Multiple iPhoto Libraries

by | Mar 3, 2011

Do you have photos for both your business and personal life? Or so many photos that splitting them up into distinct categories would really help?

It’s possible to create multiple iPhoto libraries, and then switch between them as needed!

To do this, hold down the Option key at the bottom of your keyboard, then click on iPhoto in the Dock to open it. A window will appear with a list of possible iPhoto Libraries.

The first time you do this, you’ll need to click the “Create New…” button and set up a second iPhoto Library. Give it a descriptive name, like the name of your business.

The same iPhoto Library will open up automatically, until you hold down the Option button again and switch.

If you are doing this for the first time starting with an iPhoto that’s a combination of both sets of photos, create a folder on the Desktop and drag all the pictures into it that you’d like to include in the new Library file. Then close iPhoto, and Option-click to open it again. Choose the new Library, then drag the folder from the Desktop into the iPhoto window.  All your pictures will be imported! You can now go back into the original Library and delete all the pictures you just moved, and delete the folder from the Desktop as well.

There’s another button that says “Other Library….” If you have a reason to keep your iPhoto Library in another location, for example, an external hard drive, you can use this button to show iPhoto where to find & save your pictures.

Maintaining multiple iPhoto Libraries can help you separate your work assets from your personal pictures. But remember that iPhoto is designed to track up to 250,000 pictures. Don’t use this technique to separate one vacation from another – you’ll lose the continuity and breadth of the wealth of your experiences in life.

About Alicia Katz Pollock

With a Masters in Teaching from Tufts University, a QuickBooks®️ Online Advanced Certification and more than 30 years’ experience in the tech industry, Alicia is passionate about finding creative, practical solutions to complex and everyday tech problems. She also loves a good laugh!

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