citroenDS

Q: can i use an old iPhoto library for referenced images?

I upgraded to Mavericks today (from Snow Leopard) and want to find a way to continue to view + edit images from my old iPhoto library.

 

My version of iPhoto is 8.1.2, and is 390GB.  I have also been using Aperture for some time, and now have 3.5.1.  The Aperture library is 71GB of Managed Images.

 

I have several backups of the iPhoto library of external disks.  Can I set things up so that the images can be accessed by Aperture as Referenced Images'?

 

And if so, will the iPhoto structure (events, folders etc) be retained?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 7, 2014 5:43 AM

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Q: can i use an old iPhoto library for referenced images?

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  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Jan 7, 2014 5:59 AM in response to citroenDS
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    Jan 7, 2014 5:59 AM in response to citroenDS

    To be able to use your iPhoto Library as a library from Aperture 3.5.1, the iPhoto Library first needs to be upgraded to iPhoto '11 (Version 9.5.1).  Aperture 3.5.1 cannot open and upgrade iPhoto 8.1.2 libraries.

     

    Buying and installing iPhoto 9.5.1 will let you open and browse the iPhoto library from Aperture or import the library into Aperture. All albums, events, keywords, captions will be transfered.

    If you import the iPhoto library, it will be imported as managed, if the iPhoto library is managed, but you can relocate the originals after importing.

     

    Aperture cannot open the iPhoto library without upgrading the library to iPhoto 9.5 format. You would have to export the photos from the iPhoto library to be able to import them to Aperture. Then you can import the exported events to Aperture as referenced images. This would have been better done on Snowleopard. iPhoto 8.1.2 is no longer supported on Mavericks.

  • by citroenDS,

    citroenDS citroenDS Jan 7, 2014 7:02 AM in response to léonie
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    Jan 7, 2014 7:02 AM in response to léonie

    thanks a lot, Leonie. 

     

    I had been hoping to use the old iPhoto library - since i prefer the interface of 8.1.2 and i'm still also using Snow Leopard, until I've checked out Mavericks completely - but i can see that 9.5.1 is the straightforward solution.

     

    Apple.com says "Now iPhoto and Aperture share the same photo library. With all your photos in one place..."  How does that work in practice? 

     

    My iPhoto library is on an external disk, but my Aperture library is not. I have 390GB of iPhoto library on a 500GB external, and 71GB of Aperture library on my MBP - ie. together about 461GB. Do the libraries stay separate, and the 2 apps bring them together to effectively "share the same photo library"?

  • by Najinsky,

    Najinsky Najinsky Jan 7, 2014 7:56 AM in response to citroenDS
    Level 3 (670 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 7:56 AM in response to citroenDS

    It's achieveable, but somewhat of a hack, and the best you'll get is something close to your event structure, but not albums.

     

    I'd really recommend lêonie's approach above.

     

    However, if you really want to play...:

     

    There are two main problems to solve.

     

    1) The files are inside the iPhoto library bundle which is not selectable from the import panel.

     

    2) You'll have a combination of master, non-destructive edits, and previews. I no longer have an 8.1 library to check so I can't decribe the structure). You'll need to decide if you want to bring in originals and edits (where available).

     

    You'll need to have a look around the iPhoto library structure; navigate to it in finder, right-click the library and choose 'Show package contents'.

     

    Explore this until you are happy you know where the images are stored (orginals and edited copies), these are the images you can access directly.

     

    To make them accessible for import in Aperture, drag any folders your are interested in (eg: originals, masters, previews, etc) to your finder favourites sidebar. This doesn't move them anywhere, it just gives you shortcuts to those folders that reside inside the iPhoto library bundle.

     

    In Aperture, use 'Import->Folders as Projects' from the file menu. Here you can specify that the images stay in their original location (imported as referenced) and you can use the shortcut on your finder sidebar (created above) to navigate into the iPhoto library to pick up the images.

     

    You can try the different options for the stucture of the import ('Folders and Projects' or 'Projects and Albums'). 'Folders and Projects' will probably work best as it will give something approximating your import history which may match your event structure, but the project names will likely not match the event names.

     

    Once you've got them in Aperture, youll probably need to tidy up the structure, but in Aperture you can move and change projects as much as you want withouth affecting anything in the old iPhoto Library. The things that can impact the iPhoto Library are deleting or relocating any of the masters.

