How can I make certain my photos aren't replicated ad infinitum?

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Level 1

4 points

How can I make certain my photos aren't replicated ad infinitum?

I have Photos 1.0.1 installed on a Macbook Pro Retina late 2013 running OS X v10.10.5

I recently solved a challenge with syncing my Photos on Mac with my iPhone 6 by reading here, but now I am stumped.

I am looking at my Photos library for the first time in a while and I am finding that I have extra copies of many images. 5 to 8 extras of many images. In looking at them, much of the Meta data is different, which may be partially, at least, due to a disk erasure & recovery incident I went through in 2014.

In looking through these boards, I learned what a referenced vs. a managed photo library is, and determined that I have a managed one. I saw where, due to this, deleting photos in Photos should remove the original file from the disk. This does not seem to be happening.

Could it be that my Photos library file, and my Picture folders are located on an external drive, rather than the default file structure on the startup disk?

It seems like eliminating additional, superfluous copies of photos in a 20,000+ image library could save me some disk space, but going through the library and then through all the folders in search of the extras will not be efficient.

I'd like to know that deleting a photograph from the Photos library will eliminate that photograph from my HDD. How can I ensure this?

Any thoughts on this?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), Intel Core I5, 16 GB RAM

Posted on May 3, 2016 6:09 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

StingFish76

Level 1

59 points

May 4, 2016 8:33 PM in response to Fuzzy2k

Is it possible you have more than one Photos Library?

Let's say I have Photo Library "A" and it the first library I've ever created. I then turn on iCloud Photo Library so those sync up to my iCloud account.

If I do have more than one Photos Library, and I designate Photos Library "B" as the System Photos library, it does turn off the iCloud Photo library feature.

If I go to turn on iCloud Photo Library after making Photos Library "B" the new System Photos Library, the pictures already synced up to my iCloud account from Photos Library "A" will merge with Photos Library "B" and could be what's happening here.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

194,653 points

May 4, 2016 8:33 PM in response to Fuzzy2k

I'd like to know that deleting a photograph from the Photos library will eliminate that photograph from my HDD. How can I ensure this?

Deleting a photo from your Photos Library will delete it from your HDD (from the package that is your Photos Library) after you delete it from the Recently Deleted album.

Photos has a kind of trash bin, the Recently Deleted album, where it will keep the photos for recovery, so you can recover them, if you accidentally trashed more photos then you wanted to trash.

The Recently Deleted album will only be shown, if it contains photos. In Photos on Yosemite you need to reveal the album from the View menu.

There are two usual reasons for less disk space freed than you expected:

If your Photos library is a migrated iPhoto Library or Aperture library, the images in both libraries may be using the same storage (see: Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support). Then the storage will only be freed, after you delete the same photos from the other library, or delete the other library completely.
If you have been trying to delete your photos while browsing albums, you may have only removed the photos from the albums and not deleted them from the library. Did the photos appear in "recently Deleted"?

Where are you seeing duplicates in your library? are you browsing the library in Phots or using the Finder?

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Answer 3

Fuzzy2k Author

Level 1

4 points

May 4, 2016 12:19 AM in response to léonie

Thank you both for your time. I am not using the iCloud account yet. I may yet begin at some point, but I am more comfortable maintaining a sufficiency of inexpensive storage in my own control.

Curiously, the Recently Deleted Photos album is available on my iPhone, but not on the Macbook Pro Photos app. On the Macbook, when I look for a Show Recently Deleted Photos album item under the View menu, I find that the closest I can get to that is Show Hidden Photo Album. Selecting this, that menu item changes to Hide Hidden Photo Album, but no additional album appears, anywhere. On the iPhone the Recently Deleted is at the bottom of the list of albums, following all of my custom folders. On my Mac, the list just ends there (with Zeppelin Ertegun Tribute at O2)

Any ideas on where I might find this Recently Deleted Photos album?

FWIW, my Photos library *is* a migrated iPhoto library. My old iPhoto library is still on the external drive I store all my documents on. Might deleting this allow me to rid myself of these unwanted image files?

The 2nd number in your post troubles me a bit. One of the things I have always loved about my Macintosh and the various technologies to find their way into my home from Apple is that they tend to make sense to me. When I right click on a duplicate photo in Photos, I am presented with a couple different (relevant) options - Remove from Album, and Delete xn Photo(s). This would seem to suggest that I *can* in act, delete photos from the album.

In order to test this, I checked the total number of photos in my All Photos album - 18,149.

I then deleted, from my album 2005 River Trip four more duplicates, and looked at my All Photos album again and find that the total is adjusted as one would expect to 18,145. I have not, as yet, done any comparisons of amount of space on the drive freed up, but I have the feeling it would be zero.

Perhaps all will be revealed when/if I am able to uncover this Recently Deleted Items folder on my Mac.

Fingers Crossed, I am hoping to find this info through the googles or here.

It is an item under the File menu. So I deleted 1,558 items that I had "deleted" these past few days, and now I am seeing some substantial gains.

So, advice is still sough on that old iPhoto library from February 2015 - is there any reason to hold on to it?

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Answer 4

léonie

Level 10

194,653 points

May 4, 2016 12:38 AM in response to Fuzzy2k

I have not, as yet, done any comparisons of amount of space on the drive freed up, but I have the feeling it would be zero.

Perhaps all will be revealed when/if I am able to uncover this Recently Deleted Items folder on my Mac.

In the "All Photos" album right-clicking and selecting "Delete Photos" will move them to the "Recently Deleted" album.

You can also use the the key combination command-delete ⌘⌫ to achieve the same.

Any ideas on where I might find this Recently Deleted Photos album?

You are running Yosemite. In Photos on Yosemite the "Recently Deleted" album has to be revealed from the main menu bar. In the newer Photos versions it is always shown. I don't remember, which menu had the command "Show Recently Deleted" - I think it was the View menu. Just click through the menus.

If you want to use Photos as your main photo software, consider to upgrade to El Capitan, if that will not interfere with your other applications. Photos on el Capitan is considerably better than the first release on Yosemite.

So, advice is still sough on that old iPhoto library from February 2015 - is there any reason to hold on to it?

Keep it until you are sure, that all photos migrated well and you do not need to recover photo books or calendars. The themes for the products changed. Other than that, I would make a backup on your backup drive, if you do not have a current backup and delete the Photos library.

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