Photos says "These items cannot be added to your Photo library because the file format is not supported by Photos."

Question

Level 1

9 points

Photos says "These items cannot be added to your Photo library because the file format is not supported by Photos."

When I try to access my photo library via Photos I get the message "These items cannot be added to your Photo library because the file format is not supported by Photos.". When I click OK I get a very small selection of photos displayed, presumably from an older photo library? The photo library is stored on an external hard drive. I also migrated an older library to it some years when I got my current MacBook Pro. I last viewed my photo library a few weeks ago, and it was all there, don't know what's changed.

Running 10.14.4. Photos 4.0

Any help?

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on May 6, 2019 9:50 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

léonie

Level 10

197,291 points

May 7, 2019 12:28 AM in response to rhinocrat

Compare the sizes of the libraries in the Finder. What is the size of the largest one? Select the largest library that is showing an icon with a rainbow colored flower and double-click it to open.

When Photos opens, go to the Photos menu in the main menu bar and open Photos > Preferences > General". The general panel will show you the path to the library that is open at the top of the panel. Did Photos open the library you just clicked or a different library?

The error message you mention "These items cannot be added to your Photo library because the file format is not supported by Photos..." suggests that you are trying to import items and not opening an existing library. If you are receiving this message when you are trying to open an older iPhoto Library it means that your iPhoto library contains items in a file format that is not compatible with photos. Look at the filenames and the filename extension to find out the format of the files. Are the files videos or in an unusual image format?

Do you still have iPhoto 9.6.1 installed, so you can check the missing items in iPhoto?

Reply

Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

197,291 points

May 6, 2019 10:42 AM in response to rhinocrat

How are you " trying to access my photo library via Photos "?

To open your Photos Library in Photos, select it in the Finder and double-click it to open. Is that what you have done?

Reply

Answer 3

rhinocrat Author

Level 1

9 points

May 6, 2019 1:30 PM in response to léonie

Thanks for your reply.

The first time I just opened the Photos application from the dock. When that didn't work I tried opening from a Finder window. The external HD shows three different libraries. One is from my old eMac, one is named "iPhoto Library.migratedphotolibrary" and the third is just named "Photos Library". On the MacBook hard drive there are three more libraries: "iPhoto Library.migratedphotolibrary", "Photos Library". and "New Library November 2015". I have tried opening them all (by double clicking), with the same result.

Reply

Answer 4

rhinocrat Author

Level 1

9 points

May 7, 2019 12:55 PM in response to léonie

Hello, and thanks again for your help. I did as you said. The largest library was "Photos Library" on the MacBook. When I clicked on it I didn't get the error message, it started loading the photos, (which took a LONG time). What I now see are, I think, all my photos but only up to October 2016. So, I guess I didn't try opening this one already, and I have many of my photos back, but I'm missing the last two and a half years. Any advice? I'd like to get the photos back obviously, but I'd also like to streamline the whole thing a little, and get rid of all the other libraries. Hopefully that would make something like this less likely to happen again in the future?

Having checked in Photos Preferences as you suggested, it looks like it did open the library I clicked on.

Also, it occurs to me that there may well be some video files in one or more of the libraries. My daughter was home from college recently and tried to sinc her phone with my computer. Possibly an old digital camera that she found as well. Could this be the root of the problem do you think?

Reply

Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

197,291 points

May 7, 2019 1:42 PM in response to rhinocrat

I would rename the last library you opened to "Photos Library 2016.photoslibrary," so you can easily find it again. Then double click the other libraries to open them and name them, so you know which photos are where. Can you identify the library that cannot be opened by systematically testing your libraries?

When you can find the problematic library, ctrl-click it . This will show a menu - select the command "Show Package Contents". Click it. You will now see a Finder Window with the contents of the library. Look for a folder "Masters". This folder has subfolders with the year of import. Are your most recent photos in these folders?

For the other libraries, that you can open in Photos, you can select the photos that you want to transfer to your mini library and use the command "File > Export > Export unmodified Original" to save these photos to a folder outside the library. Then ope your main library again by double clicking it and import these exported photos to your main library. Photos will warn you, if you are about to import duplicates and you can skip them.

Reply

Photos says "These items cannot be added to your Photo library because the file format is not supported by Photos."

Similar questions