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User profile for user: Joemac8
Joemac8 Author
User level: Level 1
66 points

photos help iphoto and photo both present 

On my Mac running Ventura 13.1, I am trying to find where my
photos are stored.  I go to Home
Directory, click pictures, and find "iPhoto Library.PhotoLibrary" and
also "Photos Library.PhotoLibrary". files along with many older
pictures.



I want to go to the file "Masters".  The file only appears in the "iPhoto
Library.PhotoLibrary".  The pictures
that I want are in "Photos Library.PhotoLibrary", but that shows no
file called “Masters”



I fear my photos are a terrible mess.  How can I straighten out this furball and get
“Masters” to show in the newer directory?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Jan 8, 2023 11:23 AM

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
197,351 points

Posted on Jan 8, 2023 11:38 AM

The layout of the Photos Library has changed considerably since the upgrade to macOS 10.15 Catalina with Photos 5. Ever since then, the interior of the Photos Library package is no more readily accessible to humans. All original image files have been renamed to unique names, and are no longer grouped in neat folders named by the date of the import session. We need to use the Photos.app to find the photos there. You will find your originals in a folder "originals", sorted by the new unique filename. Don't waste your time trying to access your photos there directly. Use the File > Export command in Photos to save your image files outside of the Photos Library, when you need one of them. See: How Photos 5.0 on Catalina Manages original files and filenames - Apple Community





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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
197,351 points

Jan 8, 2023 11:38 AM in response to Joemac8

The layout of the Photos Library has changed considerably since the upgrade to macOS 10.15 Catalina with Photos 5. Ever since then, the interior of the Photos Library package is no more readily accessible to humans. All original image files have been renamed to unique names, and are no longer grouped in neat folders named by the date of the import session. We need to use the Photos.app to find the photos there. You will find your originals in a folder "originals", sorted by the new unique filename. Don't waste your time trying to access your photos there directly. Use the File > Export command in Photos to save your image files outside of the Photos Library, when you need one of them. See: How Photos 5.0 on Catalina Manages original files and filenames - Apple Community





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User profile for user: Richard.Taylor
Richard.Taylor
User level: Level 6
10,464 points

Jan 8, 2023 11:34 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Photos is a very complex database system that matches images, keywords, edits, and all kinds of info about your pictures. If something gets disturbed and Photos loses track of where some of that information is, then you may never get it back again! That's why the Library is not a folder, but a package. Yes, you can get in there, and in some horrible cases that might be necessary, but the chance of doing more harm is greater than the chance of helping.


Now-- let's see what you can do with your pictures. What happens if you double click on the Photos Library.photoslibrary?

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photos help iphoto and photo both present

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