Q: Aperture library destroyed by migration to Photos
I've just discovered that, when I first opened Photos to have a look at it (and then reject it), the migration process deleted my Aperture library. Looking at my Time Machine backup, I can see that on 16 April, ApertureLibrary.aplibrary in my Pictures folder was replaced by ApertureLibrary.migratedaplibrary. I have not opened Aperture since then until today, when I wanted to add some photographs. When I did this, I found that the library was completely empty, and there is now a new ApertureLibary.aplibrary in my Pictures folder with a creation date of today.
I closed Aperture and restored the library file from 15 April to my desktop. When I re-opened Aperture, it came up with a choice of libraries, including the restored version on the desktop. Choosing that appears to have got my library back intact.
I've not seen anyone else reporting this issue but, if you are happy with Aperture, I would strongly advise against opening Photos and accepting the offer to 'upgrade' your library without making a backup copy of the original library. My library isn't huge because I use referenced files but if you store all your photographs directly in the library, you may run into storage space difficulties.
Posted on May 12, 2015 2:04 AM
I've no idea how I could find out why Aperture created a new, empty library.
If you want to explore the issue further you could experiment with a test library. Create a new, empty Aperture library in the same folder as your current Aperture library (but pick a different name), import a few photos, quit Aperture, then drag the library onto the Photos icon and migrate it to Photos.
Now click the new "ApertureLibrary.migratedaplibrary" and see, if it will open in Aperture without problems.
If a new library works well, there may have been a problem with your main Aperture library. Perhaps it needs repairing. (See this manual page: Repairing and Rebuilding Your Aperture Library: Aperture 3 User Manual)
You can switch between Photos libraries by holding down the option key while launching Photos, just like in Aperture.
Posted on May 12, 2015 4:25 AM