iPhoto: The Missing Manual

Appendix A. Troubleshooting

All programs have their vulnerabilities, and iPhoto is no exception. Many of its shortcomings stem from the fact that iPhoto works under the supervision of a lot of cooks, since it has to interact with printers, talk to web servers, cope with an array of file formats, and so on.

If trouble strikes, keep hands and feet inside the tram at all times—and consult the following collection of problems, solutions, questions, and answers.

The Most Important Advice in This Chapter

Apple’s traditional practice is to release a new version of iPhoto (and iMovie, and Pages, and Keynote…) that’s got some bugs and glitches—and then, just when public outcry reaches fever pitch a couple of weeks later, send out a .0.1 update that cleans up most of the problems.

Spare yourself the headache: Update your copy to the latest version! To do that right now, choose →Software Update to open the Mac App Store window. If there’s an iPhoto update in the list, click Install.

Importing, Upgrading, and Opening

Getting photos into iPhoto is supposed to be one of the most effortless parts of the process. Remember, Steve Jobs promised that iPhoto would forever banish the “chain of pain” from digital photography. And yet…

“Unable to upgrade this photo library.”

There may be locked files somewhere inside your iPhoto library. If something is locked, iPhoto can’t very well convert it to the latest format. ...