Purchase iPhoto Library Manager and get 25% off Duplicate Annihilator
Posted on May 15, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under News, iPhoto Library Manager | 1 Comment
I’d like to announce a promotion that I’m running along with Brattoo Propaganda Software, makers of Duplicate Annihilator. Duplicate Annihilator is a program designed to track down duplicate photos in your iPhoto library. It has several different algorithms for finding duplicates, and also several different options for what to do with duplicates that have been found (delete, move to the trash, mark with a keyword, etc.), and is very useful for trimming down your iPhoto library.
For a limited time, if you purchase a copy of iPhoto Library Manager, you will receive a coupon code for 25% off a purchase of Duplicate Annihilator. You can download Duplicate Annihilator for a free trial to try it out, and if you like it, you can use the coupon code you receive on the receipt page after purchasing iPhoto Library Manager to receive your 25% discount.
iPhoto Library Manager 3.5 released
Posted on May 5, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under News, Updates, iPhoto Library Manager | Leave a Comment
At long last, iPhoto Library Manager 3.5 is now available! The main focus of this update is providing support for transferring the new Faces and Places data introduced in iPhoto ‘09. If you use the new version to copy photos from one library to another, and you have tagged faces in those photos, those face records will be recreated in the destination library. Similarly, if you have assigned places to photos or events that you’re copying, that data will now also be copied over along with the photos. This was probably the most complex new addition to iPhoto in quite some time, so updating iPhoto Library Manager has taken a good while longer than usual. However, with the help of some intrepid beta testers, the new version is now ready for general use.
You can use the “Check For Updates” menu item within the program to update to the new version, or you can download it here as well. This is a free update for anyone who’s already a registered user, so no additional purchase is necessary to update to the new version.
For those interested, here are the complete release notes for the new version:
iPhoto Library Manager 3.5 release notes
- Tagged faces are now transferred along with photos that are copied/merged between libraries in iPhoto ‘09
- Places data is now copied along with photos when performing a copy or a merge in iPhoto ‘09
- iPhoto Library Manager now creates its own log files and logs progress and error information as it copies photos (accessible from the Window menu)
- When using the “Import Photos” menu command, if the user selects an iPhoto library to import, we now perform a merge instead of treating the library like a plain folder
- Fixed a crash that could occur when copying photos on a PPC machine
- Fixed a bug where copying photos that were imported as aliases could result in an unneeded “modified” copy of the photo being created in the destination library
- A printable version of the help is now available at http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/Help/print/index.html
- Removed the preference setting for double clicking a library - double click now always opens the library in iPhoto, and a single click edits the library’s name
- When the user clicks the Cancel button, we now present a dialog to verify that they do in fact want to cancel the operation
- Removed the preference for relaunching iPhoto during a merge. This pref was for working around a bug in iPhoto 6, so we now just relaunch automatically when merging with iPhoto 6.
- Photos that were published to a MobileMe gallery are now always included in the main library during a merge, and not just in the gallery itself
- Fixed a problem where movies and original versions of photos would not be copied for some users
- Added a “selection” property to the Applescript dictionary so scripters can access the currently selected library
The last iPLM 3.5 beta (hopefully)
Posted on May 1, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under News, Updates, iPhoto Library Manager | Leave a Comment
After finally tracking down and squishing the last couple major bugs this week, there are now no known bugs left for iPhoto Library Manager 3.5. I’m going to put up one last beta version, which you can download here, for people to try out over the weekend. I’ll be tying up a few loose ends over the weekend, and assuming nothing else major comes up, I’ll be aiming to do a final release early next week.
iPLM 3.5 getting close to release
Posted on April 13, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under News, Updates, iPhoto Library Manager | 1 Comment
The beta testing for iPhoto Library Manager 3.5 has been going well, although it’s taken a bit longer than I would have ideally liked it to, both due to issues in the program and “real life” delays. However, those who’ve tried it out have helped uncover a number of different bugs, and the number of bug reports has been steadily dwindling. Thanks to all who’ve provided reports on your experiences with the beta!
I’ve posted several new builds since the initial beta went out, and we’re now up to beta 12, which can be downloaded here. This fixes a couple persistent crashers from beta 5 onwards, along with several improvements in the photo copying process. If you’ve been running a previous beta and have encountered problems, I highly recommend downloading the new one.
