automated import/update in iphoto?

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
All right, I've never been a big fan of iPhoto but I've long been a mac user (since classic). I have a hard time accepting the convoluted naming and file structure, especially since I usually want to access files as attachments or to import into other programs. My wife has a PC and we keep most of our photos on it b/c I like Picassa and the option of actually naming and organizing your files the way they're organized on your computer. Ideally, I think I'd like a simple photo organizer that is a mix between Adobe Photoshop Album and Picassa (but I'm largely ignorant of most other photo mgmt programs, so feel free to enlighten me if anything of the sort exists).



So, I have two questions:

1. First, I use my iBook a lot and would like to start keeping photos on them. Would it be possible to create an automator action that runs every time I open iPhoto? I would like this action to scan my Pictures folder (and sub-folders) for new pics and import them into iPhoto. Essentially, my iPhoto would be full of smart folders that are named the same as the folders I have in my Pictures folder. If I have created a new folder, then this automated script would create a new smart folder with that name. I know this seems pretty involved, but is it possible?



2. Is there some sort of photo organizer for the Mac that allows you to reference your files and folders the same way as they are named on your computer (ala Picassa)?



Thanks for your expertise. I'd be grateful if anyone could come up with the automator action or a good photo organizer.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    I know you're going to hate someone saying this, so I'll take the bullet.



    If you're using the Finder to organize your files, then iPhoto is a waste for you. Use the Finder, and a photo viewer.



    iPhoto is a photo *organizer*. It *REPLACES* the Finder for photos. Poking around in the folder structure is just silly. Find the photo you want in iPhoto, punch the email button. Done.



    If you truly are wed to using the Finder, then you're never going to be truly happy with iPhoto. Make Smart Folders in the Finder, and leave iPhoto be.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    Thanks for taking the bullet and starting things off. I think it's safe to say that enough people have commented on the naming structure of iPhoto to assume that it's not the best convention in the world. You're suggestion about emailing a photo assumes I'm working from within the place I am using to browse photos, which is only the case when I'm working from my photos and want to send them out to someone. But what often happens is that I am working from within my mail program (often gmail, sometimes Mail) and there's a photo I need to send. If it's something I've imported into iPhoto, I've got to dig through the file structure using the Finder (no choice here, it's just how you attach things). There are other times when I'm working in MS Word, Powerpoint, Photoshop, etc. that the same thing happens. I want to search for, import, open a file and I'm obligated to use the Finder. Why should I have to always work out from the photo program, or vice versa? With XML tags, you'd think I'd be able to go both ways.



    Also, you say
    Quote:

    If you truly are wed to using the Finder, then you're never going to be truly happy with iPhoto. Make Smart Folders in the Finder, and leave iPhoto be.



    Are you saying that Apple has created a product (iPhoto) that competes with another of its products (Finder) instead of integrating them to work together?



    I'd like to have the ability to use some of the actual features of iPhoto, which are not provided in the Finder (that's not the finder's purpose and shouldn't be). Apple makes both the Finder and iPhoto and they should not be competing with each other, but they should work in harmony. That to me, means that I can recognize, and control, iPhoto files inside of the Finder.



    Consequently, you mention a photo viewer with the Finder. Have you any good suggestions? Thanks for your comments. I'd really appreciate any more suggestions. Enough people have complained about not having a Mac version of Picassa that I assume I'm not the only one in this boat.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by staypuffinpc

    Thanks for taking the bullet and starting things off. I think it's safe to say that enough people have commented on the naming structure of iPhoto to assume that it's not the best convention in the world.



    It's not a convention that was ever intended to be for external access or user manipulation - it's internal data only. It's just coincidentally exposed. Honestly, I'd prefer if it were all invisible to the user in a bundle, but...



    Quote:

    You're suggestion about emailing a photo assumes I'm working from within the place I am using to browse photos, which is only the case when I'm working from my photos and want to send them out to someone. But what often happens is that I am working from within my mail program (often gmail, sometimes Mail) and there's a photo I need to send. If it's something I've imported into iPhoto, I've got to dig through the file structure using the Finder (no choice here, it's just how you attach things).



    Not so - open iPhoto. Select the photo you want. Hit Copy. Go to your mail app. Hit Paste.



    Or drag and drop the photo from the iPhoto window to the Mail dock icon, or to a Mail composition window, or (presumably) to a gmail text entry. I'm assuming they coded up the text box to handle drop support intelligently - they may not have, in which case, drop it on your Desktop for a full-size copy ready to be accessed by browsing.