     

    As I say, it's a bit of a hack, and in the long run you will probably be better off by just importing the library and relocating the masters. This will keep your event and album structure and be much cleaner, but it will give you an additional copy of the images, which I suspect is what you are trying to avoid.

     

    Also, if you get future problems with your images, you'll have to explain all the above or people may have trouble helping you!

     

     

     

    Andy

  • by Najinsky,Helpful

    Najinsky Najinsky Jan 7, 2014 8:03 AM in response to citroenDS
    Level 3 (670 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 8:03 AM in response to citroenDS

    You can import the library without the need to upgrade. Just import it, but this will bring in all 390GB (give or take for differences in metadata) giving you a ~500GB Aperture library.

     

    The shared approach requires an upgrade to the latest iPhoto. In this case the libraries are seperate so if you want to do something with your old photos you'll have to switch to the iPhoto library with Aperture (or iPhoto). You won't be able to do anything that combines photos from the two without exporting from one and importing in the other.

     

    Andy

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jan 7, 2014 8:24 AM in response to citroenDS
    Level 10 (106,848 points)
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    Jan 7, 2014 8:24 AM in response to citroenDS

    Apple.com says "Now iPhoto and Aperture share the same photo library. With all your photos in one place..."  How does that work in practice?

    Apple's text is a bit misleading: 

     

    The should have written:  "Now iPhoto and Aperture share the same photo library format."

     

    You can use any Aperture library as iPhoto library and vice versa, if they are from compatible iPhoto versions and Aperture versions. And this way you can work with only one unified library to be used both with Aperture and iPhoto. You can merge all photo libraries into one library using Aperture by importing your iPhoto libraries  as libraries.

     

    Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries

     

    Importing as libraries will have one big advantage over the work-around that Andy described - you will save disk space and preserve the lossless workflow. The original master image files and the edited versions will be imported as proper original-version pairs. You will not have to stack them to keep them paired.  You can revert to the original and your captions etc. will transfer, all albums you created. in short, you will preserve all work you invested in setting up your library.

    Once you imported the iPhoto library and checked it, you can backup your original and delete it, if you need to save space.

     

    Andy's method will work; but I imported quite a few of iPhoto libraries in the good old iPhoto 8.x days, and I did not like the result, that all photos had to be imported twice - as original and as edited version. In the end I did the importing again after iPhoto 9.3 was available, and that made the Aperture library much easier to use.

  • by citroenDS,

    citroenDS citroenDS Jan 7, 2014 8:24 AM in response to Najinsky
    Level 1 (24 points)
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    Jan 7, 2014 8:24 AM in response to Najinsky

    That's fantastic - I really appreciate all the time and expertise you put into this, Najinsky - though i think i'll give the hack approach a miss! 

     

    Can I check in a bit more detail about the shared approach>

     

    I) you say that when i update iPhoto to 9.5.1, the libraries will remain separate, so can keep the arrangement the same as I have now - ie. (new) iPhoto library on external, and Aperture library on MBP.  Does that still mean i will be able to open the new iPhoto library in Aperture, to edit images? 

     

    2) And could i then export the edited images from iPhoto > Aperture?

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jan 7, 2014 8:35 AM in response to Najinsky
    Level 10 (106,848 points)
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    Jan 7, 2014 8:35 AM in response to Najinsky

    You can import the library without the need to upgrade. Just import it, but this will bring in all 390GB (give or take for differences in metadata) giving you a ~500GB Aperture library.

    Andy,  are you sure?

    I can import older libraries only by importing them as folders and files, not as library:

    Trying to import an older iPhoto library as  library will always give me this warning:

     

    Screen Shot 2014-01-07 at 17.29.26.png

    You need to upgrade an iPhoto library to a compatible version, before you can import it into Aperture as library.  If you simply import the package as a set of folders inside, you will have a mess of thumbnails, previews, originals and will have to buy smart duplicate finders that are more expensive than updating iPhoto.

     

    -- Léonie

  • by Najinsky,

    Najinsky Najinsky Jan 7, 2014 8:49 AM in response to léonie
    Level 3 (670 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 8:49 AM in response to léonie

    léonie wrote:

     

     

    You can import the library without the need to upgrade. Just import it, but this will bring in all 390GB (give or take for differences in metadata) giving you a ~500GB Aperture library.

