IPhoto and Aperture sharing a library

I want to use Aperture 3 while my wife uses iPhoto on the same computer. We have a gazillion photos in the library and I want both programs to be able to access the same photos. I've imported the iphoto library to Aperture and everything's fine.
The question is: when I import new photos into the library (via iphoto), will both programs recognize the new imports, or do I need to constantly re-import the library into Aperture for it to recognize new additions to the library?

The relationship between iPhoto and Aperture is not dynamic. Updates to one library are not available to the other.
So, yes, if you add to the iPhoto Library you will also need to add to the Aperture Library, and vice versa.
If you use a Referenced Library in iPhoto (which I do not recommend) and Referenced masters in Aperture then you might be able to automate the process somewhat with Automator and a watched folder system.
For updating Aperture with new imports to iPhoto you can drag the new Events over to Aperture using the File -> Import -> Show iPhoto Browser command. Note that this will always mean Managed Masters.
Regards
TD

Similar Messages

Use both iPhoto and Aperture with one library-best practice?

I'd like to use both iPhoto and Aperture, but have both programs use/update just one photo library. I have the latest versions of both programs, but was wondering if the optimum approach would be to:
a)point Aperture to the existing iPhoto library and use that as the library for both programs
or
b)import the entire iPhoto library into a new Aperture library, delete the iPhoto library, and point iPhoto to use the Aperture library.
I should point out that up to now I've been using iPhoto exclusively, and have close to 20K photos in the iPhoto library, tagged with Faces, organized into various albums, etc; if that makes a difference...
Appreciate any advice!
Thanks,
Dave

Thanks Frank! I'll try it that way.
Appreciate the help!

Import both libs, iphoto and aperture library

Hello,
how can i import all my photos from the aperture and the iphoto library and join them together in the new Photos app without trouble (without double photos)?
Thanks

By first merging the iPhoto and Aperture Libraries, then deleting any duplicates, then migrating to Photos.

How do I rebuild a common library used by both iPhoto and Aperture?

I'm using a common library for both iPhoto and Aperture—latest versions of each and Mavericks. I'm finding photos that are in the library that seem to have fallen out of their events or projects. When I open those events or projects, the folders are empty, however the photos are still in the database. How do I rebuild this library so as to recover my original organization?

it will not matter, if you rebuild in iPhoto or Aperture.
You rebuild the library by launching either Aperture or iPhoto while holding down the key combination⌥⌘ (option-command) and double-clicking the Aperture or iPhoto icon. Keep holding down the keys, until you are seeing the Library First Aid panel. Select to Rebuild the database.
Back up your library before rebuilding.
When I open those events or projects, the folders are empty, however the photos are still in the database. How do I rebuild this library so as to recover my original organization?
Where are you seeing the photos, that are missing from the projects, but are still in the database?
Rebuilding will collect photos, that have lost the connection to the edited versions, and show them in a "Recovered Project". It will not restore them to the original projects, if it is not clear, what where the originals belong to.
Have you checked, if you have filters set, that are hiding the photos? Check the search fields in the browser and the Info panel, if they are cleared and set to "Show All".

Can I use both iPhoto and Aperture on the same library?

I like some of the features of iPhoto (like faces and places) but prefer to work in Aperture for its rich tool content. Is there any way I can use both iPhoto and Aperture on the same library? Or, import images from Aperture into iPhoto?
Thanks much!
John

I think you may have answered a question I have with the above, but to be sure here is what I would like to do. I currently have iPhoto09 with about 50,000 pictures in it, which seems too much for it to manage. I would like to use Aperture, which I understand is better for managing a large number of photos, but still have iPhoto available to make slide shows, etc. for our AppleTV. Would the process you described above work for that?
Thank you

HT204414 How to import both iPhoto and Aperture library to iCloud Photo Library (Photos app)

