iCloud Photos: Delete after backup, prevent new library sync

99say wrote: …i have learning difficulties, ive already researched all these pages a lot and i dont process information well that is why my last resort was to ask for help. im just looking for direct answers to my questions

Sometimes we have to say the same stuff, because questions do come up more than once So sometimes we rely on using that same answer as a link, so we don't have to re-type the same thing over and over. For instance, here's an article I wrote about using iCloud Photos"

Understanding iCloud Photos - Apple Community

And, of course, you hadn't said before that you had checked the links that razmee209 suggested, and I don't know if you have read the one I included. You have to tell us what we need to know.

As to your question, a Photos Library works perfectly well on an external drive. Be sure the drive is formatted in APFS or in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format -- the Library won't work otherwise.

After you copy the Library to the external drive, and after you have turned off iCloud Photos, you can certainly check on your own if it is behaving properly. and if you have lost anything. Your Photos will be fine at iCloud.com until you stop paying.

You will need to designate the new Library on the external drive as your System Library in Photos' Settings>General.

The 'Use as System Photos Library" should be grayed out.

also when i turn the icloud sync back on, if my external drive is connected, will it try to resync that library and if so how can i make it not do that and just use the new empty library only?

The System Library is the one that can connect to iCloud, and it is the one that apps like Safari can access. I don't see why you would want iCloud Photos turned on and not use it, but if this Library is not the System Library, then it can't connect to iCloud.

If you use a MacBook, then using an external drive may be problematic. You should see the section, "But on a Laptop? — don’t unplug that Photos Library!" in that link above.

You can have multiple Photo libraries, on a Mac – at most one of which (the "system" Photo library) is synchronized to iCloud.

Create additional photo libraries in Photos on Mac - Apple Support

99say wrote:

if i copy my 'Photos Library.photoslibrary' to an external drive (i have download originals turned on) will it then be safe to delete everything from icloud? i read somewhere that i have to disconnect photos from icloud in photos >file>settings>icloud and then i assume just unchecking the icloud box where it asks if you want originals or optimised?

any help is appreciated and i already have made the copy of my library to my external drive so i just want to know how i can safely delete from icloud.

also when i turn the icloud sync back on, if my external drive is connected, will it try to resync that library and if so how can i make it not do that and just use the new empty library only?

Read here https://www.icloud.com/photos and here Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

and here How to access and view iCloud Photos - Apple Support

99say wrote: …i only have copied the photos library to my external drive to save the photos and i am not going to be using it in the photos app, …, will i need some specific format or is it fine just copying over as i have done to backup the photos?

A Photos Library is really only usable by the Photos app. You can get some information about how Photos works here:

Basic Concepts and Terms About Photos - Apple Community

As that article says, Photos generates pictures from the Original picture files and the information stored in the database. This information can make a variety of different pictures. So when you say "save the photos," you'll have to decide which versions of these pictures you want to save.

Another consideration is the organization of the pictures. Do you have your picture in Albums and Folders? That organization is understood only by Photos. How will you organize these saved pictures?

In Photos you can use File>Export to generate pictures in jpg format. When you use File>Export>Export Unmodified Originals, you can save pictures as they were originally taken, without edits, keywords, titles, or captions.

The "Moment Name" subfolder puts pictures together that were take about the same time, so there is some organization provided. When you hit the Export button you get a dialog that lets you choose your external drive.

You can use File>Export>Export nn Photos, to save pictures with their edits and added metadata.

I have "Use Title" for the file name, but you may want to use the original filename, instead.

In Photos, when you see an edited picture, you can see just how you edited and cropped a picture, and you can change your mind about the edits. Outside of Photos, you can't do that.

I would not select all the pictures for export at once. If anything interrupts the export, like an incompatible format or a corrupt file, you may have to start all over again. I would do videos separately, since they are more likely to be a problem.

I wrote this earlier. It's pretty much the same stuff.

Saving Mac Photos to an External Drive for a PC - Apple Community

99say wrote:

yes thanks i am aware, the library includes all of the original photos and images though as any time i export i just get errors as i think i have stated above in a reply somewhere

What filesystem are you using on the external drive? Richard.Taylor asked, but I didn't see you answer. If it is anything other than APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (a.k.a. journaled HFS+), there is a good chance that storing the Photo library on the drive has corrupted the Photo library.

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

"Make sure that your external storage device, such as a USB drive or Thunderbolt drive, is formatted for Mac: either APFS format or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format."

99say wrote: …well when i go into the package contents on the external drive i have all the photos there. so all im asking i suppose is that the photos themselves are there and saved?

If you went messing around in the Photos Library package, then you saw the the pictures have GUID filenames like 65D79482-7B29-4444-85B7-759836AC4893.jpg. It's hard to connect that with anything without the database. And these don't have any edits or comments that you may have added. iCloud Photos has more information than is available by poking around in the Library package, since Photos can access the database.

You may also see thumbnails and low resolution copies. Is this what you want? It's not clear to me what you want.

i did try export and every time i get error 3036 i think it was?

This indicates some incompatibility in file systems. What format is your drive? As I said before, a Photos Library must be on a drive formatted as APFS.

Be sure to avoid videos until the end.

Which Library are you exporting from?

Have you read any of these articles?

99say wrote:

well when i go into the package contents on the external drive i have all the photos there. so all im asking i suppose is that the photos themselves are there and saved?

Packages are there to encourage you to keep your hands off their contents. The idea is that you should only be accessing a Photo library in very narrow ways;

• Through the Photos application itself
• By invoking an external photo editing application from inside the Photos application itself (which presumably results in that external application directly accessing an embedded file with Photos' knowledge)
• By backing up the entire thing (using Finder, Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, or SuperDuper!)

If you want to extract photos to use somewhere else, that is what the Photos File > Export menu items are for. Although note that in Photos, a single "photo" can have an original version, an edited version, and the ability to revert at least some of the changes. When you export a photo, you just get a version of the original or the final edit.