Aperture Library location...

Help needed, please - I have Aperture and library running on my hard drive and a lot of images are now in place. I have also bought a 500gb external drive.
What I want to ask is:
Is it possible to move Aperture to my 500gb?
Is it advisable to do that, will it free up a lot of space on the Mac HD?
If it will free up a lot of space how do I move it, step-by-step?
All help & advice appreciated.

John
Is it possible to move Aperture to my 500gb?
Yes.
Is it advisable to do that, will it free up a lot of space on the Mac HD?
Advisable? It's certainly not a problem. It will free up as much space as the Library takes up.
If it will free up a lot of space how do I move it, step-by-step?
Are you using Managed or Referenced Masters? Assuming you are using Managed:
1. Quit Aperture
2. Copy the Aperture Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching Aperture. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

Similar Messages

Export Aperture library objects to Finder folders

Inspired by the posted message by user http://discussions.apple.com/profile.jspa?userID=616539 I wrote a script that will do the following:
1. Sync Folders/SubFolders/Albums/Projects..etc hierarchy tree from Aperture to a Finder folders tree
2. At run-time the script will creates/append to a log file under (home directory)\Library\Logs\AppleScriptExportApertureLibrary.log
3. Exports all projects images versions with embedded metadata
4. Create a file system "hard links" for each photo in the respective Albums pointing to the project folder location in order to preserve space.
5. Compare modification date on the image files and modification date within Aperture and export only modified images in order to save time for a full sync/export.
6. In interactive mode you can select Export Folder location, Aperture Library location and Projects List (project list will contain project name and internal aperture project id).
7. In non-interactive (from command line) mode there are two arguments:
7a. "quiet" - exports all projects
7b. "quiet" "Project Information" - export only certain projects. the project information can be found in the log file.
8. Remove any images or folders from Finder export directory that do not exist in Aperture database any more.
Hopefully this would help anyone who is looking to export from Aperture on a regular basis. I am not sure how it will handle large amount of photos. I tested it with 3k+ photos.
Please note that you use this script at your own risk.
Here is the script code:
global theFoldersTree_G
global theLibraryPath_G
global theProcessedProjects_G
global theSelectedProjects_G
global theAllAlbums_G
global theScriptName_G
global Sqlite_G
global ApertureLibrary_G
global numExports_G
on run argv
set Sqlite_G to "/usr/bin/sqlite3"
set ApertureLibraryPath to POSIX path of (path to home folder) & "Pictures/"
set ApertureLibrary_G to ApertureLibraryPath & "Aperture Library.aplibrary/Aperture.aplib/Library.apdb"
set exportFolder to POSIX path of (path to home folder) & "Pictures/Aperture Exports/"
set theScriptName_G to "ExportApertureLibrary"
set theSelectedProjects_G to "ALL PROJECTS"
set theFoldersTree_G to {}
set theProcessedProjects_G to {}
set theAllAlbums_G to {}
set numExports_G to 0
logEvent("Started")
set theArgv1 to {}
set theArgv2 to {}
if (count of argv) ≥ 1 then
set theArgv1 to item 1 of argv
end if
if (count of argv) = 2 then
set theArgv2 to item 2 of argv
end if
logEvent("Passed ARGV 1: " & theArgv1)
logEvent("Passed ARGV 2: " & theArgv2)
if theArgv1 is not equal to "quiet" then
set theFile to (choose file with prompt "Please choose the Aperture Library file" default location POSIX file ApertureLibraryPath) as string
set ApertureLibrary_G to POSIX path of theFile & "Aperture.aplib/Library.apdb"
set exportFolder to POSIX path of (choose folder with prompt "Please choose the export folder" default location POSIX file exportFolder) as string
end if
logEvent("ApertureLibrary_G path is set to: " & ApertureLibrary_G)
logEvent("exportFolder path is set to: " & exportFolder)
try
tell application "Aperture"
logEvent("Getting list of project path information...") of me
set SqlStatement to "
select replace(A.ZLIBRARYRELATIVEPATH,'.approject',''),A.ZUUID
from ZRKFOLDER AS A
WHERE A.ZFOLDERTYPE=2
ORDER BY A.ZNAME"
set SQLProjectUUIDPath to DB_execute(SqlStatement) of me
set theProjectsOptions to SQLProjectUUIDPath as list
set end of theProjectsOptions to "ALL PROJECTS"
logEvent("Projects list: " & theProjectsOptions as string) of me
if theArgv1 is not equal to "quiet" then
set theSelectedProjects_G to choose from list SQLProjectUUIDPath with prompt "Please choose a project(s):"
end if
if theArgv2 is not equal to {} then
set theSelectedProjects_G to theArgv2
end if
logEvent("The selected projects : " & theSelectedProjects_G as string) of me
logEvent("Getting list of libraries...") of me
set theLibraryList to every library
logEvent("Found " & (count of theLibraryList) & " libraries") of me
repeat with theLibrary in theLibraryList
set theLibraryName to name of theLibrary
logEvent("Processing library: " & theLibraryName) of me
set LibraryFolders to {}
set theProcessedProjects_G to {}
tell application "Finder"
if not (exists (POSIX file (exportFolder & theLibraryName) of me)) then
logEvent("creating new folder " & theLibraryName & " at " & exportFolder) of me
make new folder at (POSIX file exportFolder of me) with properties {name:theLibraryName}
end if
end tell
set theLibraryPath_G to exportFolder & theLibraryName & "/"
logEvent("Getting list of folders...") of me
set theFolderList to every folder of library id (id of theLibrary)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theFolderList) & " folders") of me
set theRootFolderList to {}
if theFolderList is not equal to {} then
processFoldersTree(0, theFolderList) of me
repeat with theFolder in theFolderList
if (id of theFolder) is not in theFoldersTree_G as string then
logEvent("Found root folder : " & (name of theFolder) as string) of me
set end of theRootFolderList to theFolder
set end of LibraryFolders to (name of theFolder)
end if
end repeat
end if
if theRootFolderList is not equal to {} then
