How to setup photo structure after switch from Windows?

Adam,

iPhoto is avery good way to organize photos and to store them for retrieval, but it will encapsulate your photos into a database package, called the iPhoto database. You access it using iPhoto or the Mac's Media Browser.

iPhoto has been designed for single-user access, and network access to an iPhoto library is not supported. So, if you want to use iPhoto, don't store the iPhoto library on a NAS, that can cause database corruption and data loss.

If you want to use an iPhoto library from two different macs, store it on a portable drive and plug it into the mac you are currently working with.

See this document: iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users

Any drive you are using with iPhoto needs to be formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled), see:

Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture

Léonie

You may want to have a look at these User Tips:

How to Access Files in iPhoto

iPhoto and File Management

Exporting From iPhoto

I'd like to add a little "twist" to léonie's suggtestion of having the library on a portable drive and moving the drive between Macs when it's needed. That would be to have a smaller library on each Mac with just the photos needed for whatever you're working on at the time. Albums and/or Events can easily be copied between libraries with the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager.

This way each Mac has access to your "main" library while having its own "working" library.

OT

Be aware that backing up an iPhoto library to a non OS X Extended (journaled) formatted driver will not be foolproof and is likely to not be able to restore a working library.

Maybe a DAM (digital asset management) application such as Media Pro 1 might fit your needs better than iPhoto. Or even Aperture as it can run a "referenced" library with the source files on a server whereas iPhoto can't.

Or even Aperture as it can run a "referenced" library with the source files on a server whereas iPhoto can't.

And even Aperture will have problems, if the file system is not MacOS Extended (Journaled) - that can cause broken refrenced files.

If Adaam want to do the file management himself, how about Picasa? I do not know, if there is a Mavericks compatible version, but previous versions worked well.

And even Aperture will have problems, if the file system is not MacOS Extended (Journaled) - that can cause broken refrenced files.

It's my understanding, ie. from Terence's posts, that Aperture can run a reference library with the source files on a server as long as the library is on the Mac and a OS X Extended (journaled) hard drive. Correct me if I've misunderstood those posts.

Picasa - you mean the google app and storage?

Was using it for sharing pics, but it had limited space.

There is a Picasa photo manager for the Mac - it is from Google but it is not th eonline version (although it integrates to that) - it is local to your mac - You will have to seperately research its abilities and if it will meed your needs

NAS gave me same options so was not utilizing picasa for a long time.

OK - but you can not use your NAS for their iPhoto library so people are suggesting alternatives

Regarding file structure need to explore if I can change it on NAS.

You can not - a NAS is not a disk drive - it is a headless computer and it has its own file system that can not be changed -

You either need to change what you want to do and use iPhoto the way it works or change the software you use to a system that will work with your NAS

Once again You can not use either iPhoto nor Aperture with their libraries on a NAS

You could use Aperture in a referenced mode with the original photos on the NAS and all of the edits, changes, etc on your mac

You can use other programs - Picassa is a potential - and a Digital Asset Manager (DAM) discussion site will have others - there are soem that work fine with a NAS

LN

It's my understanding, ie. from Terence's posts, that Aperture can run a reference library with the source files on a server as long as the library is on the Mac and a OS X Extended (journaled) hard drive. Correct me if I've misunderstood those posts.

There are no Apple documents saying, what will happen, when the file system on the drive with the referenced originals is not MacOS Extended (Journaled).

The only recommendation for Aperture is the document "Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library", afaik.

I see no reason, why this should be different for the referenced originals. I made some experiments and relocated originals to a server on our university network. There was repeated trouble with broken references, i.e. with very long filenames and ethnic characters in the filenames, and it is slow, very slow.

There was repeated trouble with broken references, i.e. with very long filenames and ethnic characters in the filenames, and it is slow, very slow.

Yes, that is a problem with servers. I won't even use an OS X Extended (journaled) case sensitive EHD as some apps will change the case of the extension when editing and that will cause problems.

If you're using a Time Capsure for Time Machine you shouldn't try running any sort of library from it as TM will slowly squeeze out all available free space for its own use. If you use the Time Capsure just as an external HD you can copy your managed library to it and run it from there without any issues.

Remember not only are you switching hardware and software, you're also switching to a different set of underlying concepts for computing. WIndows is still very heavily influenced by the "file-is-my-data" paradigm. Macs are a bit further along the curve towards manipulating data directly, rather than just files - mind you Windows is alos moving in that direction.

So, the NAS is a great device for storing files but it's a headless computer with its own operating system and disk structure. When you bear that in mind the fact that databases can't be run from it might make a bit more sense, and iPhoto and Aperture are apps that use a complex series of interlinked sql databases to make the non-destructive workflow.

So, too, Time Machine. It doesn't just make a back up but keeps a rolling back up and preserves all your data for as much space as you give it. The more space it has, the further you can roll back. So, in the case that you, say, trash a 1gb movie file from your HD, it's not removed from your back up until the back up runs out of space. If that takes 3 days or 3 months or 3 years... then that's how far you can roll back.

You can limit the amount of space a TC uses for backing up by partitioning the disk.