Missing File message in Photos for Mac when copying referenced files

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Level 1

13 points

Missing File message in Photos for Mac when copying referenced files

In Photos for Mac, I am copying referenced files (which are on my MacBook hard drive) into a Photos library. For some files, I'm receiving a Missing File message which states "Photos with unavailable original files cannot be opened. The original photo IMG_0271.JPG is either offline or cannot be found. Click 'Find Original' to reconnect." However when I click 'Find Original' and navigate to the file location, it is grayed out in Finder and cannot be selected. Any ideas why this is occurring? Thank you

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Nov 9, 2019 3:55 PM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

197,273 points

Nov 9, 2019 5:27 PM in response to jtd18

Try to open the original in Preview. Can Preview open it?

Where is the location of the original file? Is it inside the Photos Library or in a folder outside the library, perhaps on an external volume? Is the filename written exactly the same as " IMG_0271.JPG" or is there a difference?

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Answer 2

jtd18 Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 9, 2019 5:56 PM in response to léonie

Thanks so much for replying. Yes I can open the original in Preview, and I confirmed that the filename is exactly the same. It is not located inside the Photos Library or on an external volume, but rather it is within the "Macintosh HD > Users > [Username] > Pictures" folder. While most files have successfully copied into the Photos library, there are a handful that resulted in this message.

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Answer 3

jtd18 Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 14, 2019 2:39 PM in response to jtd18

After continued troubleshooting, I discovered that this was simply a technical issue with the initial import. I deleted the pictures from Photos and imported them again, which solved the problem.

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Missing File message in Photos for Mac when copying referenced files

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