Merging an iPhoto library with Aperture edits on MBP to an Aperture library on iMac

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Merging an iPhoto library with Aperture edits on MBP to an Aperture library on iMac

I have used iPhoto to import my photos from my camera to my Macbook Pro. However I've done all my editing in Aperture. So I have a large iPhoto Library and relatively small Aperture library on my MBP. I now want to transfer those libraries to my iMac where Aperture holds all my original files and edits. How do I merge the iPhoto library with all the original photos and include the Aperture edits on my MBP to the Aperture library on my iMac?

iOS 7.1.2

Posted on Sep 15, 2014 4:42 PM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

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Sep 15, 2014 4:46 PM in response to monicashah1

That depends on your versions of iPhoto and Aperture. If you have Aperture 3.3 or newer and iPhoto 9.3 or newer, you can import the iPhoto Library into Aperture with "File > Import > Library". This will merge both libraries into one. The procedure is explained here:

Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries

If you have earlier versions, post back.

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Answer 2

monicashah1 Author

Level 1

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Sep 15, 2014 8:43 PM in response to léonie

So if I import the iPhoto library by opening into Aperture, what will happen to all the edits that I made in the Aperture library associated with that iPhoto library? That's what I'm most concerned about is that the edits that I made in Aperture also carry over.

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

194,785 points

Sep 15, 2014 10:05 PM in response to monicashah1

See: Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture

Since the unified library format has been introduced, both applications are storing edited image versions in the same way. When you import another photo library into an Aperture library, the merged library will have all the events, albums, metadata, and edits created in the other library.

If there are conflicts - the same image in both libraries in different state of edits, Aperture will try to resolve the conflict. You will be prompted before merging, which versions to keep. This is per library. In your case you should opt to keep the versions in the Aperture library and not the iPhoto versions in case of a conflict. You could also opt to add the library and not to merge. Then both images would be kept, and you would end up with duplicates.

Could you please post your version numbers of Aperture and iPhoto?

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