iPhoto to Aperture Migration Help

[jmg999]

Hi,

First off, I am not a Mac guy. I am an IT guy, however, and I'm trying to help a friend migrate from iPhoto to Aperture. I'd never used either of these applications until the other day, though.

The process has been slow, and I'm guessing that it has to do w/ the fact that I have no earthly idea what I'm doing. Currently, I'm going into his Pictures directory, where there are roughly 55 different iPhoto libraries. I'll open one, and it will display in iPhoto. There are multiple albums in each library, so I'll create directories on the desktop, which match the names of the albums in iPhoto. I'll then export each album individually to the directory that matches its name (I'm also resizing them a bit). I then drag-and-drop these directories into a directory under the Projects tree structure in Aperture.

I'd like to know if there's a way to export the entire library into this one directory in Aperture. I have to be able to keep the photos in their existing directory, otherwise I'll have to continue the migration manually.

I read online that these two applications now run on the same engine, and he could use them somewhat interchangeably, but he would prefer everything to be in Aperture. It's for his work, so I didn't argue.

He is running Aperture 3.5.1 and iPhoto 9.5.1 (902.17).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[priitv8]

I've used Aperture's Import function for this.
https://documentation.apple.com/en/aperture/usermanual/index.html#chapter=4&section=10&tasks=true
This way, you can also keep the iPhoto libs as backup or archive.

 

[jmg999]

Hi,

Thank you for your quick and helpful response. The thing I'm most concerned about is that it'll import the photos, but stick them in the directory w/in Aperture w/out the pre-existing directories (albums) that these photos were in, when they resided in iPhoto. In other words, there will just a bunch of photos w/out any of the directories from iPhoto. Will following the instructions at the link provided prevent this from happening? Thank you!

 

[priitv8]

Probably not, but AFAIK iPhoto uses the same package/bundle principle, as does Aperture.
I have never tried to let iPhoto keep photos in original locations.

BTW the bundle is not a single file, its a directory structure, camouflaged by Finder to look like a single entity.

To be honest, I really don't follow the ultimate desire to manage your files on disk. Let Aperture do this. You organise your events and pics inside Aperture as projects, folders, events etc.
At the end of the day, if you ultimately need to access the file structure, just let Finder Show Package Contents to you.

A Dip Inside The Aperture Library (it's 5 years old, but the basic ideology still holds).

PS I assume your friend knows the ill fate of Aperture (and iPhoto), before taking on such migration at this point in time?

 

[G4DP]

A few things. Will you friend be upgrading to the latest OS in the Autumn? Are they aware that both iPhoto and Aperture are now dead in the water?

I f you want to save yourself and friend time and effort wait until JellyStone is released. That way the move will only be made from iPhoho to Photos, leaving out the move to Aperture all together.

 

[Fishrrman]

Hmmm... I know I'm a little thick, but why not launch Aperture, then...

- choose "import/library", then...
- navigate to the "iPhoto" library in the user's home folder, then...
- select and open it?

Aperture will create its own new library, and import all the photos in the iPhoto library....

 

[Weaselboy]

I'd like to know if there's a way to export the entire library into this one directory in Aperture. I have to be able to keep the photos in their existing directory, otherwise I'll have to continue the migration manually.

Yes there is. Follow the steps in my post #2 here to export the iPhoto photos to the Desktop. Open each iPhoto library he has and repeat these steps. That will get the edited photos all exported from iPhoto in folders by event.

Now hold the option key when you start Aperture and create a new, empty library. Then just drag and drop all the folders you exported from the Desktop into Aperture. This will import everything and make an Aperture "project" for each folder that corresponds to the events from iPhoto.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Recent versions of iPhoto and Aperture use the identical library database structure. Any iPhoto Library can be opened in Aperture, as-is. Period. No "migration" necessary. If the library was created in an older version of iPhoto (and not opened in a recent version of iPhoto), then a conversion may be necessary. That will be detected automatically by Aperture the first time that library is opened. (Further, if you have current versions of both iPhoto and Aperture, the same library can continue to be opened by either app - "conversion" to Aperture is not a one-way street.)

I don't know why this person has 55 iPhoto libraries. I won't get into the likely illogic of that (other than segregating work done for various customers, which would make sense). However, Aperture has tools for both merging and splitting libraries - that's one of the "professionally-oriented" capabilities of Aperture. So, effectively, any re-organizing can be done after the fact - no need for you to deal with that now.