     

    Andy,  are you sure?

     

    Well I was 'til I saw your post and that error message!

     

    I'm sure it used to be possible because I brought a load a of quite old archived iPhoto images into Aperture a few years back. Perhaps it changed with the introduction of the unified Library.

     

    It seems quite harsh though, as it now means someone like citroenDS who has iPhoto 8 and upgrades to Aperture rather than iPhoto 9 can't import their library. That doesn't sound right. In fact as I'm typing I'm slowly remembering a HT article on the subject. I'll do some searching and see if I turn up anything.

     

    Andy

  • by citroenDS,

    citroenDS citroenDS Jan 7, 2014 8:55 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (24 points)
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    Jan 7, 2014 8:55 AM in response to léonie

    Many thanks indeed for following up, Leonie - your replies crossed over with those from Andy.  Really appreciate your help - and very prompt feedback!

     

    You say, "You can use any Aperture library as iPhoto library and vice versa, if they are from compatible iPhoto versions and Aperture versions."

     

    This confirms that i will be able to open the new iPhoto library in Aperture, to view and edit images?

     


  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jan 7, 2014 8:56 AM in response to citroenDS
    Level 10 (106,848 points)
    iLife
    Jan 7, 2014 8:56 AM in response to citroenDS

    I) you say that when i update iPhoto to 9.5.1, the libraries will remain separate, so can keep the arrangement the same as I have now - ie. (new) iPhoto library on external, and Aperture library on MBP.  Does that still mean i will be able to open the new iPhoto library in Aperture, to edit images?

     

    2) And could i then export the edited images from iPhoto > Aperture?

    1. When you open your old iPhoto library in iPhoto 9.5.1, it will be converted to the new unified libary format. From then on you can use it with iPhoto or use it as an Aperture library, just as you like. Just use the command "File > Open Library in iPhoto/Aperture" to switch between your two applications back and forth. iPhoto will recognize Aperture's edits and vice versa.
    2. 2) And could i then export the edited images from iPhoto > Aperture?

    When you open the updated library in Aperture it will be an Aperture library. You can select the edited photos and export them as an Aperture library "File > Export > .... as library" and merge that library into your current Aperture library.

  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie Jan 7, 2014 8:57 AM in response to citroenDS
    Level 10 (106,848 points)
    iLife
    Jan 7, 2014 8:57 AM in response to citroenDS

    This confirms that i will be able to open the new iPhoto library in Aperture, to view and edit images?

    Yes, you can

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jan 7, 2014 9:06 AM in response to Najinsky
    Level 10 (106,848 points)
    iLife
    Jan 7, 2014 9:06 AM in response to Najinsky

    Perhaps it changed with the introduction of the unified Library.

    Exactly - with the new unified library format the iPhoto Library Browser has been discontinued, and also the ability to import arbitry iPhoto library versions.

     

    I wonder what will happen, when a new, paid iPhoto and a new paid Aperure 4 will be released - and if someone is still using an iPhoto library as Aperture library. I suspect, then we will need to upgrade both  Photo and Aperture to be able to open the Aperture-iPhoto library in Aperture, because only the new iPhoto will be able to update the library.

  • by citroenDS,

    citroenDS citroenDS Jan 7, 2014 9:07 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (24 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jan 7, 2014 9:07 AM in response to léonie

    Fantastic!

     

    Great to get such helpful advice from someone with special expertise!

  • by Najinsky,

    Najinsky Najinsky Jan 7, 2014 9:12 AM in response to Najinsky
    Level 3 (670 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 9:12 AM in response to Najinsky

    Najinsky wrote:


    In fact as I'm typing I'm slowly remembering a HT article on the subject. I'll do some searching and see if I turn up anything.

     

    Andy

     

    I have an old link to a support article "iPhoto to Aperture" but it's now dead, and looking at various searches it seems this issue of a cap on how far back you can import a library from has been around since about 2010, so it probably came in with Aperture 3, so I must have imported mine with Aperture 2.

     

    The recommendation now seems to be to upgrade to the latest iPhoto.

     

    Apologies to citroenDS for the mis-information, and thanks to Léonie for pointing it out.

     

    Andy

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