processFolders(theRootFolderList, theLibraryPath_G, "projects") of me
processFolders(theRootFolderList, theLibraryPath_G, "albums") of me
else
set theProjectList to every project of library id (id of theLibrary)
set end of LibraryFolders to processProjects(theProjectList, theLibraryPath_G, "projects") of me as list
processProjects(theProjectList, theLibraryPath_G, "albums") of me
end if
logEvent("Getting list of projects...") of me
set theProjectList to every project of library id (id of theLibrary)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theProjectList) & " projects") of me
logEvent("Getting list of albums...") of me
set theAlbumList to every album of library id (id of theLibrary)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theAlbumList) & " albums") of me
set theRootProjectList to {}
if theProjectList is not equal to {} then
repeat with theProject in theProjectList
if (id of theProject) is not in theProcessedProjects_G as string then
logEvent("Found root project : " & (name of theProject) as string) of me
set end of theRootProjectList to theProject
set end of LibraryFolders to (name of theProject)
end if
end repeat
end if
set theRootAlbumList to {}
if theAlbumList is not equal to {} then
processAlbumsTree(theProjectList, theFolderList) of me
set theRootAlbumList to {}
repeat with theAlbum in theAlbumList
if (id of theAlbum) is not in theAllAlbums_G as string then
logEvent("Found root album : " & (name of theAlbum) as string) of me
set end of theRootAlbumList to theAlbum
set end of LibraryFolders to (name of theAlbum)
end if
end repeat
end if
if theRootProjectList is equal to {} then
processAlbums(theRootAlbumList, theLibraryPath_G, "albums") of me
else
processProjects(theRootProjectList, theLibraryPath_G, "projects") of me
processProjects(theRootProjectList, theLibraryPath_G, "albums") of me
if theRootAlbumList is not equal to {} then
processAlbums(theRootAlbumList, theLibraryPath_G, "albums") of me
end if
end if
cleanup(LibraryFolders, theLibraryPath_G, "all") of me
end repeat
logEvent("total exports : " & numExports_G) of me
if theArgv1 is not equal to "quiet" then
display dialog "Total image exports : " & numExports_G buttons {"OK"} with title "Aperture Library Export" with icon note
end if
end tell
on error s number i partial result p from f to t
set s to "Error: " & s
logEvent(quoted form of (s))
if theArgv1 is not equal to "quiet" then
display dialog "ERROR : " & s buttons {"OK"} with title "Aperture Library Export" with icon note
end if
end try
end run
on cleanup(theObjects, thePath, theSelection)
logEvent("Cleaning export folders...") of me
logEvent("# Objects: " & (count of theObjects)) of me
logEvent("Export Folder: " & (thePath as string))
tell application "Finder"
logEvent("Getting list of folders...") of me
set theFolderList to every folder in folder (POSIX file thePath of me)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theFolderList) & " folders") of me
logEvent("Getting list of files...") of me
set theFileList to every file in folder (POSIX file thePath of me)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theFileList) & " files") of me
repeat with theFolder in theFolderList
set theFolderName to name of theFolder
if theFolderName is not in theObjects as string then
logEvent("Moving folder " & theFolder & " to trash...") of me
move theFolder to trash
end if
end repeat
if theSelection is not equal to "folder" then
repeat with theFile in theFileList
set theFileName to name of theFile
if theFileName is not in theObjects as string then
logEvent("Moving file " & theFile & " to trash...") of me
move theFile to trash
end if
end repeat
end if
end tell
logEvent("Cleaning completed...") of me
end cleanup
on logEvent(logMessage)
set theLine to quoted form of (((current date) as string) ¬
& " : " & logMessage)
do shell script "echo " & theLine & ¬
" >> ~/Library/Logs/AppleScript" & theScriptName_G & ".log"
end logEvent
on DB_lookupProjectPath(puuid)
set SqlStatement to "
select replace(rtrim(ZLIBRARYRELATIVEPATH,'.approject'),'/',':' )
from ZRKFOLDER
where
ZUUID ='" & puuid & "'"
set SqlRecords to DB_execute(SqlStatement)
return DB_record(SqlRecords, 1, 1)
end DB_lookupProjectPath
on processFolders(theFoldersList, theFolderPath, processOrder)
logEvent("processFolders... : " & theFolderPath) of me
set arrayOfFolders to {}
tell application "Aperture"
set theCount to count of theFoldersList
set theCounter to 1
repeat with theFolder in theFoldersList
set foldersOfFolder to {}
set theFolderName to name of theFolder
logEvent("Processing folder : " & theFolderName & " (" & theCounter & "/" & theCount & ")") of me
set theCounter to theCounter + 1
set end of arrayOfFolders to theFolderName
tell application "Finder"
if not (exists (POSIX file (theFolderPath & theFolderName) of me)) then
logEvent("creating new folder " & theFolderName & " at " & theFolderPath) of me
make new folder at (POSIX file theFolderPath of me) with properties {name:theFolderName}
end if
end tell
logEvent("Getting list of album...") of me
set theAlbumsListOfFolder to every album of folder id (id of theFolder)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theAlbumsListOfFolder) & " albums") of me
logEvent("Getting list of folder...") of me
set theFolderListOfFolder to every folder of folder id (id of theFolder)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theFolderListOfFolder) & " folders") of me
logEvent("Getting list of project...") of me
set theProjectsListOfFolder to every project of folder id (id of theFolder)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theProjectsListOfFolder) & " projects") of me
if theProjectsListOfFolder is not equal to {} then
set end of foldersOfFolder to processProjects(theProjectsListOfFolder, (theFolderPath & theFolderName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
end if
if theFolderListOfFolder is equal to {} then
set end of foldersOfFolder to processAlbums(theAlbumsListOfFolder, (theFolderPath & theFolderName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
else
if theAlbumsListOfFolder is not equal to {} then
set end of foldersOfFolder to processAlbums(theAlbumsListOfFolder, (theFolderPath & theFolderName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
