Importing my iPhoto library into Aperture. Best way to avoid duplicates?

Hi,
I'm a new Mac user. I have been in the very slow and tedious process of transferring my photos from my HP hard drive to my Mac. I used iPhoto for a very brief time before purchasing Aperture 3. (I've used photoshop for years.) I haven't yet Imported or consolidated or whatever the correct term would be the iPhoto library into the Aperture library. I've been avoiding it because I know there are some duplicates. Mainly just a few "Events" from the last few weeks before starting using Aperture. Now with the new update, it seems like it's a great time to get it all consolidated into an Aperture library that I can use in both iPhoto and Aperture. What's the easiest way for me to proceed? I'm sorry for my lack of proper Mac terms....I'm learning!
Thanks so much for your help!
Christy

Clear as mud??
If you want to see all your images - those now in your Aperture Library and those in your iPhoto Library- then you need to merge both Libraries into one Library - I'd import your iPhoto Library into the Aperture Library.
This combined Library will be compatible with both Applications.
To merge your iPhoto Library into the Aperture Library do the following:
Make a backup of your current iPhoto library (libraries)
Upgrade to iPhoto 9.3, if you have not already done so.
Open your iPhoto Library at least once in Photo 9.3 to upgrade the Library.
Unhide all hidden images. You cannot unhide them when viewing the Library in Aperture.
Quit iPhoto.
If you have not already upgraded to Aperture 3.3, do it like this:
Backup your current Aperture library.
Rebuild the Aperture Database using the Aperture Library First Aid Tools: Launch Aperture with the cmd-options-key combination (⌘⌥) firmly held down, then select "Rebuild Database".
After rebuilding upgrade to Aperture 3.3 and launch Aperture to upgrade the Aperture Library.
With Aperture still open, double click your iPhoto Library. Aperture will prompt you, if you want to add or merge your iPhoto Library - choose "Merge". This will avoid importing duplicate images, as far as Aperture can tell that those are the same images - same filename.
You will have to weed out some duplicates yourself - this is best be done by sorting the images by capture date, then duplicate shots will appear side by side.
Post back, if you have more questions.
Regards
Léonie

Similar Messages

Can't import an iPhoto library into Aperture

I'm using Aperture 1.5.2 and iPhoto 6.0.6 and cannot get Aperture to import my iPhoto library. I am following the procedure in the Aperture User Manual (p. 112) but it doesn't work. I don't get a beach-ball cursor or anything... no images, no disk activity, etc. This is regardless of the “Store Files:” or “Version Names:” or other settings in the dialog box.
I saw the Apple Support doc entitled “Aperture can't import iPhoto Library from iPhoto 6.0.1 or 6.0.2” which promises a fix in Aperture 1.1. Is this still the same problem? Or is it a different problem?
I know I can drag the photos from iPhoto into Aperture, but keywords are not preserved. Any suggestions?
PowerBook Al 15 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I recently started using Aperture 1.5.2 and imported my iPhoto Library from iPhoto 6.0.6, so it's not an impossible task. I also had a lot of trouble with it. I can say it was a pain and there were several false starts and once it froze half-way through importing them. I did File -> Import... -> iPhoto Library and I left the files in their current location... but you said this was regardless of settings. I swear the thing just sat their for a good 20 minutes after I told it to import, although I can't recall if there was a spinning cursor or not. I'd get occasional errors about being unable to connect to server at the beginning (after it sat there for 20 minutes) and middle of the process. I just kept hitting Okay and if I had all other applications closed, Aperature finally did it. So... I guess that all amounts to: "I had problems, too, but after several tries it worked so maybe just keep trying and let it sit for awhile if no one else has a more helpful suggestion." Good luck!

HT201340 So I imported my iPhoto library into Aperture.

I had hidden photos in iPhoto, but they can't be found in Aperture. The "projects" show the correct number of photos (i.e. 684), but there are only two photos. None of the hidden ones. What's up? I have more than 30,000 photos, with quite a number of hidden ones that I just don't need to see on a regular basis...

You may have an invisible filter set. This can be cleared by the method described in Frank Caggiano's User Tip:
Images not appearing in browser, search filter is cleared
If that does not work, I'd try to repair or rebuild the Aperture Library using the First Aid Tools:
Launch Aperture with the cmd-option key combination (⌘⌥) firmly held down. From the "First Aid" panel that appears try the three options: Repair Permissions, Repair Library, and Rebuild Database in turn. Hopefully one of them will bring your images back.

