Michiganne

Q: Connecting iPhoto library  to Photos

My photo library is on an external hard drive (150+GB). I just upgraded my MacBookAir to from Mavericks to El Capitan (I skipped Yosemite).

I do not want to use iCloud for photo storage.

 

How do I direct Photos to find my iPhotos library on the external hard drive?

 

Once I connect the library to Photos, I want the library to stay on the external drive. Can I make it a separate library from the iPhotos library? Would that duplicate photos or just cataloging information? In essence, I'm not ready to write off my iPhoto library entirely -- I have an old computer that still runs iPhoto.

 

Many people seem to be confused by the switch from iPhoto to Photos; I haven't seen other questions / answers on the forum that address my issue though. Sorry if I'm repeating previously answered question.

 

thanks.

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Jan 27, 2016 1:17 PM

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Q: Connecting iPhoto library  to Photos

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  • by Niel,Helpful

    Niel Niel Jan 28, 2016 5:08 AM in response to Michiganne
    Level 10 (313,412 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 28, 2016 5:08 AM in response to Michiganne

    1. Launch Photos with the Option key held down, click on Other Library, and choose it.

    2. That’s automatic.

    3. The cataloging information will be duplicated, but not the photos; if you choose to duplicate the photos, Option-drag the Photos library to a different location on the same drive in the Finder.

     

    (138883)

  • by LarryHN,Helpful

    LarryHN LarryHN Jan 28, 2016 5:09 AM in response to Michiganne
    Level 10 (85,032 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jan 28, 2016 5:09 AM in response to Michiganne

    1 - is the drive formatted Mac OS extended (journaled)? I will not work if it is  not

     

    2 - it must be connected to the Mac using a fast hard wired connection like FireWire, Thunderbolt or USB

     

    3 - it can not used as a TimeMachine Backup volume

     

    4 - it must always be available prior to launching PHotos

     

    if it meets all of these criteria then simply drag the iPhoto library to the Photos icon in the Dock and it will migrate the library on the EHD  - you will have two separate libraries with no connection - one for iPhoto and one for Photos and changes made to one have no effect on the other  - however due to the use of hard links very little additional space will be used after the initial migration - Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support

     

    and this may help in explaining the results of the migration - How Photos handles content and metadata from iPhoto and Aperture - Apple Support

     

    LN

  • by Michiganne,

    Michiganne Michiganne Jan 28, 2016 9:58 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 28, 2016 9:58 AM in response to Niel

    Thank you, Niel! The process went exactly as I wanted it to, and now I have access to my photos again. I can see that I'll spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to organize them -- not all of my iPhoto albums show up in Photos. But I'm happy to have the photos!!

  • by Michiganne,

    Michiganne Michiganne Jan 28, 2016 10:02 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 28, 2016 10:02 AM in response to LarryHN

    Thank you, Larry! The Apple articles were helpful, as well as your caveats; everything went as expected, and I'm on my way. I think I'll have more questions soon -- about keeping my external drive with all the photos backed up. My MacBookAir is nearly full, so I can't keep photos there.

  • by LarryHN,Solvedanswer

    LarryHN LarryHN Jan 28, 2016 12:59 PM in response to Michiganne
    Level 10 (85,032 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jan 28, 2016 12:59 PM in response to Michiganne

    Obviously having a backup is critical - TimeMachine will backup EHDs - you have to remove the EHD from the excluded drive list in the TM preferences

     

    LN

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jan 30, 2016 11:08 PM in response to Michiganne
    Level 10 (85,032 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jan 30, 2016 11:08 PM in response to Michiganne

    You are welcome - post back as you need more

     

    LN