Merge all A3 libraries-How

What version of Aperture 3 do you have?

And are your libraries managed or referenced?

I would like very much to combine them so that they would all be on one drive.

I take it, you want to merge them into one big library, and not only move them all to the same drive?

Why are you afraid of creating duplicates? Did you import the same images into several different Aperture Libraries?

The first thing to check, is if your external drive is formatted Mac OS X extended (Journaled). Otherwise you cannot put Aperture libraries there. If the format is still the default MS-DOS (FAT), reformat the drive using Disk Utility.

Just in case you want to use the drive from a different computer as well, set the "Ignore ownership" flag, as decribed in this support article for iPhoto Libraries: iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users

Make sure, you have a current, working backup of your system, before you start reorganizing.

• Connect the drive to your mac;
• Select your most current, main Aperture library and use the Aperture Library First Aid Tools to repair permissions and the database - you will want all your libraries in perfect working condition before proceding. Repairing and Rebuilding Your Aperture Library: Aperture 3 User Manual
• Then copy the library to the external drive, by dragging it using the Finder.
• Double-click the copied library to open it in Aperture and check if it is working.
• Select your next library, that you want to merge into your current library. Also repair it before proceeding. Open it and empty the Aperture trash. If you know there are any duplicate projects, older than in your current Aperture library, you may want to delete them from the library before proceeding.
• Then switch again to your main Aperture library (File > Switch to library).
• In your main Aperture Library select "File > Import Library > Other/New" and select the recently opened and repaired library to import.
• You may be prompted to "Merge" or to "Add", if the library contains duplicate items. Then select "Merge". This may prevent duplicate images from being imported, but no guarantee given.
• Proceed with all other remaining libraries in the same way.

if duplicates have been imported, there will be no easy way to automatically find them. You can sort your images by date or by name, to ensure that duplicates are displayed side by side and to delete the duplicate. It will be easier, if you weed out dulicate projects before merging the libraries, and merge your libraries in pairs of similar libraries, if you have many libraries containing similar events.

Regards

Léonie

You are welcome. Feel free to ask back, if I need to clarify something in more detail. Good luck!