

My LR and PS guru, Scott Kelby mentioned in the LR book that small libraries are faster than big ones (at least in LR). If I weren't lazy, I would probably make a new library each year to keep the photo number in each library smaller. But I have found that I often want to go back in years to find a specific photo to compare or something. So I haven't done it yet. I might start a new library in 2012 though.

I actually purchased ACDSee a couple of weeks ago. I do like it for my digital supplies, probably because that's what I used in Windows.. But for my photos, it's all Lightroom. LOVE Lightroom...

anxela · #10 (**permalink**) 10-05-2011, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katie pertiet

I just have a "file folder system" and, sadly, things aren't tagged. When I was a consultant art director, we would use Cumulus and tag everything for tracking large product photo libraries. I'd love to switch to ACDSee and have that for my photos and design resources too... I need to hire a technical assistant for that!

Just say the word, Katie.

lizj · #11 (**permalink**) 10-05-2011, 01:05 PM

Maureen that is a very good suggestion to move my 2010 photos to a flashdrive then onto a newly created 2010 library. Thanks. Sometimes the simple solutions are so evasive! I also prefer my digi supplies in one index but I have way too much to use iPhoto for all of it. I don't want to re-tag it all but have been unable to convert tbe PSE Org catalog to the MAC. I am adjusting to using Finder but still not loving it.

maureenreynolds · #12 (**permalink**) 10-05-2011, 02:05 PM

Heidi I wondered if you'd jump on that!

If you ever have a spare moment, I'd love steps for doing a basic search in ACDSee so it only searches the ehd file that has all my digi stuff. 2. How to do a two part search...e.g. 'Ali'and 'clipping mask'. I'll be your bfff!