Jerry Dammers

Q: Changing Description of multiple photos

I highlight the relevant photos and the change the Description field within Info (Cmd + I).

 

However when I click out of the Info box, it asks me if I want to change the description for 3,000 photos (all the photos in that year, not just the photos that I've highlighted).

 

Any idea why it's doing this? Is there another method for updating Description?

 

Thank you

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), + iPhone 6 Plus & iPad Air 2

Posted on Sep 27, 2016 1:43 AM

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Q: Changing Description of multiple photos

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  • by JanetWright777,

    JanetWright777 JanetWright777 Oct 2, 2016 3:26 PM in response to Jerry Dammers
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 2, 2016 3:26 PM in response to Jerry Dammers

    I have been getting this problem with descriptions I type in photos in the  "Last import"  album.  If I type in a new description it applies it to everything in the import even if not selected.  I never get a warning this is going to happen.  I have thousands of descriptions that I depend on, so I'm scared to try it in any older album.  The tip in this forum to close the info pane every time I type a new description was a good one, and does seem to keep it from happening.  But what a pain that is!  Apple, fix this!!

  • by Jerry Dammers,

    Jerry Dammers Jerry Dammers Oct 3, 2016 12:55 AM in response to JanetWright777
    Level 1 (23 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 3, 2016 12:55 AM in response to JanetWright777

    JanetWright777 wrote:

     

    I have been getting this problem with descriptions I type in photos in the  "Last import"  album.  If I type in a new description it applies it to everything in the import even if not selected.  I never get a warning this is going to happen.

     

    I find that in smart albums a message appears asking if you want to change all the descriptions but in manually created albums (plus "Last Import" in your case), Photos changes all the descriptions without warning.

     

    JanetWright777 wrote:

     

    The tip in this forum to close the info pane every time I type a new description was a good one, and does seem to keep it from happening.

     

    I find that you can also just click anywhere outside a photo and/or the Info pane and it has the same effect - i.e. you don't need to actually close the Info pane.

     

    In my experience, the least problematic album to change descriptions in "Photos" (first album, top left), where the photos are split chronologically into "moments".

     

    In that view, the only condition where (seemingly) a description is changed for other photos is when you use copy/paste to change a description and then it will change the next photo if you click straight into it. However, as above, if you click anywhere outside the photo and/or close the Info pane, then copy/paste is disabled and the description isn't changed.

     

    JanetWright777 wrote:

     

    But what a pain that is!  Apple, fix this!!

     

    I'm only speculating but it's possible it's a deliberate feature in that Apple might have decided that, firstly, most manually created albums have the same description (so any change is automatically applied to all photos to save time), and, secondly, that the cut/paste function is extended to further photos that are clicked to save time.

     

    In reality, I share your frustration and it seems like an error. I've only just realised that many of my descriptions have been incorrect as the condition has been there for a while and I didn't notice!

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Oct 3, 2016 1:48 AM in response to Jerry Dammers
    Level 10 (108,438 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 3, 2016 1:48 AM in response to Jerry Dammers
    I'm only speculating but it's possible it's a deliberate feature in that Apple might have decided that, firstly, most manually created albums have the same description (so any change is automatically applied to all photos to save time), and, secondly, that the cut/paste function is extended to further photos that are clicked to save time.

    And this is creating more work than it saves, because it is destroying all descriptions and titles that already have been assigned in the album, without a warning. It is no fun to have to restore the descriptions years later and to identify all objects on the messed up photos again. My photos are in many albums and the titlesand descriptions  of adjacent photos are rarely the same.

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