Multiple photos libraries?

Question

Level 1

6 points

Multiple photos libraries?

I have been using iPhoto for many years. A few years ago I separated my one giant library into separate ones for each year. This was a tedious process but was well worth it because iPhoto was getting so bogged down with the size of the photo library. I realize iPhoto is on its way out and I am considering switching to Photos. Is there a way to create multiple libraries? I would imagine I'll have the same performance issues if I try to put all of my photos into one Photos library.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Apr 10, 2016 6:28 PM

Reply

Answer 1

FoxFifth

Level 10

468,801 points

Apr 10, 2016 6:40 PM in response to kliles

kliles wrote:

... Is there a way to create multiple libraries? ...

Not sure it is a good idea in most cases but see below from Adjust the size of your Photos library to work with iCloud Photo Library on your Mac - Apple Support

Hold down the Option key while opening Photos.

Choose Create New.

Import content from your previous library to create a new, smaller library.

Reply

Answer 2

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Apr 10, 2016 6:50 PM in response to kliles

Yes Photos can use Multiple libraries exactly like yo did with iPhoto could and creating them is exactly the same - but you can only have one system library which is the only library that will sync with iCloud Photo Library and work with the media browser, etc so it is a pain to have multiple libraries - not to mention the issue with searching for a photo and not knowing what library it is in

And no large libraries are not a performance issue with Photos - opening a large library is a bit slower but use is not

You can migrate each iPhoto library by dragging it to the Photos icon in the Dock

For using multiple libraries you probably will want to invest in PowerPhotos

What are you calling a large library?

LN

Reply

Answer 3

kliles Author

Level 1

6 points

Apr 10, 2016 6:50 PM in response to LarryHN

I don't remember the size of my old library (before the split) - I put it on an external hard drive for safe-keeping but deleted it from my laptop. To give you an idea, each year's library is ~70GB. Over time, that gets very cumbersome to deal with.

I agree that having multiple libraries is less than ideal, particularly for the issue you brought up about searching for photos. That said, it was the only way I could continue to use iPhoto without a ton of frustration. I'm considering other options right now because I don't love the Photos interface anyway, but I did want to find out what my options would be for managing the libraries. Thanks for the info!

Reply

Answer 4

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Apr 10, 2016 7:01 PM in response to kliles

FYI - my small Photos library of recent photos is 110 GB with about 20,000 photos - no problems at all

My large library of older photos is well over 700 GB with over 80,000 photos - it loads a bit slower but works well - I only have the separate because I am cheap and do not want to pay for that much iCLoud space and am not wanting to put up with the slow initial upload for a giant library (the tow combined are about 100,000 photos)

As the the application you like to use - that is a personal choice only you can make - we can help you use Photos (or iPhoto) but we can not make personal choices for you

LN

Reply