Merging iPhoto Libraries into Aperture, How?

I want to merge 6 iPhoto Libraries in my new iMac straight into my newly bought Aperture. All have been opened in Aperture.
I am assuming that onced merged I can then dip into my large Aperture library wherever I like, quickly and easily.
Yesterday I merged 3 libraries into Aperture. Today I opened a different iPhoto library and then looked for my merged library.
I can't find it and assume I'm missing a vital step. Poring over forums has made it no clearer.
What have I done wrong or missed?

I am not sure how you have tried to merge your iPhoto Libraries. Have you seen this help text?
Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries
basically, you open an Aperture library, and then use the Aperture command "File > Import > Library" to import your iPhoto Libraries, Simply opening the iPhoto Libraries in Aperture will not consolidate them into one libraray - you have to import them.
Regards
Léonie

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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.

Merging iPhoto libraries into one aperture library

Hi,
I am trying to merge my iPhoto library containing the photos of 2013 into one big library containing all pictures of the previous years.
Until now I used iPhoto Library Manager. It did not work today.
Apperture says it will not merge because the new library is a copy of the big one, which it is not.
I have also tried to export the new pictures as a new library and then import this one. Apperture crashes everytime.
Please can someone help me?
Thank you
Hex

Aperture says it will not merge because the new library is a copy of the big one, which it is not.
You can try to circumvent this, by turning the old library into a new one: Create a new, empty Aperture library and add one dummy image to it. Then import your iPhoto 2013 library into it with "File > Import > Library".
Now try to import this transformed iPhoto Library into your main Aperture library with the photos from the previous years.
I have also tried to export the new pictures as a new library and then import this one. Apperture crashes everytime.
That is not a good sign. You should try to fix these crashes first. Does it crash when you are exporting from your iPhoto library or when you are importing the exported library?

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.

How do you merge iphoto libraries without duplicates and maintaining events?

I have a few iphoto libraries on my computer that I need to merge, without duplicates, and maintaining the seperate events. Does anyone know how to do this efficiently?

"Terence Devlin" does not work for Apple, for the makers of Library Manager and has no beneficial interest in whether or not you use or purchase this or any other app. If "Terence Devlin" did have such an interest the terms of use of the Forum would require that he add such information to the post. No, Aperture cannot merge iPhoto Libraries. Aperture can convert them to Aperture Libraries and merge them, but that would be of no use to an iPhoto user, as iPhoto can't open an Aperture Library.
And the fact remains that the paid version of Library Manager is the only way to merge Libraries
Regards
"TD"

Merge two iPhoto libraries into an Aperture library for my Macbook Air

Hey,
I've searched around a bit for this but can't seem to figure out how to to it.
I'm trying to manage my ~140GB photo library on my Macbook Air which has 128GB of HDD. On top of that, you can imagine that most of that 128GB is filled with system stuff.
My objective is to keep most of my library offline from the Macbook Air, but still keep it all together.
I kinda went "all-in" with iPhoto a few years back to organize my photos so gave up on Aperture. I'd always wanted to move to Aperture or Lighroom but the migration appeared to be a complete disaster. Now with "transparent" compatibility it seems like a no brainer to get the best of both worlds.
I thought that Aperture allowed you store files on external hard drives but still have "thumbnail" access to them even when the drive wasn't connected. Or did I misread that? (Is that Lightroom?)
Anyway with the new update I thought that I could merge my available iPhoto libraries into one Aperture library that I could always have access to, while offloading the actual photos somehow to an external HDD.
This would be a real winner for me. It seems tho that an iPhoto library stays an iPhoto library. So while merging might be helpful for someone with a big hard drive, it's completely useless for me as if anything, I need to split. Or create more. Or some other form of adding complexity.
Any ideas here?

Figured this out on my own.
Make a backup of everything - Aperture seems to require rebuilds and stuff and stories abound of "things going a bit wrong."
Did you make a backup? If you don't want to or can't, I wouldn't do this. After all, it's your photos!
Setup your Aperture library on a USB drive.
Update iphoto to the newest version. Open all your libraries in iPhoto to update them. This may take awhile depending on library size.
Import whatever iphoto libraries you have to Aperture. This make take awhile (hours!) - if your stuff is more than say 25 gigs I'd recommend setting it up for overnight.
Once everything is in Aperture - check its all working right. Then go ahead and maybe make another backup
Then migrate your photos out of the library. This takes all the originals and stores them elsewhere, called "offline". Once they're there, you can't move them around, so pick a good spot!! This also takes forever.
Once this is done your Aperture library should be smaller and just copy it to your MacbookAir
I'm still working on this as it looks like something went funky and I have to rebuild my thumbnails, another overnight processing thing. Like I said, keep a backup But I have a slimmed down Library on my Macbook Air now which is what I wanted.
This whole thing is kinda a mess and while it's feasible Apple hasn't made it easy. There's also some crazy stuff Aperture does with thumbnails and "previews" so that they take a bunch of space up (in my case almost as much as my photos), so you might have to work with that.
The guy at Apertureexpert.com is a genius.
Check out this post for more on slimming your Aperture Library:
http://www.apertureexpert.com/tips/2010/1/20/reducing-library-sizedramatically.h tml
Edit:As a side-note I put some HTML in my message and it looks like it isn't used in the forum - why does Apple bother having the formatting tools if they don't work? Kinda like the close-door button on an elevator?
Edit2: Haha it shows up in the answer but not in the normal thread. Strange, eh?

