Mac Photos Library Format

  1. Mac Photos Library
  2. Change Photo Library On Mac
  3. Export Photos Library Mac
  4. Mac Photos Library Format Free
  5. Photos Library Mac

Aug 23, 2018  I asked about this at the Apple Store Genius Bar & was shown to uncheck the HEIC option to keep it from continuing to happen, Your Mac with High Sierra 10.13.6 can handle HEIC perfectly and you should be able to use the space saving HEIC format on your Mac without creating duplicate JPEGs in your Photos Library. Nov 13, 2017  Hi 1badpj, So as I understand it, Apple doesn't offer a separate upgrade for Photos, so unless you can find an unofficial fix, you'd be best upgrading your OSX to the same as that from which your Photos library came, if it will be ok for your computer. Feb 17, 2018  To accomplish this, iCloud Photo Library works with Photos for Mac as well as with Photos for iOS and iCloud.com, as the glue that holds everything together. Shoot a video on your iPhone, take a picture with your iPad, import from your DSLR on your Mac, and all of it goes up to Apple's servers and is made available on all your other devices. Overview of importing photos and videos into Photos on Mac. Import your photos and videos into your photo library so you can organize and edit them with Photos. You can import photos and videos in a variety of ways: Using iCloud: Turn on iCloud Photos on your Mac and other devices (such as iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV) to access your entire. Dec 25, 2017  Photos for Mac Speciality level out of ten: 1 Nov 25, 2017 4:17 PM in response to cantabro In response to cantabro In fact, iOS 11.1 does have a 'Formats' option under Settings Camera, but only on models where it should make a difference. Jul 12, 2017  How to Move Your Apple Photos Library to Another Location Matt Klein @howtogeek Updated July 12, 2017, 11:14am EDT Apple’s new Photos application was released as part of a. May 15, 2018  The photos in the library master file appear to be there but all have file size of zero Kilobytes. Within the iPhoto Library there is a folder called Masters or Originals - it varies from version to version, and some have both.

Apple’s new Photos app provides seamless integration between OS X and Apple’s iCloud. But that’s not the case for other storage services like OneDrive.

Apple’s new Photos app provides seamless integration between OS X and Apple’s iCloud. If you use Apple devices, you can easily sync your files and photos between your Mac and iPhone or iPad. The thing about Photos, though, is you might feel locked into the service. It’s almost an all or nothing affair, but I like using other services like Microsoft’s OneDrive. Here’s we’ll take a look at how you can take pictures from the OS X Photos app and put them anywhere.

Apple’s Photos app was introduced in early 2015 with OS X Yosemite. The app was written from the ground up, replaces iPhoto, and puts its focus on simplicity and integration with Apple’s iCloud.

Export Pictures from OS X Photos App into OneDrive

The first you will need to have is the OneDrive client for Mac installed. You can download it from the Mac App Store for free.

Mac Photos Library

Launch Photos from the Dock or press Command + Space key then type:photos then hit Enter. Select any of your photos, and then click File > Export > Export Unmodified Original for Photos.

Leave the default as is then click Export.

Navigate to your OneDrive folder then click Export originals.

Automate the Process Using OS X Automator

Library en mac. This would be a one-off operation; since I know for sure future photos taken on my iPhone would automatically import into Photos, I would have to manually do this every time. Of course, you have the option to have photos taken on iPhone automatically backup to OneDrive. But, suppose I had a point-and-shoot camera, which I also use to import pictures into OS X Photos? I would have to manually export them each time unless I automate the process.

Launch the Finder, and then open your Pictures folder, right-click the Photos Library file, then click Show Package Contents. Right-click on the Masters folder then tag the folder with a color.

Launch the Automator app; press Command key + space key then type:Automator and then Enter. Under Library, select Files & Folders then drag Find Finder Items into the Folder into the workflow window.

In the Search list box, choose Macintosh HD and then the following attributes as described in the screenshot below. Next, drag the action, Copy Finder Items into the workflow window. Click the To: list box and then select OneDrive.

Then specify to search for any of the color labels you had assigned, in this case, that will include the Masters folder. Then copy the files with a color label to OneDrive or any other folder you want.

Click the Run button to start copying the entire Masters folder to OneDrive. Save the Workflow when you are done so you can use it again in the future.

The process certainly requires a little work, but you do get the best of both worlds. I don’t have a problem with iCloud Photos, but I like using OneDrive, too. Especially since I have more storage space than iCloud’s free 5 GB limit. Plus, you can access your Photos Library from virtually any other device this way.

Apple's photo management software for the Mac, Photos, has grown to be a fairly competent all-purpose storage locker. But as your photo and video library grows — and especially if you've taken advantage of iCloud Photo Library — you may find that your Photos library strains to fit on your Mac's hard drive.

