debby0514

Q: Copy Location in Photos

Is it possible to copy the location from one photograph to another in Photos like we could in iPhoto?

My iPhone captures the location but my Sony camera does not.  In the past, with iPhoto, I could copy the location from a photograph with the location to a photograph (taken at the same location) that did not have the location information.  I thought Photos was supposed to be updated to allow one to add/copy location.

 

Using OS X El Capitan version 10.11.5 on an iMac

 

Thanks for any help you can offer.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Jul 9, 2016 2:30 PM

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Q: Copy Location in Photos

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  • by JayB.,

    JayB. JayB. Jul 10, 2016 9:04 AM in response to debby0514
    Community Specialists
    Jul 10, 2016 9:04 AM in response to debby0514

    Hi debby0514,

    If when you import pictures from your Sony camera to the Photos app and the location data is not showing or incorrect, the best way to resolve this would be to manually add the location to the pictures once it is in the Photos app. You can do so by following the steps below.

     

    1. Select an incorrectly located picture.
    2. Choose Image > Location > Remove Location from the menu bar.
    3. Press Command-I to display the picture's info. 
    4. At the bottom of the Info window, click Assign a Location.
    5. Begin typing an address, city, business, or other location name. As you type, auto-fill suggestions will appear. Select the location you want to assign to the picture.
    6. Repeat these steps for any picture that has an incorrect location.

     

    Fix incorrect locations in Photos

     

    You can do this with multiple photos at once. Press and hold the Shift key and then select the first photo you'd like to apply the changes to. From there, click on the last picture that you'd like to assign the same location to. Release the Shift key and then right-click on one of the highlighted pictures. Select "Get Info" and follow the steps above to enter the location. This will apply that location to every picture you highlighted.

     

    This should get the desired location on your pictures in no time. Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. 

    Have a great day.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jul 10, 2016 9:09 AM in response to debby0514
    Level 10 (105,599 points)
    iLife
    Jul 10, 2016 9:09 AM in response to debby0514

    Photos in El Capitan lets you add locations by typing the name of a place into the location field of the Info panel.

    Select a photo or several photos, open the info panel, then type the name of the place into the location field and adjust the pin for the place on the tiny map.

     

    If you know latitude and longitude you can enter the numerical coordinates instead, the latitude in degrees, then a space character, then the longitude in degrees with a decimal point.  This will give you the exact location.

     

    The problem is, that you cannot copy the GPS coordinates from other photos, because Photos is displaying a places name, very summarily, but not the GPS:.   To copy the latitude and longitude from other photos use "File > Export" to write the photo to your Desktop, then open the Info panel in the. Finder with "File > Get Info". It will show you the GPS.

     

    I wrote a small Apple Script to copy the coordinates of a selected photo in Photos to the clipboard, so you can copy and paste between photos. See this link:     Script: Extract the Numerical GPS Values Using an Apple Script

  • by J G Low,

    J G Low J G Low Jul 29, 2016 4:39 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (21 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jul 29, 2016 4:39 PM in response to léonie

    Hi Leonie

     

    I have tried your script by pasting into Scrip Editor but get the following problem when I try to run it or save it.  Am I doing something wrong or does it need tweaking?

    Screen Shot 2016-07-30 at 00.23.49.jpg

     

    Looks as thought the precise copy and paste for locations is not coming with the Siera upgrade.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jul 29, 2016 11:51 PM in response to J G Low
    Level 10 (105,599 points)
    iLife
    Jul 29, 2016 11:51 PM in response to J G Low

    The pasting added additional line breaks.

     

     

    I Sierra is an easier way. The maps.app can show latitude and longitude in the Info panel, if you drop a pin.  So I would just install the "Show photo on Map" Automator action from this page.  https://macosxautomation.com/automator/photos/maps-action.html

     

     

    The script should look like this:

    -- This script will display the GPS values and the altitude for a selected photo in a dialog panel.

    -- The coordinates will be copied to the clipboard

     

    on ensure_val(the_value, default_value)

      -- if the_value is defined return the value, otherwise the default value

      if the_value is equal to "missing value" then

      return default_value

      else

      return the_value

      end if

    end ensure_val

     

    -- on run {}

    tell application "Photos"

      activate

     

      set imageSel to (get selection) -- get the selected image

     

      if imageSel is {} then

      error "Please select an image."

      end if

      tell the first item of imageSel

      set loc to get the location --retrieve longitude and latitude as list

      set lati to (the first item of loc) as string

      set longi to (the second item of loc) as string

      set alti to get the altitude as string -- retrieve the altitude

      end tell

     

    end tell

     

    -- check for undefined values

    set lati to ensure_val(lati, "latitude empty")

    set longi to ensure_val(longi, "longitude empty")

    set alti to ensure_val(alti, "altitude empty")

     

    -- display the result in a dialog panel

    set panel_message to "Latitude: " & lati & "

    Longitude: " & longi & "

    Altitude: " & alti & "

     

    Copied to the clipboard"

    display dialog panel_message buttons ¬

      "OK" with icon caution default button "OK"

     

    -- copy the GPS data to the clipboard

    set clipboard_message to " " & lati & " " & longi & " " & alti

    set the clipboard to clipboard_message

     

    return clipboard_message

     

    -- end run

  • by J G Low,

    J G Low J G Low Aug 1, 2016 3:32 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (21 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 1, 2016 3:32 AM in response to léonie

    Thanks for your generous giving of time and expertise.

     

    I have the script working from Script Editor (after adding a comma after the latitude) but cannot work out how to have the script available within the Photos menu bar.

     

    In iTunes I downloaded some scripts a long while ago and in iTunes I now have a script symbol in the menu bar from which I can directly use the scripts.  Is it possible to get the same within Photos for your script?

     

    I have tried internet searches for adding this but surprisingly found nothing useful.

  • by J G Low,

    J G Low J G Low Aug 2, 2016 6:55 AM in response to J G Low
    Level 1 (21 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 2, 2016 6:55 AM in response to J G Low

    I seem to have sorted this out myself now by tweaking various settings and a bit more research.  I will not publish my actions for this as I am not totally sure of which really did the trick.  Fortunately all seems to be well and have not had to resort to any TimeMachine restorations

     

    Also it seems that having a script icon actually in the menu bar of an application is an older system way of doing things as opposed to having a generalised script button on the right side of the menu bar.  If scripts are in the Users Script Folder and then in a folder with the name of an application they appear at the top of the list when that application is open.