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

Similar Messages

Error when trying to import from Aperture Library

I'm trying to import my Aperture Library into Lightroom using the "Import from Aperture Library" plug-in. Every time I get a "?:0: attempt to index a nil value" error as soon as I click the Import button. I've tried removing Lightroom (and its ancillary files) and re-installing, I've tried different destination disks for the import, I've repaired the Aperture Library, nothing helps - the same error appears every time. I'm using a Retina iMac with OS X Yosemite and LR 5.7.1. Any suggestions? Thanks, Jack

Hi Jack
I think it may still be work in progress and you may need to wait a little. Problems have also been reported importing from iPhoto. See this thread:
https://forums.adobe.com/message/7088434

Aperture won't import an Aperture library

I have Aperture updated and installed on my macbook pro and my iMac. On vacation, I imported the photos to my MBP for review and editing. I have done this many times in the past. I can export the Projects or the Folder of my vacation pics to an Aperture library and can put it on the desktop of my iMac. I cannot get Aperture to import this vacation library to add it to the main library on my iMac.
On my iMac, I selected "import library" (as I have done in the past) and it starts a process, calculating disk space and merging the libraries. With about 3/4 of the progress bar filled, it fails and no images are brought over.
I can "Switch libraries" on my iMac and can view all of the photos in the vacation library. The photos are there and the edits are present. I just can't bring them over to the iMac library successfully.
Both systems are the most current version of OSX and there are no new updates available for Aperture on either my MBP or my iMac.
Anyone know how to get Aperture to import a library in the new version? It looks like the new update of Aperture has a bug in it.

This has previously worked. I used to do this after every vacation... Shoot the photos, offload to my laptop, edit and delete, export the library, import the library to my iMac, done!
And that is how it is supposed to work.
Have you done any trouble shooting? Repaired and rebuild the libraries in question?
Aperture 3 User Manual: Repairing and Rebuilding Your Aperture Library
If not, I'd start with the repair option, if necessary also rebuild the libraries.
Before rebuilding check, if you have a current backup.
What versions of MBP and iMac do you have? There has been at least one other thread with the similar problem on a MBP, and I wonder, if the problem only occurs on specific mac models.
Aperture wont import other aperture library files - no error message?
Regards
Léonie

Want to import an aperture library into LR. Addon Zip file will not unzip. What now?

I just downloaded and installed the latest LR. I am trying to import my Aperture Library. I downloaded the add on zip file but it will not unpack. How do I import this file?

I just downloaded and installed the latest LR. I am trying to import my Aperture Library. I downloaded the add on zip file but it will not unpack. How do I import this file?

Aperture will not import an aperture library any more

I am having exactly the same problem as described in this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/message/20708992#20708992
Previously I was able to use the "trick" of having a duplicate photo in the library that I wanted to import which seems to force the dialog box to appear and then you can click on Add. For some reason, that no longer works.
I have tried to import several photos from my main library into the "to be imported library" but I can no longer get the dialog box.
Does anyone have any tips to make this work?

This is something that worked for me.
If you have Aperture 3 and iPhoto '11 installed in the same machine, open the main library (to receive the imports) in Aperture and keep it open in the Projects window.
Then open a library (.aplibrary) with the projects you want to import into the main library, but with iPhoto.
In iPhoto, Aperture Projects are Named Events. In the Events window of the iPhoto, click on the Event (Project) to be imported, and drag into the Aperture Icon on the Dock on your screen. (DO NOT drag into the Aperture Projects window that nothing will happen.)
The dragged Event will show up as a new Untitled Project in the Aperture Projects window.
That's it. In my case I work usually with self-contained Aperture Libraries. But there's no reason it shouldn't work with libraries using referenced masters.
Considering that -- for all I know -- you can't have two sessions/libraries open in Aperture at the same time, I've been solving some problems in my workflow using iPhoto and Aperture open at the same time in my iMac.

I have imported my Aperture library to Lightroom... only got 23000 pictures out of 33000....

No real logic or pattern to the missing images

No, no, no. Can't believe they still don't understand the plugin after all this time. Adobe support is abysmal. And you pay a subscription fee!
The plug-in is a great alternative, but it does have issues. And the most important steps for migration need to be done in Aperture, which may explain their skills gap.
See this post for a partial explanation.
How did your migration to Adobe Lightroom go?
The key to NOT running out of disk space is to relocate your images from "managed" status to "referenced". You can specify a better folder structure for your resulting Lightroom library. Be aware that you will need some overhead, as your Aperture library (metadata) takes space, as your Lightroom catalog will, too. But migrating "managed" Aperture images results in a full copy.
There's other considerations for Aperture previews. Although much smaller, all previews "should" be copied. I've actually found that the plugin fails to copy a majority of previews.
Lightroom will copy managed raw files, but will just point to referenced raw files. If you choose to copy previews, it will copy all previews. Not much to the plugin, but it helps to know to pre-tag images in Aperture, and make sure you do some sort of file-level compare to make sure everything is copied over. I've made several posts on these issues under "Photo Enthusiast" in this forum.
https://forums.adobe.com/community/lightroom/content

How can I import my Aperture Library in iPhoto ?

