Aperture vs iPhoto library questions

Hello, I am brand new to Aperture from iPhoto. I am moving to Aperture to take advantage of the organization options because I am starting to run out of HD space with my 100 GB iPhoto library. I want to have the option in the near future to switch to referenced masters on an external drive. So my question has to do with the unified library between iPhoto and Aperture. When I upgraded to Aperture, I had to first update iPhoto to the new library format. I then opened my iPhoto library in Aperture. Everything I've read about the unified format has explained that it is compatible with both applications. But I've also read that iPhoto does not work with referenced masters. So, can I use Aperture to convert my iPhoto library to Referenced masters? Or do I need to transfer my photos into a native Aperture library first? And then once I switch to referenced masters, will iPhoto still work with my new library?
Thank you,
Ray

But I've also read that iPhoto does not work with referenced masters.
And then once I switch to referenced masters, will iPhoto still work with my new library?
Ray,
iPhoto can use referenced original master image file, it works well in iPhoto '11. Only, iPhoto has no built-in tools to repair broken references, if referenced files get accidentally moved or changed, so it is not recommended to do this in iPhoto. But since you now want to use Aperture, that will not be a problem. You will be able to repair broken references using Aperture. iPhoto will work well with a referenced Aperture library. I am using it all the time.
So, can I use Aperture to convert my iPhoto library to Referenced masters? Or do I need to transfer my photos into a native Aperture library first?
Yes, that is simple.
Upgrade your iPhoto Library by opening it in the latest iPhoto version, and then use the command "File > Open Library in Aperture". Now Aperture will work with your iPhoto library as an Aperture library. Events will show as Projects in Aperture, albums will still be albums. All keywords and ratings, Faces and Places will transfer.
To switch to referenced masters/originals select the images you want to relocate and use the command "File > Relocate originals".
You may want to read this page of the manual:
Aperture 3 User Manual: Working with Referenced Images
But make a full backup of your libraries before you start to reorganize them and relocate files.
Regards
Léonie
Since you are new to Aperture, the                 User Tips (15) might be helpful:
                 The Well-Trod Path: a Beginner's Guide to how Aperture's major parts inter-relate
                 Keep iPhoto - It May Come in Handy!
                 New to Aperture? Some Considerations when Designing your First Aperture Library
                 How do I access my Photos in Aperture?
and quite a few more

Similar Messages

Reason to use Aperture or iPhoto library?

A few months ago I purchase Aperture, on install I selected the option to let is use my iPhoto library. While "learning" to use Aperture, I didn't want to totally abandon iPhoto in case I wasn't pleased with it. Now I will be using Aperture solely, still doesn't do all I want, but better/close than iPhoto.
So, my question is, is there a reason to transfer all of the iPhoto images to a new Aperture library, or is there no real difference between the two types of libraries? I have already created an Aperture library for some commerical work that I am doing, whereas the iPhoto is primarily a personal/family album.
P.S., is the Aperture library accessible / sharable with my iPad? I take the iPad with me to show customers the photos I

Yes, I haven't tried syncing the two. I have imported into aperture, but haven't tried going the other way, or a two-way sync.
Syncing? Neither Aperture nor iPhoto supports syncing of photo libraries so far. Aperture can merge iPhoto libraries and Aperture libraries, but it cannot keep two libraries in sync with each other.
There would be one minor advantage, if you import your iPhoto library into a new Aperture library. Aperture is a bit more economical with additional files, like faces and previews. iPhoto will always scan imported image files for faces, and iPhoto will always create high quality previews. In Aperture you can disable faces and previews, or set the size of previews to a smaller file size. So, an Aperture library might be smaller than a corresponding iPhoto library, when you create it new.
And I am not yet quite sure, what will happen, if new Aperture versions and iPhoto versions will be released, that require a paid upgrade. To use an iPhoto library with Aperture, right now it has to be upgraded in iPhoto to an iPhoto version compatible with Aperture. You cannot open iPhoto '9 libraries directly in Aperture, you need iPhoto '11. If it stays this way, you might be required to buy a paid upgrade to iPhoto to upgrade your combined iPhoto-Aperture library to be used with a new Aperture 4, even if you are no longer using iPhoto. In this case, it would be safer to convert the iPhoto library to an Aperture library by importing the iPhoto library into a new, empty Aperture library.

Aperture and iPhoto library integration.

