Import external Photos library to new Mac

alistair2009 wrote:

I have tried copying the Photo Library folder icon from the external drive to the Pictures folder of the Neo in Finder. This appeared to be going well but then stopped with a message saying that the folder already existed on the Neo. The item has then disappeared but further attempts to drag or copy the Photo Library folder icon to the Neo bring up the same message.

Photos often automatically creates the default '~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary' behind the user's back.

To avoid that try to copy the external library 1st to some other folder like the Desktop (but NOT there if you have iCloud Drive Desktop & Documents option because then the library is unnecessarily uploaded to the cloud) or to some other non-cloud folder. Then delete the existing library and put the copied library there.

Or, use a custom name for the library.

My ~/Pictures folder is in the screenshot below:

'Photos Library.photoslibrary' is a iCloud Photos -synced system library. It is usually quite empty because I prefer to move and archive images in plain Finder folders (after using GraphicConverter or exiftool to add metadata like dates, GPS, descriptions, keywords, ratings) and then import to Local library for viewing and syncing to iPad.

'Local.photoslibrary' had previously that default name but I renamed it Local and I Finder-sync it to iPad.

'Test.photoslibrary' is for testing so I don't litter other libraries with that stuff.

You didn't say if you were using iCloud Photos or Optimize storage.

In any case, you can have multiple Libraries on a Mac, but only the one designated as the System Library can be accessed by other apps or can be synchronized with iCloud Photos. So you should make sure that your main Library is set as the System Library. That's done in Photos' Settings>General

Here, "Use as System Library" is grayed out since it already is.

You should also double check the "Importing" setting and make sure that it is turned on. This ensures that you have a Managed Library that holds the originals for dependable organization. Unchecked, you get a Referenced Library which is a real mess.