end if
set end of foldersOfFolder to processFolders(theFolderListOfFolder, (theFolderPath & theFolderName & ":"), processOrder) of me as list
end if
cleanup(foldersOfFolder, (theFolderPath & theFolderName & "/"), "all") of me
end repeat
end tell
logEvent("processFolders completed...") of me
return arrayOfFolders
end processFolders
on processFoldersTree(theParent, theFoldersList)
logEvent("processFoldersTree...") of me
tell application "Aperture"
repeat with theFolder in theFoldersList
if theParent is not 0 then
set end of theFoldersTree_G to (id of theFolder)
end if
set theFolderListOfFolder to every folder of folder id (id of theFolder)
if theFolderListOfFolder is not equal to {} then
processFoldersTree((id of theFolder), theFolderListOfFolder) of me
end if
end repeat
end tell
logEvent("processFoldersTree completed...") of me
end processFoldersTree
on processAlbumsTree(theProjectsList, theFoldersList)
logEvent("processAlbumsTree...") of me
set theAllAlbums_G to {}
tell application "Aperture"
repeat with theProject in theProjectsList
repeat with theAlbum in (every album of project id (id of theProject))
set end of theAllAlbums_G to (id of theAlbum)
end repeat
end repeat
repeat with theProject in theProjectsList
repeat with theAlbum in (every album of every subfolder of project id (id of theProject))
set end of theAllAlbums_G to (id of theAlbum)
end repeat
end repeat
repeat with theFolder in theFoldersList
repeat with theAlbum in (every album of folder id (id of theFolder))
set end of theAllAlbums_G to (id of theAlbum)
end repeat
end repeat
end tell
logEvent("processAlbumsTree completed...") of me
end processAlbumsTree
on DB_lookupImageInfo(puuid)
set SqlStatement to "
SELECT replace(A.ZLIBRARYRELATIVEPATH,'.approject',''),strftime('%m/%d/%Y %H:%M:%S',datetime(B.ZDATELASTSAVEDINDATABASE, 'unixepoch', '+31 years','localtime'))
from ZRKFOLDER AS A,ZRKVERSION AS B
where
B.ZPROJECTUUID = A.ZUUID AND
B.ZUUID ='" & puuid & "'"
set SqlRecords to DB_execute(SqlStatement)
return {theImagePath:DB_record(SqlRecords, 1, 1), theImageDate:DB_record(SqlRecords, 1, 2)}
end DB_lookupImageInfo
on processProjects(theProjectsList, theProjectPath, processOrder)
logEvent("processProjects... : " & theProjectPath) of me
logEvent("processOrder: " & processOrder) of me
set arrayOfProjects to {}
tell application "Aperture"
set theCount to count of theProjectsList
set theCounter to 1
repeat with theProject in theProjectsList
set ProjectFolders to {}
set theProjectName to name of theProject
set end of arrayOfProjects to theProjectName
set theContinue to 0
if "ALL PROJECTS" is not in theSelectedProjects_G as string then
if (id of theProject) is not in theSelectedProjects_G as string then
logEvent("Skipping project: " & theProjectName) of me
set theContinue to 1
end if
end if
if theContinue = 0 then
-- set theProjectPath to theProjectPath & DB_lookupProjectPath(id of theProject) of me
logEvent("Processing project : " & theProjectName & " (" & theCounter & "/" & theCount & ")") of me
tell application "Finder"
if not (exists (POSIX file (theProjectPath & theProjectName) of me)) then
logEvent("creating new folder " & theProjectName & " at " & theProjectPath) of me
make new folder at (POSIX file theProjectPath of me) with properties {name:theProjectName}
end if
end tell
if processOrder is equal to "projects" then
set end of theProcessedProjects_G to (id of theProject)
logEvent("Getting list of images...") of me
set theImageList to every image version of project id (id of theProject) as list
logEvent("Found " & (count of theImageList) & " images") of me
set end of ProjectFolders to processImages(theImageList, (theProjectPath & theProjectName & "/"), "project", "JPEG - Original Size") of me as list
end if
logEvent("Getting list of subfolders...") of me
set theSubfolderList to every subfolder of project id (id of theProject)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theSubfolderList) & " subfolders") of me
logEvent("Getting list of album...") of me
set theAlbumList to every album of project id (id of theProject)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theAlbumList) & " albums") of me
if theSubfolderList is equal to {} then
set end of ProjectFolders to processAlbums(theAlbumList, (theProjectPath & theProjectName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
else
if theAlbumList is not equal to {} then
set end of ProjectFolders to processAlbums(theAlbumList, (theProjectPath & theProjectName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
end if
set end of ProjectFolders to processSubfolders(theSubfolderList, (theProjectPath & theProjectName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
end if
if processOrder is equal to "projects" then
cleanup(ProjectFolders, (theProjectPath & theProjectName & "/"), "all") of me
else
cleanup(ProjectFolders, (theProjectPath & theProjectName & "/"), "folder") of me
end if
end if
set theCounter to theCounter + 1
end repeat
end tell
logEvent("processProjects completed...") of me
return arrayOfProjects
end processProjects
on exportImage(imageUUID, imageName, exportFolder, imageType, isAlbum, exportSettings, imageExt)
set imageInfo to DB_lookupImageInfo(imageUUID) of me
set imageTime to theImageDate of imageInfo as Unicode text
set imageDate to date imageTime
set isExported to 0
set imageName to imageName & imageExt
set theFile to POSIX file (exportFolder & imageName)
tell application "Finder"
set isUpdate to 0
if not (exists theFile) then
logEvent("Image does not exist in folder : " & exportFolder) of me
set isUpdate to 1
else
logEvent("Get image modification date") of me
do shell script "ls -l " & quoted form of (exportFolder & imageName)
set imageFileDate to modification date of (info for theFile)
if imageDate ≥ imageFileDate then
logEvent("Image file date: " & imageFileDate as string) of me
set isUpdate to 1
end if
end if
if isUpdate = 1 then
if exists theFile then
move theFile to the trash
end if
if isAlbum is equal to "album" then
logEvent("Creating a link for image: " & imageName) of me
set theProjectFolder to theImagePath of imageInfo