So here is my predicament:-
I'm new to Aperture but have more than enough experience in iPhoto. I'm 99% sure that I'm just missing something small so hopefully this wont be a hard question to answer.
I tend to use iPhoto as a photo management program as I love the way it looks and feels; especially the new version as part of iLife '11. Now I understand you can import your iPhoto library into Aperture HOWEVER is it possible to then update the Aperture library later on down the track without re-cataloguing (think thats the best way to put it) the iPhoto library all together?

Terrence, sounds like you have your brain wrapped around aperture quite well. I do not. So please forgive me if this question is redundant. Sometimes you just have to ask in your own words, if you know what I mean. I am about to download Aperture's 30 day trial.
In essence, iPhoto and Aperture cannot share a library, but they can access each other's libraries? Can you just preview iPhoto's library from within Aperture and vice-versa without having to import the photos? And if you import your existing iPhoto library into Aperture you then have two copies of each photo, one in Aperture and one in iPhoto, thus doubling the space on the HDD that photos are taking up?
I do understand the changes made in one program cannot be viewed in another.
Thank you for taking time to share your expertise with us!

Installed aperture, delete iPhoto library?

Hi,
Having purchased Aperture and imported my iPhoto library, I have discovered Aperture to be somewhat slow. I have done a disk repair, which seems to have helped, but wondered, is it now safe to delete the old iphoto library, now that it is copied to Aperture?
Jon.

Hi Terence, thank you so much for a quick reply.
May I just ask a couple more questions? 1. You mentioned to someone else about making sure they had 'Managed Library' on their Aperture. What is that, and how do I know if I have one?
Second, to be on the safe side, I'm going to export my library to an external HD. 2. How do I do this (and will it free up some space, I have about 15,000 pics in my old iPhoto library.
Thanks Terence.
Jon.

I can not open my Aperture or Iphoto library

Hello everyone,
I have the application Aperture where I edit pictures and can not seem to open it today when I try the message "To open this iPhoto library in Aperture, it first needs to be upgraded.Verify that you have iPhoto 9.4 or later. Then open the library in iPhoto to upgrade it." I upgraded Iphoto and then tryed to open Aperture while Iphoto was closed and I got the same message. Then I tried to open the Iphoto library and now the message "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable.Shut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Command keys pressed. You can also try restoring your photo library from a backup. Aperture was not open at the time so I shut down then restarted my computer. The same Message Appered. Then I tried to rebuild the library by holding down the option and command key I tried all of the rebuilding options and when I went to rebuild it the same message opened in iphoto. Help me! I am a photographer with a website and need to get this up and running fast. I wanted to cunsult with Apple Support Communities before I make the trip out to the apple store.

Also when I went to finder to see it the library existed its now labled Iphoto library copy. I have a time capsule and restored it back by a day and it didn't work I still got the same message in aperture and Iphoto.

Aperture import iPhoto library, no duplicates

Merging iPhoto libraries into a single Aperture library risks duplicate images. Multiple iPhoto libraries might contain the same image.
According to the online manual there is a command 'File > Import > iPhoto Library' that would allow the 'Do not import duplicates' option. This command does not seem to exist in the current version of Aperture.
This may be a way to do this -
    Right or control click on the iPhoto library to 'Show Package Contents'. Move the Masters folder out of the package.
    In Aperture, click the Import arrow icon and navigate to the Masters folder. This allows selection of the 'Do not import duplicates' checkbox.
    Then perhaps run Duplicate Annihilator on the Aperture library. Use the option to label any duplicates and originals. Flag the originals and search for keywords 'original' and 'duplicate' to verify.
Any comments on this - will it work?

Merging iPhoto libraries into a single Aperture library risks duplicate images. Multiple iPhoto libraries might contain the same image.
The recommended procedure to merge iPhoto libraries using Aperture is described here:
Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries
You will need the current Aperture 3 version - at least Aperture 3.3. and open all your iPhoto libraries in iPhoto 9.3 or later at least once.
Merging libraries is preferable to simply importing the "masters" folder - this way you will be able to save all your work - edits, tagging, albums, etc.
If you move the "Masters" folder from your iPhoto library, you may corrupt the library, and by importing only the originals and not the edited versions, all your work done in iPhoto will be lost.
If you have Duplicate Annihilator, you can still run it afterwards to check, if duplicates are remaining after merging. The "Merge" will only look for perfect duplicates - similar filename, similar size.
Regards
Léonie

Aperture vs. iphoto library manager

I have > 37,000 photos, and am adding constantly. This seems to have brought iphoto to its knees. It keeps re-dating half of my photos to 2041, and runs slowly. At the Apple store they advised switching to aperture. Someone else suggested iphoto library manager. I am less concerned about the cost ($70 vs. $24) than saving time-I work 80-100 hours a week, and I do not have hours and hours to "make things work." I would greatly appreciate comments and suggestions. Thanks.

