One of the great new changes in iPhoto 08 (ok, iPhoto 7 if you want to be technical) is the bundling of the iPhoto library as one package file, a la unix. The advantages are numerous, with the largest being that it is now very difficult for users to accidentally delete or corrupt the library file.
The downside to this new file structure, however, is that it also very difficult for users to browse pictures via the Finder – which makes it very hard to attach your photos to Gmail, for example.
Have no fear… here’s a quick and easy guide on how to email your iphoto pictures using Gmail.
How To: Email pictures from iPhoto 08 with Gmail
The EASIEST way to email pictures from iPhoto is to enable your Gmail account within Apple Mail (more commonly called Mail.app). Not only will this allow you to email photos DIRECTLY from iPhoto, but you can also browse your iPhoto library and attach pictures directly from within Mail.
To add your Gmail account to Apple Mail, just follow these steps:
- Enable POP access within Gmail
- Login to your Gmail account and access the SETTINGS link in the upper right corner.
- Click the FORWARDING AND POP menu and click on enable POP for all mail. (picture)
- Save the settings and close your browser.
If you are using LEOPARD, then Apple Mail can set up your Gmail account automatically! (Hooray!)
- LEOPARD USERS:
- Open Apple Mail and add your Gmail account as a new account.
- Select FILE > ADD ACCOUNT from the mail menu.
- Fill out the General Information.
- That’s it! You’re ready to get started! Skip the LONG instructions and let’s get started emailing pictures from iPhoto using Gmail!
- OLDER VERSIONS:
- Open Apple Mail and add your Gmail account as a new account.
- Select FILE > ADD ACCOUNT from the mail menu.
- Fill out the General Information.
- Fill out the Mail Server information, selecting POP as your account type. Type GMAIL as the description and “pop.gmail.com” (without the quotes) as your incoming mail server. Provide your gmail address and password and click continue.
- Select “Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)” and select password under authentication.
- Fill out the Outgoing Mail information using “smtp.gmail.com†(without the quotes) as your outgoing mail server. Provide your gmail address and password and click done.
Now you are ready to use your Gmail account from anywhere within OS X, including Apple Mail and iPhoto!
EMAILING FROM IPHOTO
Select your picture(s) and click the email button. Select the image size and iphoto will launch a mail window. Enter your recipients name(s) and email your pictures using your gmail account!
EMAILING FROM APPLE MAIL
In Apple Mail 3.0 (Leopard), compose a new message and click Photo Browser, select the photos you want to attach and email your pictures using your gmail account!
Lost? Confused? Scared? FEAR NOT!
If these instructions are too complicated (or you simply do not want to send photos using Mail.app) there is one more alternative! Although I have not used it myself, several users like the iphoto2gmail script. It is simple to use (a la File > Export > Gmail) but you have to be running iPhoto for it to work and there may be a limit to the size of file that you can attach. I have not used it myself – so your milage may vary.