While there are options to keep your Mac from running out of space, like optimizing your photo storage if you use iCloud Photo Library, it comes at a cost: Without a fully-stored Photos library, you won't be able to create secondary backups of your images and video. (And as good as iCloud has become, your photos and video are precious enough that they're worth keeping backed up in multiple places.)

There is an alternative: Moving your Photos library to an external drive (or creating an entirely separate library and syncing it with iCloud). Here's how to do it, and some reasons why you should — and shouldn't! — consider it for your needs.

Why you should (and shouldn't) use an external drive with Photos for Mac

There are a number of reasons why an external drive might make sense when you're working with Photos for Mac:

  • You have a giant Photos library (and, if you use iCloud Photo Library, you want to ensure you have a secondary backup of everything in that library)
  • You frequently swap computers and want to work on your images from any Mac
  • Your library isn't huge, but you'd prefer to save space on your Mac for other files
  • You share a computer with other users and you have limited drive space
  • If you're working with space constraints on your primary computer, it's one of the easiest ways to back up your full iCloud Photo Library

That said, there are some downsides, too. Here are some reasons you might not want to use an external drive:

  • You don't have a big enough library to warrant moving it off your Mac
  • You don't want to have to worry about always having your external drive connected to view and edit your images
  • You use a laptop frequently and can't afford an SSD, and you don't want to risk breaking your disc-based hard drive by constantly moving it
  • You don't want to accidentally create duplicate libraries that can't be connected to iCloud Photo Library (because your offsite library is connected)
  • Unless you purchase a speedy drive, working externally is almost always slower than working on your default hard drive
  • You don't want to spend the money on an external drive
  • If you use an automated backup service for your computer, you'll have to set up a second set of rules for backing up your hard drive

Best external drives for storing photos

Okay, so you've decided to move your Photos library over to an external drive. What next? If you already have an external drive, you can always use it for storing your Photos library (and save on cash). But if you're considering getting a new drive for this endeavor, here's what I suggest:

  • Get a drive that's at least 1-2TB in space, preferably 4TB. With the iPhone able to save 4K video, our space needs aren't shrinking anytime soon: The bigger hard drive you can afford, the better.
  • If you're buying a stationary hard drive, buying a disc-based hard drive is great, but buy good brands — don't try and save $50 on an off-brand hard drive. It's rarely worth the HDD failure.
  • If you're buying a portable hard drive, consider SSD: It's very pricey in comparison to a disc-based drive, but if you know you'll be frequently moving around — especially if you plan to move around with the drive connected — you want a drive that can take a little rumble and tumble without skipping or failing.
  • Hard drive speeds are important, too: The faster a drive's write speed, the quicker your images will copy; the faster a drive's read speed, the easier it will be for you to view images or video and edit them, too.

Want some recommendations for specific external hard drives? We've got those, too.

How to move your current Photos library to an external drive and use it as your primary library

As with creating a new library, moving your library to your external drive is a multi-step process. Here's how to go about it.

Step 1: Copy over your Photos library

  1. Connect an external drive to your Mac via USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt.
  2. Open a new Finder window.
  3. Open your external drive in that window.
  4. Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to your external drive), as you'll need it shortly.

  5. Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
  6. Select the Pictures folder.
  7. Select your old library.
  8. Drag it to your external drive in the other Finder window.

Your library will begin to copy over to your external drive. Depending on the size of your library and speed of your drive, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, so be patient. Don't unplug your drive or turn off your computer during this process.

Step 2 (if you use iCloud): Turn off iCloud sync on your old library

Before you open your copied Photos library on the external drive, you have to disassociate the library on your Mac from iCloud. (If you don't use iCloud Photo Library, you can skip these steps.)

  1. Open Photos on your Mac.
  2. Go to the Photos menu.
  3. Select Preferences.
  4. Click on the iCloud tab.
  5. Uncheck iCloud Photo Library.

  6. Press Remove from Mac to remove any undownloaded low-resolution items from this library.
  7. Quit Photos.

Step 3: Make your new library your system default

Now, it's time to make your newly-copied Photos library your system default.

  1. Open Photos on your Mac.
  2. Go to the Photos menu.
  3. Select Preferences.
  4. Click Use as System Photo Library.

Step 4 (if you use iCloud): Connect your new library to iCloud

Your external library is now set up to be your system default, but it's not currently connected to iCloud. If you use iCloud Photo Library and want to keep that connection active so that you can continually download items you've stored, read on. (Otherwise, you can skip this step.)

Move itunes library from mac to nas. You can move just your media files to the NAS, and keep your iTunes library files on your Mac. You can move all your iTunes files (media and library files) to the NAS. Move just your media files. Jan 04, 2020  How to Move Your iTunes Library. You can move your iTunes library to a different folder, computer, or drive. Here's how to do it, even in macOS Catalina, which ditches iTunes for the Music app.