If iPhoto is slow when browsing the iPhoto library, apertre will probably slow too. Both applications are sharing the same library format.
I have > 37,000 photos,
That is no reason for iPhoto being slow, unless your libryr is so large, that there is not enough space left on your drive. How much free space is on your system drive and the drive with your iPhoto library?
Keep at least 20 GB free on your internal drive and more on the drives , where you are storing your photo libraries. Libraries may need temporarily more storage, when they are being repaired or rebuild.
What is your iPhoto version and MacOS X version? And how much RAM has your Mac?
Did the slowness start, after you imported new photos? Then this may be temporary and iPhoto still be processing faces, previews, etc. Or one of the photos or videos you imported is not readable and needs to be removed.
Did you install or upgrade any new software recently?
Also, iPhoto may be slow, if the library needs repairing.
Try to repair the library as described by Old Toad ':Rebuild iPhoto Version 11:
If repairing does not help, update the backup pf your library and try rebuilding.
-- Léonie

Aperture vs iPhoto Library

I have just purchased the 3.01 version of Aperture, but when I request it to import my iPhoto Library the iPhoto Library is grayed out. How do I import it?

Are you running iPhoto Buddy?
My libraries were greyed out until I started iPhoto and then selected the same library in Aperture then closed iPhoto and restarted Aperture.
Otherwise, are you using an older version of iPhoto and the library is not updated to the later standard?

Aperture vs. iPhoto library size

I imported my 41GB iPhoto Library into Aperture 3. The resulting Aperture Library is 53GB. Any idea why such an difference? Thanks.

I regenerated all my thumbnails but did not get a significant difference in file size. I had earlier down a precautionary "repair database" which may have meant my file sizes were corrected then already.
Not sure how much you want to play with this problem, but if you have an Aperture Vault, you could consider restoring your Aperture Library from the Vault with Aperture 3.0.2. That's one way of not losing any changes (I hope) and getting everything defined correctly (and I hope).
I was sure that Aperture never used to copy Previews to the Vault by the way and today when I first updated my Vault after upgrading to Aperture 3.0.2 March 25th, the Activity Window showed it was copying all my Previews to the Vault - and that took quite a while! I wonder if this is a new feature. I'm sure it didn't do this with Aperture 3.0.1. Nice to see Activity Window being more informative in any event.

IPhoto vs Aperture--deleting iPhoto library

I just installed Aperture 3 and in doing so, i chose the option of copying my iPhoto library into Aperture. The instructions from Apple--available here: http://www.apple.com/aperture/iphoto-to-aperture/how.html -- say that if I then select the option to "Consolidate Masters to Library" I can safely delete my iPhoto library. But when I chose that option, I got a message that 'there are no referenced photographs." Can this be? My iPhoto Library is 124 GB; the new Aperture library is only 82 GB. Can I now safely delete the iPhoto library and have all my pictures in Aperture or is there something else I need to do. (To be safe, I have already backed up my entire iPhoto library on an external drive.
Thanks,
Rick Derevan

2. There is a subfolder in the Aperture folder called "Masters" with a whole bunch of folders in it and pictures are in the ones i opened, But I don't know if these are "masters" or "versions"--but I assume they are masters.
Aperture does not store the versions in the library as actual images - Aperture only stores instructions on how to render the version from the master. This saves disk space - you can create many versions from the same master without additional storage necessary, and this makes the lossles workflow possible. You always can undo your adjustments step by step, The version image will be created when you export the image. So if you see an image file in the library it is the master image file, if it is in the "Masters" folder.
So I think I am good to go, but all of my (former) iPhoto events show in the inspector column. And when I open a project in Aperture, and click on a photo, the event in iPhoto where the photo was originally found is highlighted in the inspector bar. So, why is the iPhoto event being highlighted if the photos are now in an Aperture library? Is that cause for worry?
Aperture recreated the iPhoto library structure in the Aperture Library as far as possible.
For each iPhoto event you now will find an Aperture project. These projects are the containers of your images. Each image has a project where it is stored. Also you should see your iPhoto albums, books, and Slideshows. and the images should be tagged with captions and keywords.
There is no cause to worry - all iPhoto images are now in Aperture; and Aperture mirrors your old library structure; this is supposed to be helpful, not to confuse you
The inspector panel in Aperure is very different from the iPhoto Inspector. Everything seems to be there twice, but these are just different views of the same items in the database.
The upper part lets you view the Library by projects, places, faces, etc., an the lower part shows the storage structure - how the library is organized by folders and projects; and if you select an image in the upper part - in projects view or Photos view, then Aperture will highlight the project where the image is contained.
I think you will find Kirby Krieger's introduction helpful to get you started:
Kirby Krieger: Re: Organizing in Aperture, concise long version:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/12616449#12616449
And also the very good online manual, if you have not found it already:
Aperture 3 User Manual: http://documentation.apple.com/en/aperture/
Regards
Léonie

