petitchat23
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Do my Photos and iPhoto libraries exist as duplicates on my mac?

I want to free up some memory on my mac and after scanning the disks it looks like I have duplicate libraries for iphoto and photos since the migration. I'd like to just delete one library but they are supposed to use the same master file so I'm worried I might lose photos. Any info appreciated.

Screenshot: http://screencast.com/t/hMYO8ddyU

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Aug 18, 2015 1:44 AM

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petitchat23

Q: Do my Photos and iPhoto libraries exist as duplicates on my mac?

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  • by mende1,Helpful

    mende1 mende1 Aug 18, 2015 1:51 AM in response to petitchat23
    Level 10 (93,329 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 18, 2015 1:51 AM in response to petitchat23

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities

     

    Photos keeps your old iPhoto library in case you want to use iPhoto again in the future. However, if you think you will not need iPhoto anymore, you can just remove its library, or viceversa, in order to free up space. I'd recommend you to make a backup of your files before doing that, if the one you want to delete is the iPhoto library.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Aug 18, 2015 8:46 AM in response to petitchat23
    Level 10 (85,668 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 18, 2015 8:46 AM in response to petitchat23

    Sort of

     

    you have two totally separate  libraries - one for Photos and one for iPhoto but both share access to the same master photos and previews - Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support

     

    Deleting one does not affect the other - but it also does not save much space as the masters and previews are not duplicated but hard linked

     

    I suggest that you not delete the iPhoto library yes as you might want or need it - certainly if you do delete it be sure you have a good backup

     

    It is your decision and deleting it will not affect Photos in any way

     

    LN