How can I import multiple iphoto libraries into Photos beta

I have successfully imported a single iPhoto Library into the Photos Beta app. However I have several other iPhoto libraries that I would like to import into the Photos library. Think of is as merging everything into one now that there's iCloud backup.
I started with iPhoto back in 2005 and have created a separate library every three years ever since. Each one is quite large, ~40 gigs.
What is the best means to import additional libraries into my new Photos library. Unfortunately the File import option on Photos does not allow for a selection of iPhoto Library file type.
Thanks,
Brian

Merge all iPhoto Libraries into one before migrating them to the new Photos.app.
You cannot add additional libraries to a Photos library, only additional photos. Or have several Photos libraries, but only one of them can sync with iCloud.
To merge your iPhoto Libraries into one, use either Aperture, if you have it (see: Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries), or the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager: Download it here: iPhoto Library Manager

Merging pictures from several iphoto libraries in aperture

I have 5 separate iPhoto libraries becaue of the large amount of picture. Now I want to consolidate all 5 star ***** rated pictures of all 5 iPhoto libraries into one "Aperture Project".
When I switch Libraries in Aperture I can's see the Library anymore where I want to consolidate some of the photos.
There should be a way that I can drag pictures for one iPhoto Library to a Project folder in Aperture, switch to a differen iPhoto Library, drag more photos to the Project folder in Aperture, switch to a third iPhoto Library, drag more photos ...... etc.
Is this possible in Aperture?
Thanks for any suggestions.

There should be a way that I can drag pictures for one iPhoto Library to a Project folder in Aperture, switch to a differen iPhoto Library, drag more photos to the Project folder in Aperture, switch to a third iPhoto Library, drag more photos
You open one library in iPhoto and one library in Aperture, and even drag images from iPhoto to Aperture, but unfortunately this way you can only drag the previews of the edited versions to Aperture, so you would lose image quality.
Why not open each iPhoto Library in turn in Aperture, export your five***** rated images a a new Aperture Library, and then merge this new library into your main Aperture library by importing it? This way you will import the original master image files as well as the adjustments and ratings and don't lose any image quality in the transit.
Regards
Léonie

Merging iPhoto libraries...Aperture stalls near the end

that about says it all, trying to merge two iPhoto libraries into one Aperture library.
First off one empty Aperture library, import one iPhoto library, stalls near the end and have to FQ.
Try to import and merge the second library, same stall and have to FQ.
Any ideas....totally new to Aperture.
Using latest versions of Aperture and iPhoto.

update: second time around with merging libraries, it went to the end. But now I have the one library contained thousands of duplicates!

New user here. Trying to import iPhoto 9.4.2 libraries into Aperture 3.4.3 as referenced files. When accessing File Import Library, it finds the iPhoto library just fine, but then imports it as Master files. No option that I can find to leave the photos

New user here. Trying to import iPhoto 9.4.2 libraries into Aperture 3.4.3 as referenced files. When accessing File>Import>Library, it finds the iPhoto library just fine, but then imports it as Master files. No option that I can find to leave the photos in place on the file system. All the literature says their should be an option to choose, but I never get that option. What?

All the literature says their should be an option to choose, but I never get that option.
That has been true for the previous Aperture versions. Now Aperture simply treats the original image files exactly as they are in the imported library. Referenced images will stay referenced, managed will be imported as managed. But you can always relocate the imported managed images afterwards by using "File > Relocate".
Regards
Léonie

How do i merge iPhoto libraries

I have three iphoto libraries, one which just has the beach ball that continues turning...is there an easy way to merge the libraries into one and eliminate duplicate photos?

Hmmm... an easy way. Easy? That's a tall request.
(Sorry, Luckyjenn, sometimes I just can't help myself.)
It sounds like the first thing you want to do before you merge libraries is to determine why the beach ball has taken a liking to that particular iPhoto library. If the library has been damaged somehow, you don't want to merge it with other undamaged libraries.
Start by making sure your data is backed up... then take a look at this... IPhoto 6 and later: Rebuilding the Iphoto Library
If that stops the beach ball, then you might look at this thread next regarding merging libraries...
merging libraries in iphoto?
I hope this is helpful.

Combining multiple iPhoto libraries into 1.

I have 4 different iPhoto libraries on my external hard drive that I collected in the last 5 years. I'm tired of switching libraries each time I need to see a different time period. What is the easiest and best way to organize everything in one place? I hear that Apeture is good for this. IS there a video tutorial that covers this process?

The best way woud indeed be Aperture: Here is a knowlege base article by Apple explaining the procedure:
Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries
Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture
But since Aperture is not exactly cheap, you might prefer not to invest into Aperture, unless you are considering to switch to a more advanced image management software anyway. Then that would be a very good investment. Aperture has more advanced image editing options than iPhoto and better organisational tools. It works well with very large photo libraries. You'll find some tutorials, the manual, and other help on the Aperture Support Page: Aperture Support
Another option would be the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager, but that would not be able to maintain all metadata.
Regards
Léonie

Merging iPhoto Libraries- will events carry forward?

I am exploring unifying my iPhoto libraries. To keep the size of the main library down, I have removed the majority of photos from older events and placed in alternate libraries( eg a vacation library). Will I be able to combine the events back together in Aperture unified, or should I manually combine them back before switching over?

Hi,
See this document: It will tell you, which Aperture and iPhoto versions are compatible with the new, unified library format:
Aperture 3.3: Using a unified photo library with iPhoto and Aperture
The newer vesions of Aperture and iPhoto are using the same library format.
Aperture can combine iPhoto libraries into one library and keep the events and albums.
This document describes how to do this: Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries
So you could create a new library in Aperture and import your iPhoto libraies into this library, using the command "File > Import > Library". This will preserve your old events and albums, edits, tags.
Only remember to unhide all hidden photos in iPhoto; you cannot unhide them in Aperture.
And backup all libraries, before doing a major reorganisation.
Regards
Léonie

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

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

Merging iPhoto Libraries into Aperture, How?

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