Aperture Library Organisation

How do you orgainse your Aperture library?
I haven't quiet got to the bottom of order of filing proirty - of projects, folders and Albums. or even what is the difference between them?
Then there's smart Albums - how do you use them?

Start with Kirby Krieger's exellent User Tip
                 The Well-Trod Path: a Beginner's Guide to how Aperture's major parts inter-relate
and then post back with a more detailed question.
Generally you will have to design your Aperture library structure to suit your needs, and we would need to know, how you want to use your Aperture library and how you need to retrieve your pictures.
Regards
Léonie

Similar Messages

  • I'm organising my Aperture library today and I'm going to go through my photos folder, import the images to Aperture and then delete the original folders. Just curious if deleting the source folders is a big no-no or not.

    Topic title basically sums it up.

    Alright. For my case was, my source files are inside the Document folders. Since importing the pictures into Aperture, deleting the source files/folders did not cause any problems with Aperture.
    Whether it is a good idea or would depend on how comforatble you are with the idea in the first place. On one hand you can save up precious hard disk space, while on the other if the Aperture library gets corrupted, you might lose everything. Of course, having a backup of the Aperture library helps, as well as a time machine backup of it. On top of that you can also have an Aperture Vault to backup the library to a external drive.
    In summary i think a reasonlable backup plan is just as important regardless of whether or not the source file is in which location. For my case, i only have the Aperture library as all of my source. A time machine backs up everything including my library, in addition to that, i also use Aperture Vault to back up to another external drive just in case.

  • How can i use an aperture library on a 2009 white macbook?

    I made a set of 6 Aperture libraries on my MacPro Westmere using latest version. These open on my MP in iPhoto as well.
    A colleague needs these libraries (organisation related photo categories).
    They would not open on his white 2009 MacBook -- OS 10.8 with 4GB RAM and oodles of disk space -- with his version of iPhoto - 9.1.
    Downloaded latest version 9.4.1 -- Installer says that OS 10.8.2 is required.
    Downloaded and installed version 9.3.1 -- claims to be compatible with Aperture library.
    File will not open -- Incompatible ProKit message.
    Software update does not show any system updates available.
    Downloaded 10.8.2
    Tried to install -- failed -- Not compatible with this volume
    Sigh (repeat x10)
    Am I missing something -- I have read lots of slightly similar but different installation issues with 10.8.2 -- all very dispiriting.
    ben
    0

    Thanks again
    but...
    As I said in my post...
    Downloaded 10.8.2
    Tried to install -- failed -- Not compatible with this volume
    I should have said the 10.8.2 Combo
    As I said, it would not update -- it reported that the update was incompatible with this volume!
    Yet the minimum specs for 10.8 (now running the machine only installed two weeks ago) and 10.8.2 have not changed.
    I might add that I have been working with Macs from day 1 and on Apple ][s from almost day 1.
    ben

  • What is the best way to move an aperture library from one full drive to an external drive?

    Just want to make sure I move my existing Aperture library on my internal drive (which is full) correctly to an external drive that has plenty of space. 
    Thanks for the help!

    As I use a MBP with limited internal drive space, my approach is to have the image files on an external drive, while leaving the library itself on my internal drive. The library takes up about 80GB while the images are closer to 1TB.
    The library always contains 'Thumbnails' of the images which it shows in place of the disconnected image files.
    This means I can still open the library even when the external drive is not attached, and I can still do keywording and rating and organising and so on.
    I also maintain 'Previews' for my best images. Previews are like thumbnails but larger in size and can be shared with other apps, so I can still use and share these copies of the images, again even while the external drive is not attached.
    I don't like the idea of having the actual library on an external drive connected to a laptop (although I have done so from time to time without issue). There's always a chance it can become accidentially disconnected (kids, pets, etc) and if this happens while using Aperture it can corrupt your library. A corrupted library can be repaired with Apertures first aid tools, but it's better to avoid it in the frist place when you can.