do shell script "ln " & quoted form of (theLibraryPath_G & theProjectFolder & "/" & imageName) & " " & quoted form of exportFolder
else
set isExported to 1
logEvent("Exporting image: " & imageName) of me
tell application "Aperture"
if imageType is "master" then
set settings to exportSettings
export {image version id imageUUID} using settings to POSIX path of file exportFolder metadata embedded
else
set settings to exportSettings
export {image version id imageUUID} using settings to POSIX path of file exportFolder metadata embedded
end if
end tell
end if
end if
end tell
return isExported
end exportImage
on DB_execute(SqlStatement)
try
set SqlScript to Sqlite_G & space & "-separator '|'" & space & (quoted form of ApertureLibrary_G) & space & (quoted form of SqlStatement) & " 2>&1"
set SqlResult to do shell script SqlScript
set theARray to {}
set tid to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ASCII character 13
set SqlRecords to text items of SqlResult
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tid
return SqlRecords
on error s number i partial result p from f to t
set s to "SQL Error: " & s
logEvent(quoted form of (s)) of me
end try
end DB_execute
on DB_record(SqlRecords, row, col)
try
set tid to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "|"
set SqlCols to text items of (item row of SqlRecords)
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tid
return item col of SqlCols
on error
return {}
end try
end DB_record
on DB_lookupRecord(SqlRecords, theReturnCol, theText, theCol)
set theResult to ""
repeat with theRow in items of SqlRecords
set tid to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "|"
set theFields to text items of theRow
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to tid
if item theCol of theFields is equal to theText then
set theResult to item theReturnCol of theFields
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
return theResult
end DB_lookupRecord
on processImages(theImageList, exportFolder, isAlbum, exportSettings)
logEvent("processImages... : " & exportFolder) of me
if exportSettings contains "JPEG" then
set imageExt to ".jpg"
else
set imageExt to ".ANY"
end if
set arrayOfImages to {}
with timeout of 6000 seconds
set theCount to count of theImageList
set theCounter to 1
repeat with theImage in theImageList
set imageUUID to id of theImage
set imageName to name of theImage
set end of arrayOfImages to imageName & imageExt
logEvent("Processing image : " & imageName & " (" & theCounter & "/" & theCount & ")") of me
set numExports_G to numExports_G + (exportImage(imageUUID, imageName, exportFolder, "version", isAlbum, exportSettings, imageExt) of me)
set theCounter to theCounter + 1
end repeat
end timeout
return arrayOfImages
end processImages
on processAlbums(theAlbumsList, theAlbumPath, processOrder)
logEvent("processAlbums... : " & theAlbumPath) of me
set arrayOfAlbums to {}
tell application "Aperture"
set theCount to count of theAlbumsList
set theCounter to 1
repeat with theAlbum in theAlbumsList
set theAlbumName to name of theAlbum
logEvent("Processing album : " & theAlbumName & " (" & theCounter & "/" & theCount & ")") of me
set theCounter to theCounter + 1
set AlbumObjects to {}
set end of arrayOfAlbums to theAlbumName
tell application "Finder"
if not (exists (POSIX file (theAlbumPath & theAlbumName) of me)) then
logEvent("creating new folder " & theAlbumName & " at " & theAlbumPath) of me
make new folder at (POSIX file theAlbumPath of me) with properties {name:theAlbumName}
end if
end tell
logEvent("Getting list of images...") of me
set theImagesList to every image version of album id (id of theAlbum)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theImagesList) & " images") of me
if processOrder is equal to "albums" then
set end of AlbumObjects to processImages(theImagesList, (theAlbumPath & theAlbumName & "/"), "album", "JPEG - Original Size") of me as list
cleanup(AlbumObjects, (theAlbumPath & theAlbumName & "/"), "all") of me
end if
end repeat
end tell
logEvent("processAlbums completed...") of me
return arrayOfAlbums
end processAlbums
on processSubfolders(theSubfoldersList, theSubfolderPath, processOrder)
logEvent("processSubfolders... : " & theSubfolderPath) of me
set arrayOfSubfolders to {}
tell application "Aperture"
set theCount to count of theSubfoldersList
set theCounter to 1
repeat with theSubfolder in theSubfoldersList
set theSubfolderName to name of theSubfolder
logEvent("Processing subfolder : " & theSubfolderName & " (" & theCounter & "/" & theCount & ")") of me
set theCounter to theCounter + 1
set end of arrayOfSubfolders to theSubfolderName
tell application "Finder"
if not (exists (POSIX file (theSubfolderPath & theSubfolderName) of me)) then
logEvent("creating new folder " & theSubfolderName & " at " & theSubfolderPath) of me
make new folder at (POSIX file theSubfolderPath of me) with properties {name:theSubfolderName}
end if
end tell
set SubfoldersFolders to {}
logEvent("Getting list of albums ...") of me
set theAlbumsListOfSubfolder to every album of subfolder id (id of theSubfolder)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theAlbumsListOfSubfolder) & " albums") of me
logEvent("Getting list of subfolders...") of me
set theSubfoldersListOfSubfolder to every subfolder of subfolder id (id of theSubfolder)
logEvent("Found " & (count of theSubfoldersListOfSubfolder) & " subfolders") of me
if theSubfoldersListOfSubfolder is equal to {} then
set end of SubfoldersFolders to processAlbums(theAlbumsListOfSubfolder, (theSubfolderPath & theSubfolderName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
else
if theAlbumsListOfSubfolder is not equal to {} then
set end of SubfoldersFolders to processAlbums(theAlbumsListOfSubfolder, (theSubfolderPath & theSubfolderName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
end if
set end of SubfoldersFolders to processSubfolders(theSubfoldersListOfSubfolder, (theSubfolderPath & theSubfolderName & "/"), processOrder) of me as list
end if
cleanup(SubfoldersFolders, (theSubfolderPath & theSubfolderName & "/"), "all") of me
end repeat
end tell
logEvent("processSubfolders completed...") of me
return arrayOfSubfolders
end processSubfolders

