How To: Access your iPhoto ’08 Library from your browser
Since iPhoto ’08 came out back in August, I’ve had mixed feelings on its new features.
I’m not a huge fan of Events and there are lots of little things that just annoy me now. One of which is that the iPhoto library now exists as a “package” instead of a readily accessible set of folders. Even after doing “Show Package Contents” on the library file it can get pretty hairy trying to actually get to the raw photographs.
Generally the only time I really have a desire to get to said files is when using a browser to upload photos. You can’t just navigate to your library files and grab the picture you want. There is a way to make it possible, though and it’s fairly straight forward.
1. Access the iPhoto Library Folder
Control-click (or right-click) on the iPhoto Library file and choose “Show Package Contents.”
2. Create Folder Aliases
After doing “Show Package Content” you should now see the folders and files contained in the package.
You’ll see two folders, “Modified” and “Originals,” which contain the actual photo files that iPhoto uses. These folders contain sub-folders which seem to be, for the most part, identical to the Events you might have set up. These are the folders we want access to when getting single files to upload in a browser.
What we have to do is create a folder alias to give us access directly to these folders outside of the iPhoto Library package.
Control-click on the “Modified” folder and choose “Make Alias” from the contextual menu. Leave it named “Modified alias” and then drag the new alias folder to the same directory that your iPhoto Library is in.
Repeat this for the “Originals” folder.
You can then rename the aliases to whatever you choose. You should end up with something like this:
3. Access the Files
Chances are the aliases still won’t give you access to the files when you are just in the Finder, but they will work when you are using a browser to open them.
Take a site like Flickr, for example. I’d like to upload a few of the original photo files to my account. I’m presented with the “Choose File” upload buttons and I can now access the files from within the browser:
And there we have it! It’s definitely a bit of a hack job for what should be a simple task, but until Apple changes this format we seem to be stuck with this solution.
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This is the solution you use to import your iPhoto library directly into Adobe LightRoom as well.
Great hint.
Awesome! I have a drive called Bernard too!
Nice post, btw ;-)
Awesome, thanks. It’s been a real pain trying to upload/export photos and movies out of iPhoto. This should help some.
Actually, in Leopard there’s a much easier way to access photos in iPhoto in any application’s “Open” or “Place” dialog. Surprisingly, Apple seems to have been very quiet about it. I only found it by reading the entire list of 300 new features in Leopard (yes, obsessive).
In the Source pane to the left of the Dialog, below “Places,” you ought to see a “Media” section, which includes pictures. This essentially brings the iLife Media Browser into any application; you can select any photo as you would in iWeb or any other iLife/iWork application and then select “Open.” I haven’t yet run into a program that this doesn’t work with. Nice trick for quickly placing a photo from iPhoto into InDesign.
Exactly what the other Ben said above. You should amend the article to include that information, because this tip is only really applicable to Tiger users now, not Leopard users.
This article is EXACTLY what I needed. I was emailing the photo to myself, dragging it out of the email onto the desktop and then uploading it to the webpage. Ack!
Both Bens – I don’t understand what you are saying. Can you make it a bit more broken down for a clueless switcher?
Dee, if you’re using Leopard 10.5 then you will see the media browser in the Open dialog of Safari when you upload to the website.
If you’re using Tiger you need to follow the directions in the article above. Oh, and rather than emailing yourself the photo you could have been simply dragging the photo thumbnail from iPhoto onto the desktop.
There is also this software: http://www.karelia.com/imedia/ but I think it is not as convenient.
OH I see why I didn’t understand – I never use Safari, but use Firefox and there isn’t such an option. That software actually seemed like it might be a right “fit” for me, but there wasn’t a price listed on the purchase page oddly enough. (and yes I am using Leopard)
Doh! I can be such a dork. It doesn’t say a price because it is free. The best kind of price.
You can also, in iPhoto, Control-click on an image and choose “Show File”, or “Show Original File”. A Finder window appears with the selected photo highlighted. You’re now where you want to be.You can also Control-click on the title of the Finder window and navigate to other iPhoto library folder(s).