Hi guys,
I use Aperture 3 since 2 years but I would like to go back to iPhoto ('11) because I don't need all the options in Aperture...
I know that I can easily import photos from the Aperture library to iPhoto but the "normal" method lose all the faces...
Do you fnow an other solution to keep all datas in iPhoto (photos, faces and places) ?
Thaks a lot, Ju

Aperture and iPhoto are entirely different applications that work in very different ways.
The only communication between the two is as follows:
Aperture is able to parse the iPhoto Library to allow it to import the contents while stacking the Originals and Modified versions, preserving metadata and so forth.
Aperture can share its Previews with the iLife apps, including iPhoto.
That's it.
So, specifically, what interaction there is between the two is designed to facilitate migration from iPhoto to the more powerful app. After that, iPhoto has exactly the same relationship to the Aperture Library as, say, Pages or iMovie.
iPhoto has no knowledge of, and knows nothing of how the Aperture Library works. It cannot read the Aperture library.
If you want to revert to iPhoto:
1. Export all your Masters
2. Export all your Versions
You can write the metadata to the files on export - check out the Export presets. Note that you cannot export Faces. There is no convention for sharing Faces. The best you can do is use Faces as a basis for keywording.
Import them into iPhoto. Note that there is no way to associate the masters with the versions in iPhoto, so you'll have apparent duplicates.
Regards
TD

"Move" option grayed out for Import to Aperture Library?

I tried to import photos from an external hard drive and "Store Files in the Aperture Library," but the options to Move or Copy the photos were grayed out and unavailable. If I chose to import to the Pictures folder, the options were available. But both "in the Aperture Library" and "in their Current Location" (which makes sense) were unavailable.
Any idea why? The manual is no help.

I think you will find that the only place you are meant to have the option of "Move" vs "Copy" is in the import to either "Pictures" or "Choose" options. Reading through the manual the only time these teo options are mentioned is when discussing these two import to location choices. The default for "In the Aperture Library" is that they are copied. This is handy in that you have a copy of the files that you are able to backup/archive refer to if something goes awry during the import process, yes it can happen.
Tony

HT202441 How can I import my Aperture photo library into iMovie?

Please forgive my ignorance as I am new to the Mac world. While attempting to create a slide show in iMovie, I click the camera icon to add a photo and only the iPhoto and photobooth libraries populate. I can't seem to find where I can import my Aperture library. Any advice?

Your Aperture library should populate automatically. Mine always has.
However, since it is not working for you, there is a preferences file (plist) that controls all this. I would suggest that you move the com.Apple.iApps.plist preferences file to the trash according to the instructions here.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4061
There is probably no need to move the com.Apple.iMovieapp.plist file to the trash, but it coudn't hurt.

Can't Import Aperture Library

I am trying to import my Aperture Library into Photos. I open Photos and select the Aperture Library and the conversion starts.
After about 1 hour the conversion stops at 69% and an error message appears. See attachment.
Second question. When I move my Aperture library to Photos is the original Aperture library altered?
Thanks
Derek

I have exactly the same issue. I have a large (535 GB) aperture library stored on an external HD. The HD is correctly formatted and I have rebuilt the aperture library to ensure there are no problems with it. It works fine in aperture.
When I start the conversion it runs for hours (I had to leave it overnight. At some point in the process photos must have begun to repair the library because when I check it it has reached 69% and then I get the same message as you.
When i close the dialogue box photos "cleans up" which takes another few hours. Oddly when I check the contents of the HD before the clean up process there is a file that looks like a photo library and is the same size as my aperture library.
Very frustrating. Any ideas very welcome!