If you do externalize your Masters to folders anywhere (same drive, internal/external drive, multiple drives, whatever), never be tempted to use Finder to mess with them.
As Frank said, use Relocate Masters. Otherwise you'll confuse Aperture when it wakes up expecting Masters to be in certain places when they have moved elsewhere.
It's possible to fix up the mess, but it's no fun!

I am unable to open my Aperture library after my computer crash!!

I get the following error meassage after my computer crashed and now unable to open Aperture library. Do not have any of my photos backed up as yet!!!
"There was an error opening the database for the library “/Volumes/My Passport for Mac/Aperture Library.aplibrary”.

The Crash may have prevented Aperture from closing the Library properly.
Make a backup copy of your Aperture library, before you proceed.
Then try to repair the library using the "Library First Aid Tools":
Aperture 3 User Manual: Repairing and Rebuilding Your Aperture Library
Locate the Aperture library on your My Passport drive, then hold down the Command and Option keys while double-clicking the Aperture library.
Select Repair Database from the First Aid panel.
If that does not help, repeat, but select "Rebuild database".
If you still have prolems, post back and explain, what happened before Aperture crashed.
Regards
Léonie

Aperture Library Recommendation for 3.3?

I have for some time worked with my Aperture library located on a USB connected disk drive following guidance I'd seen somewhere about not placing it on the same disk as the application software.
Post the upgrade to version 3.3, I'm wondering if this is still the best place for the library. Admitedly I haven't been able to use Aperture properly yet (because 2 weeks after the upgrade Aperture is still re-generating all my previews - a process slowed down by repeated lockups when trying to refresh Facebook albums - see https://discussions.apple.com/message/18722356#18722356) - but it seems much slower than before - with the spinning wheel there for long periods of time even when just scrolling through the list of projects and albums, let alone trying to make an adjustment or something else useful.
Is there a change in recommendation for 3.3 to bring the library onto the main disk or should it still be located somewhere else?

