Photos Library Too Large

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Level 1

4 points

Photos Library Too Large

My iCloud storage is totally full - too many photos. I want to keep only current year photos in iCloud and in my System Library. I want to move the originals of older ones to a new library, and then I can delete those from iCloud and free up space.

So, I created a new library to export the older photos to, but when I try to export, the new library name is dimmed and it won't go. It won't let me me export to any other library. If I export to a folder instead, will the originals go? Or will they be lost if I do that and then delete them from iCloud?

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 13.5

Posted on Sep 20, 2023 10:51 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

muguy

Level 10

83,029 points

Sep 20, 2023 6:46 PM in response to GeorgeBC

Depending on the size, I would:

Make a copy of the library and give it a new name, maybe "19XX-2022."

Open the 19XX-2022 library and delete all of the current year pictures.

Open the old library, which is still connected to iCloud, and delete all of the old pictures.

You'll then have the old pictures in the "19XX-2022" library and your iCloud will be updated with only the most recent.

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Answer 2

GeorgeBC Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 24, 2023 2:27 PM in response to muguy

I copied the library to my Mac (it had been on an external drive), then did what you suggested, and it seemed to work...

My iCloud storage is now back in range. I also went to iCloud .com and deleted all the old photos and then deleted them from "Recently Deleted". Now, when I open Photos on my Mac, it opens to the new 2023 library and looks correct. But, when I open iCloud online, it still shows all the old photos (even thought it says I'm back below 2TB storage).

In Photos Settings, it shows the Library location correctly, but the bottom "Use as System Photo Library" is dimmed and I can't figure out how to get around that. So, I guess its not really using?

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