I'm using High Sierra OS 10.13.2. I have a lot of Photo libraries. Why does Photos "update" a library each time I open one? This did not happen with the old operating system. I am not using iCloud for my photos.
iMac G5 (20-inch), macOS High Sierra (10.13.1)
When you update the Photos software the first time you open a library from a previous version it will need to be updated and if the library is not stored on a proper drive (Where is it safe to store a Photos Library? Requirements for the external drive) you may have this problem every time you open the library -- where are your libraries located and if on an external drive what format is it and how is it connected?
And as a side note although it certainly is a personal decision in general having more than one Photos library (or maybe two if you want only a subset of your library on iCloud Photo Library) is not a good idea and makes things much harder to manage - many draw backs and no advantages
LN
When you update the Photos software the first time you open a library from a previous version it will need to be updated and if the library is not stored on a proper drive (Where is it safe to store a Photos Library? Requirements for the external drive) you may have this problem every time you open the library -- where are your libraries located and if on an external drive what format is it and how is it connected?
And as a side note although it certainly is a personal decision in general having more than one Photos library (or maybe two if you want only a subset of your library on iCloud Photo Library) is not a good idea and makes things much harder to manage - many draw backs and no advantages
LN
Thanks, LarryHN. The photos are all stored on my iMac's hard drive, not on an external drive, except for the properly formatted backup drive I use with Time Machine. Thanks also for the informative link for safe storage.
I suppose this is really not a big problem. I did, however, after receiving your help, reload two photo albums I had already loaded earlier today. One of them loaded directly, the other went through the updating process again. So, it would seem to be a bit random. I will start keeping track of when it does this updating more than once.
I haven't had problems (yet) with having multiple libraries. There is a "system library" where I put things that I want to sync with my iPhone and/or iPad. My process would probably be considered to be a work-around, but so far it does work. I'd appreciate knowing what the drawbacks are as I really don't want to lose photos.
Thanks for your help.
MNorgrove
Drawbacks are management of multiple libraries, finding photos since you have to know which library to look in, importing into the correct library - again it is your choice but except for a few special cases like totally different sets of photos (work and home) and if you want only a subset of your library on iCloud Photo Library it is not a good idea
As to losing photos - not really a problem except that since library management is more complicated it increases the chances of making a error that would lose photos
LN
Thanks for responding again. It's good to have knowledgeable people willing to help. I do keep my photos separated since I travel a lot and almost always know where to find the ones I want. I've labeled the libraries specifically for trips, family, etc. And, at least up to this point, I've had a routine I use to keep things in the libraries where they belong. Hope to keep it up by being careful. Thanks once more.
MNorgrove
I've labeled the libraries specifically for trips, family, etc. And, at least up to this point, I've had a routine I use to keep things in the libraries where they belong.
That is a perfect organisation, as long as you do not need to use photos from differentibraries at the same time for a project. Smaller libraries are easier to mangage and to backup.
I like to be able to use my photos from all years together in a project - for example to make a slideshow of all photos showing bears or lions, independent of where and when I took the photo. Or screensaver with all photos showing lighthouses. This would not work, if the photos were separated by country or year. The same for family photos. To be able to make an anniversary book for a relative, I need easy access to all photos in my Photos Library. It would be cumbersome to have to track them down in separate libraries.
Thanks, léonie. I have had to pull from different libraries from time to time, but I have a routine for doing that, too. Doesn't happen very often, though. I do have what I think is a lot of libraries, but I suppose it's really not that many, and unless I get senile, I know where things are. 🙂
I am using PowerPhotos a lot, because it allows to search for duplicates, and it can show the photos library sorted in many ways. I can sort the photos by the file size or the filenames, which is not possible in Photos.
If a library is large, PowerPhotos takes a long time to launch, so I keept it open in the background. But for your smaller libraries it should not be a problem.
Power Photos just a browser. if you want to edit a photo, you have to use the command "SHow in Photos". Then PowerPhotos will open Photos with the photo selected, and you can edit it or export it.
Thank you! This sounds perfect for me. I will try it. And thanks for the hint about keeping it open in the background. I find High Sierra very slow. But that's another problem for another time. Happy New Year!
You may consider to get yourself Power Photos, it makes it easy to browse more than one library at a time and to move photos between libraries, It is a nice successor to iPhoto Library Manager.
Thanks again, léonie. I had not heard of it. I'm leaving tomorrow on a trip and will check it out from my laptop when I get to Reno. It sounds perfect. Do you use it?
Photo libraries and OS 10.13.2
