Customize the Source list

Located on the left side of the iPhoto window, the Source list is where you choose what you want to work with—your photos, albums, projects (such as books, cards, and calendars), slideshows, and so on.

Screen shot of the Source list on the left side of the iPhoto window

You can rearrange items within each section (Library, Recent, Albums, and so on) by dragging them. You can’t change the order of the sections themselves.

Note:  The Source list isn’t visible in full-screen view, but you can still see all your Events, albums, and other items in full-screen view. To leave full-screen view so that you can see the Source list again, click the Full Screen button in the toolbar (if you’re using Mac OS X v10.7 or later, move your pointer to the top of the screen, and then click the Full Screen button that appears in the top-right corner).

To create a folder in the Source list and move items into it:

If you want to further organize your library, you can add folders to the Source list. For example, you could create a folder named “Vacations,” and put all your relevant albums, projects, and slideshows into it. You can also drag folders into other folders (to create subfolders).

  1. Choose File > New > Folder.

    The new folder appears in the Source list, below Albums, with a placeholder title.

    Image of folder in Source list

  2. Type a name for the folder.

  3. Drag albums, slideshows, projects such as books, cards, and calendars, or other folders into the folder you just created.

    You can’t move Events, published albums, or individual photos into a folder.

Items in a folder always sort into groups—all the books are grouped together, all the albums are grouped together, and so on. You can reorder items within each group (by dragging the items), but you can’t change the order of the groups themselves.

To change the size of icons and text:

  1. Choose iPhoto > Preferences, and then click Appearance.

  2. Choose a size from the Source Text pop-up menu.

To show or hide photo counts:

You can show or hide the number of photos belonging to each item in the Source list. The number of photos appears in parentheses to the right of the item.

  1. Choose iPhoto > Preferences, and then click General.

  2. Select or deselect the “Show item counts” checkbox.

To rename an item:

You can change the name of a folder, album, project (such as a book, card, or calendar), or slideshow at any time.

  1. In the Source list, double-click the name of the item.

  2. Type a new name.

To duplicate an item:

If you want to create a different version of a folder, album, project (such as a book, card, or calendar), or slideshow, you can duplicate it and give it a new name.

  1. In the Source list, select the item that you want to copy.

  2. Choose Photos > Duplicate.

  3. Double-click the name of the new item, and then type a new name.

To delete items from the Source list:

You can delete a folder, album, project (such as a book, card, or calendar), or slideshow you’ve created. The photos in the deleted item are not deleted from the iPhoto library.

  1. Select the folder, album, project, or slideshow.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Press the Delete key.

    • In standard view, drag the item to the iPhoto Trash, which appears below Recent in the Source list.

      Image of Trash icon in Source list

    • In full-screen view, press the Control key and click the photo to open the shortcut menu. Then click the Trash icon.

Items stay in the iPhoto Trash until you choose iPhoto > Empty iPhotoTrash.

WARNING:  You can’t retrieve deleted items after you empty the iPhoto Trash, unless you’ve used Time Machine (a program that comes with Mac OS X) to back up your computer.

If you use iPhoto 9.1.4 or later and Mac OS X v10.7 or later: To restore photos, quit iPhoto, open the folder containing your iPhoto library, and then open Time Machine.

If you use earlier versions of iPhoto or Mac OS X: To restore specific photos or Events, open iPhoto and choose File > Browse Backups. To restore your entire iPhoto library, quit iPhoto, open the folder containing your iPhoto library, and then open Time Machine.

To open Time Machine, click its icon in the Dock, or click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and choose Enter Time Machine.

For more information on using Time Machine, see the topics in Mac Help. In the Finder, choose Help > Mac Help, and then search for “Time Machine.”