Upgrading to El Capitan and Photos

So that seems to mean that once I upgrade to El Capitan, I will no longer be able to use iPhoto. I can reconcile myself to that but I still need to know the best way to prepare for the upgrade in order to avoid problems.

That is right. iPhoto 9.6.1 is the only version compatible with El Capitan.

But you cannot update iPhoto 8.1.2 to this version. It is not a free update but requires a purchase of iPhoto '11, and that is not possible any longer, because Apple stopped selling iPhoto from the App Store.

When I upgraded from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion last February, Old Toad advised me to first rebuild my iPhoto Library. Apple’s built-in tool made a mess and I used iPhoto Library Manager version 3.2.4. Is there any reason I would need to rebuild the library again?

It would be wise to run all repairs - repair permissions, repair library, to ensure the iPhoto library has no issues. It needs to be done before you upgrade the system, because it will be impossible to run iPhoto 9.8.1 after the upgrade, if you should discover issues with the library. But make a backup copy of the library, before you repair it. This way you can easily restore the original library, if the repair should go wrong.

I know the first step is a backup.

Make a full backup -a Time machine backup or a bootable clone. Then you can restore your current system, if you should encounter problems on El Capitan. See: OS X El Capitan: Revert to a previous OS X version

Where is your iPhoto Library stored? If it is on an external drive, move it to a drive, that is formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled). Otherwise the Migration to Photos will not work.

Photos does not yet support batch changing like iPhoto did. If you need to batch change titles to the date or the filename do it while you are still using iPhoto.

Finish all book projects or Calendar projects in iPhoto, because the book and Calendar templates have changed and the books might look different in Photos.

How Photos handles content and metadata from iPhoto and Aperture - Apple Support

how would I find out whether it is formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled)?

If the library is on your system drive, it is most like ly correctly formatted. But check anyway: select your MacintoshHD in the Finder and press the key combination ⌘I (for File > Get Info). The Info panel will show you the file system:

I'm afraid I need more basic step by step instructions regarding running "all repairs." I assume "repair permissions" refers to the application Utilities -> Disk Utility -> Repair Disk Permissions? And that would mean running it with the Hard Drive selected? Or is there a specific utility for iPhoto?

I meant to run the iPhoto Library First Aid Tools you referred to in your original post. Run all of them but "Rebuilding".

To run the iPhoto Library First Aid Tools:

1. Quit iPhoto if it is open.
2. Hold down the Command and Option keys on the keyboard.
3. Open iPhoto.
4. Keep the keys held down until you are prompted to rebuild the library.
5. A dialog will appear with rebuild options. Select the options you want to use.
6. Click "Examine and repair iPhoto Library Permissions" to begin the repair process. This may take a few minutes to complete.

Repeat this with "Repair the iPhoto Library Database".

So just to be clear, you think that rebuilding is unnecessary, correct?

Rebuilding is slightly more risky then repairing. In the release notes for upgrading that I have seen, Apple usually recommends repairing the libraries before an upgrade to a new version, so I would do at least a repair.

This has made me wary. Are the two things you recommend (repairing permissions and repairing the library) less likely to cause me problems than the others did? Sorry to be so insecure. I hate all this fussing with things I don't understand and just want it all to be simple.

All Library First Aid options are a routine maintenance measure to ensure that a library is ship shape before upgrading and usually are safe to use. Repairing permissions or the library is fairly safe. Rebuilding is more intrusive, so Apple recommends to make a backup before rebuilding.

Only, if a library is already badly damaged, trying to rebuild it may damage it even more. So we need a backup before trying that.

You're welcome 🙂

The following may help you transition to Photos a little easier since Photos does not have Events any more:

Moments in Photos are the new Events, i.e. groupings of photos sorted by date taken.

When the iPhoto Library was first migrated to Photos there is a folder created in the sidebar titled iPhoto Events and all migrated iPhoto Events (which are now Moments) are represented by an album in that folder. To open the sidebar if it's not already open use the Option+Command+S key combination.

NOTE: It's been reported by several users that if the Event albums are moved out of the iPhoto Library folder in the sidebar they may disappear. It's not widespread but several users have reported that issue. Therefore, if you want to assure that you keep those Event albums don't move them outside the iPhoto Events folder.

There's a way to simulate events in Photos.

When new photos are imported into the Photos library go to the Last Import smart album, select all the photos and use the File ➙ New Album menu option or use the key combination Command+N. Name it as desired. It will appear just above the iPhoto Events folder where you can drag it into the iPhoto Events folder

When you click on the iPhoto Events folder you'll get a simulated iPhoto Events window.

Albums and smart albums can be sorted by Title, by Date with oldest first and by Date with newest first.

After repairing permissions rebuild the database from the automatic backup

LN

Rebuilding with iPhoto Library Manager is usually the last desparate measure, if the built-in First Aid Tools cannot fix an issue. But your iPhoto Library seems to be working, and if you do not experience any problems I would not do that.

I am reluctant to do that. Back in February when I was upgrading to Mountain Lion, I tried to use the built-in iPhoto repair options and ended up with half my pictures missing and had to restore the Library from back-up.

That's what backups are for. It's just good practice to make sure you have a current backup copy of the library before running any first aid routines on the library.