Icloud syncing of multiple photo libraries - is it possible?

Hello Tigervision,

In the context of iCloud and Apple's Photos app, it is indeed correct that only the System Photo Library can sync with iCloud Photos. This limitation means that if you have multiple photo libraries on your Mac, only the one designated as the System Photo Library will sync its content with iCloud, allowing for access across all your devices logged into the same Apple ID.

Here's a breakdown of how this works and some alternatives for managing multiple photo libraries:

1. System Photo Library and iCloud: The System Photo Library is the only library that can be synced with iCloud Photos. This library shares its photos and videos with all your other devices logged into the same Apple ID.

2. Switching System Libraries: If you want to sync a different library with iCloud, you need to switch your System Photo Library. You can do this by opening the Photos app while holding down the Option key, selecting the library you want to use, and then in Photos > Preferences, choosing "Use as System Photo Library". Remember that when you switch, the new system library will sync with iCloud, and the photos from the previous system library will be removed from your iCloud account (but not from the device).

3. Managing Multiple Libraries: For libraries that are not the System Photo Library, you can still access them on your Mac by holding down the Option key when opening the Photos app and selecting the library you wish to view. However, these libraries will not sync with iCloud.

4. Alternative Solutions:

- External Storage Services: Consider using other cloud services like Google Photos, Dropbox, or Amazon Photos to back up your non-system libraries. These services often offer apps that can automatically upload photos from specified folders on your Mac.

- Local Network Storage: Using a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device can be an effective way to store and access multiple photo libraries from different devices within your home network.

- External Hard Drives: Store different libraries on separate external hard drives. This method is less convenient for sharing across devices but can be a good backup solution.

5. Best Practices:

- Regularly back up all your photo libraries, regardless of whether they're synced with iCloud.

- When switching system libraries, ensure a complete backup of your current iCloud Photos is made to avoid accidental data loss.

Remember, the method you choose largely depends on your specific needs, such as the size of your photo libraries, the level of accessibility you require across devices, and your preference for cloud versus local storage.

Create additional photo libraries in Photos on Mac - Apple Support

No, the photos from the previous System Photos Library will not be removed from iCloud Photos, when you change the System Photos Library. That would be disastrous, because other devices also syncing with iCloud would lose the photos from their system photos library.

When you switch the system Photos Library and enable iCloud Photos for the new system library, the photos already in iCloud will be merged with the photos from the new System Photos Library. The merged iCloud Photos Library will sync back to your currently opened System Photos Library. This is described here: In the user guide: Create additional photo libraries in Photos on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

"Important: If you switch to another library, Photos automatically turns off iCloud Photos and Shared Albums. You can turn them on again in the iCloud pane of Photos settings. When you turn on iCloud Photos after designating a new System Photo Library, the photos stored in iCloud are merged with those in the new System Photo Library. After the content from the new System Photo Library is uploaded to iCloud, the libraries can’t be unmerged, so consider carefully before changing your System Photo Library."

Switching between system photos libraries is an easy way to merge libraries, but we can still only have one system photos library and one library in iCloud. I am using the iCloud Shared Photo Library to keep two libraries separate in iCloud. This is working well, because I do not need the iCloud Shared Photo Library for sharing, so I can use it to keep two separate sets of photos and videos. What is iCloud Shared Photo Library in Photos on Mac? – Apple Support (UK)

While viewing my iCloud Photos Library in Photos I can toggle easily between the iCloud Shared Library and the Personal iCloud Library.

I am also having many Photos Libraries, archived on an external drive and backed up on a copy of that drive. These libraries are all, one for each year, and one for each major event, like a photo safari or long rad trip. I am rarely using this archive.

My iCloud Photos Library is holding only my favourite photos that I want to see on all my devices.

I am adding new Photos to my iCloud Photos Library and after tagging them, I export them to my archive library for that event. Once all new photos have been archived and backed up, I delete all photos from my iCloud Photos Library that I do not need there.

My iCloud Photos Library is holding all my best photos, important family photos back to the scans of the first photos of my great-and-parents. I try to keep this library small and continually weed it out and kept below 60000 items, but currently it is a bit larger. Also the scans of all important documents are in this library, as I want to have them in an offsite storage, where I could recover them if the house should burn down.

So a few questions:

--When libraries merge, do photos say in order they were taken? I.e. will they be in chronological order with all 2009 and then 2010, etc.

Yes. The photos will keep their capture date in the merged library, also all metadata you have added. they will be sorted like before and appear in the same albums.

--If I go make each library the system library one at a time and let them upload to iCloud (over say a few weeks for example). Then when it syncs back to that current library, it sounds like it will screw up that current library and make it huge and defeat the purpose of having separate libraries? yes or not really because they only stay in cloud? I am a bit confused here and worry about screwing up my yearly libraries.

When you make a library a system Photos Library and make it the iCloud Photo Library, all photos from iCloud will be synced to this library - it will be identical to the iCloud Photos Library. To keep the library as it is, duplicate it and use the copy of the library to merge it into iCloud.

--Shared photo library sounds interesting and like a possible solution?? My only glitch is I am running a 2013 MBP and only on MacOS 10.15.7 (Catalina) - It can't be updated to MacOS 13. Do I tell my wife that Leonie said I need a new MBP? LOL.

I would wait, until you need a new Mac. Whenever I get myself a new Mac I am disappointed a few month later, when the next new model is even more powerful and regret, that I have not waited a few month longer. But with a Mac that cannot be upgraded past Catalina it is high time for an upgraded Mac, because there are no longer security updates for this system version and it is risky to go online with these devices. The last security update has been in July 2022: Download Security Update 2022-004 (Catalina)Apple SupportOfficial Apple Support › ...

--May I ask why you are using Icloud and Shared Photo library? Is it because you have two main libraries and you personally don't want to merge them into one icloud group?

Even withe the Shared Library enabled, all my iCloud Photos are still in one group in iCloud.

The iCloud Photos Library will just have two partitions, when we enable iCloud Photos, the personal library and the shared library. And we will have a toggle switch with three options:

• • to show both libraries together without the split
  • to show only the personal library
  • to show only the shared library.

The Shared iCloud Photos Library is great to split our library in iCloud, and I am using it to organize my iCloud Photos Library to keep documents and photos apart. In all iCloud are all my photos and videos that are important for me and all new photos that I am currently working with. My shared library is only holding the items that I would want others to see, not the photos that need still weeding out and editing and not my personal documents. Only the items I like to show to others are in the Shared library. So I can switch my iPad or iPhone or Apple TV to show only the Shared library, before I give the device to someone else to browse my photos. There are no smart albums on the mobile devices and we cannot assign keywords on the iPhone or iPad. I like the ability to split the library particularly on the iPhone and iPad and the Apple TV, where Photos is not yet as powerful as on my Mac

The Shared iCloud Phis a relatively new feature and there are still some hitches, when we want to use it for sharing. Currently only the photos will be shared, not the albums. While we are seeing all shared photos and videos in the albums we created, the subscribers to the shared library will only be seeing a flat stream of photos and need to recreate the albums in there own library.

First: Trust léonie, she knows this stuff.

But keep in mind that iCloud Photos is not like a real backup of your pictures. It's true that, if your phone gets run over by a truck, then you will still have your pictures in iCloud. BUT, if you push a wrong button, or if you intentionally push a button and later change your mind, the pictures that you deleted on your phone or on your Mac or on your iPad will be deleted everywhere! iCloud Photos syncs all your devices, your pictures and also your mistakes!

If your pictures are precious, you need to copy your libraries to an external drive for a real backup.