Failure to import iPhoto library into Aperture 3

I am trying out a trial version of Aperture 3. When I tried to import my iPhoto Library into Aperture (and into the Aperture folder) I get an error message saying that it cannot import iPhoto libraries if they are in a version of iPhoto that is older than 7.1.5.
I have a brand new computer and I have the most recent version of iPhoto so what is this all about?
LD

Keep in mind you need to select the iphoto library. To make sure you have selected it should be highlighted in gray.
You may run into additional trouble importing if the library is large. Here is the thread with a crude resolution.
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11094080#11094080

IPhoto library into Aperture 3

I am currently importing my iPhoto 9 library into Aperture 3. When I pressed import, i was told it would take up 75gb of disc space, so I assume it is creating a duplicate of my iPhoto library.
So, I dont really want the two libraries, so can I delete ( or rather move to an external hard drive the original iphoto library?
Will I lose any data or does Aperture create a whole new library?
Allan

Allan,
When you import the default will probably be to store the photos in Aperture's library. This will make a copy of your photos and is called "Managed masters" in Aperture. As long as this what happens when you import, you will then definitely have 2 of each photo that you imported. It's not going to duplicate your iPhoto library per se (the library is a database that contains all the pictures and other goodies). Rather, it will copy each photo from your iPhoto library into a new library (the Aperture one).
You can also have Aperture use "Referenced" masters, by doing what gordonbmac indicated. In this case, Aperture does not manage the location of your masters. They will be wherever iPhoto has them. This may or may not be good depending on what you are going to do with your iPhoto library after. I.e., if you play with iPhoto and rearrange things, Aperture doesn't know that you moved the masters that it points to. It may mean that you will have to keep your iPhoto library around because Aperture is pointing to photos in it.
Your plan to move the iPhoto library to an external hard drive is exactly what I did when I imported my iPhoto library into Aperture. I kept it around for quite a while until I was satisfied that I didn't accidentally leave something in there that I didn't import into Aperture.
nathan

I have just imported Iphoto library into aperture library, can I delete now the Iphoto Library ?

Hi, I have juste imported Iphoto library into Aperture Library (did a copy) - can I delete my Iphoto library as I won't use Iphoto anymore ?
Thanks Hélème

Helene,
Both of those things you pointed out are mere *metadata*.
When you imported your iPhoto library, since you did a copy, your libraries are completely independent.
When I was in your situation, I moved my iPhoto library to an external disk and then went to the Aperture library to see how it behaved, even though i was 99.99% sure my iPhoto and Aperture libraries were separate.
nathan

Problems importing iPhoto library into Aperture 3

When I got my mac, I imported a collection of images on an external drive into iPhoto, and worked with them there. I also imported images from memory cards directly into iPhoto.
During the original import, I selected the "leave files in place" option. For the direct imports from memory cards, I just imported them. I didn't realize that it would bundle everything into a single file when I did that, and I wasn't expecting what I ran into next...
I finally purchased a copy of Aperture 3 for its more powerful tools and smoother workflow. After installing it, I imported my iPhoto library into it, with the leave in place option... and found that Aperture couldn't load most of the images. It shows placeholder frames instead.
I have tried reconnecting the masters, to no avail; their paths are correct, so they're not changing, and Aperture insists that the masters are missing before and after.
I tried repairing the database with the database first aid tool, and it had no effect.
I tried rebuilding the database, and the result was disastrous; after that I had *no* images in Aperture. None. Even the few that I'd imported directly from media into Aperture were gone.
So I restored my Aperture database from my TimeMachine backup which impressed me with how easy it was, and now I'm back where I started... most of the images imported from iPhoto are inaccessible in Aperture, so I can't use Aperture for most of my image editing, even though iPhoto reads them without any trouble.
Any suggestions?

Frank:
Yes, all of the images are available in iPhoto, whether they're in the iPhoto library, or on the external drive.
Aperture isn't showing any symbol other than the dotted line frame, at least none that I've seen yet. I thought at first that it was the images on the external drive that were missing, but it's actually showing some of them, and not showing others even in some cases ones in the same folder. If a screenshot would help, I'll capture one (I don't know how to do that in OSX yet, though I suspect it's just a matter of the right key combo?).
CalxOddity: It's an OSX volume, but I'm not sure how to determine which filesystem it's using, or else I'd be more specific.
leonieDF: It is a network volume, one of the Time Capsule drives. Though I knew it would slow down loading, I didn't expect any other problems, since iPhoto doesn't have any.
Thanks!