Finally, Albums are meaningless for your purposes. There's nothing for you to "preserve." Albums are a virtual structure, like a collection of photos on a web page - they bear no relation to where or how the photos are stored or organized within the library database. The same photo can appear in thousands of Albums, as each appearance in an album is, again, little different than a photo that appears on a web page - it can be linked from anywhere, and there are no limitations on how often or where that photo is linked.

 

[Weaselboy]

Any iPhoto Library can be opened in Aperture, as-is. Period.

This is true, and I toyed with this when I switched to Aperture, but ultimately decided to export in a flat file/folder format from iPhoto like I described to cut down on the space the library uses. In iPhoto if you import say a 2MB file then do maybe a redeye fix to the photo and save it, iPhoto saves another 2MB version of the file plus the original. So using my example you use 4MB of space for one edited photo. Aperture does not do this. It keeps the original photo then keeps a small "settings" file that it applies to the original photo when it is viewed that shows your edits. This effectively cuts the storage space used by Aperture libraries to about half that of iPhoto (assuming most photos get some kind of edit).

If you just use the old iPhoto library you get this benefit moving forward on new imports/edits, but you still have all those old iPhoto original photos laying around that at least in my case I did not need or want and were taking up drive space. By doing the export/import I described I cut down on the size of the library quite a bit.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

This is true, and I toyed with this when I switched to Aperture, but ultimately decided to export in a flat file/folder format from iPhoto like I described to cut down on the space the library uses. In iPhoto if you import say a 2MB file then do maybe a redeye fix to the photo and save it, iPhoto saves another 2MB version of the file plus the original. So using my example you use 4MB of space for one edited photo. Aperture does not do this. It keeps the original photo then keeps a small "settings" file that it applies to the original photo when it is viewed that shows your edits. This effectively cuts the storage space used by Aperture libraries to about half that of iPhoto (assuming most photos get some kind of edit).

If you just use the old iPhoto library you get this benefit moving forward on new imports/edits, but you still have all those old iPhoto original photos laying around that at least in my case I did not need or want and were taking up drive space. By doing the export/import I described I cut down on the size of the library quite a bit.

I operated on the assumption that this helpful person isn't trying to save disk space (since that wasn't mentioned), but simply helping someone migrate from one application to the other.

You're speaking of iPhoto in the present tense. Since iPhoto 9.3, it's been using the same database structure and methodology as Aperture - non-destructive editing, all edits saved as compact metadata (rather than as separate image files).

While it's possible some, most, or all of those 55 iPhoto libraries are in the old format and contain the "bloat," it's also possible they've been created or converted in iPhoto 9.3 or later, which means the bloat does not exist, or only exists for images imported/edited prior to the library format conversion. Exporting flat-file versions of images imported to iPhoto 9.3 or above means abandoning one of the fundamental advantages of non-destructive editing - preservation of the original master image. If the person has been shooting RAW... ouch!

Exporting flat file versions of the images (and then importing to Aperture) is a time-consuming process, and has the potential for unintended damage (discarding master images and/or the wrong versions). It's not something I'd recommend as a solution to anything other than a disk space issue, and even then, considering the low cost of disk space...

"Eliminate bloat" is not something a helper should do without knowing it's a problem, and if so, explaining the consequences to the person being helped.

 

[Weaselboy]

I operated on the assumption that this helpful person isn't trying to save disk space (since that wasn't mentioned), but simply helping someone migrate from one application to the other.

You're speaking of iPhoto in the present tense. Since iPhoto 9.3, it's been using the same database structure and methodology as Aperture - non-destructive editing, all edits saved as compact metadata (rather than as separate image files).

That is not what Apple says.

Read this (quote below):

Here’s how nondestructive editing works: When you import a photo, iPhoto stores the original version and never makes changes to it. After you open the photo and edit it for the first time, iPhoto saves the edited version separately, so you have two versions: the original photo and the edited photo. The original version is unaffected by your edits.

Every time you make more edits to that photo, iPhoto reopens the original version, applies your new edits, reapplies all the previous edits, and then saves this new edited version (again, it’s saved separately from the original).

