Access a second Photos Library with Photomator

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Level 1

12 points

Access a second Photos Library with Photomator

Access a second Photos Library with Photomator.

I’ve been using Photomator for about a month now and really like the editing and browsing in the Photos Library. However, browsing with the Files browser is painful, ask to sort by oldest or newest creation dates and it has a go and then gives up. Flagging as flag or reject is pedestrian, I have timed it at 54 seconds to return a flag, that’s if it has bothered to notice a flag has been selected on the keyboard. I know the flag has been applied as I have had time to right click and check the dropdown box, but it has not refreshed the screen. Any of the above when browsing in Photos is instant. My Files browser has about 20k images in multiple folders.

I have been on to Apple Support but still no solution.

With this in mind I have created a second Photos library on an ext ssd (this is NOT the System Photos Library) which at the moment only has links to the original photos. I would like to try using this library in Photomator to see if it alleviates the Files browser issues but have not found a method to point Photomator at this additional source. Anyone on here with a clue how to do this?

iMac 24″

Posted on Nov 14, 2025 7:17 AM

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Answer 1

leroydouglas

Level 10

201,804 points

Nov 15, 2025 10:22 AM in response to hoeky56

hoeky56 wrote:

Thanks Leroy, Photometer info did not help, but Apple photos allowed me to change this second Library to system which then opened up in Photomator. This solved the sorting issue...

Ok hoeky56 good computing. Appreciate your feedback.

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Answer 2

hoeky56 Author

Level 1

12 points

Nov 15, 2025 3:18 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks Leroy, Photometer info did not help, but Apple photos allowed me to change this second Library to system which then opened up in Photomator. This solved the sorting issue but did not bring any existing flags and ratings with it so may have to do them again. I also had to ditch the photos on iCloud to stop the libraries merging and overwhelming my iCloud storage, not an issue as I had planned to recreate it anyway once flagging and rating is completed.

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Answer 3

leroydouglas

Level 10

201,804 points

Nov 14, 2025 9:54 AM in response to hoeky56

hoeky56 wrote:

Access a second Photos Library with Photomator.

With this in mind I have created a second Photos library on an ext ssd (this is NOT the System Photos Library) which at the moment only has links to the original photos. I would like to try using this library in Photomator to see if it alleviates the Files browser issues but

have not found a method to point Photomator at this additional source. Anyone on here with a clue how to do this?

see if there is anything here—ref Photomator

https://support.pixelmator.com/photomator-user-guide

I do know in Photos.app you can hold the Option key when launching the app to bring up different Libraries.

more on this: Designate a System Photo Library in Photos - Apple Support

ref: If Photomator on your Mac isn't working - Apple Support

ref: Photos - Apple Community

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