Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Managing a Large iPhoto Library
- Thread starter Pixelmage
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Assuming that you know about creating Albums, Folders and Albums inside Folders, you could create separate iPhoto Libraries for different years/subjects/projects etc.
To do so, open iPhoto while holding down the Alt key. You'll get an option to choose or create a Library. Create one, named to your choice.
iPhoto will only be able to access one Library at a time so every time you open iPhoto you will have to do it holding the Alt key, and choosing which Library you want to open.
To move pictures from your existing iPhoto Library to a new one, you will have to drag/export them into Finder and then import them back into iPhoto that's been opened using the new Library. If you just drag them from one Library file to another, iPhoto could well get very confused and not work properly.
To do so, open iPhoto while holding down the Alt key. You'll get an option to choose or create a Library. Create one, named to your choice.
iPhoto will only be able to access one Library at a time so every time you open iPhoto you will have to do it holding the Alt key, and choosing which Library you want to open.
To move pictures from your existing iPhoto Library to a new one, you will have to drag/export them into Finder and then import them back into iPhoto that's been opened using the new Library. If you just drag them from one Library file to another, iPhoto could well get very confused and not work properly.
I use PowerPhotos for creating, dividing and managing libraries in Photos (no longer called iPhotos)
fatcatsoftware.com
It's around $30 but will save you a lot of anxiety and potential loss of precious photos.
PowerPhotos - Merge Mac Photos libraries, find duplicate photos, and more
fatcatsoftware.com
Along with what @Dave Braine said, you MIGHT be able to copy the whole library to an external drive, copy that, then delete out pictures you don't want to create by-year libraries.
Me, I just moved the library to an external drive and access it from there in it's entirety. Only issue I've run into with Catalina is syncing into iOS. I work around that by exporting the album I want to sync (usually just family pics and wallpapers) to a folder and sync that folder via Finder "iTunes Sync", so not a big issue for me.
Me, I just moved the library to an external drive and access it from there in it's entirety. Only issue I've run into with Catalina is syncing into iOS. I work around that by exporting the album I want to sync (usually just family pics and wallpapers) to a folder and sync that folder via Finder "iTunes Sync", so not a big issue for me.
Would you be able to explain the difference between folders and albums within Photos?
And I'm wondering if anyone knows how syncing photos in iOS with Catalina works:
- I have never synced photos between iPhone and MacBook. I have albums in the iPhone Photos app.
- I have photos in the MacBook Photos app in albums.
Can I sync and both devices will have both sets of albums? I don't want any destruction of any albums on either device.
Same question, but this time I choose to sync with certain folders that are not in the MacBook Photos app. (You'll see in Finder that you choose to sync either from Photos or from folders outside the Photos app.) I wonder how files NOT from MacBook's Photos app show in the iPhone. Are they put into iPhone's Photos app? Are they organized in some way?
Thanks in advance for your experience!
From Photos File Menu, you can create Folders and/or Albums. Say you create a Folder for 2020. You then create Albums for each month and put them inside the 2020 Folder. You can't put an Album into another Album as a separate Album.
Ok so I understand the only difference is that folders are for having folders within folders, because you cannot do albums within albums.
One obvious way to address your problem is to actually be aggressive and prune your photo library.
Precisely what this whole thread is about
And at the same time, it doesn't need to take all day.I had a massive Photos library that was taking up nearly 1TB of space and synced with iCloud.
I didn’t need all those photos in iCloud (it’s for syncing between devices, not backup).
I used Powerphotos to clean up the library and split the images into separate libraries by year.
I now only keep the current year library synced with iCloud.
I created shared albums in iCloud Photos for all the images I want to keep in iCloud from previous years.
I didn’t need all those photos in iCloud (it’s for syncing between devices, not backup).
I used Powerphotos to clean up the library and split the images into separate libraries by year.
I now only keep the current year library synced with iCloud.
I created shared albums in iCloud Photos for all the images I want to keep in iCloud from previous years.
That equates to around $50 in Australia, would you still recommend at that price, ( I know it's an individual choice), just trying to get perspective.I use PowerPhotos for creating, dividing and managing libraries in Photos (no longer called iPhotos)
It's around $30 but will save you a lot of anxiety and potential loss of precious photos.PowerPhotos - Merge Mac Photos libraries, find duplicate photos, and more
Power photos may or may not be a useful tool. be careful- it needs instructions to use- these haven't been created yet and there is very limited help on YouTube. it is too new to be reviewed, however its purchase is met with immediate frustration. you need to un-sync all your photos before you can use it- this isn't advertised and it isn't explained anywhere- they just seem keen to sell it- dump it on you and let you figure out why it doesn't work, and there is limited tools available to instruct you how to use it- while the tech guys here seem to be exalting its features- they may know how to navigate around a Mac and fiddle with stuff that the regular user cant possible know or understand without detailed advice and tutorial or instruction which is lacking and not warned of at purchase. I brought it and fought with it and while it may be a useful tool, I cant use it- there aren't any instructions available for it that do not require a degree in computing and I resent being sold this without and warning our any follow up or any after sales care. its only as good as it can be used and the features it promises are out of reach to those who cant use it- this can be fixed with the provision of instruction, videos or after sales advice but this is lacking as well. disappointed.
DB: Take a look at 'PhotoSweeper'...it has very good/simple instructions. I purchased about two years ago and emailed the developer 2 or 3 times and got prompt replies which answered my questions. I too use the reviews on the Apple Store and always make sure to read at least some of the more recent negative reviews and also judge software by whether or not the developer has replied to the negative reviews.
So others are not mislead, it is important to state that just about everything David Bailey said is just flat wrong. So much so that a less direct statement would be inappropriate.
PowerPhotos was one of the first utilities available to enhance Photos, and so has been around for many years. PowerPhotos was available very soon after Photos first replaced iPhoto. PowerPhotos is essentially a reworking of iPhoto Library Manager, which has a very long history of being one of the most useful third party utilities to work with iPhoto.
Fat Cat Software, the developer of PowerPhotos, in my experience has always been very responsive and helpful.
However, asking for help is seldom needed because the documentation is easily accessible and very clear.
David, welcome to MacRumors. Sorry to hear of your difficulties. I hope the above links make things better for you. If in the future you continue to have difficulty getting your computer to work, this is a good place to ask for more help.
PowerPhotos was one of the first utilities available to enhance Photos, and so has been around for many years. PowerPhotos was available very soon after Photos first replaced iPhoto. PowerPhotos is essentially a reworking of iPhoto Library Manager, which has a very long history of being one of the most useful third party utilities to work with iPhoto.
Fat Cat Software, the developer of PowerPhotos, in my experience has always been very responsive and helpful.
However, asking for help is seldom needed because the documentation is easily accessible and very clear.
David, welcome to MacRumors. Sorry to hear of your difficulties. I hope the above links make things better for you. If in the future you continue to have difficulty getting your computer to work, this is a good place to ask for more help.