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mrpaulk

Q: Upload multiple libraries

Before Photos came out, I decided to split my large and slow aperture library. It was over 280GB and although should be within apertures capabilities, for me it was slow and cumbersome. I also decided to cull a large amount of the pics and vids and thought breaking the mammoth task up into yearly libraries (and months within that) Was the best idea. I exported each year into its own library. So I've been "thinning" these yearly ibraries down to about half of what I shot.

Now to import the pictures and videos into the new Photos Library.


Importing to Photos

My first attempt didn't work the way I wanted. I exported the first month (originals) into a folder and imported that into Photos. The problem with this method was that the videos were time stamped with the export time. So the videos appeared in the wrong time location within Photos (in the "moments" & "collections" tab). As an aside the photos appear chronologically incorrectly within the Albums/All Photos tab.


So the workaround I've come up with (yet to be tried) is to

Select the pictures within the year aperture library.

Export those pics/vids as a new Aperture Library.

concert that to a Photos library.

Select that new library as the "system library" for iCloud.

Allow the new library to upload to the cloud, and once this is complete, delete the new library and return to the original library.

Reselect the original library as the system library, which should then download the new photos/videos.


Is this a practical workaround?

Is there a quicker one?


The main reason for this is because of the video time stamping during an export process and the fact I want to thin the number of pics uploaded.


I'm interested in hearing opinions and ideas.

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on May 22, 2015 11:40 PM

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Q: Upload multiple libraries

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  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie May 23, 2015 12:23 AM in response to mrpaulk
    Level 10 (106,888 points)
    iLife
    May 23, 2015 12:23 AM in response to mrpaulk

    Is this a practical workaround?

    Is there a quicker one?

    If you have Aperture, I'd use Aperture to create a merged library of all your multiple libraries.  You will probaly have to do that on an external drive, and that drive needs to be formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled) or you cannot convert the library to a Photos Library.

     

    To merge libraries into one with Aperture use the "File > Import > Library" feature, see:  Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries

     

    Then drag the resulting merged library onto the Photos icon to convert it to a photos library.  Enable the converted library as the System Photo Library in the Photos Preferences and enable it as the iCloud Library.

     

    The advantages over your suggested approach:

    So, to save bandwidth, and to save products like books, or faces metadata, it will be better to merge all libraries into one library and then migrate and upload the merged library.

     

    The video time stamps will survive this way,  and you can prune the the libraries and weed out photos before you merge them into your one iCloud library.

  • by mrpaulk,

    mrpaulk mrpaulk May 23, 2015 4:33 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2015 4:33 AM in response to léonie

    TThank you for taking the time to suggest an alternative Léonie

     

    so if understanding you correctly, I should work on each of my 5 yearly aperture libraries to reduce their size down to just the pics I want. Then merge them all together and then covert that library into a Photo library. Then enable that as the system library? Is that correct?

     

    There is a ffactors th at might complicate that method. But there might be a workaround for this. I already one Photo library with about 40GB (2014+2015) pictures and videos from an initial Phtotos library. The Aperture libraries are 2009/10/11/12 on an external drive and are about 40GB each! The result of a very busy couple of years getting married and having kids. So lots and lots of pictures and videos. Half of which are duplicates of multiple pictures of the same shot. So I was planning to work my way through systematically each year and then somehow import them into the existing 2014/15 Photos library that is a lady established on the cloud (and other devices).

    So I think that I can refine these external Ap libraries, merge the result and then drag and drop them onto the Phtotos app. Will this import them into the existing Photos library?

     

    Thanks again

     

    paul

  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie May 23, 2015 6:11 AM in response to mrpaulk
    Level 10 (106,888 points)
    iLife
    May 23, 2015 6:11 AM in response to mrpaulk
    So I think that I can refine these external Ap libraries, merge the result and then drag and drop them onto the Phtotos app. Will this import them into the existing Photos library?

    Photos cannot merge libraries. When you drag an iPhoto Library or Aperture library onto the Photos icon it will create a new library.  You can switch between libraries, but not merge them.

    As I explained above, when you first upload one library to iCloud, then open a second library to upload to iCloud, all photos will merge in iCloud and sync back, but not the faces or any books you created. You will lose the faces and books from the first library.