    If you want a downsized version, select Export, and you can tell it to resize it to something that won't choke your recipient's mailer. Now you have a file that you can put somewhere obvious and temporary, like your Desktop. Drag and drop it into your mailer, or attach via Browse, but now it's easy to find.



    The advantage to the last one is that you can keep a high-res high-quality file in iPhoto, but send the size/format that the recipient wants, without cluttering your drive with multiple copies of the same pic.



    All of these have got to be easier than trudging through the folders.



    If you find yourself doing the same steps over and over, Automator can be used to create a little script, without programming, that can tell iPhoto "okay, take the pic (or pics) I selected, resize them to X by Y, in format Foo, and save them to the Desktop". Select the pics, trigger the Automator script, and it does the rest.



    All the power is there, you just have to know what to look for.



    Quote:

    There are other times when I'm working in MS Word, Powerpoint, Photoshop, etc. that the same thing happens. I want to search for, import, open a file and I'm obligated to use the Finder.



    See above, you're not.



    Quote:

    Why should I have to always work out from the photo program, or vice versa?



    Because you chose to use the app? Seriously, if you don't like how iPhoto works, don't use it. Pretty simple in my book. If you prefer to handle everything manually, then do so. Nobody is stopping you. It's completely your choice.



    Quote:

    With XML tags, you'd think I'd be able to go both ways.



    You could - if someone thought it was enough of a bother, they'd write a utility to handle it.



    Quote:

    Are you saying that Apple has created a product (iPhoto) that competes with another of its products (Finder) instead of integrating them to work together?



    ??



    Nooooo, I'm saying that iPhoto does a better job of managing photos than the Finder, and you're trying to bypass that management by accessing the storage folders directly through the Finder. You're upset because you're misusing the apps.



    Quote:

    I'd like to have the ability to use some of the actual features of iPhoto, which are not provided in the Finder (that's not the finder's purpose and shouldn't be).



    BING BING BING



    Quote:

    Apple makes both the Finder and iPhoto and they should not be competing with each other, but they should work in harmony. That to me, means that I can recognize, and control, iPhoto files inside of the Finder.



    To me, that's misusing both apps. The fact that iPhoto has a storage structure that is exposed in the Finder is irrelevant. If it was all in one big massive database called 'iPhoto Data', would you still expect to be able to manipulate the photos from the Finder? Of course not. The fact that you *CAN* get to them in the Finder is a side-effect of how they chose to store the images... but it's not so you *CAN* go muck with them. Seriously, I've seen folks mangle their iPhoto storage so badly they had to start over, because they wanted to 'clean it up.' Don't. iPhoto is the interface to the data, period. Use it, and learn to use the features to their best advantage, or just avoid it all together and roll your own.



    Notice the new Media Browsers popping up in iLife and iWork - a standardized way to get to the albums, etc, stored in the other apps. That's the integration you're looking for.



    Quote:

    Consequently, you mention a photo viewer with the Finder. Have you any good suggestions? Thanks for your comments. I'd really appreciate any more suggestions. Enough people have complained about not having a Mac version of Picassa that I assume I'm not the only one in this boat. [/B]



    No, there are plenty of folks out there who are so used to *having* to manually manage their photos that they have a hard time adjusting to the fact that they're making it much harder than it needs to be. Let go, let dude, and either use iPhoto or don't... don't try and split the difference, as you noticed, it doesn't work.



    I use iPhoto, so I don't use a stand-alone photo viewer. I know there are a few that are popular on versiontracker.com, so perhaps if you poked around on there you could find one you like. I can't really give you much feedback on specific packages though, since I don't use them. \
  • Reply 4 of 12
    Kickacha,

    Thanks again for the involved response. I've pretty much treated things as you've suggested and just not used iPhoto (which is fine, since it means I don't use it to import the millions of pictures I'll never look at?I put those on my desktop and just put the ones I need on my mac). My inquiry now is b/c I'm starting to think that I would like to use it more. Perhaps I'll just suck it up and try it for a while.





    Another use that I didn't mention that is probably on the most used list?download images. Of course, Mac has created a way around this by offering the "download to iPhoto" in Safari. But since I use FireFox, that option is unfortunately not available to me (unless I can find an extension somewhere).



    Just to be devil's advocate, are there any challengers to Kikacha's views? (I'm not looking for a fight, just a good, diversified solution set). thanks, again.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    You could just drag the image from the Firefox window and drop it on the iPhoto Dock icon. Seriously. Try it.



