Photos replace image aliases with original images

Thanks for the help. Apple sure doesn't provide it in its Help file:

"Referenced files aren’t automatically uploaded and stored in iCloud Photo Library, and they aren’t backed up along with the rest of your files when you back up your photo library—you must back them up manually. If you want to avoid manually backing up referenced files, you can move or consolidate the files into your library."

This doesn't tell you how to do it. Plus, the move files into your library advice is incorrect. The alias will not be able to find the original (that now is in your Library), and the original you moved into Photos has none of the keywords and none of the modifications.

Your instructions were crystal clear, and I started bringing in the originals in less than two minutes. I was griping about the Photos Help file instructions (or lack thereof). Read the paragraph I quoted. There is nothing about how to find referenced photos and nothing about the fact that consolidate is an item in the File menu that will remove aliases, insert copies of originals, and link all the metadata and modifications to the original that's now in the Library. I have seen and ignored the Consolidate… menu item. Consolidate means to combine things into a coherent whole. It does not mean to replace one thing (an alias) with another (a copy of the original). I assumed that Consolidate… was about combining Libraries. One could argue that putting originals into the Library is consolidating. It isn’t, because the Library gets a copy of the original that still resides elsewhere. Doubling the number of files and keeping them in two locations is the opposite of consolidation. A logical menu item name would be “Replace Aliases with Originals.” It’s a long name, but it’s the same length as the “Show Referenced File in Finder” menu item above it.

With iPhotos, referenced images were easier to work with than with Photos. A big advantage is sharing images. Apple doesn’t let you create aliases to the images in the Library. It is nearly impossible to share images that are located only in the Photos library when the other users don’t have Photos. Referenced images can be shared with Windows or Linux users. You could control which images were shared. That’s impossible if you share a Photos Library. Another advantage of referenced images, which was a big factor for me, is the ability to use a different image management program. I started with iView MediaPro, a referenced image manager that had many advantages over iPhoto. Unfortunately, iView Media Pro got bought by Microsoft. I knew I had to migrate. The price doubled, and then the app was orphaned due to low sales. (Duh.) I gradually transitioned to iPhoto, which I used in reference mode. I had no problems using reference mode for more than ten years. I’m migrating to managed mode in Photos because it is mediocre at reference mode.

The list of disadvantages of using referenced images did not apply to iPhoto. Third party tools could handle replacement of aliases with originals, relocation of originals, removal of originals when deleting an image within iPhoto, and repairing broken connections. The issue of Photos losing “the connection” to referenced images is absurd. Your Library would have to be significantly damaged for that to happen. You would just replace the Library from your backup. Apple wants greater control over what you can do because it thinks it knows what is best for us, and it doesn’t want to support lots of options. That’s why, in most respects, Photos is inferior to iPhoto 8. I believe Apple is paving the way for dropping referenced images in a future version of Photos. It will cite the disadvantages (that it created) as the reason.