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Hi,
My iPhoto Library is 270GB and taking up all the available memory on my iMac.
I need to split it up into smaller libraries so I can move all but the most recent pics to an external drive instead.
But how do I do this, please?
And would it be easier if I bought Aperture?
Thanks
Sarah
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2010), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)
Not really easier
the easiest and least expensive way is to move it to an external drive -
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
If you want a small library on your main drive the easiest and least expensive way is to use iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - between the libraries
LN
Not really easier
the easiest and least expensive way is to move it to an external drive -
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
If you want a small library on your main drive the easiest and least expensive way is to use iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - between the libraries
LN
Thanks for the good advice.
Just having the iPhoto Library on an external drive and deleting the original on the Mac does make me nervous, especially as you have to remember not to launch iPhoto unless the drive is attached.
That's why I thought it would be eaiser just to have a small current library on the Mac and the bulk of the existing library on an external drive as an archive. Then there's the problem of making sure Time Machine backs up the external drive too. It does all seem so complicated.
I do have iPhoto Library Manager, so I could have more than one Library? Even if I could just split the existing Library in two that would help. Would iPhoto Library Manager do that please?
Or Aperture?
Thanks,
Sarah
Forget Aperture. Like iPhoto it's no longer ind development so you'd be spending $80 on a dead-end.
Here's one way to do what you want:
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager
Remember a library on an external disk is not a back up. To be a back up you need a copy on another external disk.
Thank you so much. Yes that would help.
And thanks for the tip about deleting no more than 100 at a time. I have gathered it's those sort of limits you have to be aware of with iPhoto.
And can you rename the filenames of the Library in the Finder so you can see which is which, please?
Such as: iPhoto Library Archive and iPhoto Library Current? Or 1 or 2?
I won't bother with Aperture then. I guess Lightroom has won the day on that one. I do find iPhoto somewhat limiting but it does a good basic job. And iPhoto Library Manager does help.
Many thanks,
Sarah
Yes you can rename the iphoto library package using the finder
and you can have more than one library without IPLM - it just makes the process easier to manage
LN
How do I split my massive iPhoto Library to make space?
