gregov

Q: Photos vs iPhoto

when Photos for Mac was introduced it was installed on my Mac but I still have iPhoto. How do I get rid of iPhoto and its connected library (supposedly Photos has all my iPhoto library and more?)?

Posted on Jun 14, 2016 1:08 PM

Close

Q: Photos vs iPhoto

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jun 14, 2016 1:32 PM in response to gregov
    Level 10 (105,726 points)
    iLife
    Jun 14, 2016 1:32 PM in response to gregov
    How do I get rid of iPhoto and its connected library (supposedly Photos has all my iPhoto library and more?)?

    There is no need to be in a hurry to get rid of iPhoto and the iPhoto Library. The image files in the iPhoto Library are stored in the same place as the image files in your Photos Library, so both libraries together are sharing the storage, see this link:  Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support

     

    You can take your time to check, if all photos from your iPhoto Library migrated well and if you need to copy any captions or titles from your iPhoto events over to Photos.

    Also your smart albums and books or calendars may not have been migrated completely, see this link:  How Photos handles content and metadata from iPhoto and Aperture - Apple Support

    If you have iPhoto 9.6.1 you can still  launch it  and compare the libraries.

     

    When you are done, make a backup copy of both  the iPhoto library and the iPhoto application and then simply delete them using the Finder. Then empty the Trash.  It will not free much storage however.

  • by gregov,

    gregov gregov Jun 14, 2016 3:01 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iLife
    Jun 14, 2016 3:01 PM in response to léonie

    But I have 35.44GB file for Photos (Pictures/Photos) AND 28.26GB file for iPhoto (Pictures/iPhoto). If I deleted iPhotos files, it would free up a lot of space!

  • by LarryHN,Helpful

    LarryHN LarryHN Jun 16, 2016 3:23 PM in response to gregov
    Level 10 (84,190 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jun 16, 2016 3:23 PM in response to gregov

    As Léonie posred

     

    When you are done, make a backup copy of both  the iPhoto library and the iPhoto application and then simply delete them using the Finder. Then empty the Trash.

     

    If you have deleted lots of photos since you migrated to Photos you will some some space - and in any case with a good archive of the iPhoto library thee is no risk of deleting it

     

    LN

  • by gregov,

    gregov gregov Jun 16, 2016 3:26 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iLife
    Jun 16, 2016 3:26 PM in response to LarryHN

    Why would I back up my iPhotos when Photos already has the same info and more. Why not just delete it. Also look at my reply before which shows I have two huge files.

  • by Terence Devlin,Helpful

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jun 16, 2016 3:39 PM in response to gregov
    Level 10 (139,475 points)
    iLife
    Jun 16, 2016 3:39 PM in response to gregov

    You can delete it but some folks are a bit more cautious - and you might not discover a problem with your Photos library for a few weeks, for instance.

     

    As for disk space: the two libraries use Unix Hard Links to the actual files, so while they both claim to manage 25 gigs of space, for instance, it's the same 25 gigs more or less. Delete the iPhoto Library and you won't get 28 gigs of HD space back, more likely 2 or 3 only.

  • by gregov,

    gregov gregov Jun 16, 2016 3:48 PM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iLife
    Jun 16, 2016 3:48 PM in response to Terence Devlin

    So if I delete the iPhotos file, it won't be 28.26 of data?

    Screen Shot .jpg

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jun 16, 2016 3:50 PM in response to gregov
    Level 10 (139,475 points)
    iLife
    Jun 16, 2016 3:50 PM in response to gregov

    Correct, it won't. Like I say somewhere in the region of 2 or 3 gigs