How to Stop iPhoto From Automatically Launching

Sneaky Image Capture Program

Every time you plug in your digital camera or your iPhone into your Apple Macintosh Computer, iPhoto launches. This is a feature, not a flaw, but you do lose a bit of control over your computer every time you place your iPhone on the charging cradle.



Searching in iPhoto's preferences doesn't help. There is no setting that prevents iPhoto from launching automatically. No way to fix this in the System Preferences of Mac OS X, either. And there certainly isn't a setting on the iPhone or your digital camera to prevent iPhoto from opening every time you hook it up to your Mac.



Cast your frustration aside. There's a simple solution and you're only a few steps away from iPhoto auto-launch freedom.

Things You'll Need

• Apple Macintosh Computer running OS X
• iPhoto
• iPhone or Digital Camera with USB or Firewire Cables

Instructions

1. Unplug your digital camera if you have it connected. If you have an iPhone, just take it off the charging cradle.

2. 

   Go to your "Applications" folder in Mac OS X's Finder.

3. 

   Find the "Image Capture" application and open it.

4. 

   Go to the Image Capture Preferences by clicking on "Image Capture" on the top menu bar and selecting "Preferences," or you can use the keyboard shortcut Command-Comma (",").

   The Command key is also called the "Apple" key since it has the Apple logo on it.

5. 

   Select "No application" in the drop-down box next to "When a camera is connected, open."

   You have the option to select Apple's iPhoto or another application if you wish.

6. Click the "OK" button.

7. Quit Image Capture by using the keyboard shortcut Command-Q or going to the top menu bar and selecting "Image Capture" and "Quit Image Capture."

8. Plug in your iPhone or your digital camera. If you selected "No application" in the Image Capture preferences, nothing should happen.

   Welcome to iPhoto auto-launch freedom.

Tips & Warnings

• You can always put your Macintosh computer back to the original settings by selecting "iPhoto" or another application in the Image Capture preferences.