Hi all,
Based on the article here (Designate a System Photo Library in Photos - Apple Support) has anyone tried to bring both an iPhoto and Aperture library into iCloud Photo Library so that both libraries are available as one in iCloud and form the one Photos app library rather than being seen as separate libraries. I don't want the two separated as I have 200GB's of space in iCloud which is plenty to hold the two's collective space of about 40GB's.
It seems as though the procedure is pretty simple.
First of all set one of your libraries as the System Photo Library, this will happen naturally with setting up Photos app for the first time. I chose iPhoto as the original library.
Let this library upload all it's photo's to iCloud over a few minutes, hours, days etc.
When finished, enter your other library by closing Photos app and reopening while holding down the Option key (usually Alt). In this case I now opened the Aperture library that it had found.
Under Preferences > iCloud set this library as the System Photo Library and in turn it will have the ability to upload to iCloud.
When it's finished I suppose you will have both iPhoto AND Aperture pictures in the one iCloud Photo Library.
At least I hope the above makes sense.
Anybody already tried this with good / bad results, let us know here.

found it here - 'If you designate a new library as the System Photo Library and then turn on iCloud Photo Library, the photos and videos in the new library will merge with those already in your iCloud Photo Library. If you want to keep the contents of your photo libraries separate, don’t turn on iCloud Photo Library for more than one library in Photos.'
That bit seems clear. You can merge photos from different libraries by making them 'designated' first .
BUT this means that Photos app only shows you library A , or library B, depending on which one you have opened , but Icloud library contains photos from Both library A and library B .
is this correct ?
and if so, does it not get a but confusing ?!?

IPhoto and Aperture referenced library issues

Hi,
For the last couple of days I've been busy trying to get my iPhoto/Aperture library to work properly. I recently created a referenced library using Aperture because of lack of space on my internal ssd. I can see all of my Projects, thumbnails, metadata etc. in both iPhoto and Aperture when my external drive is disconnected. However, there are two major issues:
1) Most of the video thumbnails are broken, both in Aperture and iPhoto. By double clicking a thumbnail of a video (.mov, .avi etc.) it sometimes starts playing (with the external drive connected), sometimes it doesn't, totally inconsistent. I can export the video and it works just fine.
2) While using iPhoto with the external drive disconnected, all Events are there, the thumbnails are there, everything looks ok, but I can only view some of the previews/photos after double clicking the thumbnails. A dialogue opens up saying "The volume for [imagefilename] cannot be found. Insert the disk or connect to the server volume..", but I can actually see the full size preview behind this dialogue. By clicking "Cancel" the photo dissapears and is replaced by a black screen with a grey exclamation mark. This does not occur while using Aperture, I can see all of my previews in full glory when the external drive is disconnected. However, with the external drive connected everything works in iPhoto (except above mentioned issue with videos).
Please boys and girls, I need your help on this one!
System information
OS: Maverick 10.9.1
Aperture: 3.5.1
iPhoto: 9.5.1
Thanks!
//Michel

1. Are these videos different formats? Or the same?
2. See my answer to your duplicate post.

HT204655 How to have a unified Photos Library after migrated from iPhoto and Aperture?

The "HT204655: Get started with Photos for OS X" do not help. If you have previously used iPhoto and Aperture, when you "migrate" the iPhoto, then follow the steps to "migrate" the Aperture library, you end up with 5 files in your Pictures folder: Photos Library (from iPhoto), Photos Library 2(from Aperture), iPhoto Library (Not sure if can be deleted or not - of course no), Aperture Library (for some reason blank), Aperture Library 2 (Created by Photos?).
So, looks like a mess and no easy way to make a clean migration.
I've a hope that exists a solution to have a single Photos Library with the merged iPhoto and Aperture contents, like a real migration.
If I export everything (From iPhoto and Aperture) then import in the Photos in a single Library should work, but will lose all the organization, faces, etc...

You could merge libraries with iPhoto Library Manager, but I never tried this for merging Aperture 3 libraries with iPhoto 8.
Are you planning to keep all your photos in iCloud? Then consider to merge them in iCloud, but it will take a long time.
Are you using iCloud Photo Library (Beta) and have enough iCloud storage for the merged library?
Wait, till your current Photos Library has been completely uploaded to iCloud.
Then quit Photos, and launch it again, while holding down the alt/options key. Select the old iPhoto lIbrary.
When the upgrade of the old library has been finished, make this library the System Photos library (in the Photos Preferences > General).
Enable again iCloud Photo Library (Beta) in the Photos > iCloud preferences.
Now Photos will upload the new library to iCloud as well and create a merged library in iCloud. After this merged library synced with your Mac, you will have a merged Photos library.