HT201340 Merging iPhoto library into Aperture - what really happens?

If I merge my iPhoto library into Aperture does it mean I will have all my photos showing as projects in aperture the same as events in iPhoto? I only want to bring in my professional photos from different events in iPhoto and put them into projects to create a themed workflow and edit these in Aperture. I do not want iPhoto and Aperture to be the same.
I am extra new to the Mac invironment.
Thankyou

Open your iPhoto library with Aperture. Select the events you want combined with your Aperture library and select File->Export Projects as library. This will create a new Aperture library with just those events. Then reopen your normal Aperture library and File->Import library and select the new library you just created.
Once you import this library, you can delete the separate library if you want.

How do I import my iPhoto library into iMovie?

For some unknown reason I am not able to import all my pictures and video clips into iMovie. I do not know what is happening to my Mac. What did I do to it ? I still have plenty of storage space on my laptop. I have a Mid 2012 13" Macbook Pro running Mavericks OS X 10.9.4. I almost forgot to mention that iMovie quits unexpectingly when I am in the middle of a video project. Thanks in advance for any help.

There is no way you would import an iPhoto Library into iMovie. What you can do is access the Library from iMovie.
So, what exactly are you trying to do, and what goes wrong? What error messages do you get? What version of iMovie and iPhoto?

What is the Best Way to reimport my iPhoto library into Aperture 2?

I used the Aperture 1.5 trial version and imported my iPhoto library (most of it anyway).
I then bought Aperture 2 and I want to reimport my iPhoto library but don't want to screw it up and erase projects and things I've done in Aperture 2.
Also, I don't like or know how to change the Aperture 2 "folders" under Projects that reference my photos. I want to reimport the photos with dates or something to show what they are (wish Aperture had Events on the left like iPhoto).
Can anyone tell me the best way to do this so I don't screw up the photo changes (extensive) and projects that I have made in Aperture? I think I just reimport and make sure I don't import duplicates, etc. but I would like some reassurances.
Also, I have no idea what a vault or a stack is in Aperture.
Thanks for the help!

There isn't a way to reimport the iPhoto library yet have it maintain the changes you made to images in Aperture. Now you can upgrade to 2.1 and Aperture will upgrade your current library keeping your changes intact.
Aperture and iPhoto go about their organization based on different principals. Apple thinks you'll use iPhoto for the snaps from your kids graduation or the family BBQ, hence the events. Aperture, being a professionally oriented program, is based on the idea of projects. That's why they don't have the same structure on the left.
You can get something similar to iPhoto's events in Aperture however, by clicking on "All Projects" under your library.

Importing iphoto library into Aperture 3 creates duplicate events

I am so hoping you can help me here.
I started importing my iphoto library that was going well to a point it stopped importing. Looking at Aperture i can see project folders that coincide with the iphoto events but not all of them came across, still not a problem. I choose to import the iphoto library again checked the box to not import duplicates, now the problem, it starts downloading the same library and the same events.
ABOUT TO PULL MY HAIR OUT, HELP IF YOU CAN

Your iPhoto Library may need rebuilding. If you have iPhoto '11 try the following:
First back up your iPhoto Library.
Then lauch iPhoto in "Rebuild" mode by holding down the command and option (or alt) keys when launching iPhoto.
From the "rebuild" panel choose: Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
Then try again to import into Aperture.
Delete the previous iPhoto imports before you try that, for the "Do not import Duplicates" option does not work recently.
Report back, if this should not work for you.

Not enough free space on Aperture Library volume to import iPhoto library into Aperture?

I purchased Aperture 3 from the App Store after using the free trial version for a few weeks. I downloaded the program and do not have any images imorted into Aperture yet. I tried to import my iPhoto library using File>Import>iPhoto Library and received this message: There is not enough free space on your Aperture Library volume to import the selected items. It is estimated that you need at least 10GB of free space. I have iPhoto 11 and 25,000 images on iPhoto. I did review the Aperture owners manual and did not find an answer to this.