I have for some time worked with my Aperture library located on a USB connected disk drive following guidance I'd seen somewhere about not placing it on the same disk as the application software.
Where did you see this recommendation? It must have been a very specific situation.
The best place for an Aperture library is the fastest disk you have; and that usually should be your system drive. My Aperture library resides on the SSD system volume - perfect for speedy access to the library items.
If your library is too large for the system volume, the usual solution would be to remove it to an external volume (but you would need a very fast drive and a high speed connection, fire wire or thunderbolt), or to keep the library on the system drive, but relocate the master files to a different volume; that is what I have done. Don't let the system drive get too full, this will slow down the system and Aperture.
How large is your library? Upgrading should not take that long. Usually the upgrade does not take much processing, and will not recreate all previews. But Aperture 3.3. is very sensitive to corrupted libryries. Apple advises to rebuild the library before upgrading while still on Aperture 3.2.4, and only then upgrade the fixed library. But I see you are in good hands in the other thread with Kirby Krieger as advisor.
Regards
Léonie

My aperture library lives on an external hard drive that is corrupt and I can not locate the library. I do have it backed up with TM. How do I safely restore the library from TM to my laptop? I am using the newest version of aperture on my macbook pr

My aperture library lives on an external hard drive that is corrupt and I can not locate the library. I do have it backed up with TM. How do I safely restore the library from TM to my laptop? I am using the newest version of aperture on my macbook pro.

Hello Sandra,
The article linked below details how to go about restoring items from Time Machine in Snow Leopard.
Mac OS X 10.6: Recovering items using Time Machine and Spotlight
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH6379
Sincerely,
Allen

I just noticed that I can no longer select photos out of my finder that are located in my Aperture/Iphoto Library. I used to be able to attach photos to my gmail out of the aperture library in the finder and for some reason, no longer can.

I just noticed that I can no longer select photos out of my finder that are located in my Aperture/Iphoto Library. I used to be able to attach photos to my gmail out of the aperture library in the finder and for some reason, no longer can.
I can't access these images except to go into the applications.
Also, I'd like to import my iphoto library into aperture, and move aperture library to an external drive. I tried the import first, but there wasn't enough space. Then I tried copying over the aperture library onto the external drive but it failed bc it said file was in use.
As it is, I only have 50gb left on my imac, and the aperture library is 150gb. Also, I have over 10k images in both libraries combined and there are tons of duplicates that need to be sorted, and hopefully not messed up because I've organized most of them.
So in short, I need to know how to do the following:
-select photos in finder in aperture/iphoto libraries
-move aperture library to live on external drive
-import iphoto library into aperture library
-eliminate dups but maintain organization
-moving forward i need a better workflow so that I import images from camera, and can organize right away into albums rather than creating projects by default and then creating albums so essentially the photos are in 2 different places, even tho they are referenced
-live happily ever after
Thanks in advance for any support you can offer!!

If you're using apps like iPhoto or Aperture then they replace the Finder for managing your photos. The point is that you use the (many) options available via these apps for the things you want and need to do with the Photos.
So, simply, you don't select the photos in the Finder. I'll append the supported ways to do this - which are faster and will yield the current version of your Photos - to the end of this post.
-move aperture library to live on external drive
Managed or Referenced Library? Managed -
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit Aperture
2. Copy the Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching Aperture. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Referenced - relocate your Masters first.
These issues are covered in the Manual and on this forum hundreds of times.
-import iphoto library into aperture library
FIle -> Import -> iPhoto Library? Have you done this already? If so are you trying to move the Masters to Aperture from an iPhoto Library? Or Consolidate them?
-moving forward i need a better workflow so that I import images from camera, and can organize right away into albums rather than creating projects by default and then creating albums so essentially the photos are in 2 different places, even tho they are referenced
You can't. Every photo is in a Project. They’re the basic building blocks of the Library.
You might want to spend a little time with the manual or the video tutorials. I'm not sure you've grasped the app you've purchased.
The following is written for iPhoto, but about 97% works for Aperture too.
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto/ APerture: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics. This is what you use to attach your shot to your GMail
(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
There's a similar option in Outlook and many, many other apps. If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto/ Aperture.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
If you want to access the files with iPhoto/ Aperture not running:
For users of 10.6 and later: You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the Library from your Services Menu.
Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser

File Location in Aperture Library

So, I'm new to aperture having transitioned from Lightroom.
When I set up my aperture ilbrary I oould have sworn I maked keep images in current location (where I had them stored in LR). Those files show in finder to be 681GB. When I look at my new aperture libray, it's 745GB. So I presume that I've inadvertanly set up an aperture library with the images stored within. Is this a correct assumption?
If I leave it this way, what do I lose? Can these enormous files become corrupt? I only do a backup offsite once a month or so.
Should I delete this new aperture library and re-import w/o moving the files?

Stevej2001 wrote:
So, I'm new to aperture having transitioned from Lightroom.
When I set up my aperture ilbrary I oould have sworn I maked keep images in current location (where I had them stored in LR). Those files show in finder to be 681GB. When I look at my new aperture libray, it's 745GB. So I presume that I've inadvertanly set up an aperture library with the images stored within. Is this a correct assumption?
Based on the size, I would say that it is indeed a 'Managed Library' where all your images are being stored inside the 'Aperture Library' package.
If I leave it this way, what do I lose? Can these enormous files become corrupt? I only do a backup offsite once a month or so.
Other than an OS corruption or Disk corruption, it is the database inside the Aperture Library that can become corrupt, which does not compose a huge issue as you can always manually remove the Master images in the worst case scenario.
Should I delete this new aperture library and re-import w/o moving the files?
Many people choose a 'Referenced Library' (which is what Lightroom uses) for a number of reasons. The most common reasons are; 1 - long term storage needs for Masters may exceed internal drive space; 2 - using manually created 'Finder' folders is preferable to using the Library Inspector view; 3 - Master files will be stored in an easily accessible form if the Aperture database gets corrupted beyond fixing and you at least have the Masters already filed logically and easily managed for a new system or library.
In the end, it is up to you; but deleting the new library and re-importing while leaving the Masters in their current location should be in line with what you have been doing with Lightroom. This would mean doing backups of the Masters and Aperture Library as separate operations (not a big deal if you have the external resources for copying).

