i want to know, how I can view all of my photos stored on my Mac, on my iPad, which I thought was possible under Yosemite. I have tested this, by transferring 100 photos from iPhoto Library, to a folder in iCloud Drive, on my iMac. I have activated the iCloud Photo Library Beta on my iPad, but cannot view the photos on my iPad. Can someone tell me whether what I am trying to do, is achievable or not? If it is, what am I missing?
iCloud Photo Library is still in beta. All the photos on your iOS devices will be uploaded into iCloud where they can be viewed from your iOS devices or iCloud.com.
Apple announced it will release a new Photos app for OS X early next year. This is when the iCloud Photo Library integration with Mac OS X will take place.
Thanks for your, helpful response.
If I understand you correctly, does this mean that by activating iCloud Photo Library, on my devices, I should now see, zero usage on the device storage, for photos. At the moment I have 43.5 MB which is not a lot for photos, so maybe it is working.
So my putting 100 photos into Cloud drive was a waste of time, as I need to wait for the new Photos App next year?Do you know, how the uploading of photos to the iCloud Photo Library will take place, as that will be a very time-consuming exercise?
If I understand you correctly, does this mean that by activating iCloud Photo Library, on my devices, I should now see, zero usage on the device storage, for photos. At the moment I have 43.5 MB which is not a lot for photos, so maybe it is working.
No. You will not see zero usage. iCloud Photo Library gives you the option to keep device optimized versions of your photos on your device so they do not use as much storage but they will still take up space, hence, the 43.5 MB. You can also opt to download and keep the original versions directly on your device.
So my putting 100 photos into Cloud drive was a waste of time, as I need to wait for the new Photos App next year?
Yes. Putting 100 photos into Cloud drive was a waste of time and a waste of iCloud storage if your intention was to access them from your iOS devices. Right now iCloud drive on iOS can only be accessed from within an app. There is no stand alone iCloud Drive app that allows you to navigate its contents from your iOS device. The iCloud Drive document picker has not been incorporated into the Photos app for iOS therefore you will not have access to this photos via the Photos app. However, you will be able to access the photos you added to iCloud Drive via iCloud.com from a web browser on your computer.
Do you know, how the uploading of photos to the iCloud Photo Library will take place, as that will be a very time-consuming exercise?
I assume it will work just like it does when you turn on iCloud Photo Library on your iOS device. You are correct. It will be time-consuming for the initial upload especially if you have a large collection. Your internet connect will play a huge part here.
Keep in mind that iCloud Photo Library counts against your iCloud storage space. I assume for most the free 5 GB Apple provides will not be enough especially if in addition to iCloud Photo Library you are also using iCloud Drive & iCloud backup for your iOS devices.
You may find this useful:
Hi,
Thanks for the quick response. The mist is clearing, thanks to you! I do have 20 GB of storage and a relatively modest 8GB of photos, so I should be OK, when Apple get around to releasing the Photo App.
Incidentally, the .png image, does not show on my iMac, any idea why and was it important.
Unfortunately that happens sometimes on this forum.
It was a screenshot of the iCloud Photo Library settings illustrating the optimized and original resolution settings.
Here is a link instead.
The photos on your iPad will be exactly what you have in the iCloud photo library. To see iCloud Drive and iCloud photo library on your iPad go to ICloud.com using Safari. Tap the URL field. Pull favorites down and tap request desktop site. Sign in to iCloud. Now tap the Photos or iCloud Drive icon.
Thanks for the link. I have clicked on Optimize Storage space, but wonder if I am right, as with a Retina Screen, would you not want to see the full image?
Hi Bob, I am now confused! I have photos in iCloud Drive, which i imported as a test, to see whether I can view them on my device, but I cannot. Going into System Preferences and iCloud. iCloud drive does not appear to link with iPhoto. In the iCloud Photo Library, I only have 6 photos!! This is ridiculous, as I had many more than this prior to activating iCloud Photo Library Beta. Where have they gone to, and how do I get them back onto my devices? I thought that my current Photostream, automatically went onto the devices, but they do not appear on my iPad. Where am I going wrong!
It is optimized for your phone screen.
The full resolution is more crucial for print and cropping.
He is suggesting you open Safari on your iOS device and go to icloud.com. You would then have to tap the address bar and pull down on your bookmarks to access the Request Desktop Site option, tap it. That will then allow you to sign into iCloud.com and access your photos in iCloud drive. Of course you would then have to verify the device. It is a clunky workaroud.
billbir wrote:
Hi Bob, I am now confused! I have photos in iCloud Drive, which i imported as a test, to see whether I can view them on my device, but I cannot. Going into System Preferences and iCloud. iCloud drive does not appear to link with iPhoto. In the iCloud Photo Library, I only have 6 photos!! This is ridiculous, as I had many more than this prior to activating iCloud Photo Library Beta. Where have they gone to, and how do I get them back onto my devices? I thought that my current Photostream, automatically went onto the devices, but they do not appear on my iPad. Where am I going wrong!
After you enable iCloud Photo Library there is no more Camera Roll or My Photo Stream, there is just iCloud Photo Library. One centralized collection.
This may help you understand:
You can always disable iCloud Photo Library here:
Settings > iCloud > Photos
Thanks for your replies which were helpful. I am still puzzled why I am not seeing my Photostream on the iPad. I seem to be, significantly worse off now, than before activating iCloud Photo Library Beta. Should I be deactivating it until the new app arrives. Having only 6 photos on my iPad is frustrating. Any ideas?
Photo Stream does not co-exist with iCloud Photo Library.
You should simply have an All Photos album on the Albums tab of your photos app.
From the iPhoto link that you provided, it says 'My Photo Stream will upload recent photos to share with your other devices, but iCloud Photo Library stores your originals.' It is not sharing to my iPad and it did before activating iPhoto Library Beta.
You have to make sure you have iCloud Photo Library enabled on all of your iOS devices.
Settings > iCloud > Photos
ICloud Photo Library