Well obviously you don't have enough space to import an iPhoto Library that is more than 10 gigs.
But that's not importat right now.
You have the makings of a major problem and you need to address it now.
OS X needs about 10 gigs of hard drive space for normal OS operations - things like virtual memory, temporary files and so on.
Without this space your Mac will slow down as the OS hunts for space on the disk, files will be fragmented, also slowing things down, apps will crash and the risk of data corruption - that is damage to your files, photos, music - increases exponentially.
Your first priority is to make more space on that HD. Nothing else can be done until you do. Purchase an external HD and move your Photos and Music to it. Aperture, iPhoto an iTunes can run perfectly well with the Library on an external disk.
If you don't you will suffer data loss. I can't stress this enough.
Regards
TD

Error Message (Arrow and Exclaimation Mark in Yellow Triangle) Showing on Bottom Right of Some Photos after Merging iPhoto Library into Aperture

The strange thing is that some of these said photos with an error message have a normal thumbnail and can be opened fine, but the others (most of them) just have an empty space in the thumbnail as if the image can't be found.
I tried to Locate Referenced Files as Leonie suggested in https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3686982?tstart=0 but got this message 'The Selection Doesn't Have Any Referenced Files', so i presume that's not the issue.
In the thread mentioned above, Leonie mentioned something about not emptying trash. I did empty my trash recently, and started to think these images may have been poor quality ones i previously deleted in the iPhoto library … but that still doesn't explain why the error currently appears on some images which seem to work fine (these images are ok quality ones and there is no way i would have deleted them in the past).
Also - the 'Processing' message at the bottom of the browser seems to be spinning endlessly. I just left it for over 10 hours overnight and it's still going. Could this be linked to these error images which it's having a hard time finding/loading?
Quite baffled at the moment, and would really appreciate any feedback. TIA.
EDIT:
I just looked more closely. It appears that most of my folders have duplicates of the same image with exactly the same file name. And all the images with the error message have them on both duplicates (i.e. one on an image that has an empty thumbnail, and one on an image that's fine).
When i initially tried to import the library, it proceeded half way then failed. After opening the iPhoto library in Aperture first, and then doing the import again, everything worked fine. So, i'm wondering if the images with errors that are empty/blank may be the result of the failed 1st import.
What's puzzling is why they weren't overwritten (especially since all the file names are exactly the same). When importing the library, i chose 'merge' instead of 'add' when prompted, thinking that would solve it. Obviously not.
EDIT 2:
After reflecting on this, i thought one solution may be to:
a) Find all the error'd images that are empty/blank and delete them, and then
b) Find and remove all duplicates
So i followed Leonie's suggestion to create a Smart Album and use the 'File Status is Missing' rule.
But now, i see that there are images that i imported into Aperture months ago that have the same problem. And the new thing is that there are duplicates with errors where *both* images are visible (whereas for the iPhoto library i just imported, there were dupes where one version was blank and the other was visible and seemingly ok).
I'm really hoping there is a simple solution to this, and am awaiting some feedback before i try anything else.
NB. This is a super large (over 100GB) Aperture library that i am trying to consolidate everything into. It is Work In Progress and i was only going to back it up once the import of various iPhoto libraries was done. However, I'm wondering if it's better to just back up first - but if i do it now, the backup will include all these errors and duplicates. What would you guys do?

UPDATE 2:
The users in these 2 threads seem to have a similar File Status Not Found issue:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4086569?tstart=0
https://discussions.apple.com/message/17757686#17757686
Followed Leonie's advice to look for the (missing) masters inside the Masters folder, and indeed, they were missing. So, that confirms the reason for the error message.
If this does not work, because you have managed originals, inside the Aperture Library, look for your originals in the Aperture Library Package. Select the Library in the Finder and ctrl-click, then select "Show Package Contents" from the pop-up. In the Finder window that opens, navigate to the folder "Masters". Your missing images should be inside; the folder is structured by date of import.
Of course, the question is - why the masters for these few images are missing, when the other images in the same project that were imported/merged at the same time are fine.
Trying to do the library import/merge from iPhoto into Aperture again. Fingers crossed. Will report back on the result.

Could someone please help me import my iphoto photos into aperture? They are now just referenced files.