There are still several minor items to be done before 3.5 can go final, but there are no more major changes to make, and currently no known issues. Of course, we’ll see if anything crops up this week as people have a chance to test things out, but I’m hopeful that the final release will be ready sometime next week. But, as always, nothing is written in stone, and I won’t be finalizing the release until I’m confident things have been sufficiently tested.
iPhoto Library Manager 3.5 public beta
Posted on March 11, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under News, Updates, iPhoto, iPhoto Library Manager | 1 Comment
Work on iPhoto Library Manager 3.5 has been progressing well, and things are now to the point where the major new features are up and running. However, given the relative complexity of the new features (especially transferring faces data between libraries), I’ve decided to do a (hopefully brief) public beta of iPLM 3.5, so I can get it tested out on a wide variety of setups and make sure to get all the kinks worked out.
The main additions are, of course, the ability to copy Places and Faces data from one library to another when copying photos under iPhoto ‘09. This includes both copying individual albums/events and merging libraries. There are also several other changes and bug fixes included in the release (full release notes are at the bottom of this post).
This is pre-release software - I’ve tested things as thoroughly as possible, and there are no known bugs in the beta, but there is still the possibility of issues popping up, especially when dealing with library setups I haven’t been able to test myself. I strongly recommend backing up your iPhoto libraries before doing any major photo copying.
So, if you have iPhoto ‘09 and want to try out copying photos between your libraries while keeping your Places and Faces intact, you can download the public beta here. Note that I haven’t yet done my full suite of tests on earlier versions of iPhoto, and there isn’t really much in the way of new features for those earlier versions, so if you haven’t upgraded to iPhoto ‘09, there’s probably not much point in downloading the beta.
The system requirements are the same as 3.4.5, and you still need a registered copy in order to perform advanced features such as photo copying and merging. I will be posting updates as bugs get reported and things get fixed - you can use the “Check For Updates” menu item from within the program to check for and install any new updates. If any issues arise, please contact support@fatcatsoftware.com.
Update 4/3/09: Things have been progressing well, and iPLM 3.5 is getting close to completion. There are still a couple issues that need working out, but nothing major at the moment. I’ve just posted a new beta, 3.5b5, that is now available for download. Due to a mistake in 3.5b4, the “Check For Updates” menu item will not detect this new version if you have 3.5b4 currently installed, so you will have to download it manually instead from the link above.
Changes in iPhoto Library Manager 3.5 public beta
- When the user clicks the Cancel button, we now present a dialog to verify that they do in fact want to cancel the operation
- Removed the preference for relaunching iPhoto during a merge. This pref was for working around a bug in iPhoto 6, so we now just relaunch automatically when merging with iPhoto 6.
- Removed the preference setting for double clicking a library - double click now always opens the library in iPhoto, and a single click renames the library
- iPhoto Library Manager now creates its own log file and logs progress and error information as it copies photos (accessible from the Window menu)
- Photos that were published to a MobileMe gallery are now always included in the main library during a merge, and not just in the gallery itself
- Fixed a problem where movies and original versions of photos would not be copied for some users
- Tagged faces are now transferred along with photos that are copied/merged between libraries in iPhoto ‘09
- Places data is now copied along with photos when performing a copy or a merge in iPhoto ‘09
- Added a “selection” property to the Applescript dictionary so scripters can access the currently selected library
iPLM 3.5 progress update
Posted on February 23, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under News, Updates, iPhoto Library Manager | 5 Comments
Just thought I’d make a quick post to give a progress update on iPhoto Library Manager 3.5. The update is going well, although it’s been slowed a bit by “real life” events such as moving into a new apartment last weekend, etc. At this point, support for Places is basically working, and I’m probably about halfway through getting Faces copying to work. I’m also going to be taking this opportunity to make a few other miscellaneous improvements and some rewriting of the help docs to fix some out of date information and such. So, the end of February goal probably isn’t going to happen, but hopefully it shouldn’t take too much longer than that.