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
Also, for 10.5 users: If you use the extended Open or Attach dialogue (with Column View) you can scroll to the bottom of the Shortcuts and find the Media browser there. Select any pic you want from there.
Regards
TD
YES!
Thank you I have been dragging the pictures from iphoto on to the desktop uploading them and then deleting them when i was done and now I feel free again!
This is great! Just what I needed. Thank you for posting this very helpful tip. I am using fireworks to edit pictures and was having problems accessing our pictures.
All the best!
Also, you may want to add an alias to the “Auto Import” folder in your Pictures folder. This allows you to easily drag (or save) images to this alias folder and have iPhoto import them automatically.
This is a great article. I have been searching for a better way to export 4000 photos for 2 days.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve been so upset that IPhoto wouldn’t let me get to my own photos without entering the program. This post made my day.
Thanks for going to the trouble of spelling out how to get around this problem. Your site has decreased my blood pressure by 10′s.
Thanks for posting this, I wish I would have had read this before I installed the new iphoto….argity.
I discovered this on my own as soon as I got iLife 08′, but I’ve ran into a very annoying problem. When I try to open the alias while in column view (which I use 95% of the time) it will show the folders inside the modified/originals for less than a second before the little information/preview thing pops over them. So if I want to access the folder from the Finder I have to do one of the following: Show package contents again. Switch to a different view. Try to hit the year folder before the info thing comes up, which usually takes quite a few tries. I’m sure there is a way to fix this, but I have been unable to find one. :/
This is all so unnecessary.
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
For 10.5 users: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there’s a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It’s only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you’re using Gmail you can use THIS
If you use Apple’s Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto. Also, if you’re using Mail in 10.5 you can browse your library from within the message window.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window (or from a Media Browser) to the Attach window in the browser.
Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose ‘Show File’. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it’s sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way to have changes made with an external editor available in iPhoto.
All of these are faster and safer than surfing the iPhoto Package File.
Regards
TD
hi i tried to Control-click (or right-click) on the iPhoto Library file and i get NOTHING. how do i fix this? i just got this macbook pro
@mona: Make sure that ‘Primary mouse button’ is set to left under System Preferences—Keyboard & Mouse—Mouse. Sometimes (under Tiger, I think) I had that get confused. And make sure that you’ve got the latest driver installed and the device properly configured (if you’re using a Logitech mouse, for example). You could try those for a start…
hi thanks, but i cant find Mouse under Keyboard & Mouse
In Leopard, there are five sub-pages in a menu bar at the top of the System Preferences page: Keyboard—Trackpad—Mouse—Bluetooth—Keyboard Shortcuts… In Tiger, there’s only three options instead of five, and Mouse is the second.
oh for some reason i dont have leopard my sub pages are
keyboard – trackpad – bluetooth -keyboard shortcuts
Right… I just unplugged my mouse, and the Mouse option from the menu disappeared. So the computer doesn’t recognise the mouse as being plugged in—which is why right-clicking doesn’t work!
Try plugging the mouse into the other USB port and see if it shows up. Also, if you’ve got any other USB devices, try plugged them in as well. You need to know if the USB ports are functioning, and that’s a quick way to test.
If the USB ports are okay, then my guess is that it’s a driver problem. What kind of a mouse do you have?
oh ok but i dont have an external mouse. i am using the touchpad mouse
Okay. So under Keyboard & Mouse, go to the Trackpad option, an make sure that the option ‘For secondary clicks…’ is checked. Then you’ve got two ways to make a right-click.
- press the CRTL key, keep it held down, then press the trackpad mouse button
- put two fingers on the trackpad itself, and then press the trackpad mouse button
If neither of those work, let me know :-)
ok i got it i am able to right click now but when i went into my gmail and tried to attatch a picture it still wont show me my iphoto pictures. i tried to right click on ‘ iphoto’ but nothing happens
I’m not a gmail user, so I’m not sure how much I can help here. But make sure you’re not trying to open the iPhoto application—that won’t get you anywhere.
