iPhoto & Time Machine - Beginners Question.

[Cmu93]

Hi all,

I'm going to be purchasing my 1st Mac in January, and this is going to be very interesting since I've been a Windows IT Admin for 11 years. My question is simple, but I've been unable to verify it.

In iPhoto, I'm sure I read somewhere that your photos are more or less put into a iPhoto database for keeping the information. My question is this: Are the photos still available at any time in "file" mode? Meaning, I can still go to the directory they are stored in, and copy them off to a PC or elsewhere. They aren't put into this database and then kept there right?

Lastly, Time Machine... I have a dedicated external drive ready to go, when I set it up for Time Machine, is that whole drive no longer usable in any way? For example, once Time Machine formats it for use, can I still use any of that drive for storage? Or is it locked into Time Machine only?

Thanks guys... I appreciate any help I can get.

Tom

 

[koobcamuk]

a) right click the iPhoto library - show package contents and then you can access all the photos.

b) if you partition the harddrive, then you could use some of the rest of it. I wouldn't recommend trying to use 1 partition, time machine and saving random files to the rest of that drive. It might work, but partitioning would be better.

 

[wordmunger]

Are the photos still available at any time in "file" mode? Meaning, I can still go to the directory they are stored in, and copy them off to a PC or elsewhere. They aren't put into this database and then kept there right?

Yes, you can access the files right off your hard drive. They are organized by year and roll.

 

[Cmu93]

Excellent, thanks guys! One last thing, on the partitioning of the external drive... does Time Machine give me that option, or do I have to partition it before starting the Time Machine... either way, that's something I was hoping I could do. I wasn't sure if TM would let me do it.

T.

 

[skybolt]

Yes, you can access the files right off your hard drive. They are organized by year and roll.

While that is true, it is courting disaster to access those files. Doing anything with/to your files in the library in finder is a sure way to lose photos, corrupt photos, etc. Best to forget that file is there and do anything and everything to/with your photos from within the iPhoto app itself. You can export photos to your desktop to be used elsewhere, or you can drag and drop them to the desktop. Do yourself and your photos a favor, and stay out of that file!