Photos: can't "Show Referenced File in Finder"

When I select a photo and want to make a change to the original, there is an item in the "File" menu called "Show Referenced File in Finder". This menu item is always greyed out. What's it there for if it never works?

Posted on Apr 13, 2015 7:47 AM

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128 replies

May 19, 2015 6:36 AM in response to chirpie

I used iPhoto the same as you, Chirpie--it was a way to easily organize & view my photos. Then I'd use the "reveal in finder" to open the file in photoshop, and save the edited version elsewhere so I wasn't overwriting the original file. Or, I'd use the reveal in finder to find the file if I wanted to upload it on the web, etc. Now, I have to "export" anything that I want to use in anyway outside of Photos. I've tried copying the file name while in Photos, then searching for it in the finder. But it never finds the file.

May 19, 2015 6:56 AM in response to LarryHN

Weird logic. Apple's removed all documentation of iPhoto from their main resource center. iPhoto isn't even an option to look up support on as a primary category. Does that mean, ergo, NONE of the features should be expected going forward? 😝


Or was I supposed to go through ALL of Apple's documentation on iPhoto before they replaced it with Photos, compare it to the features inside of iPhoto, and make notes of the stuff Apple DID include in the program, but DID NOT mention in the documentation, and then extrapolate which features would thusly be supported going forward? Surely that's not what is being implied here.

May 19, 2015 7:34 AM in response to chirpie

chirpie wrote:

Or was I supposed to go through ALL of Apple's documentation on iPhoto before they replaced it with Photos ...

iPhoto Help is still on your Mac, accessible from within the app, unless you removed it. There is a section about editing photos in an external app, including the fact that non-destructive editing does not apply to photos edited in an external app. Additionally, in the "If a photo is missing" help topic is this:

WARNING: To avoid permanently deleting or corrupting your iPhoto library, do not attempt to alter the contents of the iPhoto Library folder in your Pictures folder.

May 19, 2015 11:30 AM in response to R C-R

I appreciate the reply. I actually don't need any help with iPhoto. This all started with me lamenting a menu item having been removed in the program Photos, that's it, that's all. Someone else suggested that I was using feature in iPhoto that, due to Apple not mentioning it in most of it's official documentation, I should not have relied upon it and therefore shouldn't have been surprised to see it excluded from Photos. I was just stating that it was an odd position to take, and why.


Thanks!


^_^

May 22, 2015 10:36 AM in response to nolanpaulstanley

nolanpaulstanley wrote:

No reveal in FINDER? This is crazy. They're completely blocking us off from the original files now. Come on Apple, bring this feature back please.

1. You aren't talking to anybody from Apple here. To do that, use the form at https://www.apple.com/feedback/photos.html


2. Apple makes it non-obvious how but not impossible to access the original files stored in the Photos Library (as opposed to referenced files, which are not stored in it) because, as it says in this help topic:

WARNING: To avoid accidentally deleting or corrupting a Photos library, do not alter the contents of a library in the Finder.

If you need a copy of an original file stored in the library, there are several ways provided in the app to make one without use of the Finder, & a way to access it directly from supported apps without opening Photos at all. There are at least eight or nine replies a day in this forum explaining how to do these things, & the built-in help also describes how to do them. Some are essentially the same as methods provided in iPhoto, so there isn't much of a learning curve involved.

May 22, 2015 10:43 AM in response to R C-R

<<If you need a copy of an original file stored in the library, there are several ways provided in the app to make one without use of the Finder, & a way to access it directly from supported apps without opening Photos at all. There are at least eight or nine replies a day in this forum explaining how to do these things, & the built-in help also describes how to do them. Some are essentially the same as methods provided in iPhoto, so there isn't much of a learning curve involved.>>

I'm not looking to copy the file, only access it in the finder. This was a feature in iPhoto and the feature doesn't exist today. There may be 8 or 9 replies but not for what I'm trying to do.

May 22, 2015 10:57 AM in response to R C-R

the problem stems from importing videos into Final Cut Pro X. I don't want the material to copy into my FCP X library, but rather remain in the Photos library (to avoid doubling my storage). It seems that importing from Photos in FCP X, the material is automatically copied. (no matter the setting in FCP X )


One workaround I found is that within FCP X, you can Command+Shift+R the file and it will reveal the location in the Photos library 🙂

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Photos: can't "Show Referenced File in Finder"

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