Following the guide above, you need to set up everything in the Finder first, before you try to send anything through gmail…
Sorry, I don’t know if I’m being clear.
oh it also doesnt work in hotmail or any of my email accounts or if i wanted to upload a picture on myspace or facebook. is there another way that i can ‘show package contents’?
You can only get ‘Show Package Contents’ to work in Finder, not in a browser. So if the guide above isn’t working for you, the best way to do it is probably to open iPhoto itself, select the pictures you want, and then export them to the desktop (File—Export…) Then in your browser, when you click Attach, navigate to the file on the desktop. The problem with that is you’ll have an extra file which you should probably delete when you’ve sent the files.
Or you could set up the Mail application to use your gmail account (there’s instructions online at gmail, I think—look for POP or IMAP forwarding) and then use the photo browser in mail to select and send your pictures (Window—Photo Browser). But I don’t think that would work with hotmail, because AFAIK it doesn’t forward emails. Certainly wouldn’t work in facebook.
So the best way would be to export the files from iPhoto first, I guess…
You are my hero. Thanks!
Thank you so much! This is a godsend.
This information is very helpful. However, when I control-clicked iPhoto Library and selected Show Package Contents, Originals and Modified folders were not shown. How do I find them or obtain them? Thanks.
great hint! Can’t believe that apple seem to have gone backwards with iLife ’08… Hints like these are priceless!
HUGE help. I was exporting to the desktop and attaching/uploading/etc. from there. What’s with Apple making us use the control key for opening up the contents?! Upgrades should make things easier and more intuitive –especially for Apple.
Hey, I’m new to mac and pretty computer savy. This was never a problem with windows and I don’t see why we have to have some sort of work around to access our pictures. I would imagine that there are countless people out there who import their photos in iphoto and then want to open them in photoshop or fireworks or whatever….only to get frustrated.
My work around: Don’t bother importing anything into iPhoto. Just create folders and store your pictures where you can access them.
Really this post should be pulled. It’s sending you utterly the wrong way to do this – completely wrong – and particularly dumb when you consider the variety of ways that iPhoto has for accessing your files
– from the iPhoto Window
– from anywhere in the entire OS in 10.5
– with or without the application running
Have a look at this:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1557582&tstart=50
There are even screenshots.
Post #1 > Post #40
@terrydev,
As mentioned in previous comments, this post is not really relevant to OS 10.5
However, as iLife ’08 is compatible with 10.4 (and maybe even 10.3?), this post should most definitely NOT be pulled.
Nothing on Apple’s forum even comes close to hinting about how to accomplish this on 10.4, and even Microsoft agrees that providing support for older (but still not obsolete) operating systems is a good idea.
So, in short, no.
@Kevin:
Actually everything in that post except for the Open dialogue and the Media Browser in Mail will work for iPhoto 08 on 10.4. That includes the Media browsers too for accessing your pics with iPhoto not running. That includes dragging and dropping into Cocoa apps an so on. The simple fact of the matter is that rooting around in the iPhoto Library via the finder or any app has never been the way to access your files in iPhoto, and everytime you do you risk damaging the library.
Sweet…
I love the Media Tip…
You can drag the image from iPhoto browser and drop it into InDesign… but it imbedds the image…
Using your Media look up option – it does do a true “Link.”
I’m most grateful…..and I understand now! Thanks!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Damn iPhoto ;(
I love you!! I was hopeless!
You have saved my life – I’d copied by files from one mac to another but couldn’t for the life of me get to my original photos of my little boy. I was gutted but your ‘show package contents’ tip has meant that I’ve got all the originals and not lost them like I thought!
I did the whole “show package contents” thing, and made a copy. When I did that, I had no problem accessing the pictures from an internet browser. The problem I am still having is when I upload new pictures from my camera to iPhoto, the imported pictures are not saving in the copied “original” folder. Also, if I modify a picture, and does not save into the “modified”. Every time I want to get a picture I have to either have to drag to the desktop (which is a pain) or open the package and copy again (which is a bigger pain). Any suggestions???
