Unable to edit in photos for mac

Hello

I have today gone back to an album of photos from 2014 in photos on my mac and the edit tools appear to be non functional. It only appears to be this album. More recent photos can all be edited as can photos further in the history. I was thinking maybe I've saved these photos somewhere different but can't seem to find them if so. Anyone able to help please? Want to edit this album to create a photobook. Attached you can see the edit tools greyed out.

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iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Jul 30, 2017 12:27 PM

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7 replies

Aug 3, 2017 12:01 PM in response to Richiesoft

This has found the file I searched for at this location:


/Users/richardtanswell/Pictures/Photos\ Library.photoslibrary/Masters/2015/11/22/Australia\ Oct\ Nov\ 2014

That is good. The photo is still in your Photos Library in the Masters folder. The problem is, that Photos cannot find the files. You could try, if repairing the library will fix this. It helped in iPhoto in similar cases, but in Photos it rarely helps.


Since it is only one album, I would copy the photos from the Masters folder to a folder on your Desktop and then reimport them. Test to reimport first with a single photo and see, if you can use the reimported version for your Book.

To open the containing folder for the photo you can use the search result in Find Any File. When you ctrl-click the found photo in the list, you can select to reveal it in the Finder.


When you import the photo again to Photos, you may see a warning about a duplicate being added. Confirm, that you want the photo to be added anyway.


Since the photos have been included in the library, stored in the Masters folder, and are not referenced outside the library, the command "File > Show referenced File in Finder" does not work, because Photos handles them as managed files. And so the command to "Consolidate" is also not available.

Aug 3, 2017 11:39 AM in response to Richiesoft

What type of photo is it? The edit box will be grayed out, if the photo is a video, or if the original image file cannot be accessed. As a test, try to use "File > Export > Export unmodified original" for one of the photos you cannot edit. Can the original file be exported or do you get an error message?

Can you use the command "show referenced File in Finder" for the photo, or is the command disabled?


Are you using iCloud Photo Library?

Aug 3, 2017 11:40 AM in response to Richiesoft

Something must have removed the photos from the library. Did you run any applications to remove duplicates, like CleanMy Mac? These tools are dangerous, because they can damage a Photos Library beyond repair.

Try to search for the missing photos.

Download FindAnyFile, that will be the easiest method to search everywhere - the free trial version will suffice to search you Mac for the filename.

You can download and try it here: http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/index.php


When you select one of the photos I Photos, you can see the filename of the missing photo in the Info panel. Select a photo and enter the key combination ⌘I to open the panel. The filename will be shown below the title. Copy the filename and enter it in FindAnyFiles search field.


Does it find any versions and where?

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Unable to edit in photos for mac

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