Aperture and iPhoto Library (not my own)

A friend has sent me a copy of his iPhoto library containing pictures he's asked me to adjust for him. His version of iPhoto is the 2009 release having come with his new MacBook Pro. My iPhoto is version 6. It won't open the library my friend sent. Is there anything I can do with my Aperture (current) to extract the photos from the disk my friend sent? Any other ideas?
Thanks.
Terry

Insert the Disc into your Mac. On it you will see an iPhoto Library icon. Right Click on it and go 'Show Package Contents'. A Finder window will open with the Library exposed.
Regards
TD

Aperture and iPhoto library deleted

I upgraded my Aperture w/no problem. About one month later, all images in Aperture and iPhoto dissapeared. "Genius Bar" checked, said no problem and didn't have a clue. Bought a Time-Machine backup at store, had a consultant there show me how to set up, but he had a problem as the Airport Utility was gone. He said that was rare and downloaded it. He suggested there could be a connection to all this. I'm afraid to use the iMac. Help? Doing search for images or libraries no good, will show libraries, but with zero files. Tnx. Leif

How did you import your old iPhoto photos? And with what Aperture version?
Before the unified Aperture - iPhoto library has been introduced, it was possible to import an iPhoto library as referenced. This left all originals in the iPhoto library, so iPhoto continued to work, but Aperture could use the master files. Is that the way you imported your iPhoto library, with the master files in there original location?
When trying to e.g. export a file Aperture says 'The selected original image is either offline or not found. Please reconnect it and try again.'.
That is the typical error message, when Aperture cannot access the original files. And Aperture wil not be able to do anything with your images, unless you restore the missing originals.
Just moved my Aperture-library to my new iMac.
Where did you move your Aperture library from ? From an older mac? From a backup?
Did Aperture work on that old Mac and could access the originals?
Do you still have that old mac, and is there any chance that recovery software could retrieve the missing original files on that mac?
Sometimes Aperture reports originals as missing, even if they are managed inside the Aperture library.
You can find out, where Aperture is looking for the original files, if you select some image files in the browser and use Aperture's command "File > Locate Referenced Files".
In the panel that opens, you can see the path to missing files in the upper right corner below the thumbnail.
What do you see, when you use that command?

Aperture and iPhoto Library

Hello,
I played with aperture @ the store. But i noticed i have to import pictures from the iPhoto library in the Aperture library. So i have the pictures twice on the disk. Isnt it possible to make Aperture use the iPhoto library?
Thank you in advance
Edgar

Well , it would be great to do someting like that. I
like aperture a lot, but then again, if i want to use
iWeb i need iPhoto again and same with the other
dedicated Apple programms. The integration is always
handy.
Is there a special reason why apple didnt add this
support for sharing librarys? Because aperture can
import the raw foto from the camera?
Well, I think it's because they really wanted the ability to do a lot of complex editing without taking up extra room on the HD if they did not need to. In iPhoto all edits are stored directly in am image file whereas in Aperture they let you make a lot more editing choices and saving each one as an image (especially a non-JPG image) would just take up a huge amount of choice.
In the future I think they'll offer an API so other programs can see thumbnails from an Aperture library as well, and also export individual images from it even if they are just versions. At the moment things will just have to be a little more manual with Aperture for a while - though I think you can alleviate that by exporting a project when you are finished editing in Aperture - take the exported set of JPG's that you then store in an iPhoto library and use like you normally would with iPhoto. That would take up more space but the good news is that keywords you assign in Aperture are automatically picked up by iPhoto on import, so you can still search in iPhoto by keyword, and then you can make use of any images in iPhoto in exactly the same way as you normally would.
If you use the new ability of iPhoto to reference files in place you could create an export directory and replace the files there on the fly from Aperture if you re-edited them. You'd have to remove them first as Aperture will not overwrite files on export.