As many of you have discovered, iPhoto is very crippling in regards to file organization. I tried using it, but being a graphic designer, I was frustrated when after editing and saving a photo in the root folder the photo was located (which seemed to be the most logical place), not only did iPhoto not show it, but I couldn’t get to it through finder. I have began using my own folder organization, creating folders by date and event which allows me to have the flexibility I need. I have been envious of those who dont need that flexibility when I see the simplicity that people can create slideshows with iPhoto and since the new version has face detection, I am really interested in making this work. I found out today that in the advanced section of the properties, you can uncheck the option to copy photos to iPhoto. It simply creates aliases for use within iPhoto but allows you to still find photos in the finder. I am not sure what happens with manipulations or tagging, but it will be interesting to figure out if this solution works.
I tried doing as you said in Firefox with the Upload button from Youtube. I created some movies that are embedded in the iPhoto Library package and when I say Show File from within iPhoto, I get a directory that is under iPhoto Library package file.
When I attempt to Control + click the iPhoto Library file in Firefox’s standardized Upload dialog as is appears in your blog post as well, I get no options from the Control + click action. Basically, nothing happens. What browser were you using? I just copied the files from the sub-folder within the iPhoto Library package window to my desktop which kinda sucks but I couldn’t get Firefox’s default Upload browser window to give me those Control + click options you show in your post when I clicked the YouTube upload video button.
Okay, after further review, I was able to get this to work. My next question is, how can I remove the movies that I’ve captured with my Canon S3 IS from the iPhoto Library without corrupting or in some way damaging the iPhoto Library?
I don’t want all of those movies files taking up space in my iPhoto Library but that’s where they end up in the new version of the app which makes very little sense to me.
I’ll try consulting the iPhoto help and then see what the toobs have to say about this subject. Thanks for the tip on accessing files inside of a package!
For those of you who are (more or less) savvy with command-line instructions, getting to and exporting photos is quite simple. (Turns out that annoying “package” is just a folder with special bits set.) I have a Mac laptop and recently built a desktop with Linux on it, and naturally wanted to copy all my iPhoto pictures over. This was incredibly simple for me. Here are the steps:
1) Open Terminal.app or iTerm, a great Terminal replacement.
2) Navigate to your iPhoto Libray folder: cd ~/Pictures/iPhoto Library
3) See what exists in the folder: ls
4) Copy the “Originals” folder: rsync -av Originals /local/path/to/export/to/.
5) Copy the “Modified” folder if necessary: rsync -av Modified /local/path/to/export/to/.
6) Done.
Note: “cp -v” can be used instead of “rsync -av”, but I recommend using rsync as it builds a transfer list and picks up where it left off if it is interrupted. I personally used rsync since it will copy files over SSH to another computer. So, in step 4, I typed “rsync -av Originals username@desktop_computer:/remote/path/to/export/to/.” instead. Also note that typing “rsync -av Originals/ /path/.” is different than “rsync -av Originals /path/.” as the former will copy the contents inside the Originals folder, while the latter will copy the whole Originals folder intact. Hopefully this is still helpful for someone. :)
Oops, i messed up on the link to iTerm, sorry! It can be found at iterm.sourceforge.net or easily from a quick Google search.
Oh, and I also forgot to mention that rsync is great in the future too. Say you export your whole library of 4000 pictures and then a week later you add a new album to iPhoto. If you do the rsync again, it will build the list and figure out that most of the pictures are already there and only copy the new ones. Neat!
Hmm, it also looks like there is a graphical rsync utility for OS X called arRsync, found at arrsync.sourceforge.net, although I haven’t tried it to see if it would work for this purpose.
thanks for the tip, another example how things on mac do not just work. also iPhoto gets really slooooow, often, and i got a new mac book pro and I am running the “fast” video card only.
By packaging several choices together and naming the set, Newman identifies the selected strategies clearly. ,
you have made me a very happy man.
Thank you. Huge help. It was driving me crazy to not be able to attach to emails or import into InDesign.
THANK YOU! This has been frustrating me for years, and the “Alias” cheat works great in InDesign, thus solving the need to copy photos when I want to place them. Nice idea.
Thanks for the tip bro
Thank You so much! Someone happened to my iphoto and I couldn’t open it and I was in a huge panic Thanks Again