Are Versions in Albums identical to Versions in Projects?

Question

I'm reading the manual but not finding an answer to something I don't understand.
I am trying to clean up a database that has too many Versions (as I understand the terminilogy) in a number of different Projects and a number of different Albums. This means it is possible that I have an Image of a Master (a "Version") in "Project 1" and "Project 2" but /also/ in "Album 1" and "Album 2".
What I am trying to understand is how to construct a good methodology for getting rid of these duplicates and if in fact all FOUR of these are basically identical.
A. Basically what I am wondering is if I can delete all the Versions in all my ALBUMS - in bulk - and be assured that I am not deleting Masters if I don't get a warning prompt.
B. Or if it makes more sense to try and /move/ all the Versions in all my Albums to the same Project the other Versions reside and to then delete these duplicate Versions one by one. In this case, I also need to know if I can basically delete three images in bulk and not worry about deleting a Master (provided I get no warning) provided I have another Version of this image in the Project (or database).
Thanks for any advice on this. The warning prompt seems to be rather vague about this and I don't see it treated in the Aperture Help.
TIA.

Answer 1

Hi Ernie.
Thanks. Perhaps we can just have an exchange of information here?
I think the issue I was trying to determine is somewhat tied to why Aperture doesn't warn me that I am deleting a Master. It is rather easy to Delete a Version in an Album without thinking twice - or having any way of knowing - that you have just deleted the Version in the Project that it originated from. I mean, Albums seem like little floppy little things that no one worries about much because you always have your Project as a larger container.
Also, while it is possible to Remove a Version from an Album - if you are trying to clean up Albums in bulk, or many at a time, you are likely to Delete the Album. /Deleting/ the Album /sounds/ like it could be also deleting your Versions in your Project which one may likely not want to do.
Furthermore, since my Album may not only have Versions from multiple Projects, I may also have multiple Versions of the same - hmmm what is the correct way to say this? What do I say? I say that an Album may have Versions from multiple Projects but it may also have Versions that have multiple Versions in multiple Albums! Lord is there a more fundamental way to say this?? Anyway, what I am trying to say is that it is not so easy to "line check" in Aperture by following something out logically.
After all, I may just want to delete an Album without deleting my Master or I may just want to delete multiple Versions in various Albums without deleting my Master or I may even just want to clean up straight-up-duplicates of the /same/ image which are showing up as identical looking Versions that reference different Masters. None of this is straightforward to even describe let alone figure out.
The easy way to clear this up IMHO is for Aperture to give you a prompt that you are deleting the Version in your Project when you Delete a Version in a Album. Why it cannot give you a warning that you are deleting a Master (i.e. the last Version in a Project associated with it) is mind boggling to me.
The other nice thing that it /could/ show me is to give me some kind of easy way to /see/ that the Version I am looking at in my Project has a VERSION IN AN ALBUM. I have done this myself manually by coloring every single version in every single album that I need to retain - so that I don't accidentally delete a duplicated Version that has a Version in an Album - but it would be much more straighforward if it just did this with an optiion. It could even tell me /which/ Album or Albums it was referenced from.
ALSO. The documentation in Aperture specifically states that you have Masters and Versions in a Project. From everything I can tell a Master is effectively the last remaining version so it acts as this sort of ghostly apparition which no one sees, and only means something when you delete the last version.
Anwyay, I know it may sound like I am arguing with you but I am not. I am just trying to explain what I understand about the software and in the process test my fundamentals. I mean, it is all well and good for me to do this in front of my computer by making tests and such but I find it great to have an exchange of information where there is at least a remote possibility that we both learn something.
Anyway, if you got this far would you mind telling me where I am in error in the above or if you see me thinking incorrectly about something? You've been a great help as have others and I feel like I can flap a little harder now and at least get a little movement.
Cheers!