HT204410: Adjust the size of your Photos library to store it in iCloud Photo Library

Learn about Adjust the size of your Photos library to store it in iCloud Photo Library
kayakfromluling

Q: Is there a way to tell the new photos app to store locally rather than the cloud?

I do not want to store my photos on the cloud. Maybe just the last mounth and that's it. I really want my photos stored locally on my own networked drive instead. I had it all setup and now they are doing away with iPhoto and it's really going to mess up my work flow. iPhoto won't be supported going forward and I"m really disappointed in that. This forcing us to move to the cloud isn't in my best interest. Anyway, I want to know if photos can store locally instead of in the cloud?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1), null

Posted on Apr 12, 2015 1:22 PM

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Q: Is there a way to tell the new photos app to store locally rather than the cloud?

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  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Apr 12, 2015 1:29 PM in response to kayakfromluling
    Level 10 (139,532 points)
    iLife
    Apr 12, 2015 1:29 PM in response to kayakfromluling

    Yes it can store locally and no you don;t have to use the Cloud.

     

    However, you cannot have a Photos Library on a Network location (as you could not with iPhoto) and I would be very wary of referencing files from a Network location as Photos does not have the tools to fix itself should the path to the files change. You can, of course, have the Library on a local drive formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

     

    Finally, and this is very important: you don't have to use Photos if the app is not right for you. There are 3rd party alternatives.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Apr 12, 2015 1:29 PM in response to kayakfromluling
    Level 10 (106,821 points)
    iLife
    Apr 12, 2015 1:29 PM in response to kayakfromluling
    Anyway, I want to know if photos can store locally instead of in the cloud?

    Yes, by default your Photos Library will be stored locally.  You have to enable iCloud Photo Libray in the iCloud Preferences of Photos to upload your photos. And you can select to have the originals both in iCloud and locally, or only in iCloud, or don't have the library in iCloud at all.

     

    You'll be able to use iPhoto as long as you keep Yosemite installed, maybe longer.

  • by David Gowing,

    David Gowing David Gowing Apr 17, 2015 9:11 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 17, 2015 9:11 AM in response to léonie

    I just upgraded to Yosemite 5 days ago. I am not able to launch iPhoto because it says my version is outdated. But, of course, I we seem to no longer be able to upgrade iPhoto on the App store. What do I do to launch iPhoto?

     

    David

  • by BST,

    BST BST Apr 24, 2015 7:40 PM in response to David Gowing
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 24, 2015 7:40 PM in response to David Gowing

    If you go into the Mac App store, and click on the Updates Tab, there should be an update for iPhoto showing for you.

     

    If you don't see one there, you should also be able to download a new copy of the iPhoto app from your Purchases Tab in the App Store. You might have to drag your current copy to the trash first (don't empty it yet) in order to be able to download, but it should be there for you as long as it was downloaded under the same Apple ID you are currently signed into the store with.