Few questions related to moving from aperture to iphoto

Question

i have decided that i want to move from aperture to iphoto,
a. provided iphoto can meet some basic needs that i have in mind. assuming it can,
b. the next question will be on how to make the move easiest and effective.
why, you might ask:
aperture is great but is more difficult to edit in. further aperture does not have some fun and easy edits - apply styles for instance. not to mention faces and places (although one can expect these features to find their way in aperture over time).
anyhow i am realizing that if my photo software was as simple as iphoto, i would share more and enjoy more . therefore moving. but moving is tough - need to think through. help appreciated!
Couple of questions:
0. i have looked and looked. did not find any solution that is thorough. these two links are the most relevant. http://bit.ly/1WSexN (this one is more of a sync solution, i need to research if it accomplishes what i need done - which is to abandon Aperture. at some point be able to delete Aperture library and the photos that Aperture refers to because the set will quickly get outdated) and http://bit.ly/zc7mC (this one does not answer the questions i have below, although it does seem to suggest that one can do export of projects such that nested folders are created)
1. i would like to move my projects (comprising of images in aperture) into folders on the hard disk, such that the IPTC tags are stored in the images on the HDD. I assume that masters will already have the tags and versions - no idea? anybody know about this. i will try test it too.
2. i have rated images extensively in aperture. anybody know how to transfer those ratings to iphoto? one kludgy way i can think of is to save an IPTC tag for every rating level and that hopefully will get transferred over to iPhoto.
3. importing folders into iPhoto - i am assuming that folders can be imported (by reference, without copying the image file into iphoto library) into iPhoto as events. how will i get the albums from aperture - not sure. kludgy way will be to enter album name as IPTC tag and then create smart albums. too kludgy and painfully slow in my opinion... anybody have ideas?
3.a. if i import nested folders of images into iPhoto, how would iPhoto treat that? again i can test, but if somebody knows, will not mind the commentary.
4. simple question - when i edit tags in iphoto, does it edit IPTC tags or does it have non-IPTC tagging approach?
5. simple question - when i make an edit in iphoto, where does it same the edited file? or is it a virtual version of the master image as in Aperture.
and that is all

Answer 1

0. What do you want to move? Use the Show Aperture Library in iPhoto will access your Aperture Previews not your actual files.
You need to export from Aperture to folders on the desktop and thereafter import to iPhoto. You need to decide if you want to export Originals - which means you'll have to start editing from scratch all over again - Versions, (which will be the edited photos, but you won't have your Originals) - or both. But if you import both to iPhoto you will have a large amount of duplication.
. i would like to move my projects (comprising of images in aperture) into folders on the hard disk, such that the IPTC tags are stored in the images on the HDD. I assume that masters will already have the tags and versions - no idea? anybody know about this. i will try test it too.
When you export from Aperture you will need to explicitly choose to write the tags to the output file. This is a setting in the Aperture export dialogue.
3. importing folders into iPhoto - i am assuming that folders can be imported (by reference, without copying the image file into iphoto library)
I strongly urge you not to run iPhoto in Referenced Mode. IPhoto works best in the default mode. Should the path to the files change at any point in the future - especially if you move the files to a new disk - then you may find yourself resolving the location of each individual photo in your Library.
Is there a particular reason you want to run a Referenced Library?
how will i get the albums from aperture - not sure. kludgy way will be to enter album name as IPTC tag and then create smart albums. too kludgy and painfully slow in my opinion... anybody have ideas?
That's the best way.
3.a. if i import nested folders of images into iPhoto, how would iPhoto treat that? again i can test, but if somebody knows, will not mind the commentary
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'. Now each folder will be created as an Event. There are no nested events.
If you don't uncheck the box, then each folder will be broken by date and time into Events.
4. simple question - when i edit tags in iphoto, does it edit IPTC tags or does it have non-IPTC tagging approach?
IPhoto works exactly the same way as Aperture. It does not edit the tags on the pic, but stores them in the database. The tags are written to the IPTC on export.
5. simple question - when i make an edit in iphoto, where does it same the edited file? or is it a virtual version of the master image as in Aperture
When you edit a pic with or via iPhoto it creates a new version of the photo. This is stored inside the Library package.
A Note about the iPhoto Library Package:
In this folder there are various files, which are the Library itself and some ancillary files. Then you have three core folders
Originals are the photos as they were downloaded from your camera or scanner.
(ii) Modified contains edited pics, shots that you have cropped, rotated or changed in any way.
(iii) Data holds the thumbnails the the app needs to show you the photos in the iPhoto Window.
Remember: iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
Regards
TD