Aperture 3 not in Media Browser - Non-Default Library Location Issue

Hi Everyone,
My Aperture Library cannot be viewed in the media browser. I created a new Aperture library in the default location which resolved the issue; however, I have my library on an external hard drive and it is too big to put on my internal HD.
Any suggestions on how to tell iLife & iWork to look in my external HD?
Message was edited by: ZerbyPhotography

Hello Everybody,
Ok...I went to the Genius Bar, but to no avail. (by the way, my issue about not being able to open programs while holding alt was due to my not depressing the alt key for the required length of time. So, false alarm on that one. Oops!)
I just updated to 3.0.1. I continued to have the same issues with accessing my files through the media browser. I called tech support; and through their instructions, I was able to gain access to my library through the media browser. This seemed to be by accident, so I don't know if it was due to the update, a particular logarithm of library selection, or a combination of the two.
What I remember being the last actions were to create an alternate library, >file, >>switch to library, >>>other, select the new library, (possibly restarting Aperture), then switching back to my main library through the same selection as previous (i think...possibly by a different method).
Regardless, my library is now accessible in the media browser in iLife & iWork programs.

Locating Aperture Library Folders

Hello,
I recently imported images that were in regular mac folders to the Aperture library.
Most of the images that were connected to the folder (which I deleted after importing) appear OFFLINE. When I try to reconnect using the tool, the Aperture Library (where these photos are now) does not appear in the reconnect box as an option.
So,
How can I connect these images when the Aperture Library doesn't show up as an option to find images within?
Thank you!

Just to be sure, which of the above badges do you see on the problematic image versions, the "offline" badge or the "not found" badge?
Last year we had several reports on managed master image files, that Aperture could not find; but since Aperture knew these images to be managed, it refused to open the "locate referenced files" dialogue.
First convince yourself that the missing master image files really are inside your Aperture Library Package: Ctrl-click the Aperture Library, select "Show Package Contents" and inspect the "Masters"-folder, if your missing images really are there. if they are not there, then you probably imported the images as referenced and deleted the original masters - you will have to find a backup of the images.
If they are there, I would try to repair your Aperture Library. Have you done any trouble shooting on your Aperture Library? If not, try the "Aperture Library First Aid Tools", as described in the Aperture 3: Troubleshooting Basics: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3805
Start with repairing Permissions and repairing your Library. Post back, if repair does not help.
Regards
Léonie

Aperture Library Default Location?

What is the default location of the Aperture Library? I changed it to an external drive but now want set it back to default.
Thanks.

Whatatrip,
Aperture puts its first library in the Pictures folder of your user directory.
nathan

Aperture 3 library location on NAS?

Good afternoon,
I would like to know if it is possible to allow more than one computer to use the same Aperture library?
I have one macmini and one iMac 27''.
My question is, would it be possible to store the Aperture library I have on a nas box and share this out to both systems.
I would not be looking to use both computers at the same time.

That is not recommended by Apple, sorry, see this support article:
Aperture: Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library
Your external volume needs to be formatted MacOS X Extended. And placing the Aperture Library on a network volume will give poor performance, because the access time is slow, and also unpredictable results. You may corrupt your Aperture library this way and risk data loss.
Since you do not need to access the library at the same time from both machines, it would be safer to put the library onto a fast external drive, connected by firewire or fast USB and plug this drive into the computer where you want to use the library.
Regards
Léonie

Change Imported Files from Store in Current Location to Aperture Library

Aperture Newbie
I have chosen to import my files by using the Store Files: drop down selection "In the Aperture Library". That is what I prefer.
However, I accidentally imported a large selection fo files and chose the Pictures folder instead of the In the Aperture Library selection. Is there a way to change it without removing the pictures and re-importing. I've done a lot of edits on the pictures in this project and would rather not start over.

He's the Lion's meow (or is that roar?).

ITunes doesn't see Aperture Library - iMovie doesn't see Aperture Library

Issues:
Nearly all of my videos in the Aperture/iPhoto library do not show up when I select iPhoto library option in iMovie and iMovie is unable to locate them in any other way. Sometimes the option to select the iPhoto library is completely missing.
iTunes does not recognize my Aperture library, and I get the following message:
"Your Aperture Library could not be found. Open the preferences window in Aperture and enable the preference to share previews with other applications." After reading through forums and multiple Genius Bar appointments here is most of what I have done:
Created multiple new Aperture libraries, selected them in Aperture, rebooted, switched back and forth - Note: iTunes DID recognize the new blank libraries
Booted Aperture with the Command + Option keys and run all three options to repair permssions and even rebuilt the database
Booted Aperture with the Option key and selected the library I was using all along (this worked for someone in a forum)
Opened iPhoto (not Aperture) and selected an option to share photos
Run "Verify Disk Permissions" many times under Disk Utility
Run "Repair Disk Permissions" many times under Disk Utility
Reinstalled OSX
Reinstalled Aperture
Reinstalled iTunes
Reinstalled iMovie
Run a virus and malware scan (no issues)
Verified that Aperture was set to share previews and had a Genius go through all of my options to ensure they were correct in iTunes, Aperture, and iPhoto
Have ran "Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs" from the Command + Option + R recovery partition multiple times. Each time it just hangs for hours, the latest attempt ran for over 24 hours before I finally stopped it.
Oh yes, and I found and deleted the file com.apple.iApps.plist
None of these things fixed either of my issues. According the the Genius at my last appointment, now I have to call Apple Care and pay to get support. I must have misunderstood what the Genius Bar was about when I bought my Mac and why I purchased the One to One training. Before I call Apple Care, I was hoping someone might have run across this and can help me.
I asked the Genius if I now need to just create a new Aperture Library and move all of my content to it (that was the last resort for someone in a forum); however, he was concerned that even if this might work that I probably have deeper permission and/or other issues that need to be addressed and that doing so would not fix the root cause.
Thanks for taking the time to read through this issue.

