Llandru

Q: Add to Photos menu item not working

The "Add to Photos" menu item that appears in other apps (e.g. when right-clicking on an image in Safari, or an image attachment in Mail) appears to be broken. It shows up, and I can select it, but images are not added to my Photos library, even after waiting a long while (with one exception, see below).

 

Here is some info; I don't know if all of these are factors in the problem:

- OS X Yosemite version 10.10.5.

- Photos version 1.0.1.

- The Photos library is located on a non-boot drive (with user permissions disabled so several users can use it).

- The Photos library is set to be the System Photo Library.

- The Photos library was migrated from an Aperture library in the same location.

- The "Add to Photos" menu item fails to work for all the users on this Mac (except one); they are all non-administrators.

- The only exception where it does work is for a user that has administrator rights (this account is only used rarely).

- The "Add to Aperture" menu item that previously appeared in the same contexts as the "Add to Photos" menu worked for all users.

- Giving administrator rights to users for which "Add to Photos" doesn't work does not appear to fix the problem.

- When the administrator user (for whom "Add to Photos" works) uses the menu item, it looks like "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ShareKit.framework/Versions/A/PlugIns/SystemA ddToPhotos.appex/" is being launched (based on messages I see in Console.app). This doesn't seem to happen when the other users try to use the menu item (no relevant messages at all appear in Console.app).

- Other functions of the System Photo Library seem to work for all users (e.g. it shows up in iMovie 10.0.9).

 

I'm not sure what else to try; if no suggestions come up I'll try a clean install of El Capitan when it comes out.

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Sep 7, 2015 11:46 AM

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Q: Add to Photos menu item not working

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  • by léonie,Apple recommended

    léonie léonie Sep 7, 2015 12:16 PM in response to Llandru
    Level 10 (105,791 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 7, 2015 12:16 PM in response to Llandru
    The Photos library is located on a non-boot drive (with user permissions disabled so several users can use it).

    The "Ignore ownership on this volume" flag needs to be enabled, is that what you mean by "user permissions disabled"?  It is necessary to ignore the file ownership.  You can set this flag in the "permissions" section of the Info panel for the drive:

    Screen Shot 2015-09-07 at 21.16.15GM.png

    I'm not sure what else to try; if no suggestions come up I'll try a clean install of El Capitan when it comes out.

    Try to reinstall MacOS X on top of your current system by booting into the Recovery Partition. That will restore any missing system components with out a clean install.

    See the link:  OS X: About OS X Recovery

     

    In short, to reinstall hold down the key combination ⌘R while restarting your Mac.

  • by Llandru,

    Llandru Llandru Sep 7, 2015 12:32 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 7, 2015 12:32 PM in response to léonie

    Hi léonie, yes I meant that I have "Ignore ownership on this volume" enabled (I couldn't remember the exact wording of the setting).

     

    I'll check out the OS X Recovery Partition as soon as I get a chance--thanks for the tip!

  • by Old Toad,Solvedanswer

    Old Toad Old Toad Sep 7, 2015 2:39 PM in response to Llandru
    Level 10 (140,918 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 7, 2015 2:39 PM in response to Llandru

    Try using the Export to Photos menu in Mail when you Control (right) - click on the image.  But be aware that when you do it bypasses the Last Import smart album, right?  Look at the bottom of the All Photos window to see the last import.

    Mail001.jpg

     

    Try downloading and applying the OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 Combo Update. It will do essentially the same as a reinstall of the system and will install the SyustemADDtoPHotos.appex file.  Be sure to repair disk permissions after the installation.

    OTsig.png

  • by Llandru,

    Llandru Llandru Sep 10, 2015 7:11 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2015 7:11 PM in response to Old Toad

    Hi Old Toad,

     

    I should have mentioned that I tried the "Export to Photos" menu item when control-clicking an image in Mail, as well as the "Add to Photos" link in Safari etc., but it also doesn't work except for that one rarely-used administrator account.

     

    I tried downloading and applying the OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 Combo Update, and repaired disk permissions immediately after. Unfortunately, I'm still seeing the same symptoms: all the regularly-used accounts on this Mac have non-functioning "Add to Photos" menu items; the administrator account's does work though. I am starting to think something is wrong at the user level.

     

    I haven't tried doing the reinstall of Mac OS X yet. I'm also following this thread ("Add Image to Photos" in Safari not working. Any thought why? OS X (10.3.3)) as it seems to involve a similar issue (i.e. it working for some user accounts but not others on the same machine).