TUAW Tip: Crack open the monolithic iPhoto '08 Library
Longtime iPhoto users may be accustomed to diving into the iPhoto Library folder hierarchy to root around and pull out original files at will, but there's a change afoot with iPhoto '08: the library is now stored as a package, the Mac OS X 'faux file' representation of deep folder structures with a single-file face. Double-clicking the package simply opens iPhoto, without giving any sign of the good stuff within (unless you consider a 15 GB file to be a giveaway).
Of course, there's a couple of easy ways around this design decision. First, iPhoto '08 still has the "Show File" option under the contextual menu; just right-click (or control-click) a photo to get access to the original source file. You can also right-click the iPhoto Library itself and choose "Show Package Contents" to see the entire folder tree of your library.
Update: Two interesting comments to note. While Zach says "This is a great move" and believes that a packaged library will cut down on accidental damage by inexperienced iPhoto users, Jay points out a substantial drawback to the new arrangement: "This is a nightmare for managed Macs with Portable Home Directories, because the Library is seen as one file with one modification date..." Likewise, some backup applications will recopy the entire library on each backup pass. SuperDuper & rsync will do the right thing, as will ChronoSync (if the necessary preference flag is checked).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
zach said 8:11AM on 8-14-2007
This was a great move. I can't tell you how many customers had accidentally destroyed their iPhoto Library when I was working at the Apple Store. This will make it a lot more difficult for the average user to do anything damaging, but still gives power users access to the files.
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rdas7 said 8:20AM on 8-14-2007
I hope they do this with the iTunes Library too.
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Chris said 8:24AM on 8-14-2007
iPhoto 06 libraries can be stored on external NTFS drives. This is no longer possible with iPhoto 08. Big bummer. I have a MacBook Pro with a small hard drive and a Windows desktop with a big hard drive so it makes sense to store my large collection there. I'll have to stick with the older iPhoto unless someone discovers a workaround.
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Jay said 8:27AM on 8-14-2007
I don't understand how it makes it more difficult for the average user to do something damaging, as if they screw up this one file, they've screwed up everything.
This is a nightmare for managed Mac with Portable Home Directories because the Library is seen as one file with one modification date, so if a user with a 15GB library opens and closes iPhoto, PHD tries to sync 15 GB.
Another thing I find annoying is that it sets the Bundle bit on the library EVERY LAUNCH. It would be cool if it did it for upgrades but respected the flag if the user set it back to NOT be a bundle
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mixduptransistor said 8:27AM on 8-14-2007
For power users this might be a bad move, but for the majority of users, this is GREAT. As someone who recently left the in-home mac consulting world, I have had countless users who screwed up their iPhoto libraries mucking around in there. It's so much easier to say "it's in the library, if you want to copy it elsewhere, copy it out of iPhoto". This along with changing from a "roll" paradigm to an "event" paradigm are probably 2 of the biggest improvements to usability for non-techie types.
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mph said 10:08AM on 8-14-2007
One downside for me is that it makes it very hard for third-party photo applications like widgets to access photos
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Alex said 8:41AM on 8-14-2007
The real question, of course, is how will Time Machine handle it. Perhaps Time Machine is smart enough to crack open the one large file?
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Mo said 8:46AM on 8-14-2007
I'd not be so quick to cry foul towards PHD and Time Machine: it doesn't take any “smarts” to crack open the faux-file; to underlying APIs, it's still just a directory with files inside, just like any other.
Now, it might be the case that PHD, Time Machine, and any else, is too stupid to deal with bundles properly, and that's entirely possible, but I'd not pass judgement until I've tried it.
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Ben said 8:51AM on 8-14-2007
Doing this with the iTunes Library isn't necessary because all the information about music files and metadata is stored in the iTunes Library file, next to the iTunes Music folder. One can open an iTunes Library that way, just as one can now open an iPhoto Library from wherever it is saved, thereby choosing a new default collection.
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Michael Rose said 8:59AM on 8-14-2007
#7 -- Mo, Time Machine aside (I would bet it will, when released, "do the right thing" with iPhoto libraries), most incremental backup tools for Mac (I'm thinking of Retrospect in particular, but I believe Chronosync also works this way) treat bundles/packages as a monolithic file in the interest of data integrity. If you start backing up the iPhoto library as a folder tree, and some of the data at the tail end changes after you've already backed up the beginning (ie. the XML catalog) you've got an inconsistent backup.
This is going to be a substantial problem for my day job environment and I'll be looking for solutions too...
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ward said 9:00AM on 8-14-2007
I just got my new iMac yesterday and I found out quickly that I couldn't access my orginal photo file unless I looked for it in Spotlight. For example, I wanted to add a picture from my iPhoto library for my iChat icon and couldn't. Just frustrating, that's all.
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Michael Rose said 9:03AM on 8-14-2007
#10 -- Ward, you can right-click any image in iPhoto to see the original file.
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fd said 9:25AM on 8-14-2007
Monolithic libraries like this are a nightmare.
I would much prefer iPhoto takes the iTunes approach.
Structured folders with metadata on the side.
Or the new iMovie approach.
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Tom Boucher said 9:25AM on 8-14-2007
As an FYI, packages do not screw up file level backups. I use a Mirra to back up all my systems. Both the Aperture packge, the iMovie packages, and now the iPhoto backup do a one pass, get all the files, and after that only the files added to the bundle are updated. As far as the backup software is concerned it's a subdirectory.
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krye said 9:18AM on 8-14-2007
About those backups....i wonder if just the new additions to the library are being backed up, or is the whole library being backed with each new addition. I'll have to check it tonight when I get home.
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Gustaf said 9:20AM on 8-14-2007
I'm pretty sure rsync treats packages like this just like any other folder when syncing.
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Stephen Smith said 9:20AM on 8-14-2007
Similar problem for Aperture library (package.) Chronosync backs up 56 gigs every time I even launch and quit the app.
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Michael Rose said 9:27AM on 8-14-2007
#13, 16: Yep, rsync and the Mirra tools treat the package as a folder; that's because they don't know about the HFS+ concept of bundles and they only see a big folder full of stuff. Applications that do grok bundles (Retrospect, Chronosync, SuperDuper, .Mac Backup) accept what the filesystem tells them: "This is one big file and it's been modified, so back that sucker up."
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B deR West said 12:13PM on 8-14-2007
About time! One of the great things about iPhoto is it realizes while people might be smart enough to use a digital camera and plug it into a computer and press "import," they are NOT TO BE TRUSTED with their digital shoeboxes! The whole idea behind iPhoto is "let US worry about that, you just tell us what to call the picture."
This just takes that to a higher level
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Mary said 9:45AM on 8-14-2007
#17. Michael - according to the SuperDuper forum, SuperDuper should Smart Update changes like anything else, the bundle shouldn't make a difference.
Or are you saying the same thing, and I've misunderstood?
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