My thanks in advance for everyone’s patience, I’d like to take my time and be thorough in testing to make sure the release is worth the wait.
iPhoto Library Manager 3.4.4 released
Posted on February 5, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under News, Updates, iPhoto Library Manager | 14 Comments
iPhoto Library Manager 3.4.4 is now available for download! This is the first of two updates for iPhoto ‘09 compatibility. This update allows you to copy albums between libraries and merge libraries together under iPhoto ‘09 just like with previous versions of iPhoto. 3.4.4 also contains some other miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements. What this update does not provide is support for some of the new types of data that have been introduced in iPhoto ‘09. These include:
- Places: Copying photos between libraries will not yet transfer any place tags that you’ve assigned to your photos using iPhoto ‘09. If the photos you imported were already geotagged before importing them into iPhoto, then that same data will be imported by iPhoto in the new library, but if you added the place data yourself using iPhoto, then that data will not be copied. This will be addressed in iPhoto Library Manager 3.5.
- Faces: Similarly, any faces you’ve tagged in iPhoto will also not be transferred when you copy/merge using iPLM. This will also be addressed in iPLM 3.5, though it’s not clear yet to what extent. From what I can tell, copying the actual face tags over to another library shouldn’t be too difficult. What I don’t know yet is whether iPhoto’s “learning” data can be transferred as well. For example, if you’ve tagged a whole bunch of faces in one library and iPhoto has learned how to recognize various people, I’m not sure if that training will be transferrable to another library, so any further faces added to a merged library wouldn’t benefit from the training in the original library. I’ll certainly be looking into doing this if possible, but it may prove to be too complicated to do.
- Facebook/Flickr: Right now, albums/photosets that have been created on Flickr or Facebook using iPhoto are basically ignored by iPLM. I’ll be looking into adding the ability to copy that information between libraries so that you don’t have to republish albums after copying them to another library.
You can download the 3.4.4 updates either by going to the iPLM home page or by opening iPLM on your machine and selecting the “Check For Updates” menu item. This is a free update for all users, so you can just replace your existing copy of iPLM with the new one with no additional purchase necessary.
Update: 2/12/09 An additional 3.4.5 update has now been released to address two issues introduced in 3.4.4. Updating as outlined above will now update you to version 3.4.5.
Now I’ll be starting work on iPLM 3.5, I can’t specify a hard timeline for when it will be done, but I’m hoping to be able to finish up by the end of February at the latest (and hopefully earlier).
iPhoto ‘09 initial compatibility report
Posted on January 27, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under News, iPhoto, iPhoto Library Manager | 11 Comments
Well, I’ve had a chance to try out iPhoto ‘09 for a couple hours now, and here are the notes I have so far regarding compatibility with iPhoto Library Manager:
- Viewing and switching between existing libraries works fine. iPhoto will prompt you to upgrade your library to the new version when you first open a particular library. Note that after you upgrade a library, you will no longer be able to open it in earlier versions of iPhoto.
- New libraries created using the current version of iPhoto Library Manager won’t work the first time you open them in iPhoto. For now, hold down the option key while opening iPhoto and use its interface to create a new library if you need to create one. You can then use the “Add Library” button in iPhoto Library Manager to add the library to iPLM’s library list, after which you can use the library normally. This will be fixed in the upcoming iPLM update.
- As expected, advanced functions such as copying albums between libraries and merging do not work and will produce an error message. Rebuilding a library will also not work, although the “Extract Photos” function should still work OK. Trying to use these features won’t result in any harm, they just won’t work. Again, these issues will be fixed in the upcoming iPLM update.
- iPod Folders appear to work with no problems with iPhoto ‘09
So, that’s what I have for now, I’ll be continuing to test things out and will post any updates on this page. I’ll then be starting work on updating iPLM to fix any of the issues that come up with iPhoto ‘09. That will be a free update for all users, so if you have purchased or plan on purchasing a copy of iPLM, you will be able to update for free when it is available.
Update 1/30/09: I’ve had a chance to work with iPhoto ‘09 for a couple days now, and here’s what I’m planning on doing. Two of the big new additions to iPhoto ‘09 are the new Faces and Places features. These features attach new types of metadata to your photos to identify people in the photos and where the photos were taken. It would obviously be very nice to be able to transfer from library to library when copying albums or performing merges. It looks like this is feasible, but it also looks like it will take a fair bit of work and time to accomplish.
