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2 Mac's, iPhoto, MobileMe...Sync. How?

jaw3net

jaw3net

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
166
35
Los Angeles, CA
Firstly, I apologize if this has been discussed but I couldn't find the correct solution in the search that I did.

So I have a MacBook and an iMac. Both run iPhoto '08 as well as sync with MobileMe. I have photos on both. Some photos are the same, while others are 'exclusive' to each system. How do I sync both iPhoto libraries, preferably automatically? Is there a way to do it with MobileMe without having to do a web gallery?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
V

vivid.

macrumors newbie
Mar 26, 2009
17
0
Would be very interested to here your result, have a mac pro & macbook and would love to be able to sync iPhoto.
 
L

LostLogik

macrumors 6502a
Jul 9, 2008
701
4
I don't think you can sync two libraries the way you sync folders, as the data in the library files must be the same. The way to keep libraries sync'd is to use something like "iphoto library manager". I'm on my iPhone at the mo, so can't paste a link but do a Google for it
 
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britboyj

macrumors 6502a
Apr 8, 2009
815
1,088
Could you possibly have your iPhoto library stored on your iDisk, have the iDisk synced to your desktop and have it done that way? Set iDisk to sync automatically and make sure iPhoto on both computers is pointing at the iPhoto Library in the iDisk?
 
VirtualRain

VirtualRain

macrumors 603
Aug 1, 2008
6,304
118
Vancouver, BC
britboyj said:
Could you possibly have your iPhoto library stored on your iDisk, have the iDisk synced to your desktop and have it done that way? Set iDisk to sync automatically and make sure iPhoto on both computers is pointing at the iPhoto Library in the iDisk?
Click to expand...

I think this would work, but as the file grows, the sync speed would become a bear.

I recently tried out iphoto library manager and it's very good... not automatic obviously, but a great way to periodically sync things up.
 
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britboyj

macrumors 6502a
Apr 8, 2009
815
1,088
VirtualRain said:
I think this would work, but as the file grows, the sync speed would become a bear.

I recently tried out iphoto library manager and it's very good... not automatic obviously, but a great way to periodically sync things up.
Click to expand...

Well, would it? Even though the iPhoto library is one file, it's a package with lots of files within it, most of which won't change. - I know iDisk syncs only changed portions when it syncs, for individual files, I wonder if it looks within packages?

Somehow I doubt it, but I wonder...

Aperture might be a better solution, so you could just have it reference PICTURES within the iDisk and that way there'd be no question, since it would only change what you actually changed. (But then it wouldn't automatically update like with an Aperture or iPhoto package... bleh)
 
carlosbutler

carlosbutler

macrumors 6502a
Feb 24, 2008
691
2
In my case, if i go on holiday i have to take my laptop since my camera card is too small, and im too cheap to buy a bigger high speed one. So when i add photos to my library, and then get back home to my imac i simply overwrite the iphoto library. since everything, including the faces and places are all in one file.
 
boston04and07

boston04and07

macrumors 68000
May 13, 2008
1,834
935
britboyj said:
Could you possibly have your iPhoto library stored on your iDisk, have the iDisk synced to your desktop and have it done that way? Set iDisk to sync automatically and make sure iPhoto on both computers is pointing at the iPhoto Library in the iDisk?
Click to expand...

I was actually wondering the same thing as well, and whether or not anyone has a definitive answer. I'm not a serious photographer by any means so right now my several-year-old iPhoto library is only around 5 gb - mostly family photos taken with a point-and-shoot camera or my iPhone. I regularly upload video files to MM that are bigger than that so it would be no problem for me in that sense. I'll be getting a second Mac soon and my photos are the only thing that I don't know how to keep in sync that I would like to have in sync.
 
BeijingMac

BeijingMac

macrumors newbie
Dec 1, 2009
4
0
Beijing
has anyone tried chronosync? see this link: http://www.econtechnologies.com/pages/cs/chrono_tips12.html

They say they can sync 2 iPhoto libraries. I bought it and experimented with it some, but haven't made up my mind. When I first bought the program, their help info indicated they could sync 2 different libraries, then later I could not find the article but now I can! Somehow, I remember you had to manually drag & drop the library into the folder window, you could not browse it.

