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Photos says it exported, but it didn't

I am trying to export from photos and although it says it exported, it didn't. There is no photo on my desktop or anywhere else and I get no error message. What can I do to make it work properly again? This just started yesterday and it has been fine until now.

I'm on a MacBook Pro 10.13.6 with version 3.0 of Photos.

Thanks!

Posted on Apr 10, 2021 7:57 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 10, 2021 10:48 AM

One more question - when you are trying to export the photos, what are you using as the file naming preset?

Photos has a bug, that photos you are exporting with "File naming: Filename: Use Title" will be exported as invisible files, if the title is an empty string. This will create files with a name starting with ".", and such files are invisible. The title will be empty, if you erased a title.

This bug has persisted since many versions of Photos and not yet been fixed. To check, if there are invisible files in the folder you exported your files to, open this folder in the Finder, then enter the keyboard shortcut Shidt-command-period (⇧⌘.). This will make invisible files visible. To hide them again, enter the same shortcut.



5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 10, 2021 10:48 AM in response to Janet_E

One more question - when you are trying to export the photos, what are you using as the file naming preset?

Photos has a bug, that photos you are exporting with "File naming: Filename: Use Title" will be exported as invisible files, if the title is an empty string. This will create files with a name starting with ".", and such files are invisible. The title will be empty, if you erased a title.

This bug has persisted since many versions of Photos and not yet been fixed. To check, if there are invisible files in the folder you exported your files to, open this folder in the Finder, then enter the keyboard shortcut Shidt-command-period (⇧⌘.). This will make invisible files visible. To hide them again, enter the same shortcut.



Apr 10, 2021 10:05 AM in response to Janet_E

Hi


How are you exporting? Drag/drop, or file>export.

Are you exporting just one image, or multiple images at once. When you export, how are you chosing where to export too?

Does this just impact one image - or are you unable to export any images.


Have you installed any MacOS updates when this started to happen? Anything else changed?

Where is your photos library stored? In the pictures folder, or somewhere else?

Do you use iCloud photos - if so, do you have optimise mac storage selected?

Apr 18, 2021 9:09 AM in response to léonie

Thank you, léonie ! I used your shortcut and they appeared! I had been exporting to my desktop and after I wrote the question, I had other photos being exported without problem, so I figured it was a glitch. I had accidentally put a description in the title position of 5 photos, so I had erased them. It was the glitch you noted. Thank you so much.

Photos says it exported, but it didn't

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