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photos from MacBook Pro

I use dates to organize family photos from the early 1900's on- and I use keywords, descriptions, etc. How can I maintain this system if I move all my photos to my iPad Pro?


iPad Pro 12.9-inch, 3rd Gen, Wi-Fi

Posted on Apr 2, 2020 1:47 PM

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Posted on Apr 2, 2020 9:17 PM

You are correct. The Photos app on iPhone and iPad does not support display or maintenance of keywords or descriptions. It does display dates in some contexts, but not allow them to be manipulated.


There are some third-party utilities that can access the Photos library on iOS/iPadOS to display and even update many characteristics of photos, including those you mention. None is a complete replacement for the capabilities of the Photos application for macOS.


Oddly, iOS/iPadOS Photos does support limited searching for both keywords and descriptions that were added by macOS Photos. (See example search below.) It also allows some limited searching for dates.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 2, 2020 9:17 PM in response to kmcboone

You are correct. The Photos app on iPhone and iPad does not support display or maintenance of keywords or descriptions. It does display dates in some contexts, but not allow them to be manipulated.


There are some third-party utilities that can access the Photos library on iOS/iPadOS to display and even update many characteristics of photos, including those you mention. None is a complete replacement for the capabilities of the Photos application for macOS.


Oddly, iOS/iPadOS Photos does support limited searching for both keywords and descriptions that were added by macOS Photos. (See example search below.) It also allows some limited searching for dates.

Apr 3, 2020 11:30 AM in response to kmcboone

When we upgraded our computer they assured me the photo transfer would preserve all my dates etc and it literally was just a dump of photos so I had to redo everything and now this.

What did you upgrade from and to? Who are "they" and what exactly did they assure.


The upgrade from iPhoto to Photos kept keywords, titles, descriptions and dates intact as well as Events which became albums. The only disconnect in the migration was projects.


Apr 3, 2020 4:13 AM in response to markwmsn

Thanks for clarifying -I had no idea about the search capability. I was afraid this was going to be the final answer - and it really, really stinks. What is Apple thinking? I am at a loss for words. When we upgraded our computer they assured me the photo transfer would preserve all my dates etc and it literally was just a dump of photos so I had to redo everything and now this.

photos from MacBook Pro

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