saving referenced files

You have to keep in mind how Aperture and the aperture library work.

All the things you add to the original image such as adjustments, keywords, etc and all the structure you create, projects, folders, albums, slideshows, books are contained in the Aperture library. The only thing in the original image (whether managed or referenced) is the original image.

So if you backup the Aperture library all your added content is saved. How you backup the library is a choice each user needs to make.

Some possibilities:

Vaults

Copying the library to another drive

Cloning the drive the library is on.

In the case of referenced originals you have a bit more work to do then if the originals were managed. With managed originals they are backed up when the library is backed up. No need to do anything extra.

In the case of referenced originals YOU need to BOTH backup the library and the originals.

So if you backup your library all the edits and other things you have added will be saved. Just be sure to also backup the originals.

regards

I guess my explanation was not as clear as I thought.

If you save the library all the data in it will be saved. This includes adjustments to the original images, metadata and library structure.

This may help. We all glugged some water crossing the conceptual moat that separates Aperture's image-management system from the file-management systems we've spent years learning how to use.

It is the Aperture library that you will be saving, not just bits and pieces from inside it

If you have a complete backup of the Aperture library you could delete it but then you would not be able to use Aperture (on that library at least) unless you restored the library from the backup.

Don't think of the Aperture library as containing individual image files, it is a database that contains the adjustments, etc that you have applied to the originals. The images you see on your screen when you run Aperture do not exist as separate files, they are constructed by Aperture on the fly from the data you previously entered. They actually take up very little space on your disk drive.

An actual image file will not exist until you export a version from Aperture. Then all the adjustments and other data are applied to the original and an image file is created. There is no need to export a version from Aperture until you need that image outside of Aperture to say share it with a friend or post it online or use it in a presentation.

As kirby wrote this is a path most of us had to travel, getting use to the way Aperture works. It can be difficult to grasp at first especially if you're use to a more traditional system where changes are applied to actual physical files.

Keep asking questions, good luck

regards

The only way to access the versions is within the Aperture library, there is no way to save a part of the library.

I feel you are really over complicating this and confusing yourself. If you use Aperture you need to have the Aperture library. If you want to backup up your work you need to backup the entire library.

As I wrote above there are basically 4 ways to backup the library, vaults, something like Time Machine, copying the library to another disk and creating a clone of the disk that the library is on,

In all cases if the originals are referenced (not stored in the Aperture library) they will not be backed up when you back up the library, you would need to do that separately.

I am trying to be able to easily access my version files with adjustments, ensure I have a duplicate of them apart from the Aperture Library (for insurance).

Creating a backup of the library will accomplish both of these.

I understand from you the versions don't really use up much space, but I imagine the originals do (when using managed file approach).

The originals will take up the same amount of space whether they are managed or referenced. The only difference is where the space is used. With managed originals the space taken up will be on the same drive that the library is on (as they are in the library).

With referenced originals the space will be on whatever disk contains the originals. But the total disk space used will be the same in both cases.and

I had also read that how I set up the previews will also impact the amount of space which is being used.

This is true. Previews will take up space in the library. The size and quality you choose for the previews will determine how much space they take up.

regards