I just made a new, blank library in iPhoto and imported a single 11.1MB photo and viewed it then quit iPhoto. I looked in the library and found a single version of the file as expected. Opened iPhoto again and did an "enhance" on the test photo then quit iPhoto and looked inside the library again. There is now a second version of that file in the library at 19.3MB. I did this twice with two different photos and got the same result. See my screenshot.

You are mistaken on this issue.

"Eliminate bloat" is not something a helper should do without knowing it's a problem, and if so, explaining the consequences to the person being helped.

Wow... it is sure a good thing we have you here letting all us helpers how we should be doing things (albeit in the most condescending way possible).

If you read my post I linked, I explained originals would by lost by doing this.

 

[jmg999]

Yes there is. Follow the steps in my post #2 here to export the iPhoto photos to the Desktop. Open each iPhoto library he has and repeat these steps. That will get the edited photos all exported from iPhoto in folders by event.

Now hold the option key when you start Aperture and create a new, empty library. Then just drag and drop all the folders you exported from the Desktop into Aperture. This will import everything and make an Aperture "project" for each folder that corresponds to the events from iPhoto.

I have a library that I'd already created in Aperture. I've manually exported each directory from each iPhoto library and placed them on the desktop. I then dragged/dropped them into the library in Aperture. I'm wondering if there's a way to export the entire library from iPhoto w/out the photos all being placed in a single directory on the desktop. When I tried to do this, I created a directory on the desktop, and it took all the photos out of the pre-existing directories in iPhoto and placed them all in the same directory that I'd created on the desktop. This was useless to me, so I had to dump them all, and go back to the manual method I'd been using.

 

[jmg999]

Weaselboy, I tried the technique you advised in the other post, and it sort of worked, I think. I highlighted Events, and it exported all the albums (I think that they're albums) to a directory on the desktop. It kept them sorted in the proper directories. The problem is, it only gets the directories in the Events portion of the tree structure. It doesn't get any of the stuff in the Albums portion of the tree structure. Is there a way to get those exported and properly sorted?

 

[ApfelKuchen]

That is not what Apple says.

Read this (quote below):



I just made a new, blank library in iPhoto and imported a single 11.1MB photo and viewed it then quit iPhoto. I looked in the library and found a single version of the file as expected. Opened iPhoto again and did an "enhance" on the test photo then quit iPhoto and looked inside the library again. There is now a second version of that file in the library at 19.3MB. I did this twice with two different photos and got the same result. See my screenshot.

You are mistaken on this issue.


Wow... it is sure a good thing we have you here letting all us helpers how we should be doing things (albeit in the most condescending way possible).

If you read my post I linked, I explained originals would by lost by doing this.

I do apologize for my tone, but as to "mistaken," that cuts two ways. My mistake was in failing to mention the existence of Preview files in BOTH iPhoto 9.3 (and up), and Aperture. Your mistakes are in believing there is a fundamental difference in how iPhoto and Aperture save edits, and that previews are unique to iPhoto. The existence of Previews explains why there are two copies of the test file (one in Masters, one in Previews).

There's a fine article that covers the uses of Previews at ApertureExpert.com that explains how all of this works since Aperture 3/iPhoto 9.3.

Unlike iPhoto, Aperture preferences can be changed to manage "preview bloat." However, unless those settings are changed, the process of exporting images from iPhoto and then importing them to Aperture will still spawn previews in the new library. And operating without previews carries its own costs, as the article describes.

Weaselboy previously posted:

In iPhoto if you import say a 2MB file then do maybe a redeye fix to the photo and save it, iPhoto saves another 2MB version of the file plus the original. So using my example you use 4MB of space for one edited photo. Aperture does not do this. It keeps the original photo then keeps a small "settings" file that it applies to the original photo when it is viewed that shows your edits. This effectively cuts the storage space used by Aperture libraries to about half that of iPhoto (assuming most photos get some kind of edit).

Again, this is how both iPhoto and Aperture create Preview images, unless Aperture's default behavior is modified.

Both iPhoto and Aperture create those "small 'setting' files." Both can read and output images based on that edit metadata, both can modify metadata files created by the other (the image changes are duplicated, even if the particular adjustment tool is not present).