Trouble opening iPhoto library in Aperture that has been transferred to an external hard drive.

I am having trouble opening my iPhoto library in Aperture now that it has been transferred to an external hard drive.
Versions being used:
MacBook Pro 13-inch mid-2010
OS X v. 10.9.1 Mavericks
Aperture v. 3.5.1
iPhoto v. 9.5.1
Order of events: got MacBook > took pictures > created an iPhoto library > upgraded to Mountain Loin > added more photos to iPhoto library > upgraded to Mavericks > purchased and downloaded Aperture > copied iPhoto library to a 750 GB WD My Passport.
When attempting to switch to this iPhoto library while using Aperture an error stating, “Unable to Switch to Library. Aperture cannot switch to the selected library because the file system of the library’s volume is not supported.” iPhoto can access this iPhoto library with no problem. What is missing? Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

“Unable to Switch to Library. Aperture cannot switch to the selected library because the file system of the library’s volume is not supported.”
Aperture 3.5.1 is checking for file system compatibility, iPhoto not always.
copied iPhoto library to a 750 GB WD My Passport.
Check the filesystem on your WD drive. Did you remember to format the drive for MacOS, before you copied the library there? It needs to be formatted MacOS X Extended (Journaled) to be used with any photo library. iPhoto may be able to open the library, if the filesystem is not supported, but you are risking data loss.
You can reformat the drive with Disk Utility, if the file system is wrong (after backing up your iPhoto library to a different drive). See:
iPhoto: Issues with FAT32-formatted drives
Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture
Regards
Léonie
You see the File System in the Finder's "File > Get Info" panel, when you select the drive in the Finder and use "File > Get Info" from the main menu bar or press cmd-I.

All my Aperture and iPhoto photos disappeared

I was getting ready to upload photos to mpix. I was exporting photos tweaked in Aperture 3 from iPhoto. Because the picture file to which I was exporting was full, I cancelled the export and deleted the photos in the picture file (about 790 photos). These had been imported from iMac through drop box. I then resumed the export of 45 photos from iPhoto and noticed some were gone. Not sure of the sequence next, but checked Aperture and it seemed like all my projects and photos (about 9000-11,000) were gone. Went to trash and moved dragged the photos out of the trash to the pictures drop down file in finder. I then restarted the computer and tried to open iPhoto and it seemed there was no iPhoto library there at all. Very strange.
I have not backed up my macbook pro for about a week.
Can I restore my aperture and iPhotos library?

I downloaded iPhoto Library Manager and was able to recover all the photos and albums, but not the slideshows and a recent calendar. I would like to understand what happened though and how to avoid it in the future. So here are the answers to your questions.
"When you say the "picture file" was full, to what are you referring?" Several weeks ago, I had transfered a large volume of photos from my older iMac using the drop file with the computers networked. I did not delete them from the drop file after importing them into my IPhoto and/or Aperture libraries on my laptop. After this import, neither my iPhoto nor my Aperture libraries on the laptop were comprised totally of these imported photos though.
"An external drive?" Although I also pulled some of the photos I had imported earlier from an external hard drive, I did not delete the files or otherwise connect (through a firewire cable) to the hard drive when I deleted the photos to prepare to upload the ones for printing.
Over the weekend when I went to export photos to this same file I decided to delete the hundreds/thousand or so, that were still there, so that I wouldn't have to search through them all to upload them to an online printing service. After I deleted the photos in the drop box file, when I went back to iPhoto I notice some photos were gone. Where they had been in the album I had created to print, were the empty dashed line outline box. I don't remember if I restarted the computer then or after I checked Aperture, but at some point, thinking that might restore things, I restarted the computer. After restarting, that's when iPhoto was just completely empty. No photos at all. When I checked Aperture it was the same - all the photos were gone.
"And when you say the photos are gone, when you open Aperture, does it look like a brand new library? No images, projects, albums, etc.?" Correct.
"Were the images in your Aperture library referenced from your iPhoto library?" Some but not all. Some were downloaded directly from my camera to Aperture; some were imported directly to Aperture from the drop box. Some I did import first into iPhoto. Also some of the photos originally imported to Aperture I then moved to iPhoto to make a calendar.
I am very concerned about this. Is it a software defect? Did I do something wrong? Is there a more efficient and less unstable way to get some, but not all of the photos from my iMac onto the laptop?
Thanks for your help.

Aperture vs iPhoto library questions

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