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User profile for user: Sky Luke
Sky Luke Author
User level: Level 1
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Where did my master files go missing?

I know that master files are located in:

Pictures/iPhoto Library.photolibrary

(I guess it is not "Aperture Library.aplibrary" because I imported the whole library from iPhoto, which is what I was using before switching to Aperture).

And I know that in order to browse them I have to right click on the photolibrary file and click "Show package contents".

Then just look into Masters and I'll find several folders nicley organised as year/month/day/


What I don't understand is why in my master folders I only see year 2013 and 2014, while my library has images since 1999.


At the Genius bar they think (but they are not sure) that the date used to store the master files is not the date on the picture, but the date of the import.


Here are some facts:

  1. I have those images (I can edit them, I can export them);
  2. I have plenty of images with dates different from 2013 and 2014 (I checked this on the metadata).


Hence my questions:

  1. Where are the master files of the images which I took before 2013?
  2. If they are really spread in the two folders 2013 and 201, is there a way to fix this and create all the years that are missing?



Thanks!!

Posted on Apr 21, 2014 12:31 AM

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
194,733 points

Posted on Apr 21, 2014 1:03 AM

At the Genius bar they think (but they are not sure) that the date used to store the master files is not the date on the picture, but the date of the import.


That is right. The date of the folders in the library is the date of the "Import Session", not the date taken.

(I guess it is not "Aperture Library.aplibrary" because I imported the whole library from iPhoto, which is what I was using before switching to Aperture).

That is confusing. If you imported an iPhoto lIbrary into an Aperture library, the library should now be an Aperture library. Did you merge two iPhoto libraries using Aperture? Then the resulting library would still be an iPhoto library. And importing one iPhoto library into another library would change the folder organization inside the library.

Where are the master files of the images which I took before 2013?

They should be in the folder of the year you merged the libraries.


What are your Aperture versions and iPhoto versions? With Aperture 3.3. or later try this:


If you still have a compatible iPhoto version, open your library in iPhoto (In Aperture use "File > Open Library in iPhoto"). In iPhoto you can use "File > Reveal in Finder > Original file" for one of your older photos. That will show you the original master files.


If you don't have a compatible iPhoto version the metadata tag "Import session" will show you the year-month-day to look for.


  1. If they are really spread in the two folders 2013 and 201, is there a way to fix this and create all the years that are missing?

Not for a managed Aperture library. For a managed library Aperture will store the image files in its own privare folder organisition. But since we are not supposed to access the image files directly in the Aperture library package from the Finder, it is not necessary to have a folder organisation that is readable by humans.

With a referenced library you can control the storage of the original files.

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User profile for user: léonie
léonie
User level: Level 10
194,733 points

Apr 21, 2014 1:03 AM in response to Sky Luke

At the Genius bar they think (but they are not sure) that the date used to store the master files is not the date on the picture, but the date of the import.


That is right. The date of the folders in the library is the date of the "Import Session", not the date taken.

(I guess it is not "Aperture Library.aplibrary" because I imported the whole library from iPhoto, which is what I was using before switching to Aperture).

That is confusing. If you imported an iPhoto lIbrary into an Aperture library, the library should now be an Aperture library. Did you merge two iPhoto libraries using Aperture? Then the resulting library would still be an iPhoto library. And importing one iPhoto library into another library would change the folder organization inside the library.

Where are the master files of the images which I took before 2013?

They should be in the folder of the year you merged the libraries.


What are your Aperture versions and iPhoto versions? With Aperture 3.3. or later try this:


If you still have a compatible iPhoto version, open your library in iPhoto (In Aperture use "File > Open Library in iPhoto"). In iPhoto you can use "File > Reveal in Finder > Original file" for one of your older photos. That will show you the original master files.


If you don't have a compatible iPhoto version the metadata tag "Import session" will show you the year-month-day to look for.


  1. If they are really spread in the two folders 2013 and 201, is there a way to fix this and create all the years that are missing?

Not for a managed Aperture library. For a managed library Aperture will store the image files in its own privare folder organisition. But since we are not supposed to access the image files directly in the Aperture library package from the Finder, it is not necessary to have a folder organisation that is readable by humans.

With a referenced library you can control the storage of the original files.

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User profile for user: Sky Luke
Sky Luke Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Apr 21, 2014 1:40 AM in response to léonie

Dear le'onie,


thank you very much for your quick, complete (and correct I'd say) answer.


Using iPhoto's "Reveal in Finder" I was able to locate the original file, and they were in the 2013 folder indeed (which is when I merged the libraries).


I am still using both app, although I currently use iPhoto just to import new images. All the rest (editing, sharing, exporting, ...) is done on Aperture.


I agree that the master folder should not necessarily have a human readable format. But if it has, then that's a plus. In my case, I just wanted to be sure that those images were safely stored somewhere, so that I could remove them from another path where I was storing them.


Thanks again!

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Where did my master files go missing?

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