Referenced Photos Lib can't be reconnected to masters = can't be backed up

[Mike Boreham]

AFAIK there is no method of reconnecting a referenced Photos Lib with its masters files, after say a failure of the hard drive holding the referenced masters.

It will offer to reconnect an individual file if you try to edit it, but if you have 60,000 masters on a external you are not going to do them one by one.

This means that, even if you have a back up of your referenced masters, the backup can't be reconnected to the Photos Library.

I have used referenced Aperture Libraries for many years and from time to time it was necessary to reconnect the masters.

Someone please tell me I am wrong.

I like Photos as a fully consolidated Library, but use in referenced mode is a non starter without backup capability.

 

[simonsi]

Surely once you have restored the external drive holding the masters then Photos will just use it, not even realising it has been lost and restored?

 

[Mike Boreham]

Surely once you have restored the external drive holding the masters then Photos will just use it, not even realising it has been lost and restored?

Thanks, a reasonable suggestion, which has not been suggested in any other forum I have asked, so will se if I can set up a little test.

 

[simonsi]

Thanks, a reasonable suggestion, which has not been suggested in any other forum I have asked, so will se if I can set up a little test.

I think it will work, after all the purpose of a referenced library is to have it on an external source.

I have certainly used this in both Capture One and Aperture to create a copy installation of App, Library or Catalogue and Referenced files. Once cloned the Apps opened their library and showed the masters available when connected. Capture One just needs the reference pointing to the new top of the folder structure and away it goes quite happily.

 

[Mike Boreham]

OK tests done…reconnection to a back up on a replacement hard drive is indeed automatic provided file path is the same. Photos was like Capture One...just asked once to reconnect with the backup.

I also tested the other scenario where the computer dies and the actual library is restored to a new computer from a back up. The restored library also finds the referenced files automatically.

The lack of the “locate referenced” tool like Aperture has, does limit the ability to change ones photo organisation somewhat, but at least basic ability to restore from a back up is still there.

Sorry to set a hare running unnecessarily!

Thanks for your suggestion...funny how the obvious escapes me sometimes!

 

[simonsi]

Thanks for your suggestion...funny how the obvious escapes me sometimes!

No problem, glad your testing worked out - I would be distraught if I lost my 80k photo library so I know what it means to have it secured - I keep mine in 3 separate locations

 

[Mike Boreham]

The lack of the “locate referenced” tool like Aperture has, does limit the ability to change ones photo organisation somewhat, but at least basic ability to restore from a back up is still there.

As an update to this I have just been doing some reorganising, and find Photos does have ability to bulk reconnect with its referenced files even with folder name and location changes. I feel this is new since I started the thread.

As above, if you rename or move the referenced folder, then try and edit a photo it will say it can’t find it and ask where it is. Previously (for me, I thought) it would reconnect with that one photo only after being pointed at new location. Seems today that it actually reconnects all. There is no indication that it it is doing it, or a progress bar, and it takes quite a long time, but the clue is to watch the CPU usage which is very high until process complete.

In one case I renamed and moved the folder containing the referenced files, and Photos followed it without a manual re-connect.