Importing aperture library from version 3.2.4 to 3.5.1

I am trying to import my aperture library (v3.2.4 that cant be upgraded due to the OS being so old) from a very old macbook running OSX v10.6.8 (that cant be upgraded due to the tech specs of the macbook) to my new macbook pro running mavericks and the latest version of aperture.
When I try to import the libraries into the new version i get an error message saying "Error Importing Library" "The library could not be imported because it is from an out of date version of Aperture 3. Please upgrade the library to the latest version of Aperture 3 and try again."
However as i can not upgrade aperture on the older macbook I am kind of stuck and can migrate my libraries to use on my new macbook pro!!
I have even tried file>switch to new library and selecting the old ones but nothing seems to happen after i click "relaunch"
Does anyone have any idea on how i would go about soting this out?
Any ideas would be more than welcome! I am now pulling my hair out as i really need these libraries on my new macbook pro to work with them!!
Cheers

Just copy the library from the old machine to the new one using finder. Then once it is on the machine running 3.5.1 update it it. Once it is updated you can import it if you wish.
To update the library you need to open it directly in Aperture, the easiest way is to double click it, the library that is. When Aperture starts it will give you the option to upgrade the library.
As you have found until a library is upgraded none of the options such as importing it or switching to it work.

Importing Aperture Library, but more than 2x the number of photos

I'm just switching back to iPhoto after trying Aperture, and just dragged the Aperture library into iPhoto.
But its apparently importing 13,826 photos, even though there are only 5031 in the Aperture library.
What's going on there?

What you imported was the original and preview versions that exist in an Aperture library. If you have a backup copy of the library before you imported the Aperture library revert to it and then Export the Aperture photos full size to folder on the desktop and import into iPhoto.
Or, if Aperture stores the originals in side its library package somewhat like iPhoto you could open the package and drag the folders containing the full sized originals into the open iPhoto window (the recovered backup library).
Otherwise you could try using Duplicate Annihilator to remove the duplicates. But be sure you're removing the smaller preview version instead of the full sized original file.
Terence Devlin uses Aperture so may have a better solution.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

How to preserve order of photos imported from Aperture

I've imported my Aperture library into LR.
The process went generally fine, however I'm unable to figure out how to get the original image order.
I was using custom ordering for Aperture's "projects" and "slideshows". Both got translated to collections, however the image order doesn't seem to be preserved. This is crucial feature for slideshows...
Does the import plugin translate the Aperture order into the Lightroom "Custom Order" ?
If not, what would be the suggested way to restore the proper image order in slideshows?

When you select a collection the tool bar above the filmstrip lets you reverse the order by clicking the A/Z symbol. It also has a drop-down menu to the right of sort. You can choose a number of options. But the beauty of collections is that you can drag thumbnails around into any order. They then remain fixed in your own user order. Useful for slideshows, web galleries etc.

There was an error opening the database for the library "/Users/madis13/Pictures/Nikon Transfer3/Aperture Library.aplibrary".

There was an error opening the database for the library “/Users/madis13/Pictures/Nikon Transfer3/Aperture Library.aplibrary”.
What to do when it comes to such a notice?
If I want to open the aperture program, followed by a message, and the only option is to quit, but the program is not avanegi

chose import library.
That might be the problem.
If you want to import an image file in to an Aperture Library, you use the command
File > Import > Files
or
File > Import > Folders as Projects.
The command
File > Import > Library
is for importing whole iPhoto Libraries or Aperture Libraries. Have you tried to import the Aperture Library into itself?
However, the program did not open the catalog yet, and I did force quit.
Do you mean, after you tried to "import as library"?
Any success with the First Aid Tools as I suggested?
Hold the key combination ⌥⌘ firmly down and double click your Aperture Library. Then select a repair option from the panel.
Léonie

Organizing Aperture Library

I'm new to Aperture and just finished importing my iPhoto library via selecting import iPhoto library to Aperture library. My desire was to have the same library that was organized in iPhoto only in Aperture. When I go to iPhoto library and right click I have all my photos organized in year folders and then in date folders. Unfortunately when I go into Aperture and do the same thing, I end up with one year with multiple layers of folders that don't seem to reference anything and then end up with my events individualized in folders under about 12 layers of folders? Is this normal, did I miss selecting something in the import. I've read something about metadata and how to organize into year month project etc. Will this also rearrange the folders in the file?

