I have organized all my photos using an external drive. Now I like to add the photos, which are stored in the "photo" app on that external drive into my Icloud account. According to google I am supposed to log into my icloud account and select "upload". So far so good but I can not select the "photo" app from my external drive. Instead I am only able to select those photos which are stored on the macbook I am using. any help please?
Dear Allen,
Many thanks for the detailed guidance, appreciated. May I check with you for option 1) where I would export the files onto my external drive: Is it correct that I would loose the whole structure of my photos app (I have created various folders and subfolders to organise my photos) gets lost when I export the photos?
If yes, is that also the case for option 2) where the photos app on my external drive would directly link to iCloud? May I confirm in addition that this option is currently not available to me since my external drive has the wrong (exFAT) format? If yes, could I first format my second external drive to another format and then arrange for the automatic upload from my photos app into icloud?
Thanks for your help and best regards,
Christoph
quick Update:
I know got my photos app onto a SSD which is formatted as "macOS extended". I have now selected that drive as "standard library" when I connected it to my MacBook. I was now also able to click "iCloud photos".
Many question now is: Does this mean that the photos from my new "photos library" will be available on my iPhone anytime soon through iCloud? Because that is my ultimate goal.
Thanks
Is it correct that I would loose the whole structure of my photos app (I have created various folders and subfolders to organise my photos) gets lost when I export the photos?
Yes.
None of the iCloud photo apps will "respect" a folder structure. Photos keeps the entire library in one "folder" and uses tags, metadata and such to organize photos in to "albums" These albums are simply organizational units. Photos are not moved between albums as they are in the folder structure you are asking about.
Photos can’t be transferred directly from iCloud to external hard drive , in finder > Go > home > your user name > pictures either drag and drop PhotosLibrary.photoslibrary or masters folder to an external hard drive .
Make sure you have set up iCloud photo library and its preferences see these articles https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT204264
https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/photos/pht5156cc968/4.0/mac/10.14
Note : you can't directly drag and drop the photo app itself to an external hard drive , the new photos will upload to the photo library folder and saved , some coditions are to be met your iCloud data storage must be in limits either it is free 5gb or the plan you purchased from apple .
I would reformat the drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with Option GUID before moving the photos to the drive.
great, its syncing since a couple of days already. thanks a lot for all the help here!
Hey there, Christoph,
Thanks for stopping by the Apple Support Communities. If I understand, you'd like to upload pictures that are on an external drive to iCloud Photos. I'm happy to help!
It sounds like you are trying to upload using the iCloud.com website. To do this, your pictures must be in a folder on your external drive, as iCloud.com cannot open and browse your Photos app or Photos library directly in this manner. You can use the steps in Export photos, videos, and slideshows from Photos on Mac - Apple Support to export your photos to a designated folder on your external drive.
Alternatively, you can set iCloud Photos to automatically sync your pictures through the Photos app. You can do this even if your Photos library itself is on an external drive (you just need to make sure the external drive is connected in order for syncing to occur).
To do this, first use Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support to get steps on moving your Photos library to your external drive. Then, designate that as your System Library: Designate a System Photo Library in Photos - Apple Support. Once you've done that, you can set up and use iCloud Photos in the Photos app on your MacBook, and your pictures will be accessible in the Photos app and iCloud Photos, but stored on your external drive: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support.
More information on using the Photos app in macOS can be found here: Use Photos on your Mac - Apple Support.
If this doesn't address your issue, don't hesitate to respond back. If you do, please give a few more details on your situation, including the answers to the following:
Best!
The device and computer must be signed into iCloud using the same Apple ID and have Photos syncing on. Then the photos should sync. The photos sync is very, very slow. Some people with large photo Libraries have posted it took 2 weeks or more for their collection to sync to iCloud. Be patient. You can check iCloud.com/Photos using a computer browser to see if anything has synced to iCloud.
cannot upload photo app on external drive onto