    Most users from other OSs (and many Mac users) have *no idea* how ubiquitous drag and drop really is. If you have something in front of you that you want to put somewhere else, *always* try drag and drop first. 90% of the time, It Just Works(tm).



    Sorry if I came across as a bit harsh, but this discussion keeps seeming to pop up on the boards from time to time. \ One of the hardest things to do when moving to the Mac is to *just trust it*. I know it sounds like going down and getting your Borg implant, but it's only because it really does work well, and most every thing you could want to do is *usually* already in there, staring you right in the face.



    There are certainly other apps than iPhoto, and people have a variety of reasons for using and preferring them. But *if* you're going to give iPhoto a try, it only stands to reason that you're going to want to learn the various ways of getting photos out of it, and what each of them gets you. As you point out, browsing the iPhoto storage in the Finder is not nice or easy - it's not supposed to be.



    Get past that, and suddenly a number of other options present themselves.



    (Now, if you want to gripe about the Keyword manipulation UI in iPhoto, I'm right there with you. Yuck.)
  • Reply 6 of 12
    All right, so let's say I swallow my pride and try and break into iPhoto. You've mentioned a lot of things I haven't considered. So, is there a good "iPhoto tips and tricks" resource for those of us thinking of getting started in iPhoto that you know of?
  • Reply 7 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by staypuffinpc

    All right, so let's say I swallow my pride and try and break into iPhoto. You've mentioned a lot of things I haven't considered. So, is there a good "iPhoto tips and tricks" resource for those of us thinking of getting started in iPhoto that you know of?



    On that, I have no idea. I just kept playing around with it and trying things.



    I do know that The Missing Manual series is quite good, and I *believe* they have an iPhoto volume, or at least an iLife volume. You might want to check it out and see if it grabs you.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    On an aside, I have to say that the new version of iphoto organizes photos differently. In a much better way imho. Its really not that hard to find pictures in the structure as long as you input information such as a roll name when you import the pictures.
  • Reply 9 of 12
    In my experience..



    What iPhoto is good for:



    - Keeping an organized and well structured collection of photos in chronological order

    - Being able to easily access these photos to email, make a web page, any which way you want to redistribute them



    What iPhoto is NOT good for:

    - Saving random images downloaded from the internet

    - Trying to organize said images in a comprehensible structure (because, like I said before, it's a chronological organization)



    Having that said, iPhoto is for organizing photos, say, your trip to Venice, Hannukah with the family, your niece growing up etc etc.



    I personally don't use it for random pictures downloaded from the web, etc. For that I just use the Finder structure. I still keep them in ~/Pictures though.



    I just use iPhoto for personal pictures. Where I want to save a big bunch of them and want to be able to access them easily and show/share them with my friends. For any other use it's (IMHO) just no good.



    But, on doing that, it's just great.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    Kikacha mentions:

    Quote:

    You could just drag the image from the Firefox window and drop it on the iPhoto Dock icon. Seriously. Try it.



    I did and it doesn't work in Firefox. I tried it with a number of images in and with iPhoto closed and with it running and it never worked in Firefox. The same thing always worked in Safari (hence, a good example of Apple making two of their products work happily together). Didn't work in Camino 1.0b2, either. Interestingly enough, it did work in 5.2 Go figure.



    Just thought I'd point it out.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Well that's just bizarre. I wonder what Firefox did to mess that up? \ Drag and drop is one of the basic technologies they should be getting for free, with some basic setup on their end. Weird. I mean, I'd expect that from an MS app, but not Firefox.



    Thanks for the info, noted.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by staypuffinpc

    Kikacha mentions:





    I did and it doesn't work in Firefox. I tried it with a number of images in and with iPhoto closed and with it running and it never worked in Firefox. The same thing always worked in Safari (hence, a good example of Apple making two of their products work happily together). Didn't work in Camino 1.0b2, either. Interestingly enough, it did work in 5.2 Go figure.



    Just thought I'd point it out.




    IIRC, you can drag from FireFox to the desktop. From there you can drag it to the iPhoto icon. Then just delete it from the desktop.



    FireFox handles images in a weird way sometimes. Sometimes when you are viewing only an image in a browser window, the behavior of the 'Save' from the File menu is different from the right-click contextual menu for the image ('Save Image As...' or whatever it is). Sometimes the Save from the File menu will save the file as 'goto.php' or something like that, while the right-click contextual menu will work correctly and save it with the right file name. If the drag-and-drop structure is treating this the same way as the Save on the File menu, then iPhoto might not think that it's really getting a photo.
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