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User profile for user: LugorIV
LugorIV Author
User level: Level 1
13 points

How to rebuild Aperture Library from backup

Here is my setup: I have a laptop with all current photos and starred photos and an external HD with everything else. I also have a home sever that has a backup of everything.


ie:

Laptop photos + External HD Photos == Server Backup.


Critical Event: What happened recently was my Laptop HD died, so I lost all the photos on the laptop. However I still have a copy of the Aperture Library and it still opens correctly. With the External HD plugged in I can still view/edit those photos, but when looking at the photos that were originally on the laptop it errors, as this makes sense, the files are no longer there


What I want to do: I want to copy back all those photos that were originally on the laptop from the backup server.


My approach: Extract the file reference from the library, find the ones that reference ~/Pictures/ApertureLib/Album1/pic1.jpg and write that to file. Then simply write code that goes to /BackupServer/Pictures/Album1/pic1.jpg and copies it to ~/Pictures/ApertureLib/Album1/pic1.jpg. Then all my photos are back and have a fully functioning library again.


My Issue: I have no idea how to extract the file location reference.


I am also open to other solutions and suggestions. Thanks!

Aperture 3, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Aug 2, 2012 9:00 PM

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
195,019 points

Posted on Aug 2, 2012 10:11 PM

Your plan is promising, but Aperture has a built-in feature to do just that. So Aperture could do that for you, if you mount the backup volume. You need to do three things:

  1. Create a smart album, that contains all files with missing original files.
  2. Use Aperture's built-in command "Locate referenced Files" to point Aperture to the location on the server and to connect the versions again to the originals.
  3. Use "Relocate orininal(s)" to move them all to the to "Pictures" folder again.


To find the images that reference the backup volume, define a new smart album containing the missing originals:

File > New > Smart album

In the smart settings HUD press "Add" to add a rule "File status is" and set it to missing.


To reconnect these images, select all of them at once and from the main menu bar choose

File > Locate referenced file.


Now you will see the reconnect panel. In the upper part you select a file that needs reconnecting, in the lower part you can point Aperture to the location of the file on your backup volume. If the files match, the reconnect buttons become active and you can press "Reconnect all".


Hopefully this will reconnect all at once.

After reconnecting use "File > Relocate Originals" to move them back to your Pictures folder.


Regards

Léonie

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Question marked as Best reply
User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
195,019 points

Aug 2, 2012 10:11 PM in response to LugorIV

Your plan is promising, but Aperture has a built-in feature to do just that. So Aperture could do that for you, if you mount the backup volume. You need to do three things:

  1. Create a smart album, that contains all files with missing original files.
  2. Use Aperture's built-in command "Locate referenced Files" to point Aperture to the location on the server and to connect the versions again to the originals.
  3. Use "Relocate orininal(s)" to move them all to the to "Pictures" folder again.


To find the images that reference the backup volume, define a new smart album containing the missing originals:

File > New > Smart album

In the smart settings HUD press "Add" to add a rule "File status is" and set it to missing.


To reconnect these images, select all of them at once and from the main menu bar choose

File > Locate referenced file.


Now you will see the reconnect panel. In the upper part you select a file that needs reconnecting, in the lower part you can point Aperture to the location of the file on your backup volume. If the files match, the reconnect buttons become active and you can press "Reconnect all".


Hopefully this will reconnect all at once.

After reconnecting use "File > Relocate Originals" to move them back to your Pictures folder.


Regards

Léonie

Reply

How to rebuild Aperture Library from backup

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