From chasing down the link you provide Mr Pinks, and cross linking elsewhere on that Apple help site it states that full restore download from the TC to the MBA is possible should their be a catastrophic failure in your computer - but only the full library and not individual photos.

However, if the owner of the MBA has set up the storage if their photos under individual files i.e. Birthday, or Christmas or Holiday etc then those individual files can be selected on the TC to download back to the MBA. This naturally means the download would be swifter than the whole library.

And it also appears that no you cannot look into the iPhoto library as it is currently stored/resides on TC. But individual files you can.

A conversation with the owner of the MBA will follow this evening

when i had to recover files from my TC i went back to the date the files were there, and told it to restore

that was to the same mac mini, i assume if she got a new MBA she would have to connect up the TC to it and do similar, BUT, there might be some permissions that need granting first.

With this been more work related material that she never wishes to lose, i would suggest she looks into something along the lines of a multi driver RAID device or similar

TC are not know for been the most reliable, my brothers crashed and he lost the lot, but he still had everything on his MBP. He now uses a subscription based CLOUD storage system and a RAID device.

That way, the backups and data are available anywhere in the world via a secure login, also with his 2 drive RAID back up, if one drive fails, that can be swapped out whilst the other drive still holds a identical copy, which will then sync once a new drive is installed and with him also having the cloud based backup, if his house was burgled/went up in flames its off site.

Covering all bases, bar a total worldwide electricity blackout

He just felt his eggs were all in one basket with a single drive TC after it failed

Yes you are right - her eggs are all in her ovaries so to speak and nowhere else.

She really does need to get her home study into shape re data security. No specific patient data here - that's all at her practice HQ plus on a remote secure server. But at home she's a data storage disaster zone, both electronic and paper - just like her father.

His idea of storage was just to build paper towers until it was too high and in danger of falling over. then start the next and the next stretching throughout the house. Same with his library of books. Once the shelving ran out he started on the same technique - building towers of books. Sorting that lot out after he died last autumn has and still is a nightmare. K's straight out of the same mould.

My concern is that we are in the process of design n build new home almost thrice the size of present. With that colossal amount of floor space she'll just jump with joy. And daughter is carry the same untidiness DNA.

I'm sure that the TM is going its job, but to be on the safe side, I would get another external drive and back it up using Carbon Copy or similar.

Or you could always select all the images and Export them onto another external hard drive. Here's how:
http://m.dummies.com/how-to/content/ilife-...ard-d.html

AiiEEX
You're right of course - Belt n Braces - is the order of the day when it comes to securing one's beloved data etc..

And thanks for that link - an appropriately title document for an IT illiterate owd chap like me. In fact if I could live without computers and mobile phone, TV etc., I would, but a 10yr old daughter and her working mum prevent that solitude from happening.