Can I have multiple PHOTOS libraries (like I could with iPhoto)?

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Can I have multiple PHOTOS libraries (like I could with iPhoto)?

In a nutshell, I am *not* interested in sharing or streaming photos. My photos come from a lot of places, not just Apple or iOS devices. Rather than streaming/sharing I need to organize/partition (with some minor edit capability - but that a distant secondary need).

I currently use iPhoto 8 (aka iPhoto2009). Now that I'm running High Sierra it looks like I could update to iPhoto 9 (iPhoto2011), tho' I understand that it also is 'legacy' and I'm not all that interested in migrating to something that's dead-ended if there's a better option.

I simply want to (a) organize photos from a variety of sources, (b) do minor tweaks (edits), and (c) display the photos on our AppleTVs (gen 3 & 4).

I probably have 2 dozen iPhoto Libraries. With iPhoto, it's a snap to switch between Libraries. Can I do this easily with Photos? Is there a better alternative for my needs?

MBair, MBPro, Mini, iStuff

Posted on Feb 26, 2018 3:47 PM

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Answer 1

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LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Feb 26, 2018 6:21 PM in response to keriah

Yes you can no different that iPhoto except there is no switch library command (your version of iPhoto may not even have that) but you either double click on the library you want to open or you hold down the option key while launching Photos and use the select library window

But Photos is a new and different program and requires learning and new work flows - these links may help with the transition - : Links to User tips re migrating from iPhoto to Photos

And it is really your only choice - upgrades to iPhoto were discontinued nearly three years ago and getting a version that works with High Sierra is not possible and iPhoto

And I suggest that you rethink your multiple library strategy - generally things work much better with one large library than with multiple smaller libraries - much easier to manage and having multiple libraries greatly reduces the power of Photos (or iPhoto) to find photos you want

LN

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Answer 2

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Feb 27, 2018 9:59 AM in response to keriah

here is a user tip on simulating start ratings - How to Simulate Star Ratings in Photos

Photos is new and different and does need new work flows

all of the user tips are here - Thematic Index to Photos for Mac Related User Tips:

LN

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

194,773 points

Feb 27, 2018 10:24 AM in response to keriah

Then the User Tip that Larry pointed to should work for you. How to Simulate Star Ratings in Photos

If you use the keywords like I am using them "5****", "4****", etc, you can use use smart albums with a rule "text contains ****" to find all photos with at least four stars. This will include the "5****" photos as well. and to search for exactly four stars use "keyword is 4****"

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Answer 4

keriah Author

Level 1

96 points

Feb 26, 2018 6:33 PM in response to LarryHN

Thanks, Niel & Larry,

And esp. for the link. It looks like I have some reading up to do. (FWIW, I had one brief encounter a year or so ago when I copied one of my iPhoto libraries over to my Mini and when I opened it there it migrated it to a Photos Library. That experience worried me because it didn't appear then that I could create a second library. It's good to hear that that is possible.)

As far as I can tell, I can launch iPhoto9 on High Sierra. Of course, it opens with a blank library and I didn't want to try it with any of my iPhoto8 libraries (even tho' they are backed up in about 6 places!!) if that isn't the eventual course for them.

As for a strategy of multiple libraries: Each library has between 10,000 - 20,000 photos in it. It was probably back in 2004 that I took the route of multiple 'smaller' (10k photos) libraries when I had one with over 20,000 photos and it became corrupted. Since then it has always seemed safer to not risk "all my eggs" (as it were) in the single-library basket.

I suppose I could consider these satellite libraries for collecting and organizing the source photos -- and then collect the "cream of the crop" into one master library. I will admit that finding "pictures of Paris" is becoming harder and harder with libraries organized around travel year rather than travel place.

With iPhoto I used an app named "IPLM" (iPhoto Library Manager). It still launches under HS but, of course, only appears to work with iPhoto Libraries. Perhaps there is a similar app for Photos. (??)

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Answer 5

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Feb 26, 2018 10:00 PM in response to keriah

iPhoto 9.6.1 (which is iPhoto '11, not iPhoto '09) will work on High Sierra

iPhoto Library Manager authorFatCat has PowerPhotos for Photos - not all the same capabilities but a great utility to have if you have multiple libraries

As to multiple libraries, again your choice but as you ae seeing you lose a lot by having multiple libraries - I have two (due to using iCloud Photo Library), a large library with around 80,000 photos and a small library with about 26,000 more recent photos - even with that it is amazing how many times I want older photos

LN

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Answer 6

keriah Author

Level 1

96 points

Feb 27, 2018 9:55 AM in response to LarryHN

Thanks again, Larry. I'm very happy to hear about the FatCat app. I'll check it out! (And also a book I found on iBooks on the latest rev. of Photos -- it sounds like it has some nifty features ... tho' I'm stressed over the loss of the 'star' rating system, which is an integral part of my current workflow.)

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Answer 7

léonie

Level 10

194,773 points

Feb 27, 2018 10:07 AM in response to keriah

. tho' I'm stressed over the loss of the 'star' rating system, which is an integral part of my current workflow.)

It is not completely gone. It only has been reduced to a singe rating badge, the "Favorite" heart

♡. I am using the Favorite ♡ badge like I used the flag in iPhoto. And use keywords for the other ratings. The problem is, that the keywords are not displayed as badges on the thumbnails. So I do no longer bother with 1* and 2* ratios and delete the weaker photos immediately.

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Answer 8

keriah Author

Level 1

96 points

Feb 27, 2018 10:16 AM in response to léonie

Hmmm... Okay, I see where I could possibly work with keywords. Thanks!

Yes, I knew about the Favorite badge but that wasn't nuanced enough for my workflow (1=junk; 2=keep around but mostly disregard; 3=ok; 4&5 for levels of really good/great). I then used smart albums for, say, anything 3 or over for AppleTV. An album with 3s gets minor edit tweaks while 4 & 5 only get crops (etc., etc.).

I don't really need to see the stars with the thumbnails so I think that's not a loss for me -- my main use is for the sort order (of the entire library) and for Smart Albums.

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Answer 9

Niel

Level 10

726,935 points

Feb 26, 2018 6:21 PM in response to keriah

Yes, you can. It works the same way as in iPhoto.

(158179)

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Can I have multiple PHOTOS libraries (like I could with iPhoto)?

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