So that brings us back to the process of migrating from iPhoto to Aperture. Why, unless there's a specific desire to conserve disk space or to permanently lock-in existing edits, is it necessary to Export images from iPhoto in order to Import them into Aperture? It's time-consuming. It tosses out the original image file (maybe not so important if your masters are JPGs, but it's something approaching a crime if your shoot RAW). Both iPhoto and Aperture are non-destructive editors. Why destroy that benefit?

I'm for KISS. Simply open the existing libraries in Aperture. If they were previously used in iPhoto 9.3 or above, they simply open. Migration complete. If the libraries haven't been used in iPhoto 9.3 or above, they'll have to be converted to the new format - by an automated process. Click the button, and go watch some TV, read a book, engage in message board debates. Whatever.

Reorganizing/compacting the libraries can all take place following migration, at the library owner's leisure, in a way that suits the library owner's way of thinking. One of the key reasons for getting Aperture is the power to merge and split libraries, why try to do that prior to migration?

And as an IT professional, I side with the medical profession, "First, do no harm." If someone is migrating to a new Mac, I'm going to use Migration Assistant, not drag folders and files piecemeal in Finder. If the machine's user wants to clean house and/or reorganize the file structure to go along with that nice, shiny Mac? It's a job for the machine user. Leave it to me, and I'll end up doing something the user doesn't want or doesn't understand. "Where is...? Why did you...?" Six months later, my phone may still be ringing. I'll teach, I'll advise... but I will not "fix" someone else's data structure. Even when I'm doing that for a friend or relative. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Weaselboy, I tried the technique you advised in the other post, and it sort of worked, I think. I highlighted Events, and it exported all the albums (I think that they're albums) to a directory on the desktop. It kept them sorted in the proper directories. The problem is, it only gets the directories in the Events portion of the tree structure. It doesn't get any of the stuff in the Albums portion of the tree structure. Is there a way to get those exported and properly sorted?

As I noted in an earlier post, Albums are virtual structures - links on a web page.

If you Export Events, and also Export Albums, then you'll be making duplicates of the same image files - all images in the Album will already be in an Event.

The way to "duplicate" an Album/Folder structure is to open the iPhoto library, as-is, in Aperture. The way to modify an Album/Folder structure is from within iPhoto/Aperture.

Exporting Events and Albums defeats a key purpose of iPhoto and Aperture: One master of the image, one Preview file (see my previous post), one thumbnail (not previously discussed, but also present in the iPhoto/Aperture library). But the same image(s) can appear in dozens, hundreds, thousands of albums without further duplication, the same way that a single copy of a corporate logo uploaded to a web server can appear simultaneously at the bottom of every web page on the site. If you edit the image in one location, the changes are instantly seen everywhere else the image appears.

 

[Weaselboy]

Weaselboy, I tried the technique you advised in the other post, and it sort of worked, I think. I highlighted Events, and it exported all the albums (I think that they're albums) to a directory on the desktop. It kept them sorted in the proper directories. The problem is, it only gets the directories in the Events portion of the tree structure. It doesn't get any of the stuff in the Albums portion of the tree structure. Is there a way to get those exported and properly sorted?

I don't know of a away to export by album like that. Albums are really sort of an artificial construct that are just pointers to other events and photos. So if you export all the photos by event you will get all the photos, but they just won't be organized by album.

 

[Weaselboy]

Your mistakes are in believing there is a fundamental difference in how iPhoto and Aperture save edits, and that previews are unique to iPhoto. The existence of Previews explains why there are two copies of the test file (one in Masters, one in Previews).

I realize Aperture uses previews also, but it is used differently as explained in the Apple support article I linked. In iPhoto your edits are saved to the full sized file in the Previews folder. When you view an edited photo again in iPhoto you are viewing the preview image. In Aperture you are still viewing the master only with the edits applied from the small file you mentioned. You can hold the M key in Aperture to remove the edits and see the original.

If you look through your Aperture library and compare the edited preview image sizes to the masters you will see most of the preview images are 30-50% smaller than the master even at the default Aperture preview settings. This is because in Aperture the preview is just that... a preview image and not the full sized edit like in iPhoto.

Unlike iPhoto, Aperture preferences can be changed to manage "preview bloat." However, unless those settings are changed, the process of exporting images from iPhoto and then importing them to Aperture will still spawn previews in the new library. And operating without previews carries its own costs, as the article describes.

No it won't. Try it and you will see.