So, what I think I’m going to do is to get out a quick 3.4.4 update for iPLM that gets things running under iPhoto ‘09 with the same capabilities as the current version. So, you’ll be able to copy albums, merge libraries, etc. but this first update will not handle any of the new Faces/Places data. The update will basically be to get people back up and running so they can use iPLM with iPhoto ‘09, fixing various issues such as the library creation bug mentioned above, etc. and should hopefully be available sometime next week.
Then, after that’s out, I’ll start in on getting Faces/Places integration working, and once that’s done, there will be a separate 3.5 update that will include that new, iPhoto ‘09 specific functionality. That will probably take a little longer, but it should be doable. If you have photo copying or merging you want to do but want to upgrade to iPhoto ‘09 right away, I would recommend doing any photo copying/merging you want before doing the iPhoto upgrade. That way, you can get your libraries straightened out, and then go ahead and assign faces/places in the upgraded library. If you assign faces/places and then do your copying/merging, you won’t be able to do so while retaining the face/place data until iPLM 3.5 comes out.
iPhoto Library Manager and iPhoto ‘09
Posted on January 6, 2009 by Brian Webster
Filed Under Apple, News, Updates, iPhoto, iPhoto Library Manager | 7 Comments
As many of you know, today Apple announced a new update to their iLife suite, iLife ‘09, which includes an update to iPhoto. iPhoto ‘09 won’t be available until the end of January, but I’d like to fill you in on the status of iPhoto Library Manager compatibility with this new version of iPhoto.
I don’t get special early releases of iPhoto or anything like that, so I’ll be working with it for the first time once I can pick up a copy from Apple. In the past, major iPhoto updates have required updating iPhoto Library manager to provide full compatibility for all its features, and I suspect things will be the same this time around. The basic functionality of iPLM (creating new libraries and switching back and forth between them) has never broken in any previous iPhoto update, so I’m pretty sure that stuff will be the same this time around. The more advanced features, such as copying albums between libraries and merging libraries together, however, require a bit more work to make sure they work properly. For iPhoto ‘07 and iPhoto ‘06, it has taken me about two weeks each time to issue an iPLM update for the new version of iPhoto, so it will hopefully take approximately the same amount of time this time around.
What I can tell you is that the update will be a free update for any existing users of iPhoto Library Manager, so if you buy a copy now, rest assured you will be able to use it with iPhoto ‘09 once the update is released. For those of you wondering whether to upgrade to iPhoto ‘09, you should still be able to switch between your libraries fine after updating, but you almost certainly won’t be able to do any photo copying or merging until the iPLM update is ready. If you really need to be able to use iPLM to do photo transfers, I would recommend holding off upgrading iPhoto until the update to iPhoto Library Manager is ready.
My thanks in advance for your patience, I will be posting further updates on how things are going as I learn more about what needs to be done for the update.
Disappearing iPhoto libraries on external drives
Posted on May 16, 2008 by Brian Webster
Filed Under Tips & Tricks, iPhoto, iPhoto Library Manager | 1 Comment
I just came across this article on TidBITS explaining how to deal with stray “doppleganger” folders that get created in the /Volumes directory, where external hard drives and network drives are mounted by Mac OS X. I’ve seen this particular issue come up quite a number of times with people working with iPhoto, so I’m glad to see someone else writing on the topic. I encourage everyone to go read the article, since you never know when this will crop up on your machine, and it’s good to have this floating around in your head as a possible cause.
The way this typically affects people using iPhoto is when you’re trying to open a library that you store on an external hard drive. One day, for no apparent reason, you open up iPhoto and are greeted with a totally empty library. Where did all my photos go!? Aaaaagh!
You’ll be glad to know that your photos aren’t actually gone, they’re just in a slightly different place, so iPhoto can’t find them. iPhoto stores its library location by a plain path, so it will be pointing to the “doppleganger” folder, instead of following the library to its new path where the external drive is actually located.
iPhoto Library Manager itself uses aliases to track library locations, so when this happens, it will usually figure out to update itself to point to libraries’ new locations. If it doesn’t automatically update, all you have to do then is to re-add any libraries that are pointing to the wrong place to iPLM’s library list, either by using the “Add Library” button, or by just dragging each library into the list. You can then remove the old, stale references from the library list, and you should be all set. If you’re just using iPhoto’s option-key-on-startup trick to switch libraries, you can just do that and go find the real library on the external drive to get iPhoto pointed back to the correct location.
keep looking »
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