I have lots of older photos that I don't want to keep active in Photos; but want to keep for possible historical reference in the future. I'm considering exporting these pictures to an external drive, then deleting them from Photos. I could then re-import them to Photos if I need to access them. Is this the best, most efficient way to de-clutter Photos and still keep some of these orders ones available?
MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.15
If you have done any editing or keywording, you might want to make a copy of the current library on the external hard drive.
You can then Launch Photos with the option key, select that library and delete the images you do not want.
You can also use the paid PowerPhotos App:
Jeff, as to the modification date of the library:
the system version below your post is stating macOS 10.15. Which version is it exactly? Did you already update to macOS 10.15.4? In the early versions of Catalina the "date modified" and the total size of the Photos Library did not update reliably. For me, the problem with the library size seems to be fixed in macOS 10.15.4, but the date modified is still wrong. I am working daily with the library and import new photos, but it does not change the modification date.
I did look at PowerPhotos and it seems that creating a separate library of those old pics I want to archive on a separate disk would be a great way to go and worth the purchase price and learning a new app.
It will work perfectly, if you do not enable "Optimize Storage" for your iCloud Photos Library.
I am using Power Photos a lot. It is just great for several reasons. I like it most for giving me a second browser for my Photos Library, where I can browse the photos as a table with the metadata arranged in columns. I can search for duplicate photos, and it is easy to create partial libraries as a backup of the new photos.
Transfer few photos ( the old photos ) to an external hard drive .
Select few photos https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/photos/pht40b0be510/3.0/mac/10.13 from system photo library and export https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/photos/pht6e157c5f/mac to a desired location say download folder in finder and connect an external hard drive to the Mac , then transfer( drag and drop ) the photos from download folders into the external hard drive see this https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/mac-help/mchl027f1d66/mac
Read https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/photos/pht3bfab2f96/4.0/mac/10.14
One more thought - are you using iCloud Photos and "Optimise Storage"? If yes, then neither a copy of the library nor Power Photos will be able to save all your Photos. A copy of an optimised iCloud Photos library will not include the currently optimised versions, and Power Photos can also not move the optimized versions. You will have to disable the optimize feature or fall back on exporting the originals.
Appreciate your and Keith's comments. I am a complete novice when it comes to manipulating my photos. I've accumulated over 5200 photos since 2001 with little or no editing - just keep taking some pics and adding to my Mac and the Cloud. I did find out that I am not optimizing my Cloud storage. For the past week, I've been going through my library deleting some and adding titles to the others, and have gotten the total down to 4700 of which I've reviewed and kept 400. I've just received a new photo scanner so I can start work (after I finish the work on Photos) on 40 years worth of my pics and slides - and then those in family archives after that. In looking for the info on optimizing, I checked on my Library.photoslibrary file in Time Machine and find it was created in 2015 and modified 22 Nov 2019. Since I've been working daily, shouldn't the modified date equal (or at least approximate) the date/time of the lates backup? I know there are a lot of issues/questions here, but I really appreciate your time and help. I did look at PowerPhotos and it seems that creating a separate library of those old pics I want to archive on a separate disk would be a great way to go and worth the purchase price and learning a new app.
Thanks again.
Thanks, léonie. I'm using 10.15.3 and my software update says that's current. Expect 15.4 will be out shortly.
I know I'll have a long road with all these photos and scans over the last 60 years plus OLD pictures, but if I don't do them, no one else will even know where to begin. My ultimate goal is to have a workable library that I can load on a digital picture frame so that the family will at least get some benefit out of our old pictures since no one ever seems to drag out the scrapbooks anymore.
I assume that I can just add a bunch of photos that match the subject of the ones I want to archive to the new 'library archive' I've created on the external drive. If not, I'm sure there is some guidance on PowerPhoto that will help me.
Thanks again for your help.
Jeff Stephens wrote:
Thanks, léonie. I'm using 10.15.3 and my software update says that's current. Expect 15.4 will be out shortly.
General release of macOS Catalina 10.15.4 was announced on March 24 in the US.
Jeff Stephens wrote:
I know I'll have a long road with all these photos and scans over the last 60 years plus OLD pictures, but if I don't do them, no one else will even know where to begin. My ultimate goal is to have a workable library that I can load on a digital picture frame so that the family will at least get some benefit out of our old pictures since no one ever seems to drag out the scrapbooks anymore.
That is a challenging project. I am also busy with organising the old family photos, adding dates and locations. The digital picture frame is a good idea. I am using my iPad pro as a picture Frame. Or simply set up my favourite photos as the source of the screensaver on my MacBook Pro. This will give a nice slideshow.
Thanks. Downloading now. Don't know why the system check showed everything up to date...
How to archive photos
