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Can I use photos directly on pictures stored on external devices

Is it possible to use photos directly on pictures stored on an external device, without importing them into photos? I do not want to use up my disc space with many thousands of pictures.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.3

Posted on Jun 5, 2022 12:21 AM

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Posted on Jun 5, 2022 1:45 AM

If you like you can have your Photos App Library on an external device.

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac – Apple Support (UK)


All photos must be imported to use Photos App and its functionality.


Ralf

2 replies

Jun 5, 2022 2:01 AM in response to 666barton

If you create a library on an external volume, it is essential, that the external volume is prepared exactly as described in the link provided by Ralf. On no account use a NAS or any other volume on your local network. And the volume must not have been used for Time Machine backups or have any backup software installed. The file system format should be MacOS Extended or APFS, not case-sensitive. Otherwise you would be risking data loss.

Can I use photos directly on pictures stored on external devices

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