Merging multiple Aperture libraries

When you combine two Aperture libraries by any of these methods

1. Opening a second library while one is already open in Aperture
2. Dragging a second library from the Finder onto the projects section of the Library Inspector panel while browsing another Aperture library
3. Using the main menu bar: File > Import > Library

then you will be prompted, if you want to add the new library or to merge the libraries.

1. If you add, all your duplicate images will be added again and you will have duplicates in your library.
2. If you merge, duplicates that do not have different modification dates, will appear only once in the merged library. But if you have the same image in a different state of adjustments, and thus a conflict, then Aperture will keep the image version from the library that you selected as primary library. You will be prompted from which library you keep the image, if there is a conflict.

You can only set the primary library for all merge-conflicts globally, not on an individual per image basis. So this is really a merging, not a proper syncing.

Aperture 3.3. is so new; my answer is based on just one night of testing. so no guarantees are given 😝

I'd recommend you test a bit yourself with two simple test libraries, before you commit your main Aperture Library to a "merge" and make a backup before you do that.

Regards

Léonie

Word.

leonieDF wrote:

I'd recommend you test a bit yourself with two simple test libraries, before you commit your main Aperture Library to a "merge" and make a backup before you do that.

What she said 😉 .

Graham Bowyer wrote:

I would like to merge multiple Aperture libraries. Some images occur in more than one library. Does anyone know what the merge process does with duplicated images? Thanks for any tips

To me it's helpful to clarify what is meant by "duplicated images". To the Library, every Image is a record in a list of records. Some of these records may be identical. Being identical means they contain the same information. They are usually not linked in any way. Often, there may be Images that look identical, but have different information or other differences (size, date-stamp, file format of the Original, a copyright notice, bit-depth, etc., etc.). The computer does not know that Images look alike. To it, every Image is a record, and that's that.

Merging Libraries combines the two lists of Images into one bigger single list of Images. If one of the merged Libraries was created by "export as Library" from the other, Aperture will attempt to "merge" each Image from the second Library that matches an Image from the first Library into one Image in the merged Library.

Other than that, no attempt to eliminate duplicates is done during a merging of Libraries AFAIK.

As Léonie says, this is still new, and you should _at least_ make back-ups prior to doing anything, and are advised to try anything with smaller test Libraries before committing your main Library to any action.

If you've been silly as I have in the past and downloaded the same photoshots into multiple libraries and then edited one shoot in one library and abother shoot in another library but dont have one librrary thats necesarily has all the most up to date images then I recommend making it as follows;

Take the library (a) with the fewest newest updated images and export them as a new project (b). Merge (a) with the one thats similar to (a) but youve done most of your editing on (c) selecting (c) for duplicate warnings. Now you can delete (a). Next merge (b) with (c) selecting (b) as master. Then delete (b).