How to Use iPhoto Library Manager

Turn your iPhoto into a highly flexible series of image databases

Keen on photography? iPhoto Library Manager could be a real boon.

Apple's iLife is an amazing suite of applications designed to bring out the creative in you. You can make a movie with iMovie, perform a song with GarageBand and keep track of your photos with iPhoto. But while making music and home videos is time consuming, practically everyone who owns a Mac takes photos.

This is why iPhoto is the most popular iLife program of the three and is always one of the Top Paid apps from the Mac App Store… this means there's a lot of you out there who are struggling with software, which could be a lot more versatile.

The main problem with iPhoto is that all your images are stored in a single location, the iPhoto Library file, in your account's Pictures folder. The obvious problem lies when sorting out your personal photos from your work photos, for instance. Yes, you can create different events and albums to organize yourself, but you can't check all your photos without seeing a mish-mash of completely unrelated images.

Wouldn't it be better to have the ability to create multiple libraries, so you can get organized? To be fair, iPhoto does let you do this, but the process is a little convoluted and it's incredibly difficult to move photos from one library to the other, especially if you want to preserve all the metadata you've added to them.

This is why Fat Cat Software came up with a clever utility called iPhoto Library Manager. For only $20, you can manage multiple iPhoto libraries, transfer photos between them, even choose which library to import shots to, all from a convenient and clear interface. Check out this tutorial and if you like what you see, you can try the app out for free by visiting www.fatcatsoftware.com (note that some features aren't available until you purchase the app). 

What You'll Need:

>> iPhoto'11 version 9.2.3 or later, an extensive photo library

1. Your current library

Launch iPhoto Library Manager -- your current library is on the left with all your Albums in the middle. To see your Events, click on the Albums In pop-up menu and select Events. The right-hand column displays general information about the currently selected library.

2. Make a new library

Go to File > New Library, click the New Library button in the toolbar (top left) or use the Command + N keyboard shortcut. Do so and a new library appears in the column to the left. By default, it's stored in the Pictures folder, but you can save it anywhere, even on another drive.

3. Transferring photos

Click your original library's button in the first column, choose a folder or an event, and drag it onto the new library. The app launches iPhoto. Locate the files in question, copy them, quit iPhoto, relaunch it with the new library selected, and paste those photos into it.

4. Moving libraries

iPhoto doesn't like you moving its Library file, but iPhoto Library Manager has no problem. Quit iPhoto (the button is to the right of the toolbar), then locate one of your libraries in the Finder and move it to another folder. The app will now point to its new location.

5. Make a shortcut

When working with multiple libraries, you may not want to launch iPhoto Library Manager each time prior to choosing the right library to use. To speed this up, drag a library from the first column onto the Desktop. Just double-click this shortcut to launch that library.

6. Importing photos

When you connect your camera, iPhoto will open up the last selected library. To change this behavior, connect your camera and launch the Image Capture app. Click on the pop-up menu, bottom left of the interface, choose Other and select iPhoto Library Manager.

7. Transferring photos

If the photos you wish to transfer aren't in a particular album or event, you can move them manually. Launch iPhoto, select the image or images you'd like to transfer, and drag them to the iPhoto Library Manager interface, over the library's name you'd like to copy them to.

8. Merging libraries

To merge your libraries together, go to File > Merge Libraries. Select all the libraries you'd like to merge from the left column, then click on the one you'd like to copy the photos to from the right column. Select the Don't import duplicates box and click Continue.

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Original Page: http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_use_iphoto_library_manager

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Regards,

Derik Chan