How do I save images directly to photos / use photos as default image app on mac?

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Level 1

14 points

How do I save images directly to photos / use photos as default image app on mac?

Hi. When I want to save a picture from the internet it automatically takes me to the finder folders. If I want to upload or send images through i.e discord it automatically takes me to the finder app. If I want to set a new wallpaper or screensaver it has to be in the finder. Is there a way to make photos my main app for anything to do with pictures? I want to directly save pictures to photos so that I can easily access it on my other devices. Right now I have to save it to finder then move it to gallery from there somehow. It's tedius. I'm new to the apple ecosystem and I always hear it's amazing to have everything in the ecosystem because they work together flawlessly. The way I have to do things with pictures feels far from flawlessly. Please tell me there's a better way to do things that I just haven't found yet.

I'm on the M1 macbook air if it matters.

MacBook Air (2020 or later)

Posted on May 30, 2021 9:46 AM

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Answer 1

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ChrisElune Author

Level 1

14 points

May 31, 2021 10:06 AM in response to cesarfrommilwaukee

Okay so I might have an idea on why pics weren't showing up. I had made it so that everything would be stored in iCloud instead of on the Mac, to save space. I downloaded a new pic from the internet, and it shows up. And I'm currently redownloading all pics from iCloud to store them manually on my Mac (too). I noticed when I opened the settings again, many more pictures shows. Not all, but many more from different albums instead of just one. I still have no idea why that one album worked from the beginning, as I thought all my pics were iCloud only when most of them were. It's still downloading from iCloud, which is taking a stupid long time each pic, but if things aren't as they should when it's done I'll definitely have no idea what's up.

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Answer 2

Yer_Man

Level 10

163,758 points

May 30, 2021 10:35 AM in response to ChrisElune

In Safari, if you right click on an image in a webpage you get an option to Save the image to Photos.

No, wallpapers and screensavers don't have to be in the Finder. You can access the images in your library from the Desktop and Screensaver prefpane in System Preferences.

In the prefpane note the '+' at the bottom of the window. Click on that and it shows you a dialog: for 'Open' or 'Attach'. That has a pane extreme left and there you'll see a media heading. Click on Photos...

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Answer 3

May 31, 2021 10:10 AM in response to ChrisElune

Great! Ever since the beginning of iCloud photo storage/syncing I've never been comfortable with not knowing exactly where a photo was. And in the past, it's led to problems like this one. Hence, why I download and keep ALL my photos in the computer. I only use iCloud for sharing pix with family or making a slideshow for the Apple TV.

Yeah, it takes space and it's old school.

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Answer 4

May 31, 2021 9:36 AM in response to ChrisElune

On my computer, I'll click an album and it takes a good 10 seconds for them to pop up. I'm assuming it's been way longer for you. Since this issue makes no sense, there are two things I'd try:

create a new album and fill it with pix and see if THAT one shows up. If it fails, then
Create a new Photos library (as a test). Create an album in there, fill it, see if you can see them in Desktop/Screensaver.

ONE last thing I'm curious about: Are your photos in that album set to "Copy items to the Photos library"?

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Answer 5

ChrisElune Author

Level 1

14 points

May 31, 2021 8:56 AM in response to cesarfrommilwaukee

As you see pictured, I have lots of albums and folders. No matter which I click on in the wallpaper settings - except for one of them - it will just be empty as shown in this picture. You see in the back that the album is in fact not empty, but does appear empty in settings. If I just click on "photos" in the wallpaper settings, like the general photos album instead of a specific album, it will only show the pictures from that one album that woks. I am clueless as to why this happens.

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Answer 6

ChrisElune Author

Level 1

14 points

May 30, 2021 2:14 PM in response to Yer_Man

Thanks for your reply.

I've been using firefox as my main browser because certain websites I use don't work or work poorly on safari. I opened safari to check this and it did indeed work when trying in there. So that problem is solved-ish then.

However for the wallpapers, for some reason only 1 of my albums work there. All other albums are empty when I'm in the wallpaper selection settings. Don't know what kind of wizardry I might've done to make only one album work there. In photos all albums look as they should, only in the wallpaper settings they're empty aside from that one album. Got any clue how to fix that?

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Answer 7

May 30, 2021 4:13 PM in response to ChrisElune

Start by organizing the photos in the PHOTOS app. Make an album called WALLPAPERS and if you like, one called Screensaver. That way you have a specific place to aim for when setting it up. Make sure that the desktop WALLPAPERS photos are super high in resolution - otherwise, they'll just appear pixelated.

Now follow the steps again.

Look for that specific album.

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How do I save images directly to photos / use photos as default image app on mac?

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