Cannot edit photos in Mac Photos app. Triangle with Exclamation Point.

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Level 1

4 points

Cannot edit photos in Mac Photos app. Triangle with Exclamation Point.

Mac Yosemite 10.10.5

What works: Photos app shows in browse mode all the latest photos taken on my iPhone.

What doesn't: However, I cannot right-click on, or edit, most of them -- no edit or Get Info option is available. If I try to edit by double clicking, I get a big gray triangle with an exclamation point in it.

This happens to most photos but not all, seemingly at random: some I can right-click or double-click and edit, others not, even if taken on the same day at the same location.

All photos were taken exactly the same way with the same iPhone and shared to the Mac automatically via the same iCloud.

Photo app is up to date, and I already ran the Photos library repair tool (which had no impact).

I see on various lists that others have had this problem -- but has anyone ever solved it? Can anyone help?

Thanks.

Bill

iMac 27″, OS X 10.10

Posted on Sep 7, 2020 4:06 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

BillB Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 8, 2020 6:07 AM in response to léonie

My Mac is: iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010):

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac11,3

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 2.93 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

My iPhone is using IOS version 13.6.1

It seems I cannot upgrade to Catalina, as this requires an iMac made in 2012 or later. High Sierra may be possible though.

Until I can invest in that upgrade, I have set the iPhone camera format to "Most Compatible." I have verified that this setting makes new pictures editable on the iMac!

Thank you for the very helpful and successful advice.

Bill

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

194,813 points

Sep 8, 2020 5:40 AM in response to BillB

Your Mac is running the last version of OS X 10.10, There are no updates to this version. You need to install an upgrade. It will depend on the model of your iMac (the year). which system upgrade is available for it.

One more thought - it might be a compatibility problem: What is the system version of your iPhone? If your iPhone is running iOS 11 or newer, it might be taking the photos in the space saving High Efficiency format HEIF. Then you need a Mac with macOS 10.13 High Sierra and Photos 3 to be able to process the images (see: Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices - Apple Support).

To upgrade to macOS 10.13 High Sierra see: How to upgrade to macOS High Sierra - Apple Support

Or how to upgrade to the most recent system version Catalina: How to upgrade to macOS Catalina - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,320 points

Sep 7, 2020 10:44 PM in response to BillB

The triangle with the exclamation point means that Photos cannot find the original file.

Have you been using an apps to "clean" or "tune up" your Mac?

And you have the earliest version of Photos there. It's five major versions behind being up-to-date.

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Answer 4

BillB Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 8, 2020 4:22 AM in response to Yer_Man

No, I have not run any tune-up or clean-up apps.

My version of Photos is 1.0.1 (215.65.0). There is no option to update it in the app store ("No updates available"). Is my computer just too old?

Where is the original photo file -- and why would Photos be able to find some and not others?

Thanks.

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Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

194,813 points

Sep 8, 2020 6:47 AM in response to BillB

You're welcome, Bill 😊. Good Luck!

You can convert the photos you have already downloaded to JPEGs using the online converter at https://heictojpg.com

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Cannot edit photos in Mac Photos app. Triangle with Exclamation Point.

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