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User profile for user: Juan Ignacio Nic
Juan Ignacio Nic Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Merge two Apple Photos libraries

How to merge or combine two Apple Photos Libraries without lossing all the work done with both libraries. Rigth now I have just read an article from Apple, how wrong the approach they have with this key app like Photos to implement merge or combine two libraries. What about all the work already done in both libraries...??? Apple really need to overpass this such mediocre work with this app. So, back to my situation, both libraries are huge, but I need them in just one library, so, how to merge or combine both libraries without loosing all the work alredady done in those libraries.

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Jun 28, 2020 1:57 PM

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User profile for user: Old Toad
Old Toad
User level: Level 10
210,687 points

Posted on Jun 28, 2020 3:08 PM

There are two methods to do that.


Method A

  1. Use the paid version of PowerPhotos to merge the smaller library into the larger. This PowerPhotos help file describes the process: Merging libraries.
  2. All photos, both original and edited, along with albums, folders, metadata will be merged.
  3. Projects are not merged but brought over as albums.
  4. The app also can search for and identify duplicate photos in a library.


Method B

  1. Enable the System Photo Library and iCloud Photo in Library A without optimizing Mac storage, purchase enough space to house both libraries and let it upload to iCloud.
  2. Set Library B to be the System Photo Library with iCloud Photo enabled without optimizing Mac storage.
  3. Let Library B sync with the iCloud Library and it will eventually contain all photos, albums and metadata of the two libraries.
  4. Projects are not synced.


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User profile for user: Old Toad
Old Toad
User level: Level 10
210,687 points

Jun 28, 2020 3:08 PM in response to Juan Ignacio Nic

There are two methods to do that.


Method A

  1. Use the paid version of PowerPhotos to merge the smaller library into the larger. This PowerPhotos help file describes the process: Merging libraries.
  2. All photos, both original and edited, along with albums, folders, metadata will be merged.
  3. Projects are not merged but brought over as albums.
  4. The app also can search for and identify duplicate photos in a library.


Method B

  1. Enable the System Photo Library and iCloud Photo in Library A without optimizing Mac storage, purchase enough space to house both libraries and let it upload to iCloud.
  2. Set Library B to be the System Photo Library with iCloud Photo enabled without optimizing Mac storage.
  3. Let Library B sync with the iCloud Library and it will eventually contain all photos, albums and metadata of the two libraries.
  4. Projects are not synced.


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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
197,505 points

Jun 28, 2020 4:06 PM in response to Juan Ignacio Nic

PowerPhotos will give you a very good merge result, as long as you are using at least macOS 10.15 Catalina, see the Copying Limitations" https://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos/Docs/copying_limitations.html

Smart albums, faces, and projects will be missing, but you can move the photos with reversible edits between libraries.

And you should be aware, that PowerPhotos may not be able to merge items from an iCloud Photos library into another library, if the originals have not been downloaded from iCloud.


Merging the libraries in iCloud will give the best results, in particular, if you are already using iCloud Photos. iCloud merging will also preserve the named faces and smart albums. But it will take a long time to upload both libraries into iCloud, if the libraries are large. And you need to sign up for enough storage to hold the combined libraries plus some more storage.

Notes on Merging Photos Libraries, 2019 Version






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User profile for user: Juan Ignacio Nic
Juan Ignacio Nic Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Jul 1, 2020 12:53 PM in response to Juan Ignacio Nic

There is definitely no solution to this problem, neither Apple nor PowerPhotos actually run a combination of two libraries, and although it is an Apple program and it is free, it should not be so poor in features, since this combination is not a sophistication of the program. I think the best approach to the problem if the libraries are not too big, is to use PowerPhotos unless Apple offers this feature in an upgrade. With iPhoto you could combine different libraries including faces, I don't understand why Apple removed this function.


Definitivamente no hay una solucion a este problema, ni Apple ni PowerPhotos realmente ejecutan una combinación de dos librerias, y a pesar que es un programa de Apple y que es gratis, no deberia ser tan pobre en funciones, ya que esta combinacion no es una sofisticacion del programa. Creo que el mejor acercamiento a este problema si las librerias no son muy grandes es utilizar PowerPhotos a menos que Apple ofrezca en una actualizacion esta funcion. Con el iPhoto se podian combinar diferentes librerias incluyendo caras, no termino de entender el por que Apple elimino esta funcion.

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Merge two Apple Photos libraries

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