infernalmachine
Level 1 (2 points)

Q: PERMANENTLY Prevent Photos from Opening Automatically

Hi All!

 

I just upgraded to Yosemite, and with that came the Photos App that replaced iPhoto.

 

The internet is full of forum posts asking how to prevent Photos from launching automatically when a device is inserted, and full of replies saying to uncheck the tick box in Photos for each given device...  But this is no solution at all!

 

AFTER telling Photos not to open for a given SD card, if the SD card is reformatted in-camera, the setting is lost and Photos will open again the next time the SD card is inserted.

 

Is there any way to PERMANENTLY prevent the Photos App from handling digital media FOR ALL DEVICES by default?  Any way to reset the default behavior in Terminal perhaps???

 

I am not the only Photographer who prefers the Adobe software and has a bag full of SD cards that get reformatted routinely.  It is seriously aggravating to come back from a shoot with 8 SD cards full of new media and wait for Photos to launch before returning to the Adobe family of software to import media over and over again.  It's a major workflow disruption!

Mac Pro (Mid 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), Photos v1.0.1

Posted on Aug 16, 2015 9:53 PM

by infernalmachine,Solvedanswer
infernalmachine infernalmachine
Level 1 (2 points)
A:

Hey guys.  I've had just about enough of the Photos app trying to assert it's dominance over my media cards...  Trying to delete the app altogether, the OS gives me an alert that it cannot be modified or deleted because it is required by the operating system.  Well too damned bad!  So I took a heavy-handed approach that seems to have solved my issue.

 

!!!  I do not recommend this approach unless you thoroughly understand the implications.  Proceed with extreme caution.

 

I right-clicked on the photos app icon, and selected "Show Package Contents."  For safety, I first selected everything in the "Contents" folder and right clicked again to "Compress selected files."  I left the new zip-file in place so that I can extract contents if I need them in the future, but then deleted all of the original files within the Photos App's Contents folder.  This prevents the app from opening at all, because it effectively removes all of the application code from where it should be.  I still have the Photos.app icon in my Applications folder, but effectively it is an empty container. 

 

In addition to preventing the photos app from opening, this will prevent the operating system from performing any task that requires the photos app.  As far as I can tell, this disables PhotoStream.  I am not sure about AirDrop, but I don't care at all about those kinds of services.  If you're still reading, probably neither do you.  This solution remains effective after restarting, but I recommend disabling automatic updates in the App Store as well.

 

This is not a consumer-appropriate solution, but for we professionals who rely on professional imaging software, it does seem to do the trick.  Use your own best judgement, but I hope this helps!

Posted on Nov 13, 2015 1:32 PM

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infernalmachine

Q: PERMANENTLY Prevent Photos from Opening Automatically

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  • by infernalmachine,

    infernalmachine infernalmachine Nov 28, 2015 11:29 PM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Nov 28, 2015 11:29 PM in response to infernalmachine

    Update...  This solution worked for about 2 weeks, but today, the application package files that I had previous removed seem to have re-installed themselves.  I have disabled automatic updates from the app store, so I am not sure what mechanism was able to replenish these files. 

     

    This time I have deleted all of the files in the Photos.app package as before, including the .zip backup I had previously retained.  On the now-empty Photos.app/Contents/ folder I have changed permissions to give "System" "Read Only" access.

     

    In response to some of the above comments, I applaud the suggestion to change the default app to be opened on card insertion.  However, I use my media cards for more than just media capture, and I frequently prefer to move files into desired locations manually, rather than importing into any managed library.

     

    I am not certain of the permanence of this approach, but deleting the photos app as needed is easier than fighting it for control.  I will continue to check back here until apple offers an official solution.

  • by costmik,

    costmik costmik Dec 4, 2015 4:55 AM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 4, 2015 4:55 AM in response to infernalmachine

    Thanks man,

    really appreciate your info/updates! Deleting Photos as we "speak"

    El "Crapitan" did it again...never upgrading again so soon....

    Windows 10 here I come again :-)?

  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Dec 4, 2015 11:00 AM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 10 (106,958 points)
    iCloud
    Dec 4, 2015 11:00 AM in response to infernalmachine

    EL Capitan will not allow you to modify the Photos.app in any way, not even as a super user with "sudo"in the Terminal, unless you disable the System Integrity protection.

  • by costmik,

    costmik costmik Dec 4, 2015 6:22 AM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 4, 2015 6:22 AM in response to infernalmachine

    Solution maybe here? Haven't tried yet...

     

    https://captureintegration.com/quick-tip-stop-yosemites-photos-from-opening/

  • by infernalmachine,

    infernalmachine infernalmachine Dec 4, 2015 11:13 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Dec 4, 2015 11:13 AM in response to léonie

    This is really very good to know, thank you, that El Cap tightens the grip even further!  I am still on Yosemite, and only there because the 2015 version of Adobe CC complained about Mountain Lion.  Generally, I advise people not to upgrade until they have to.  Regular security and other minor updates are a good idea, but if your operating system is working for you, leave it alone until it isn't, anymore.

