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How to move Aperture Application back to computer, but keep Library on External HD?

Many thanks in advance for your attention.

1. As my Aperture Library started out of the gate large, I began by putting both the Aperture Application and all of the Library on an External Hard Drive.

2. How do I move the Aperture Application back to my computer, but leave all the Library (and its photos, contents, etc.) on the External Hard Drive?

3. I tried opening a new Aperture Library on my computer and then attached my External Hard Drive. I tried clicking that I wanted to keep all the data on the Eternal Hard Drive (presumably this would just transfer the Reference files to my computer - but leave the 100s of GB of photos and data on the External Hard Drive). But the Import button remains greyed out. It is like the Aperture Application on my computer sees another Aperture Application and Library on the External Hard Drive. One Library is open (on computer), so it can't access photos in 2nd Library - (External Drive). But if I open up External Drive Library, then I can't import in the direction I want.

4. I don't want to import One Project. I am trying to now have my Aperture App and Reference files on computer, while keeping all my photos, etc. on External drive.

5. One more question as I have read and heard it both ways. Some people say - One Aperture Library for all photos is the best way. That is the point of it. To organize all your photos.

6. Others say - One library is absurd. As it grows and grows, it slows down and gets sluggish. Better to have multiple (smaller) libraries.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2), iPod Touch

Posted on Jun 20, 2012 8:56 AM

16 replies

rtkane

Level 1

0 points

Aug 10, 2013 1:04 PM in response to Kirby Krieger

I realize this thread is over a year old, but I had the exact same question as the original poster and had high hopes that it would help me achieve the same thing--take an aperture library that was already on an existing external hard drive and move everything but the masters over to an internal drive. Since it didn't seem to get answered, I thought I'd at least provide an answer in case anyone else had the same question and ended up here.

Turns out it was a very simple process. All I had to do was create another folder on the external drive (like "Aperture Masters") and then go into the Aperture library running on that external drive and go through the process of relocating the originals to that new folder (if you need help on that, there are a ton of threads on how to do it).

At this point, Aperture will take all of the originals out of the managed library and put them in that new folder. When it's complete, just copy the Aperture library to your internal drive and when you open it, it should automatically connect to the files in that new folder that you made. Far easier than I had thought it was going to be and Aperture really makes it painless.

Just back up your library before you do it!

How to move Aperture Application back to computer, but keep Library on External HD?