  • Aperture - library management and external HDD question

    Hi all. 
    I have just graduated from a point and shoot to a Panasonic GH2 (love it), and have now begun using Aperture 3 rather than iPhoto on my early 2008 MB Pro to manage my photos going forwards.  Of course, I’ve now discovered that Aperture is quite the resource hog and so it’s upgrade time (darn, “have” to buy a new ‘puter!).  I have a 2011 MB Pro (2.3Ghz i7 with 512GB SSD) on order and 8GB of DDR 3 arriving from Crucial.  Since I have this brand-new-computer opportunity I want to make sure I’m organising things properly before I start transferring things across, and so have a few Aperture-related questions.  (In case it’s relevant, I’m shooting in RAW+JPEG.  So far I’ve been using RAW as master, but have since learnt it might be a good idea to import JPG as master and switch to RAW only when I need to make corrections, so I’ll probably do that going forwards.)
    I understand that moving to referenced masters on an external drive might be a good idea and save me precious SSD-space.  To that end, questions are:
    1. Can anyone recommend a companion external HDD for Aperture and the 2011 MBPro?  I guess either FW800 or Thunderbolt are the way to go.  The Lacie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt might be an option but is this overkill for Aperture masters or would FW800 be sufficient.  I’ve also seen the G-Tech G-RAID mini, Lacie Rugged – thoughts welcome.
    Key requirements are a) as compact as possible, and b) bus powered.
    2. What kind of performance can I expect if I go down this route?  Is there going to be significant loading/processing delay whenever I switch to a new image?
    3. How will Aperture cope with (eg) syncing photos to iPad / iPhone if the drive containing the masters isn’t connected?  Put another way, are JPG renders saved in the Aperture library (i.e. on my MBP SSD) or with the masters?
    Thanks in advance to anyone who responds!
    Aljrob

    Aljrob_UK wrote:
     ...I have a 2011 MB Pro (2.3Ghz i7 with 512GB SSD) on order and 8GB of DDR 3 arriving
    ...I understand that moving to referenced masters on an external drive might be a good idea and save me precious SSD-space.
    1. Can anyone recommend a companion external HDD for Aperture and the 2011 MBPro?  I guess either FW800 or Thunderbolt are the way to go.
    ...Key requirements are a) as compact as possible, and b) bus powered.
    OWC (an excellent vendor) has the Elite Pro Mini hard drive that meets your specs:
    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/EliteALmini/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
    Thiunderbolt drives are not mainstream yet but eSATA and FW800 both work well. The multiple connection methods of OWC drives allow very desirable flexibility when purposing/repurposing drives.
    Note too that the MBP optical drive can be replaced with up to a 1-TB hard drive DIY or OWC will do it for you. That is what I am doing with my 17" 2011 MBP.
    2. Is there going to be significant loading/processing delay whenever I switch to a new image?
    SSD latency is orders of magnitude less than hard drives. Switching to a new image even fast hard drives with fast connectivity add significant latency delay. To avoid that what I do is leave (Referenced) Masters on the SSD until all editing is complete (which may be a few weeks). Only then do I use Aperture to change the Referenced Masters location from the SSD to a large external drive.
    What kind of performance can I expect if I go down this route?
    With Masters on the SSD and 8 GB RAM imports/exports are very fast and all Aperture editing is essentially instant. You will be pleased!
    Suggested workflow steps for Referenced Masters:
    • Use a FW card reader or MBP slot to copy to a file folder on the SSD (never directly into Aperture or any other images management app). With fast camera cards copy times are quick, but cheap slow cards can slow this step down a lot.
    • Eject and physically disconnect the card reader.
    • Back up that file folder on external drive(s).
    • Only after backup is complete, reformat the camera card in-camera.
    • Import images into Aperture from the file folder on the SSD.
    HTH
    -Allen Wicks

  • Using Aperture Library from Multiple Computers

    My Aperture library is on an external drive and I have used multiple computers to add files to the library. Unfortunately when I use a different computer than the origin it tells me that the masters are unavailable and I cannot use the image. It tells me they are offline . Any fixes?

    If you put the library entirely on the external drive then no, you won't be able to view previews when the hard drive is disconnected.
    To do that, and share edits with your brother, you'll need to import and export projects. It might be possible to use referenced images, and import or export the project without consolidating masters first, if your masters are on the external drive. I think you'll just need to do some testing, and have a read of 'bagelturf's pages about how the library is organised, and how referenced images work.
    http://www.bagelturf.com/aparticles/ref/index.html

  • Aperture library and photos folder

    Hi.
    I have a file '' aperture library'' that is 40gb on my mac's hdd and a folder named my photos on an external hdd that is 80 gb.
    Is it possible to move them all to one place to organise them better without losing my photos.
    I have already organized with projects and i need to free space on my mac .
    thank you