Print quality difference between iphoto and aperture...?

when ordering books, is there a print quality difference between using iPhoto and Aperture? or are they sent to the same lab?
it's possible i may have some setting wrong, but when i order a book using iphoto, i never really feel the quality is that great. it's good, i just feel it could be a lot better. the print quality sort of reminds me of newsprint, albeit high quality newsprint. similar sized prints made at home on my basic 3-in-1 printer look better.
thanks...

Previews are what you view on your display. When you import a photo into Aperture (and I'm pretty sure iPhoto as well), your computer automatically generates a preview for quick viewing. The original images are stored in your library, but it is the preview that you see.
In Aperture, you are able to set the size and quality of these previews. When sharing photos between Aperture and iPhoto, the process is as follows:
Let's say that your images are stored in Aperture, but you also want to be able to view them in iPhoto without taking up too much room on your hard drive. Essentially, if you were to import the originals into iPhoto as well, you would be storing two exact, yet separate copies of the same image on your hard drive. As you are aware, with large images (whether JPEG's, and especially RAW) this would put quite a tax on your storage capacity after not too long.
So, you have your images in one or the other (in this case Aperture), but you want to play around with them in iPhoto. What you can do, is open iPhoto, go to the File menu and then select, Show Aperture Library. This will open a window with all of the contents of your Aperture Library. You can then drag any images you want into iPhoto . The only thing is, you are not dragging the original JPEG's, but rather, the previews of those images. If you have those previews set to a lower quality (again for capacity concerns), you will only have lower quality and lower detailed images in iPhoto. These images might not be ideal, or even suitable for printing high quality prints. The previews that you generate in Aperture though can be adjusted to be extremely high quality with no size limits.
My thinking was that since you mentioned Aperture, it sounded like you had experience with working with it and with ordering a photo book through Aperture. I guess you were saying that you ordered via iPhoto, weren't happy with the quality and were wondering if Aperture created books were better.
Anyway, if this is the case, I cannot answer that for you. I have never ordered a book through Aperture. If the quality of your images is good, you should be able to get a decent product no matter where you order it from. There is not doubt that the materials used and the print shop that does the work makes a difference, but if your images are good, you should still get a decent product through iPhoto. Perhaps iPhoto isn't the way to go though if you have had poor experiences with them.
If you haven't used Aperture yet, I would highly recommend it though aside from the photo book aspect of this thread. It is a stellar product.
I hope this helps.
Message was edited by: macorin

IPhoto and Aperture together...plus 2 Mac's

I'm trying to figure out the best way to organize my photots so that I can use iPhoto and Aperture together. A possible workflow is to first, import photos to iPhoto then use Aperture by importing but leaving photos in their current location. Not sure which way is the best.
Also...anyone working with 2 Mac's? I have a MBP which I use for everything yet want to get the photos on the home iMac so that my family can view them. Anyone have any ideas how to best deal with this?

Three option:
1. as you describe you can export from Ap and import to iPhoto on the other machine.
or, if you have brought the images to iPhoto already:
2. Link the machines together (wired or wireless) and used iPhoto sharing:
Enable Sharing in your iPhoto (Preferences -> Sharing), leave iPhoto running and go to the other Machine. There, enable 'Look For Shared Libraries'. Your Library will appear in the other source pane.
Remember iPhoto must be running on both machines for this to work. You can drag images from the Shared library to the host on the iMac
3. Use iPhoto Library Manager to move pics/albums/events and metadata between iPhoto libraries.
Regards
TD
.

IPhone - how to sync with iPhoto and Aperture at the same time ???

I'm having a really hard time with syncing my photos - I'm using iPhoto and Aperture on my Mac. When I launch iTunes and start managing my iPhone, it seems like I should be able to sync photos from a variety of sources all at once (iPhoto, Aperture, other folders).
However, whichever option I select in the photos drop-down becomes the only libraries that are available to sync. What I mean is that if I select some of the Albums in my iPhoto list and sync those, when I later drill down to Aperture and select albums from there and perform a sync - then the previously synced/loaded albums and photos from iPhoto are automatically removed from the iPhone.
Why can't I sync between multiple photo albums / sources at the same time? This is incredibly annoying.