Hello,
I am a longtime iphoto user and installed aperture this past december. At that time I imported all my iphoto photos as referenced files and kept them in their iphoto location. Since that time, every photo I took was uploaded directly into aperture and stored there. I am now comfortable enough with aperture that I would like to use it as my primary photo viewer / manipulator and would like to merge my two libraries into one single aperture library. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to do this.
I tried consolidating all originals yesterday, however this did not seem to have any effect. I then tried reimporting my iphoto library, however, this simply duplicated many of my events (and the duplicated ones were not even adjustable via aperture, and each photo had a little exclamation point in the lower right corner). Both of these attempts did nothing to combine my aperture projects and my iphoto events (which are now seen as a seperate iphoto tab under projects). I am aware that I can now switch to my iphoto library within aperture in version 3.3, but I just want everything stored in one place and in my aperture library. Can someone please help me with this?
The only thing I can think of is deleting all of the iphoto events from aperture and then reimporting them, but I am scared I will either delete something permenantly or that they will simply reimport as referenced files and remain within iphoto.
Please help!
Thanks,
- Mike

Mike,
I am not quite clear about the current state of your iPhoto and Aperture libraries. It looks like you have plenty of broken links to referenced masters in either library. Whatever you do now, it is very important to ensure that you have a working backup, both of your iPhoto Library and your Aperture library, before you try a major reconstruction.
I tried consolidating all originals yesterday, however this did not seem to have any effect.
In what way did it not have any effect? From the effects you are describing, it looks like all your original master images have been removed from the iPhoto Library and are now inside the Aperture library as managed masters - at least, this would explain, why trying to import the iPhoto library resulted in duplicated projects (and the duplicated ones were not even adjustable via aperture, and each photo had a little exclamation point in the lower right corner). You removed the original masters from the iPhoto library, and now you could not import it, since the originals are now in Aperture.
For me it looks, like you simply need to delete the iPhoto images marked with an exclamation mark, for these are already bound to images that you imported earlier. It is perfectly o.k. that the recently imported iPhoto Library appears in a separate section of the projects in your Library Inspector Panel. Each iPhoto event should appear as a project. Aperture will put them there, so you can find them easily.
You should check now, if the originally imported images, that you imported as referenced, are now managed. If you enable badge overlays you should see no longer any arrows on the thumbnails of your earlier imports. Also, if you select one of these images, you should be able to toggle between original master and version by typing the "M" key.
Define some smart albums (File > New > Smart album) based on the file status: Add a rule: File status is.
One smart album: File Status is referenced
One smart album: File Status is managed
One smart album: File Status is missing
The first album should be empty.
The second album should show all your images you originally imported from iphoto as managed, and that you recently consolidated.
The third album should show your recent import - the images imported from iPhoto after you consolidated the originals to Aperture and removed these images from iPhoto.
Post back, when you have checked the file status of your images in Aperture and we can be sure were the images are exactly.
Regards
Léonie

MobileMe Galleries orphaned when importing Iphoto library into Aperture 3

Can anyone advise how I can get my existing MobileMe galleries to be listed into A3. They were uploaded via Iphoto and I imported that library into A3 but the MM galleries are not there. Obviously I have filled in the appropriate boxes etc in preferences.

1) Log in to MobileMe via the web at www.me.com.
2) Click on the PHOTOS icon along the top toolbar.
3) Click the "Gear" button and select the option for "New Album".
4) Give the album title a dummy name like "Aperture Link Dummy" and under the "Syncs with:" selection, choose "Aperture".
5) Once this new album is created, you can now click on each individual MobileMe gallery that you wish to sync with Aperture and the "Lightswitch" button for "Album Settings" will now have the option to "Sync with: Aperture" as well.
6) After making the necessary Album Settings changes for those that you wish to sync with MobileMe, return to your Aperture program and go to PREFERENCES --> WEB.
7) Under the option "Check for new published photos:", select one of the options OTHER than "Automatically" and the "Check Now" button next to it should become clickable.
8) Click "Check Now" and you should immediately see Aperture add a "MOBILEME GALLERY" heading under the Library pane and will begin to import your MobileMe galleries.
This is about as far I've gotten with getting my existing MobileMe galleries into Aperture. Unfortunately, now the problem is that they are no longer linked to their respective albums/events. When in iPhoto, if I made edits to the album/events, the MobileMe gallery would automatically be updated with those changes. I assume this behavior is the same for new galleries created from within Aperture, but it does not seem to affect those galleries that were imported from iPhoto. Let me know if you get anywhere with this issue.

Importing my iPhoto library into Aperture. Best way to avoid duplicates?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for