  1. Open Photos on your Mac.
  2. Go to the Photos menu.
  3. Select Preferences.
  4. Click on the iCloud tab.

  5. Check iCloud Photo Library.
  6. Click Download Originals to this Mac.
  7. Wait for your Mac to download your images from iCloud. (Depending on the size of your iCloud library and your internet connection, this may take up to 24 hours; don't disconnect your external drive or turn off your Mac during this time.)

Once your library has fully synced and downloaded images, you can disconnect your drive; whenever you want to use your Photos library, you now need to connect your drive to your Mac.

Step 5: Get rid of your old library

A personal plea: Please, please, please make sure your library is fully copied and working on your external drive before you follow the steps below — once you've thrown away your original library, it's gone!

  1. Open a new Finder window.
  2. Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
  3. Select the Pictures folder.
  4. Select your old library.

  5. Drag it to the Trash (or press Command-Delete on your keyboard).
  6. Empty the Trash.
  7. Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to the Pictures folder), as you'll need it later.
  8. Select your external drive.
  9. Right-click (or control-click) on your copied Photos library on your external drive.
  10. Select Make Alias.
  11. Drag the alias to the Pictures folder.
  12. Rename the alias to remove the 'alias' part of its name.

Now you have a direct link to your copied Photos library from the Pictures folder: This prevents your computer from accidentally creating multiple Photos libraries in case you forget to launch Photos with your external drive connected.

Note: If you're worried about accidentally creating libraries, you can always launch Photos by option-clicking on its icon in the Dock or Applications folder; this will give you the option of picking which library you'd like to launch.

How to create a new Photos library on your external drive and use it as your primary library

Creating a new library on your external drive is a multi-step process. Here's how to go about it.

Step 1 (if you use iCloud): Turn off iCloud sync on your old library

Mac Photos Library Format

Before you create a new Photos library, you have to disassociate your current library as your system default. (If you don't use iCloud Photo Library, you can skip these steps.)

  1. Open Photos on your Mac.
  2. Go to the Photos menu.
  3. Select Preferences.
  4. Click on the iCloud tab.

  5. Uncheck iCloud Photo Library.
  6. Press Remove from Mac to remove all low-resolution items from this library.
  7. Press Remove from Mac once more to confirm.
  8. Quit Photos.

Step 2: Create your new Photos library

Once you've done this, it's time to create a new library.

  1. Connect an external drive to your Mac via USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt.
  2. Option-click (and continue holding down option) when launching the Photos app on your Mac.
  3. When it asks you to choose a library, click on Create New….
  4. Name your library.

  5. Press the Down arrow to expand the File picker and choose your external drive as the new location.
  6. Press OK to save it to your external drive.

Step 3: Make your new library your system default

Change Photo Library On Mac

You'll now have an empty library on your external drive. Next up: Making it your system library.

  1. Open Photos on your Mac.
  2. Go to the Photos menu.
  3. Select Preferences.
  4. Click Use as System Photo Library.

Step 4 (if you use iCloud): Connect your new library to iCloud

Your external library has now been set up from scratch. If you use iCloud Photo Library and want to download all the items you've stored there to have an external backup, read on. (Otherwise, you can skip this step.)

  1. Open Photos on your Mac.
  2. Go to the Photos menu.
  3. Select Preferences.
  4. Click on the iCloud tab.

  5. Check iCloud Photo Library.
  6. Click Download Originals to this Mac.
  7. Wait for your Mac to download your images from iCloud. (Depending on the size of your library and your internet connection, this may take up to 24 hours; don't disconnect your external drive or turn off your Mac during this time.)

Once your library has fully synced and downloaded images, you can disconnect your drive; whenever you want to use your Photos library, you now need to connect your drive to your Mac.

Step 5: Get rid of your old library

A personal plea: Please, please, please make sure your new library is live and working on your external drive before you follow the steps below — once you've thrown away your original library, it's gone!

  1. Open a new Finder window.
  2. Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
  3. Select the Pictures folder.
  4. Select your old library.

  5. Drag it to the Trash (or press Command-Delete on your keyboard).
  6. Empty the Trash.
  7. Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to the Pictures folder), as you'll need it later.
  8. Select your external drive.
  9. Right-click (or control-click) on your new Photos library.
  10. Select Make Alias.

  11. Drag the alias to the Pictures folder.
  12. Rename the alias to remove the 'alias' part of its name.

Now you have a direct link to your Photos library from the Pictures folder: This prevents your computer from accidentally creating multiple Photos libraries in case you forget to launch Photos with your external drive connected.

Note: If you're worried about accidentally creating libraries, you can always launch Photos by option-clicking on its icon in the Dock or Applications folder; this will give you the option of picking which library you'd like to launch.

Export Photos Library Mac

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

Updated March 2019: Updated for macOS Mojave.

Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this post.

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