    I have a file '' aperture library'' that is 40gb on my mac's hdd and a folder named my photos on an external hdd that is 80 gb.
    Are your Aperture library and the folder "My Photos" on your external HD related in some way? Does this folder contain referenced originals, or are this photos that are not in your Aperture library?
    You can simply drag your aperture library to an external drive, when you want it somewhere else.  And if your folder "Photos" has nothing to do with Aperture, you can  drag it in the Finder somewhere else as well. But id the folder "Photos" contains original image files that Aperture references, you need to use Aperture's "Relocate original" command to move the image files to a different place.
    Regards
    Léonie

  • Import an Aperture library to iPhoto9

    I was wondering if there is a way to import a whole library from Aperture into iPhoto in one action, such as changing the library suffix? The idea being that I would want to keep the album, project, folder hierarchy in the import. Dragging a folder from Aperture to iPhoto just makes it into an album. Anyone had any success in this area?
    I have two Aperture libraries, to distinguish between types of work and I am minded to make one of them iPhoto for reasons I will not go into here other than to say there are certain advantages in having both libraries open and visible at the same time and one of the libraries could as easily live in iPhoto as Aperture.
    Drew

    That's not moving your Aperture Library back to iPhoto, that's some version of exporting from Aperture to the Finder and importing from the Finder to iPhoto. The key difference is there is no way to preserve the relationship between Masters and Versions, no way to preserve the virtual nature of Versions and no way to move huge elements of the Aperture organisational structure.
    Remember if you go the "Show Aperture Browser" route you're only accessing the Aperture Previews.
    Regards
    TD

  • Backing up and Restoring a large Aperture library

    One of our departments is looking to backup their Aperture library (170 Gb and growing). They would like to do an initial backup of everything, and then incrementally from that point. We tried using Retrospect it backed up fine although it took about 30 hours to do it, but when we tested the restore after the full back up a good portion of the photos were inaccessible.
    We then backed up a small portion of the library and then tried a restore and all the photos are there.
    Any suggestions?
    Does Vault allow for incremental backups?
    Thank for any help
    Denny

    I simply copy Aperture Library file (approximately 76 Gb) on an external Hard disk (FW800).
    Time of copying approximately 1 hour.
    Thus backup copy works perfectly. I have one more Mac and Aperture (MacBook). I once a week copy Aperture Library file on MacBook, it as reserve working station for me, and also on some photos session I take MacBook with myself. Aperture (witch backup library from iMac) works on it fine.

  • Having trouble backing up Aperture Library to an external hard drive

    I'm using a brand new 27" imac and simply trying to back up my Aperture Library from my finder menu to my external drive. My Aperture Library currently is about 65gb. The file starts transferring (takes about an hour), and about 2/3 of the way through it, I get an error message that states "The operation can’t be completed because an item with the name “Aperture Library” already exists." The operation stops, and the file size of my Aperture Library on my external drive ends up about 45mb approx, only partially transferred, so not a full backup. Happens every time. I have deleted everything and reformatted my external drive and still get the same message. When I try to create a vault and back it up on my external drive, I get an immediate error that states "The new vault could not be created because the file system of the destination volume is unsupported". Any ideas how to address this? All I really want to do is have an off-site backup of my full Aperture library.

    You will have this problem using that format, the Library needs to be on a disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). You can reformat the drive. Or you could try creating a disk image formatted correctly and putting the library on that, then storing that on the MS format drive.
    Regards
    TD

  • 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

  • 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.

  • New to Aperture - Library vs Reference files

    I'm coming to Aperture from Picasa, which replicated and managed my folder structure as it appeared on my hard-disc, which was nice.
    Am I better off importing images into my Aperture Library, or managing the folder structure how I want and just having Aperture work with the reference files?
    I'm not a pro-photographer, just a pretty basic user, so will not have loads of large raw image files. What's the benefit of using the Library over using Reference files? I've tried Google-ing but everything I've found just addresses folder/project management within Aperture.
    If I use the reference option, can Aperture manage my photos on my hard-drive in the same way Picasa could (ie if I moved a photo from one folder to another in Picasa, it also moved on my drive)
    Thanks