Understood. I thought perhaps the period meant that I was finished and just needed to call Apple Care and fork out the fee.
The formats are primarily .MOV straight from the iPhone. Since going to a Mac, I have pretty much given up on using my Sony Handycam for family videos due to the pains of having to locate, identify, convert, and export AVCHD video to watch on Apple TV. It is just too easy to take video with my iPhone and import it and immediately watch it, although the quality is nothing close to a dedicated video camera, especially indoors and in lower light. All of the video formats in Aperture are supported and most all of my older home videos and Sony Handycam videos are sitting on an external drive (hoping that one day I will have the time to figure out a decent workflow to access them after I work all of the bugs out of iMovie). Great thought though.
All my content is managed. After a handful of One-to-One sessions at the Apple Store, I finally learned that you could not reference videos in iMovie and had to either have them in the iMovie Events directory or in iPhoto (at least that was what she said). Their solution was to import the videos into iPhoto so they could be easily accessed in iMovie. After I had issues mentioned in this post their solution was for me to purchase Aperture that could handle larger libraries. This was supposed to fix the issue and allow iMovie to see my videos. When that didn't work they said that I needed to purchase Final Cut Pro. I'm just a Dad who wants to make a few memorable home movies for his family and I don't think that I should have to purchase a $300 application, especially after paying a premium for my Mac and the iLife software, which I am deeply regretting. But I digress.
I have repaired permissions again and am in the process of repairing the library and will rebuild it again if that doesn't work. It is taking longer so I won't be able to post the results until a later time. Definitely worth a shot to try this again.
If this doesn't work I will take the time to create a new Aperture library. Like I previously mentioned, this was the last resort for another gentlemen who had a similar issue. After doing this it might explain why the "Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs" from the Command + Option + R recovery partition is getting hung up and not working. I'll post the results at a later date. If I could save just one person the time, gas, and stress I've experienced it would be worth it.
One additional question? I read a gentlemen's post that passionately argued against ever using iPhoto, Aperture, or iMovie to ever manage video files. He suggested using folders and a file naming system similar to what I used when I was on a PC using Adobe Elements. Do you have any thoughts on that?
For my situation, I have two concerns:
I'm afraid this would not allow me to watch the videos on Apple TV as simply as I can now (although I don't know this to be the case for certain). If the videos aren't in my photo library, I'm not sure how I would be able to access them through Apple TV.
Since I'm a proud Dad I have hundreds of video files spanning many years, so I also don't want to lose the ability to quickly peruse my event library and find content that I want to import into a project in iMovie. At one point I imported some video files to edit that weren't stored in iMovie, and I could only see the file name and date and had to guess if there was content on it that I wanted. When you have hundreds of clips like I do that isn't practical.
He argued that these programs were never meant to manage content and worked much more efficiently using this method. I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts.
Thanks again.

Can't sync Aperture library with multiple user accounts

I have created the aperture library on my main computer account and have synced photos to my iPhone with no problem. I created an account for my wife on the computer and she has admin rights. When I try to sync photos from Aperture onto her iPad I get the error message: You do not have enough rights for this operation. I checked the permissions on the Aperture library and she has Read+Write rights. Is there a solution so that we both can use Aperture for the management of our photo library but still have separate accounts?

yes, as best as I could tell.
This is a library I use for my desktop wallpaper (rotating 5 seconds apiece, random pics) so the images are kept in a folder separate from the library, which is one of the few that I permit to copy images and manage their location.
So I deleted those four images from the library, deleted their album, and reimported them from the main folder, and recreated their album, and all was well.
I presume one of them got corrupted, but the odd thing was that iTunes complained the phone couldn't be synced, and in no way indicated a fault with a file being synced.

I've moved my Aperture library to another computer, and masters are referencing an old path name. How can I update these references? Reloctating masters does not work in this case :(

I've moved my Aperture library from one computer to another using Finder.
I merged the library with one which was already on the computer.
Now, the photos I imported have reference to the old path name on my old computer.
How can I update these references as "Relocate Masters" does not work in this case?

Just one suggestion to be able to reconnect all at once:
Create a smart album containing the images with missing masters:
File -> New -> Smart Album, and add a rule: File Status is "Missing" (or File Status is "offline")
Then select the images in this album and go to the File menu:
and select: File -> Locate referenced File
If you are lucky, Aperture will reconnect all at once, if you point the first image version to its counterpart.

Aperture Library location...

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