Show Reference File in Finder Not Working in Photos App

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Level 1

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Show Reference File in Finder Not Working in Photos App

So, I see a bunch of white blank boxes in Photos App. When I click on them it says Find Original. I go to the folder and select Choose Folder. But, nothing changes. If i select Show Reference File in Finder on the photo from the gallery, it opens the Finder. But, does not relink the file. It actually just opens whatever Finder window I have open. Not the actual folder/file of the file.

I have already done a Repair/Restore of Phot Library. Doesn't seem to make a difference.

Anyone seen this issue?

Posted on Mar 5, 2022 10:49 PM

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Answer 1

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léonie

Level 10

197,279 points

Mar 6, 2022 12:12 AM in response to TranceMe

"Show Referenced File in Finder" will only work, if you have imported the original image files as referenced files, and if the original has not been moved from the original location, where Photos is expecting it. It will not work, if the photos have been imported by copying them into the library and Photos cannot find them any longer in the library. There may be several reasons for that:

If the library has been copied from different volume and the filesystem is not compatible with photos.
Or, if a third party software has damaged the library.
If the library is on a drive that is failing or has been used for Time Machine backups or has third-party backup software installed
If the library is incomplete, because it used to sync with iCloud Photos and you copied an incomplete, optimised version of the library.

As a test, try to find out, if the photos with the missing originals have really been imported as referenced files. You can test this with a smart album (File > New Smart album. Set the rule to "Photo is referenced"). Do the photos appear in the smart album?

You may also want to enable the option view the badge overlay for referenced images. Go to the View menu in Photos and enable "View > Metadata > Referenced Files". If the photos are referenced photos, you will see an arrow on the thumbnail What does the arrow look like, if there is an arrow badge?

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Answer 2

TranceMe Author

Level 1

6 points

Mar 14, 2022 8:01 AM in response to léonie

Thanks for taking the time to lend some thoughts. Really appreciate it. I ended finding out that some of the files were actually missing. However, others were not. I ended up having to reimport some as "Show Referenced File in Finder" was simply broken.

The Photos App practically feels abandoned by Apple. Just buggy. And, on my other Mac, I end up having to rebuild library often. On this mac (my wife's), she had files all over the place. The setting on the app is set for Photos App to keep them files organized. But, at some it most of not been set that way. Maybe now it will be a bit smoother.

I don't sync to iCloud because that is even worse. Slower and has it's own issues.

Anyway, after going through hundreds of photos, it's finally fixed. I really miss Aperature. It was way better in my opinion. In Aperture you could at least see what the app thought the link should be. Instead of hunting for the file. You can also have files store externally in a better fashion.

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

197,279 points

Mar 14, 2022 9:51 AM in response to TranceMe

TranceMe wrote:

...

Anyway, after going through hundreds of photos, it's finally fixed. I really miss Aperature. It was way better in my opinion. In Aperture you could at least see what the app thought the link should be. Instead of hunting for the file. You can also have files store externally in a better fashion.

That is exactly the reason, why I would never use referenced files in Photos. There is nearly no support for it. I think, Apple allows referenced files in Photos so we can migrate Aperture libraries to Photos, but then we should consolidate them into the library. It is really risky to keep the files referenced, because we will have no tools at all to reconnect the referenced files, if we ever have to move the library to another drive. And sooner or later any external volume will fail.

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Show Reference File in Finder Not Working in Photos App

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