Pictures stored only as thumbnails?

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Level 1

14 points

Pictures stored only as thumbnails?

Since installing the new photos app along with the mac update, i have just noticed that all pictures transferred from there to an external hard drive have only been stored as thumbnails, ie low quality images. Instead of being called, for example, IMG_5079.jpg they are called thumb_IMG_5079_1024.jpg I usually back up all my pics to the external hard drive, but I want the images stored on there to be full quality images, not only thumbnails. Now I am trying to use the images from the external hard drive for calendars and such, and they are too low quality. I can go back to the photos app on the mac, but they are just randomly stored as a big stream in there, not filed into folders, so it means searching through 100s of images for the particular ones I want, then reuploading them to the website I'm using to make the calendars. I would like to know - is this a standard feature of photos? Can it be turned off? The images stored in photos seem to be full size, but anything I've transferred elsewhere is thumbnail size. And, I now have 6 months worth of photos stored and ordered into folders on my external hard drive - which took me hours to do. I only noticed they were all thumbnails now as I'm trying to make the calendars. Is there any way of turning all these thumbnails back to full quality images?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Nov 18, 2015 10:40 AM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Nov 21, 2015 7:52 AM in response to Vickoid

copy and paste is the same as drag and drop - as originally posted use export

solution is to do it correctly and select the photos in Photo and export (file menu ==> export) so you now and control what exactly is being exported

As to bakup the best solution is to backup the Photos library - TimeMachine is a good way Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support

and as to disk space you can run your Photos library on an external drive - it must always be connected prior to launching Photos, be connected with a fast wired connection, be formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) and must not be a TimeMachine backup volume - quit Photo and drag the Photos library intact as a single entity to the EHD and double click on it to launch Photos and make it your default library

Your current work flow is complicated and subject to error and does not give you the ability to use Photos for your photos

As to you other new question it does not seem to involve Photos - why exactly do you expect a photos in the iPhone camera roll to show up in Photos for Mac? - there is no camera roll in Photos so I assume you are asking an iPhone question - best to ask in the iPhone forum where the iPhone experts hang out

LN

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Answer 2

Vickoid Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 21, 2015 5:16 AM in response to LarryHN

Thank you for taking the time to try to help me. I didn't drag the photos - I did what I have always done (and up to now, has always worked fine) which is edit/select all/edit/copy and then paste in to the EHD....would you have any idea why this would make them save on the EHD as thumbnails?

Re: the keeping all the photos in Photos app - I take them off and put them on a hard drive as otherwise they will fill up my mac, surely? I used to save them all and organise them in iphoto but when I had quite a few folders on there the mac went very slow. There are 1000s. I also then do an online back up on Flickr, in case of damage to the EHD. Am I silly to be doing this/missing something?! Because it does take up alot of time and I don't enjoy doing it!

I also have another issue related to this actually - the photos do show up in Photos and are organised chronologically, but I find that photos I've been emailed, eg by my husband and THEN saved into my camera roll do not seem to show up at all, either in Photos or in Flickr. Is this a known issue, do you know?

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Answer 3

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Nov 18, 2015 10:58 AM in response to Vickoid

Since you give us no clue as to what you are doing or how you are doing it we can only guess - best guess is that you are dragging photos form Photos to the EHD - if that guess is correct the solution is to do it correctly and select the photos in Photo and export (file menu ==> export) so you now and control what exactly is being exported

and as to Photos not being organized - it is automatically by years/collections and moments and you can build any organization you want using folders, albums and smart albums in Photos (much easier and smarter than having a second set of photos organized using the finder on an EHD)

LN

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Answer 4

youyou07

Level 1

4 points

Oct 16, 2017 3:20 PM in response to FluffySeaTurtle

hey any luck with this issue? i am in the same place as you were. any sugestions?

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Answer 5

Vickoid Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 19, 2016 12:24 AM in response to LarryHN

Hi Larry

Thank you for your reply.

Sorry for the delay, I've been travelling and not had time to look at this issue in any detail. I am now doing so (with a heavy heart!)

I appreciate your advice, about running the Photos library on an EHD. I didn't know you could do that. However, I guess I was trying to have the photos on an EHD, PLUS an online back up - my thinking on this was that EHDs are subject to corruption or damage. IE: I already load my pics from my phone to Photos on my imac, organise and save them to an EDH, then delete them from Photos (to save space/prevent slowing down of imac) and do an online back up to Flickr (the latter is VERY time consuming and you're right subject to error and complicated). If I ran the Photos on an EHD, my only sets of photos would be on there, plus on another EHD. Is this a bit risky? Say if both became corrupted or got damaged? Quite unlikely, I know, but possible...?

I do already do a time machine back up of my imac, but the photos wouldn't be on there as I delete them from Photos as I back them up....

Re: the other question - I was saying that when I connect the phone to Photos (or try to upload them to Flickr), any photos that have been emailed or what's apped to me and I've saved to my phone do not show up at all.

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Answer 6

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Mar 24, 2017 9:47 PM in response to FluffySeaTurtle

Of course not - you can not make a small photo larger without major quality loss - but using Photos it is not possible to delete the high resolution version leaving only the thumbnail so I'm not sure where you are coming from - please explain

LN

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Answer 7

Mar 25, 2017 5:07 AM in response to LarryHN

Thank you for your quick response. I recently came across pictures on my EHD that look like this: thumb_DSC1010.jpg. They did not used to be that way. They were moved there along time ago from Aperture. I no longer have the originals. I know you're thinking I should've put them on more then one EHDs. Well I did, and both now have that problem. It's only in one folder, all the other folders are fine

Any thoughts?

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