Petersa,
Before getting into the heart of the response, let's take a step back for a minute. I don't want anything catastrophic to happen to your original images, so before anything else, you need to make sure you have a true backup of your master images. Once you are certain that your original images are secure, we can proceed. I hope that you have been making backups of your original images, and that the only place they reside is not in the iPhoto library on your internal disk. You should have either a backup of the images on an external drive (multiple backups on multiple drives in multiple locations would be even better, but more on backup strategies at another time), or at the very least, a backup of the iPhoto library on an external drive.
The reason I mention this, is that I am a bit uncomfortable hearing that you are deleting anything, duplicates or not, without truly knowing what you are doing. The worst case scenario should be that completing this transfer takes more time than you would like. It would be catastrophic for you to lose your image files, so please, please, please make sure everything is backed up.
Once that is done, we can restart this thread.
Okay, so moving on, I'd like to know how you went about importing your iPhoto library into Aperture. In Aperture did you goto File -> Import -> iPhoto Library, or File -> Import - Show iPhoto Browser? If you imported the first way, i.e. the iPhoto Library, a dialogue box would have come up giving you a number of options. You would have been given option such as, "Import Folders as" where you could have selected things such as Projects and Albums, etc. Next, it would have asked you where you want to store the files - in the Aperture Library, in their current location, or a location of your choosing. Depending on what you might have chosen here could help answer your question as to where those files are. You would have also been given the option to either move the files (in which case, the image files would be permanently moved from the iPhoto folder to your newly created Aperture folder) or to copy the files (in which case you would have duplicates - one in your iPhoto folder and a new one in your Aperture folder). You would next have the option to instruct Aperture not to import duplicates if you so desired. You would then have been given the naming options...
It doesn't sound like you took this route, but instead chose the second option where you opened the iPhoto Browser. From there, you might have dragged your images into Aperture, but unless your dragged them in folder by folder, you really wouldn't have any organization at all. You would no projects or folders, but rather an image library of referenced images that are potentially not of a very high quality depending on your settings. By default, Aperture creates previews that are half the size of the original JPEG image. You can change all of this in the settings, but this is for another discussion.
My advice to you at this point is to start again, so long as you know everything is backed up and you are certain that you have backups of your original files. If you are sure of this, I would delete the Aperture Library. Out of curiosity, I would be interested to know the method you took to import your images into Aperture in the first place. Once that is deleted, you can open Aperture and start again. I would be happy to walk you through it.
A few words on the rest of your post.
1. A referenced library means that everything is stored in the Aperture library except the master file. The master (or original image file) is stored in a location of your choosing. Everything else is still stored in the Aperture library, and this includes edit instructions to images, previews (should you generate them, which you shouls), etc. Most people who choose to run Aperture as a referenced library, keep their master images on an external disk. This allows them to have immediate access to images and their folder structure. I would still recommend a managed library, as for what you seem to want to do, a managed library would be much easier for you.
Before moving on, I want to mention a bit about the Aperture Library (and iPhoto Library) folders. While you can access them, you really shouldn't go in to them. Apple allows you access to them, but there really is no reason you should ever have to go into them. Therefore, when you mention the bit about right clicking on the Aperture Library in the finder and click "show content files" you really shouldn't be (nor need to be) doing this. Aperture manages this folder for you and you really shouldn't concern yourself with the organization, structure or hierarchy of things. There are other items in that folder aside from the masters, such as Thumbnails, Previews, instructions, etc... If you need access to an image, everything can (and should) be done right from within Aperture itself. This goes for iPhoto as well. I believe that Aperture and iPhoto keep your masters organized by date, so you might see a folder named 2009 and inside of that, different folders with a number from 1 to 12 signifying images that were taken in a certain month and inside of that days from 1 to 30(1) for the images taken on those days. This is the way that the Aperture and iPhoto library keep your masters, but in no way, shape or form does this mean that it is how you have to organize your library.
Of course, if you want to you can as that is a personal preference. In any case, it is very easy to do that, but it won't necessarily happy automatically.
Getting back to what you need to do, is better understand how your computer holds and stores images versus how you can organize them in Aperture. When you start talking about going into the iPhoto and Aperture folders and digging around looking at and trying to find images, you are in for a lot of trouble. This is not the way to do this.
In trying to keep this simple without trying to explain every nuance and detail of how Aperture works and what you can do with it, we first need to set up your Aperture library. As I mentioned, I would trash the Aperture library you created and just start again. You can either import the Aperture Library as I mentioned above and make sure of the import parameters that Aperture gives to you. Another option is to export all of your original images from iPhoto into a folder system that makes sense to you on your desktop or external drive and then import them into Aperture in the ways that I described above.
Since this is getting very long and winded, I'm going to stop here to see if you are following me and understand what to do next. If so, we can proceed with more detailed instructions moving forward. This will include how to organize the Aperture library based on what makes sense to you (and this does not mean going into the Aperture Library folder. I will reiterate that you will never need to go in there, and shouldn't go in there). We can also talk about naming files. You have different options - a master name and version names. You really have so many different options and it is all non-destructive so you can really customize to your hearts content without worrying about it. Okay, let me know if you understand what to do next, or if you are totally confused.
Mac

Import an Aperture library to iPhoto9

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