Google Photos (Desktop Uploader) and Photos for Mac?

I am trying to use it now, but it is confusing me.

First of all, let's talk about app naming. When I access photos.google.com, the app (in "App Downloads") is named "Desktop Uploader". But when you download it, the name appearing on your Mac is in fact "Google Photos Backup". Got it. But here's the big problem...

When I launch Google Photos Backup on my iMac, it shows me a dialog that says:

Choose backup sources

• Cameras & Storage Cards
• iPhoto Library
• Desktop
• Pictures

And at the bottom I have "High quality" chosen, of course, so as to get the free unlimited storage plan. (And no, that doesn't bother me because the best camera I have is a Lumix GX-7 which is 16MP, so my photos will NOT be down-scaled, and my 1080p videos, will not be altered either.)

But I haven't clicked the "Start Backup" button on that dialog yet. I upgraded (downgraded??) to Photos (from iPhoto) a couple weeks ago. All my new photos since then are now stored in /pictures/Photos Library, not in the old /pictures/iPhoto Library. I know this to be true because if I launch iPhoto, I don't see any new photos that appear in the Photos app — only my photos prior to using the Photos app.

Hence, all my photos are actually in "Photos Library". But the Google Photos Backup app foolishly asks to import ONLY from "iPhoto Library." True, it also has a checkbox for "Pictures", which I assume means /pictures. But if I choose only that, how do I know the Google Photos Backup app will pull photos from "Photos Library"?

It's all very confusing to me, so I quit the "Google Photos Backup" app and am now searching the web for experiences of others so I know what to do. That's how I found this thread, in fact.

It's shocking that I cannot find any Mac users talking about this. This was the only thread I could find today on-topic.

ADDENDUM:

One other related point. I uploaded all my photos and videos on my iPad using the mobile iOS app. Photos are great — no problem. But when I create a Shared Link for my 1080p videos (which look perfect in 1080p within the Google Photos app, by the way), the video opens in Mobile Safari and displays as what appears to be 480p and highly compressed. Quite frankly, the shared videos displayed on my iPad, look horrible, awful, heinous, and unthinkably bad. But when I try the same shared link on my iMac and load it in Safari, I see the video appear in 720 by default, and there is the familiar YouTube-style cog in the bottom left that I lets me switch to 1080p. But that cog does not exist when viewing your shared video links in Mobile Safari! So you have to be satisfied with highly-compressed 480p on your retina mobile devices! Unthinkable!

Seems to me that this thread has nothing to do with Photos for Mac - it seems much more appropriate for a Google support forum where every body is using Google software

LN

It is indirectly related (and therefore relevant) to Apple Photos insofar as the Google Photos Backup up pulls photos from photo libraries on our Macs. But as I mentioned in my earlier post, the Google app currently seems to only pull from the iPhoto Library, not the Photos Library. But since most of us have now moved over to the new Apple Photos app, our newest content is stored in Photos Library, not iPhoto Library. Hence, it creates confusion when knowing what to do with the Google Desktop Uploader app. And so, this conversation is indirectly tied to Apple Photos insofar as photo library content is concerned.

Not really - that is like posting a Ford brake problem in a Mobil solutions forum because you buy Mobil - do in forum - the correct help are much bet but your chances of getting what you want is better in the correct forum - just because you want to read the Photos library with Google software does not make it a Photo question - it is clearly a Google question and the Google experts are not going to be in this forum - they are going to be in the Google forum

LN

Note that I did not start this thread. I Googled a topic and this thread was atop the results list (the Google support forums did not appear in the results) hence my reply here. Even so, I have replied on Google+ and elsewhere, so no one can chastise me for not having done that. But I am thankful for this thread insofar as it can actually be discovered, not buried like discussions on Google's support forums. AND, since this thread does pertain to Apple Photos LIBRARIES, regardless of how teensy and tiny a connection that may be, I see no need to spend time here, trolling in vain, trying desperately to slam the brakes on it's existence. Be nice. Let freedom reign!

Now for the rest of you reading and appreciating this thread, please don't hold back from posting your own experiences, especially if you used the Google Photos Backup app with the iPhoto Library & Pictures options chosen. Did you use the uploader? If so, does it ignore your new photos in Apple Photos Library? Or are your newest photos, stored exclusively in the Photos app (and not in iPhoto), uploaded too?

Best wishes.

Despite what LarryHN states, I think this topic is directly relevant for Apple users.

I had exactly the same queries as you about what options to pick when I first launched the Google Photos Backup App.

I have about 14,000 photos and have moved to Photo (from iPhoto). I selected both iPhoto and my Pictures Folder (where both my iPhoto Library and Photos Library reside). The uploader then said I had about 14,000 photos to upload so I assumed it was ok and smart enough to not upload the same photos twice (the Flickr Auto Upload app does this). I checked what was being uploaded, and my most recent photos (which were not in iPhoto) were being uploaded so it seemed to be able to access the Photos Library database.