    Hi TxH,
    Welcome to the user-supported Aperture discussion group.
    I'm coming to Aperture from Picasa, which replicated and managed my folder structure as it appeared on my hard-disc, which was nice.
    If you use Aperture for even a little while, you'll realize that the structure of your photos in your hard drive is not as important as how you organize them in Aperture, especially when you start making albums, which merely contain a pointer to the image in your library. You can have a picture in many albums, but your library (and therefore hard drive) only contains it once.
    Am I better off importing images into my Aperture Library, or managing the folder structure how I want and just having Aperture work with the reference files?
    That's a matter of opinion. Some people are very opinionated that using referenced files is the only way to go, some are opinionated the other way. Sometimes there really is a better solution for you depending on what you are doing.
    What's the benefit of using the Library over using Reference files? I
    You will find loads of conversation if you search this discussion group for "managed" and "referenced".
    You will always have a library. Your managed pictures will live in the library and you won't have direct access to them through Finder (and you should not want direct access to them for the most part). Your referenced pictures live wherever you tell Aperture to take them from, but the bookkeeping parts of the Aperture library/database are still stored in the Aperture library package.
    Benefits of managed include: you don't worry about where the files are; Aperture backs them up if you use its vaults; they are always with you.
    Benefits of referenced include: you know exactly where the files are; your Aperture library is significantly smaller than if all your photos were in the library; you can find them with Finder if that's important to you (and a lot of people think it's important to them but then realize they only think that because they're really not using Aperture to its full potential).
    If I use the reference option, can Aperture manage my photos on my hard-drive in the same way Picasa could (ie if I moved a photo from one folder to another in Picasa, it also moved on my drive)
    Yes. I've never used Picasa, but Aperture allows you to "relocate" your photos in order to manage their external directory structure. You can also choose to "relocate" a managed master to make it referenced.
    nathan

  • I was getting messages that my Aperture Library was full, so I updated to Aperture 5.3.1. When I open it, I'm asked to update my library. When I select that option, I'm told that my library is full. Now I can't access my library at all. What should I do t

    Hi all,
    I was getting messages that my Aperture Library was full, so made an appointment at my closest Mac store, but have to wait 2 days. They advise you to update saoftware before coming in, so I updated to Aperture 5.3.1. When I open it, I'm asked to update my library. When I select that option, I'm told that my library is full. Now I can't access my library at all. What should I do to access my library? Do I have to uninstall 5.3.1 and reinstall an older version?
    Another problem I have recently encountered ... all the up and down scrollers on various screens have disappeared. They reappear fleetingly when I use my up and down arrowa, but I can't always catch them. How do I get my scrollers back?

    Thank you so much for your patient guidance and screen captures.
    You are welcome.
    My external hard drive is properly formatted for Aperture, so I am currently copying my Aperture library to it. That will take hours since it is copying 101 GB.
    o.k.
    I understand that I need to clean some space on my internal hard drive and reformat the Aperture library to get back in operation.
    You need to upgrade the Aperture library to be used with Aperture 3.5.1.  That will happen automatically, when you first double click the copied lirary to open it in Aperture.
    I'll also need to back up my external drive with a new external drive if I make space on my internal drive by removing some photos from there and store them on my current external drive.
    What do you use for backup? If you are using TimeMachine it is better to have only the Time Machine backup on the Time Machine drive . In that case would I put the Aperture library and other data on a new drive and keep the old drive for backup.

  • I imported some 24P HD videos from my DSLR to Aperture but these videos do not show up in iMovie '09 for editing purposes. Although my previous 24P HD Videos from iPhoto '09 show up. Why can't I access these videos stored in Aperture library?

    I imported some 24P HD videos from my DSLR to Aperture but these videos do not show up in iMovie '09 for editing purposes. Although my previous 24P HD Videos from iPhoto '09 show up. Why can't I access these videos stored in Aperture library? I assumed that like  the videos in iPhoto, I would be able to access the videos in Aperture through iMovie. Come on Apple! I am starting to get frustrated with your products here. And this is saying a lot when I have been using and loving apple products for the last 4 years.

    Hi. My camera is a Canon 600D. And yes my videos are stored in the Aperture library and they are not referenced. Even then I tried to select all the videos in Aperture and clicked 'consolidate masters' and there was a messge that said all 'none of the files are referenced',... so they didn't need consolidating.
    I also tried preferences> export> external video editor > choose > iMovie. And then right click on the video to edit with imovie. Even then the video didn't show up in iMovie. It seems like the only option for me is to import the videos directly to iMovie which means there will be two versions of the same file stored in my computer eating up space.
    APPLE. What are you doing?

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