iPhoto ’08 is a great update to the very popular iPhoto application that comes bundled with iLife. There is a new feature in iPhoto ’08 that is sort of a twist on an older feature that is still available in iLife ’06. When you import your photos from your digital camera, iPhoto will now categorize them automatically by the time stamp that your camera attaches to each photo. This is often very handy because it helps organize your imported photos immediately and automatically. iPhoto calls these grouped photos “Events.” Though this works perfectly most of the time, it is sometimes the case that you’ll want to merge 2 events together or split a single event into 2 events. The former is more obvious because there is actually a “merge” button on the bottom of the window. Plus, merging events is very intuitive- while in the Events view, simple drag one event onto another event and iPhoto will ask if you want to merge the two. But what if you want to do the opposite?
In that case, simply double click on the event that you want to split. This will present you with a thumbnail view of all the photos in that event. Select the photo (by clicking on it once) that you want to split the event at. Then, from the menu up top called “Events,” select the option “Split Event.” iPhoto will then split the event into 2 different events and the split will occur at the photo you have selected. The photo that was selected will become the first photo of the new event.
You can also move photos from one event to another. In the column on the left, select “Photos” from the top and you’ll notice that all of your thumbnails are grouped together by event. Simply drag one photo (or multiple photos by holding the shift or command keys down)* and drag them to the appropriate event. Voila! The photos are now moved into that event.
*see the entry on multiple selections to clarify how you select multiple items. You have 2 different options.