HT204476: Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries

Learn about Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries
j.r.leeming

Q: how can i merge multiple albums into one ?

over the years I've had multiple Macs , and have now got more than one iPhoto +photo libraries ,failing to use Migrate previously was a mistake

and also having a hard drive fail didn't help, is there any easy and not too expensive way to merge all my photos into one library ?

Thanks

Bob

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Aug 4, 2015 1:30 AM

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Q: how can i merge multiple albums into one ?

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  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Aug 4, 2015 2:13 AM in response to j.r.leeming
    Level 10 (103,375 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 4, 2015 2:13 AM in response to j.r.leeming

    I think you may want to merge libraries rather than albums. Unfortunately this isn't possible in Photos, do you have any of these libraries as iPhoto libraries and if so, where are you up to with the migration process to Photos.

  • by j.r.leeming,

    j.r.leeming j.r.leeming Aug 4, 2015 2:21 AM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 4, 2015 2:21 AM in response to Winston Churchill

    My latest library is Photos , I have two others on a backup drive which I believe are still iPhoto format

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Aug 4, 2015 2:45 AM in response to j.r.leeming
    Level 10 (103,375 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 4, 2015 2:45 AM in response to j.r.leeming

    There is software available for merging iPhoto libraries.

     

    Depending on how much work you have done on your new Photos library, you may want to consider reverting to the iPhoto library that you migrated it from and merging all three libraries before migrating the newly merged library to Photos.

     

    If not there are a couple of other options which involve a mixture of merging the two remaining libraries, migrating them to a new photos library and then manually exporting photos from the existing photos library and importing them into the new one or just manually exporting and importing photos from the two iPhoto libraries into the existing Photos library.

     

    Obviously the decision is yours, but the most likely conclusion will take into account how much work you might loose by going back to the iPhoto library that you have already migrated.

  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie Aug 4, 2015 3:02 AM in response to j.r.leeming
    Level 10 (105,761 points)
    iLife
    Aug 4, 2015 3:02 AM in response to j.r.leeming
    My latest library is Photos , I have two others on a backup drive which I believe are still iPhoto format

    To elaborate on Winston Churchill's advice a bit: 

    • You can merge iPhoto Libraries using the full (paid) version of iPhoto Library Manager (Fat Cat Software – iPhoto Library Manager) or with Aperture, if you have access to an Aperture installation.  (see:  Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries)
    • Or merge the libraries in iCloud, if you have signed up for enough iCloud Storage to hold the merged library.
      • Enable iCloud Photo Library for your System Photo Library and let the photos and albums upload to iCloud.  Wait, until the upload has finished.
      • Now make your second library the System Photos Library and enable iCloud Photo Library. Let the upload finish.
      • Switch back to your original Photos Library and enable again iCloud Photo Library.  The photos from your second library will download to your original System Photo Library.
  • by j.r.leeming,Helpful

    j.r.leeming j.r.leeming Aug 4, 2015 3:08 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 4, 2015 3:08 AM in response to léonie

    thanks for your help