Partway through my upload, the number jumped to 28,000 photos to upload (not sure what happened). I have now deselected my iPhoto Library as an option and the number of photos to upload have gone back to the original 14,000 photos.

So it appears (to me) that:

- You don't need to select iPhoto

- You can select your Pictures Folder (and it will upload photos stored in your Photo Library)

I can't be certain though, and I can't find any commentary elsewhere. I have posted a thread on MacRumors and have left feedback to Google as well.

I don't know about optimised photos as I don't use iCloud Photo (my library is too large and I don't have enough iCloud storage).

I don't think the uploader is smart enough to detect duplicate photos. All my photos on iPhone are all backed up and stored on my Mac, but when I turned on the backup feature on my iPhone, it wanted to upload all the photos on my iPhone even though they were already on my Mac. This is where it seems to differ to the Flcikr app. I have found that the Flickr auto uploader is smart enough to detect duplicate photos (and so not upload them again). I also use Amazon Photo but find that the Amazon app does not have duplicate detection and so photos get uploaded again. I seem to have to go through my Amazon photo account and delete duplicates.

I also believe that the Google Photos (as with Amazon and Flickr) are not sync services (just backup services), so if you delete a photo from your iPhone or Mac, but the photo has been uploaded to the Cloud, it will remain in the cloud unless you delete it.

I hope Google comes up with an FAQ with definitive answers to some of these questions rather than trial and error.

AndrewC1970 wrote:

I also believe that the Google Photos (as with Amazon and Flickr) are not sync services (just backup services)...

The Google app for Mobile (Android & iOS) is both Backup and Sync (I am using it on my iPad3):

https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6156060?hl=en

But the OS X app seems to be Backup only (no sync):

https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6156099

I would like to upload my 10,000+ photos and videos from my iMac to Google, but I still am worried about creating a mess. After reading Andrew's thoughts, I'm just not sure if I should do it now.

Again, the choices in the Google Photos Backup app for OSX are as follows:

Choose backup sources

• Cameras & Storage Cards (seems like a stupid choice because you will surely edit the pics after they are on your computer)
• iPhoto Library (definitely don't choose this if you use the Photos app, as per Andrew)
• Desktop (we all use the Desktop for temporary storage, so this seems silly to select)
• Pictures (this is the only choice that "seems" reasonable)

JDW1,

There's no need to rush into uploading to Google. I am sure there will be lots of "How To's" coming out shortly. As it is, my upload is still going and will take a few days as my upload speed only seems to be able to upload about 150 photos per hour.

I am really enjoying the Assistant though. It has created some really great animations, stories and collages out of my photos and has allowed me to view photos I have not looked at for awhile. It's like I have rediscovered my photo library. It's great!

Would love to hear how your experience goes once you take the plunge.

I was able to import the Photos Library by using a tag to point the Masters folder inside the Photos Library package contents:

Go to your photos library location (generally Pictures)

Right click Photos Library and select "Show Package Contents"

Right click the "Masters" folders and add a tag for it

Now go to Google Photos preferences and add the Masters folder to the list of folders to sync by accessing it through your Tags on the sidebar of the finder prompt windows.

Enjoy

I just tried this tip, and whilst I managed to add the "Masters" folder it does not stay in my list. It initially appears, but when I go back into the Google Photos Backup preferences, the "Masters" folder is gone.

In any event, I don't think you need to separately add the folder as just adding the "Pictures" folder seems to work just fine (per my post above). I only have my "Pictures" folder selected and the photos from my Photos Library are being uploaded.

Thanks for that tip! I was playing around with importing from the old iPhoto database in the meantime... but would really rather keep moving forward with the new Photos for Mac app instead. I was afraid we'd be waiting/hoping for Google to update their Desktop Uploader to be compatible with Photos as well as iPhoto... and who knows when that'll happen?

Good to know we can add the Pictures folder and it'll work in the meantime.

It appears the biggest problem is when you have a large Photos library on an external drive. You guys are all "seeing" the Photos library on your internal hard drive, correct? On my external drive, all the folders are blue and able to be linked to, but the Photos library is "grayed" out.

Does es that make sense???

That has nothing to do with the size of your Photos library. It has to do with the fact that Google's Photo Backup app, the desktop uploader, is compatible with iPhoto, but not yet Photos for Mac. That's why that file is grayed out -- it's not mean to be selectable at this time.

This thread is providing tips on how to get the uploader to still upload photos, from the Photos for Mac app, while we wait for Google to provide official support (which seems inevitable, one hopes.)