tetra89
Level 1 (50 points)
Photos for Mac

Q: Relink "Photos Library" to iCloud Photo Library

This question pertains to a clean install of macOS Sierra

 

I have my Photos Library file in Pictures, and it has all my images downloaded. When I format my computer, how can I relink that file with iCloud Photo Library, so I don't have to download them all again?

 

I still haven't figured out the exact procedures for this, and want to avoid downloading them all again like I have in the past. There must be a way to link them back up, since I have them all downloaded already.

macOS Sierra (10.12), null

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 2:51 PM

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tetra89

Q: Relink "Photos Library" to iCloud Photo Library

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  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Sep 26, 2016 3:46 PM in response to tetra89
    Level 10 (85,091 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 26, 2016 3:46 PM in response to tetra89

    You can not

     

    If you restore a library or repair one it triggers a total upload to assure that everything is in sync, there is no  way to avoid that - you can just start a new library and let ICPL populate it form iCloud - this loses people and all

     

    LN

  • by tetra89,

    tetra89 tetra89 Sep 27, 2016 7:41 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (50 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 27, 2016 7:41 PM in response to LarryHN

    Yeah... I have done that before. I ended up just downloading them again, didn't take that long.

     

    It's disappointing that we can't do this... seems like a basic feature (i.e. if you have a Dropbox folder and you copy it to your home folder on a clean install you can relink them without downloading all your files again -- it just scans the folder). Seems like bad functionality on Apple's part.

     

    Right now my library is just 5 GB, but as it grows and I import older photos to the cloud this will become more annoying every time I want to start fresh (and I love starting fresh). Fortunately I have a fast internet connection at work.

     

    Of course there is also the option of just not downloading the full-size images, but for now I will keep a copy