Here's how I solved this problem:
In Aperture, select File -> Import -> iPhoto Library
Then under the "Store Files" dropdown, be sure "In their Original Location" is select. This will allow Aperture to see your iPhoto library, but it will be managed by reference rather than phyisically imported.
Now, in iTunes, select Aperture as the application from which you want to synch photos, and select the option to synch specific albums.
You should be able to see the names of albums in iPhoto as well as those created in Aperture.

IPhoto not properly sharing same library between different accounts

I have my iPhoto library installed on a 4GB thunderbird external hard drive, brand LaCie in case that matters. I made sure to select the drive and adjust the permissions as recommended in the Apple tech support article - basically you have to select the option to "ignore ownership on this drive" which I did. I also made sure to indicate that both user accounts could read and write to this drive.
Now, I'm trying to make it so that my wife and I, who each have our own accounts on the same iMac, can share the same iPhoto library and import to the same iPhoto library. The problems seem to be occurring mostly on my wife's side. These are as follows:
1) Many times when she loads up iPhoto, it starts off with the default iPhoto library in her directory and we have to keep manually selecting the iPhoto library on the external hard drive.
2) Some of the pictures in the library viewed through her account have wrong thumbnails - that is to say, pictures within a given event show one set of thumbnails but when clicking you get completely different pictures. The same problem is not seen with the same pictures viewed in my account.
3) When syncing iOS devices through her account, iTunes sometimes fails to see the correct iPhoto library, requiring us to again go into iPhoto and select the correct library on the external hard drive.
I would really appreciate some feedback as to how to fix these problems. I thought I did everything correctly but placing the library file on a shared external hard drive and fixing the permissions, but still this problem is ongoing. How can I get iPhoto to only use the library on the external HD as default in her account as well as mine? And how to fix the thumbnail problem?

I would trash the cache and the plist files in the affected account.
The cache file is here
/Users/Your Name/Library/Containers/com.apple.iPhoto/Data/Library/Caches
Try trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder.
(On 10.7 or later: Hold the option (or alt) key while clicking on the Go menu in Finder to access the User Library)
(Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)
What's the plist file?
For new users: Every application on your Mac has an accompanying plist file. It records certain User choices. For instance, in your favourite Word Processor it remembers your choice of Default Font, on your Web Browser is remembers things like your choice of Home Page. It even recalls what windows you had open last if your app allows you to pick up from where you left off last. The iPhoto plist file remembers things like the location of the Library, your choice of background colour, whether you are running a Referenced or Managed Library, what preferences you have for autosplitting events and so on. Trashing the plist file forces the app to generate a new one on the next launch, and this restores things to the Factory Defaults. Hence, if you've changed any of these things you'll need to reset them. If you haven't, then no bother. Trashing the plist file is Mac troubleshooting 101.

What's the best way to merge, restore or reconstruct iPhoto and Aperture libraries to resolve images that are not found/offline?

Hey there, Apple Support Communities.
To start, I'm working on a MBP Retina 15" with a 2.3GHz i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM. 10GB free on a 256GB SS HD. Attached are two external HDs - one 1TB Western Digital portable drive from 2011, one 2TB Porsche LaCie non-portable drive from 2013; both connected via USB. All photo libraries in question are on the external drives.
I have Aperture 3.5.1 and iPhoto 9.5.1. I prefer to work in Aperture.
The Issue(s)
Over the years, I have accumulated a number of iPhoto libraries and Aperture libraries. At one point, I thought my WD drive was dying so I purchased the LaCie and copied all libraries over the the LaCie drive. (Turns out, there's probably an issue with my USB port reading drives, because I can once again see the WD drive and occasionally I can't see the LaCie drive.)
So now I have old version of some libraries on the WD drive, and new versions on the LaCie drive.
When I was moving things, I ran the software Gemini to de-dupe my iPhoto libraries. Not sure what effect that may have had on my issues.
In my main Aperture library and in some iPhoto libraries, I get the image-not-found badge or exclamation point. I've dug through the hidden Masters folders in various libraries to find the original image. In some cases, I have been able to find the original image, sometimes in a different version of the iPhoto library.
My Question(s)
1. For Aperture libraries that have missing originals, is there some magical way to find them, or have they just disappeared into the oblivion?
2. For iPhoto libraries that have missing originals and I have found the original in another iPhoto library, what is the best way to proceed?
3. Are there quirks to merging iPhoto and Aperture libraries (by using the Import->Library) feature that I should be aware of?
TL;DR: Too many iPhoto and Aperture libraries, and not all the original pictures can be found by the libraries anymore, though some originals still do exist in other libraries. Steps/process to fix?
Thank you! Let me know if you need add'l info to offer advice.
With appreciation,
Christie

