Spawn__Dooley;537290 said:
Just like in iTunes, the pics you see in the iPhoto Library are just alias' regardless of where you decide to store the originals.
If you were to right-click on a song in iTunes and select "Show in Finder" then when the file is shown, you were to delete it and return to iTunes and try to play the song, an exclamation mark would show up to the left of the song in the Library ... this is because the link has been broken and the alias no longer points to anything.
the exact same applies to iPhoto, delete the original from its folder and although the alias will still represent the pic as a thumbnail, as soon as you click on it to view it in full-screen or whatever, all you'll see is a grey box with an exclamation mark in the middle.
So, the library windows in iTunes/iPhoto only display alias' which point to the original files which can either be stored in your user directory or on an external HD.
Delete the original file and you break the alias connection. Delete the alias and you don't affect the original unless as in iTunes case, you accept the prompt to remove the original to the Trash. iPhoto doesn't offer you this choice when you remove/delete an alias from its library, though.
Oh boy. Ok... see, I did a test last night because I was confused and wanted to sort this out before I started deleting photos. So here's what I did.
Created a photo, called it "iPhoto Test" and put it on the desktop.
Opened iPhoto, and dragged the photo from the desktop over to the folder column in the iPhoto App, got the little green plus sign and dropped it in. It created an untitled folder (fine whatever) and also added the photo into my iPhoto library in both the app (the folder called library at the top of the column on the left in the app) as well as into my iPhoto Library in \douglaswalker\photos\iphoto library.
Remember, this photo didn't exist anywhere on my PC before. Now it's both on my Desktop AND in the above directory \douglaswalker\photos\iphoto library\data PLUS a smaller thumbnail. I searced for it, and found it those three places.
I deleted the one from the desktop because no need for two of the same thing, right? So now it's in \douglaswalker\photos\iphoto library\data an the smaller thumbnail. Now we're down to two, the original and the thumbnail I presume.
Now... pretending that this photo and TN is a representation of what exists in my iphoto library, and I want to start over again, I remove the picture from my iphoto folder called "library" within the iPhoto app. It moves it to the trash IN iPhoto. I seach the computer, still have the two versions of "iPhoto Test" located in my data folder in the above directory.
NOW - when I empty the trash in iPhoto it says "sure you want to empty this trash, this cannot be undone" I say yes thinking it's just emptying iPhoto Trash, but lo and behold, when I search the computer again, there is no more "iPhoto Test" anywhere on the hard drive.
So... after all is said and done, what I believe this to mean is that if I were to toast all of the pictures I have in "Library" IN the iPhoto application, and subsequently emptied the trash in iPhoto, I would return to \pictures\iPhoto Library to find all of my pictures vanished.
OMG, I am soo sorry for writing all of this. Perhaps I should just find a book on iPhoto at the store.
Seriously, I'm sorry.
Love,
Zarly Doug Walker
;D