     

    And a big thank you again to everybody who has posted!  I know the discussion pages are not direct-feedback to Apple, but the more of us who complain about the same problem, the better the chances of a fix down the line.  Please also submit direct feedback to Apple here:  http://www.apple.com/feedback/photos.html

     

    Cheers

  • by dsparks66,

    dsparks66 dsparks66 Dec 4, 2015 1:36 PM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 4, 2015 1:36 PM in response to infernalmachine

    In previous posts, it's noted to open Image Capture to change this setting in previous versions of the Mac OS. However, in El Capitan 10.11.1, the setting is actually in Photos.

     

    Just uncheck the box in the upper left corner next to the device listed. You have to do this for every device for the first time, but, thus far, I've had no issues with it opening each time afterwards.

    Screen Shot 2015-12-04 at 13.34.15.png

  • by infernalmachine,

    infernalmachine infernalmachine Dec 4, 2015 1:39 PM in response to dsparks66
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Dec 4, 2015 1:39 PM in response to dsparks66

    If you had read all of the previous posts, you would have seen discussion of versions of this solution.  It is no solution at all, because the setting is lost when cards are reformatted.

  • by infernalmachine,

    infernalmachine infernalmachine Dec 4, 2015 2:04 PM in response to dsparks66
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Dec 4, 2015 2:04 PM in response to dsparks66

    Whether in Yosemite or El Cap, Image Capture or Photos... 

     

    When you are juggling a dozen media cards, and reformatting between each session (which makes a previously known card appear to be a new device), and swapping cards with coworkers, clients, and friends...  It is simply untenable to perform a setting for each card again and again and again.  What we need is the ability to set a DEFAULT behavior.  We need a setting to IGNORE ALL MEDIA CARDS by default.  No card-specific solution is appropriate for media professionals.

     

    I apologize for treating your post as totally unhelpful!  But it is.  You have simply regurgitated the very common answer that frustrated me enough to begin this discussion thread in the first place.

  • by Old Toad,Helpful

    Old Toad Old Toad Dec 4, 2015 2:35 PM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 10 (141,105 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 4, 2015 2:35 PM in response to infernalmachine

    You can do the same by just compressing just one file in the application package and deleting it afterward:

    Finder001.jpg

    The app will have this appearance afteward and not launch:

    Finder002.jpg

    OTsig.png

  • by infernalmachine,

    infernalmachine infernalmachine Dec 4, 2015 2:35 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Dec 4, 2015 2:35 PM in response to Old Toad

    Thank you Old Toad!  That is precisely how one contributes to a discussion thread!

     

    For the time being, my Photos.app/Contents folder remains completely empty, and Photos remains disabled for me.  However if Photos revives itself again, I will keep your post in mind!

     

    Cheers!

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Dec 4, 2015 2:54 PM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 10 (141,105 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 4, 2015 2:54 PM in response to infernalmachine

    Remember it you update the system it will also install a new Photos app and you'll have to repeat the disabling procedure.

  • by JadedEye,

    JadedEye JadedEye Dec 5, 2015 2:36 PM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 1 (38 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 5, 2015 2:36 PM in response to infernalmachine

    I have offered my opinion on the feedback link.  As I test new cameras every week, the select by memory card option is unreasonable.  In the past with Image Capture, you could tell it to do nothing on card insert and it did nothing.  Since it opened an app as a default, I cannot buy the argument that auto-opening every time is better for users since Image Capture always did that but the programmers at least showed me some respect by enabling me to prevent that. 

     

    With great respect Apple, it's ok to set a default condition, but give me, your paying customer, the choice not to use the default with a single setting, not be annoyed by the insert of every single darn memory card.  This is not customer focus, this is "customer, we know what's best, you don't, now shut up and do as you are told."

  • by garyfromnashua,

    garyfromnashua garyfromnashua Dec 8, 2015 12:05 PM in response to infernalmachine
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 8, 2015 12:05 PM in response to infernalmachine

    My solution:

     

    cd  /Applications

    rm -rf Photos.app

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Dec 8, 2015 12:36 PM in response to garyfromnashua
    Level 10 (106,958 points)
    iCloud
    Dec 8, 2015 12:36 PM in response to garyfromnashua

    garyfromnashua wrote:

     

    My solution:

     

    cd  /Applications

    rm -rf Photos.app

    That worked in Yosemite, but not in El Capitan. The System Integrity Protection prevents you from deleting parts of MacOS X, unless you disable it.

  • by patcam100,

    patcam100 patcam100 Dec 22, 2015 8:30 AM in response to Tenex
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 22, 2015 8:30 AM in response to Tenex

    This worked for me.  Never even knew what Image Capture was for, exactly.  I'm guessing I'll have to do this for each camera I use, but that's OK as long as it remembers for the next time.

    Tenex wrote:

     

    Agreed this is tiresome but the means to preventing Photos opening isn't Photos it's in Image Capture.

     

    If connecting causes Photos to launch, launch Image Capture and select in turn each device listed and the carat in the bottom left corner

    Screenshot 2015-08-19 11.08.12.png

     

    then select "No Application".

    Screenshot 2015-08-19 11.07.46.png

     

    Quitting Image Capture thereafter saves the settings. I've found that this setting is retained even after reformatting of SD cards etc.

     

    Hope this helps.

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