How do you store photos/music on an external drive and link them to iPhoto/iTunes?

How do you store photos/music on an external drive and link them to iPhoto/iTunes?

I want to store part of my photos on an external drive and have them be recognized in iPhoto.

I have them same question for iTunes and music.

Thanks

I don't do it for iPhoto but I do do it for iTunes.

Simply move the music to where you want it and then in iTines:

iTUNES > ADD TO LIBRARY and direct it to the top level folder(s) where the music is stored on the external device.

Make sure you turn off the function in iTunes for it to copy all files to the library on the main drive (it's in iTunes Prefs). The media will now be available in iTuned BUT you have to keep the external plugged in for it to be available for use (not a big deal with a desktop, big deal withg a laptop).

I have my Media spread across 7 extrernal drives all connected to my iMac.

I have my photos on external drives. Go to iPhoto preferences >advanced>uncheck import into iPhoto Library. You want referenced libraries. From iPhoto to to File>Import to Library. YOu'll see a list of your hard drives, and choose the one that has your photos. Then pick photos to import.

You can get a better explanation by searching for referenced libraries.

Thanks for the help. Both posts worked well. Do either of you have a suggestion for organizing your external drive for music or photos. It looks like raw data (in files I made for photo or music) on mine and then the app sorts it out on my computer. I guess I'm wondering what happens if I plug my external drive into another computer (ie my computer crashes) will it be easy to sort and import if I don't have a logical system of sub files. I really appreciate your threads it made a big difference!!