My set up is that I want to maintain the "master" file on my iMac and keep a copy on my MacBook which I travel with. I have been just "dragging" my iMac Time Machine backup to my MB, but that file has gotten quite big (>27 GB) and it's a chore. The idea of dividing the master library up into smaller bits sounds good also, as a way to "divide & conquer".

looking forward to hearing from others.
 
T

tastic42

macrumors newbie
Dec 19, 2009
2
0
Chronosync iPhoto

I tried this last night. The process is convoluted and flawed - I cannot understand why if the Finder can successfully copy from one Mac to another, ChronoSync insists on all sorts of parameters being set. In any event, I followed their instructions and even copied the prefs file from the source to the target mac. No dice. The iPhoto Library opened, but all the actual pictures and thumbnails were borked and not visible, so not exactly the result I was looking for.

If anyone figures out how to do this, let me know.

Would be nice to have a Mac Home Server for this sort of thing, eh?
 
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brenwah

macrumors newbie
Dec 24, 2009
1
0
tastic42 said:
I tried this last night. The process is convoluted and flawed - I cannot understand why if the Finder can successfully copy from one Mac to another, ChronoSync insists on all sorts of parameters being set. In any event, I followed their instructions and even copied the prefs file from the source to the target mac. No dice. The iPhoto Library opened, but all the actual pictures and thumbnails were borked and not visible, so not exactly the result I was looking for.

If anyone figures out how to do this, let me know.

Would be nice to have a Mac Home Server for this sort of thing, eh?
Click to expand...

I use ChronoSync all the time, mostly for syncing my documents and less for syncing iPhoto. It isn't as good for syncing iPhoto because it can corrupt the database, as you discovered. However, it is good at mirroring the database. For example, let's say that you only changed iPhoto on one of your computers. You can continue to copy the entire iPhoto library as you are doing, but that could be time consuming. Instead, you can set Chronosync to mirror iPhoto.

To do that, set the left target to the updated iPhoto file. Set the right target to the old iPhoto file. Select mirror left to right. You can select to delete files if you want to. Then hit trial sync - that way you can see what files it is going to move. Then hit synchronize and it will only copy the files that have changed. This method is faster than copying the entire database. I hope this helps.
 
A

Arnaud

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2005
430
0
The Moon
...I'll follow this thread from close, I've got a similar situation (an iMac, a MacBook, a central server for backup, all three could use a synchronized version of the iPhoto library...)

So far haven't found a solution. For the moment, I centralize everything on the MacBook, and connect the MacBook to the iMac via Ethernet cable, to use the library on the bigger screen when needed, but it's not ideal, and it seems to mess the catalogs sometimes... I don't wish to centralize the library on the server, even WiFi, that'd ruin the access speed...
 
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Arnaud

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2005
430
0
The Moon
Update on "sync-mac"

Ok, I just bought the "Sync-Mac" software (for $39 plus taxes), as it seems (or seemed?) to have most options.

It'll take me some time to figure out how it works, although you can get a good idea through the User Manual which can be consulted from the webpage.

My idea was to use the software on my iBook, to synchronize the iPhoto library with a NAS and with an iMac.

Hick-up for me: it doesn't look like you can synchronize directly with a NAS, as it doesn't appear in the list of options (i.e., "another Mac, another PC, Windows Mobile device, Google Account, Online Backup, Series40 phone, USB Flash drive, Sony PSP"). Which I find pretty sad. NB: There doesn't seem to be a possibility to synchronize on different hard drives of your own machine either.

I had a quick run with folder synchronization between the MacBook and the iMac, and it works fine (after I installed another copy of the software on the second machine. NB: The second copy is not "expert"; a spot on the website indicates that the normal license is for 2 macs, which should cover it anyway).

I'll have another look later this week, for the full iPhoto synchro'. I saw that the software allows you to select which albums (events) you want to sync'. I'm pretty scared of messing up with the library...

(PS: As mentioned, all info can be found in the user manual; I didn't look for references to a NAS, as I thought it should be covered... :rolleyes: )
 
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