And as an IT professional, I side with the medical profession, "First, do no harm." If someone is migrating to a new Mac, I'm going to use Migration Assistant, not drag folders and files piecemeal in Finder. If the machine's user wants to clean house and/or reorganize the file structure to go along with that nice, shiny Mac? It's a job for the machine user. Leave it to me, and I'll end up doing something the user doesn't want or doesn't understand. "Where is...? Why did you...?" Six months later, my phone may still be ringing. I'll teach, I'll advise... but I will not "fix" someone else's data structure. Even when I'm doing that for a friend or relative. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

OP asked how to accomplish something and I told him what I found worked best for me. If you have a better idea then please let him know. You seem more interested in lecturing me and trying to convince me your way is better.

 

[glenthompson]

Weaselboy, I tried the technique you advised in the other post, and it sort of worked, I think. I highlighted Events, and it exported all the albums (I think that they're albums) to a directory on the desktop. It kept them sorted in the proper directories. The problem is, it only gets the directories in the Events portion of the tree structure. It doesn't get any of the stuff in the Albums portion of the tree structure. Is there a way to get those exported and properly sorted?

You need to understand the difference between events and albums in iPhoto. All photos are stored in events. Albums are just pointers to a group of photos. An album can contain photos from many events and multiple albums can use the same photo but it only exists in the one event. Delete an album and the photos are still there.

As an IT guy, think of the events as SQL tables and the albums as views on those tables. While it makes sense to export the view (album) in some cases, when doing a data conversion you really want to export the tables.

If you want to preserve the album structure, you're going to have to import the library as a whole. Open Aperture and create a new blank library. Import the existing iPhoto library or libraries into that new blank library.

 

[jmg999]

You need to understand the difference between events and albums in iPhoto. All photos are stored in events. Albums are just pointers to a group of photos. An album can contain photos from many events and multiple albums can use the same photo but it only exists in the one event. Delete an album and the photos are still there.

As an IT guy, think of the events as SQL tables and the albums as views on those tables. While it makes sense to export the view (album) in some cases, when doing a data conversion you really want to export the tables.

If you want to preserve the album structure, you're going to have to import the library as a whole. Open Aperture and create a new blank library. Import the existing iPhoto library or libraries into that new blank library.

Thank you for clarifying. I'll give this a shot. How do I go about opening an iPhoto library in Aperture?

 

[glenthompson]

Thank you for clarifying. I'll give this a shot. How do I go about opening an iPhoto library in Aperture?

File->Open Library menu, then browse to the library.

 

[jmg999]

File->Open Library menu, then browse to the library.

Thank you. One last question: If I do this, will a copy of the photos remain in their original directories in iPhoto? Just in case it doesn't work the way I want it to, I want to be able to go back, and do it manually.

 

[Weaselboy]

Thank you. One last question: If I do this, will a copy of the photos remain in their original directories in iPhoto? Just in case it doesn't work the way I want it to, I want to be able to go back, and do it manually.

Yes, assuming you have not changed anything on the Aperture side, you can go back and forth and it stays the same on the iPhoto side.

 

[robgendreau]

The explanation about "albums" being virtual organizations of images, as opposed to what we might call "real" files in the filesystem, is a good one, particularly the analogy to views in a database. Folders are similar WITHIN iPhoto/Aperture, but obviously directories in the filesystem. And "libraries" are a special kind of package folder. Ugh.

But what I wanna mention is that you might wanna direct him to this article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH7863

It explains how to merge libraries; it would be the second part about importing rather than exporting them. It can be done so as to COPY everything in the incoming library into the existing one, or OVERWRITE. Having 55 libraries indicates perhaps something is amiss; there might be good reasons for all of those, but unless his aim was to frustrate you perhaps in the process of tidying this up they can be put together. It's a LOT easier to manage even one very large library in Aperture than many many small ones (just like real libraries).

Good luck,
Rob

 

[jmg999]

File->Open Library menu, then browse to the library.

I tried this method in Aperture, and for some reason, it opened all the Aperture libraries in iPhoto?

 

[glenthompson]

I tried this method in Aperture, and for some reason, it opened all the Aperture libraries in iPhoto?

Strange, I use my old iPhoto library with Aperture since they are the same format. I can open the library with either app. The default app for an iPhoto is iPhoto but Aperture should be able to open it. Was iPhoto running when you tried to open the library with Aperture?