pictures in two projects?

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Level 1

134 points

pictures in two projects?

Hello,

It's taken me a little while to figure out how to organize my library and now that I've figured it out, I'm cleaning up the database and trying to make sure that the photos I want in a yearly project are all there (i.e., all pictures from 2011 in one project). What I've noticed is that even though I thought that pictures were only able to be in one project in Aperture, I have the same images in two projects. My question is, which one is the Master (I've tried the referencing feature and it often tells me there is no reference) so I can delete the same images in a different project. Or can you tell me how to figure out if I indeed have duplicates in the library and that is why the same images is in one or more projects?

Many thanks.

lsb

iMac, Mac OS X (10.3.x)

Posted on May 16, 2013 7:14 AM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

194,755 points

May 16, 2013 7:25 AM in response to lsb

If you see the same image in two project and not two different albums, you will have duplicate images.

Each image and all its version will appear in the same project, but can be used in many albums, books, slideshows, etc.

To decide which of the duplicate copies to delete, compare the dates and the size, so that you can be sure to keep your original high quality version. You may have imported lower resolution versions by reimporting from facebook or flickr, or imported additional previews or thumbnails.

Kirby Krieger's User Tip explains the different use of projects and albums beautifully:

The Well-Trod Path: a Beginner's Guide to how Aperture's major parts inter-relate

Regards

Léonie

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Answer 2

lsb Author

Level 1

134 points

May 16, 2013 7:32 AM in response to léonie

Thanks, Léonie. I checked the versions (there are three) and all parameters are exactly the same and the image number is exactly the same. Does this mean I have three originals?

Thanks!

Ps. I've got Kirby's article, whew 🙂

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

194,755 points

May 16, 2013 7:36 AM in response to lsb

I checked the versions (there are three) and all parameters are exactly the same and the image number is exactly the same. Does this mean I have three originals?

If they are in three different projects you have indeed three different originals.

When you delete two of them and empty Aperture's Trash, you should find two different original files in the Trash bin in the Dock.

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Answer 4

lsb Author

Level 1

134 points

May 16, 2013 7:45 AM in response to léonie

Thanks, Léonie! I think this makes sense to me and now I just have to spend the time going through all the files. Ugg. Wish I would have figured this out earlier!

Thanks again.

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Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

194,755 points

May 16, 2013 7:55 AM in response to lsb

Do you also have iPhoto?

If you have Aperture 3.3. or later and the corresponding iPhoto, you could open your Aperture library in iPhoto and use the programs to find duplicates in iPhoto libraries. For Aperture I only know "Duplicate Annihilator" and it is not free.

See Old Toad's post:

Re: what is the best way to delete duplicate photos in iPhoto?

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Answer 6

lsb Author

Level 1

134 points

May 16, 2013 8:08 AM in response to léonie

I do have Duplicate Annihilator but it ended up putting 3300 files into the duplicates after running and I just can't see that as right so perhaps I should try it again. But the iPhoto option might work as well.

Thanks!

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Answer 7

léonie

Level 10

194,755 points

May 16, 2013 8:18 AM in response to lsb

Or sort your images in "Photos" view by date or name. That should display duplicates side by side.

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Answer 8

lsb Author

Level 1

134 points

May 16, 2013 8:23 AM in response to léonie

Wow, it's a revelation! Now I see pictures by date, yea! Are the duplicates the photos that say copy or is that a different version? Sorry for all the questions, but I don't want to delete images that I've edited. 😁

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Answer 9

léonie

Level 10

194,755 points

May 16, 2013 10:43 AM in response to lsb

Are the duplicates the photos that say copy or is that a different version?

That will depend on your naming scheme when you imported the duplicate. But by defaultversions of an image will have "version" in their names. And edited images will show a badge, if you enable badge overlays.

In the example above the second image (from left) is an edited image and has the edited badge in the lower right corner. The third image is an aditional version of the same image - called version two.

You can enable the Metadata display from the "View" menu - "View > Metadata Display " and customize them (or from many more places).

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Answer 10

lsb Author

Level 1

134 points

May 16, 2013 11:26 AM in response to léonie

Thanks! This has been so helpful today. I take it that I would want to keep the badge version and the additional version as they will be two different images connected to the Master. I will work on the library more and come back to you with questions, but thanks so much! I feel like I have a much better understanding now, which is incredibly useful!

lsb

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Answer 11

léonie

Level 10

194,755 points

May 16, 2013 11:31 AM in response to lsb

Good Luck!

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