That will not be an easy task, Christie.
I am afraid, your cleaning session with Gemini may have actually removed originals. I have never used this duplicate finder tool, but other posters here reported problems. Gemini seems to replace duplicate original files in photo libraries by links, and this way, deleting images can cause the references for other images to break. And Aperture does not follow symbolic links - at least, I could never get it to find original files this way, when I experimented with this.
1. For Aperture libraries that have missing originals, is there some magical way to find them, or have they just disappeared into the oblivion?
You have to find the originals yourself. If you can find them or restore them from a backup, Aperture can reconnect them. The reconnect panel can show you, where the originals are supposed to be, so youcan see the filename and make a Spotlight search.
For iPhoto libraries that have missing originals and I have found the original in another iPhoto library, what is the best way to proceed?
Make a copy of the missing original you found in a folder outside the iPhoto library. You can either open the iPhoto library in Aperture and use "File > Locate Referenced file" to reconnect the originals, or simply reimport them. Then Lift&Stamp all adjustments and metadata to the reimported version.
See this manual page on how to reconnect originals: Aperture 3 User Manual: Working with Referenced Images (the paragraph: Reconnecting Missing or Offline Referenced Images)
Are there quirks to merging iPhoto and Aperture libraries (by using the Import->Library) feature that I should be aware of?
References images will stay referenced, managed will remain managed. You need to unhide all hidden photos in iPhoto - this cannot be done in Aperture.
and not all the original pictures can be found by the libraries anymore, though some originals still do exist in other libraries. Steps/process to fix?
That is probably due to Gemini's replacing duplicate originals by links, and your best cause of action is to fix this before merging the libraries. Reconnecting can be done for your iPhoto libraries in Aperture.

No pics appear in iphoto and aperture sidebar since iLife 11

With the update of iLife11 the pics disappeared from the sidebar under iPhoto and Aperture.
While the sidebar for Audio, Movies and Widgets runs well, only the running upload icon appears beside of iPhoto and Aperture.
Why does iWeb not find the pics?!
How to help iWeb to get access to the photo libraries?
Cheers,
Thomas

Since it works OK in your wife's account it could be a preference file that is causing the problem in your account. Here's how to determine if that's the problem:
Trouble Shooting Preferences in Leopard/Snow Leopard
1 - close all applications.
2 - open your Library folder, Home/Library, and drag the Preferences folder to the Desktop. A new Preference folder will be immediately created in the Library.
3 - run the application again and determine if the problems is fixed.
4 - If the problem is fixed:
A - open the working Preferences folder (HD/Users/your_name/Library/Preferences).
B - Open the Preferences folder on the Desktop, select all of the contents and drag them into the working Preferences folder.
C - When the Copy window pops up check the "Apply to All" check box and then click on the Don't Replace button.
Click to view full size
5 - If the problem is NOT fixed, drag the Preferencess folder on the Desktop into the Library to replace the new one that was created.

How do I add photos to photo stream from BOTH iPhoto and Aperture

I use Photostream for displaying photos I have taken on my DSLR on my iPad. I take the photos, download them into iPhoto and then add them to Photostream. They then appear on my iPad for display to friends and family. But some of my photos are now being manipulated in Aperture. I'd like to display these in the same Photostream, but so far, because I have to choose either the iPhoto libray or the Aperture library - but not both - for the photostream, the only way I can do this is to export the photos from Aperture into iPhoto (which doubles up my photo files). Is there a simpler way to do this?

OK. But let's say you are in iPhoto and you switch libraries so that you are now looking at your Aperture library. In order to add photos to your photostream you have to activate iCoud/photostream again in your iPhoto preferences for the new library. Then you get a message up which says: "iCloud Photos for [my iCloud email address] is being used with another library named "iPhoto Library". Switching iCoud Photos to this library will turn it off in iPhoto library."
In other words this does not solve my problem of how to have one photostream which contains photos from BOTH iPhoto and Aperture.
Is it perhaps possible to merge the iPhoto and Aperture libraries so that you only have one library for both applications?

IPhoto and Aperture sharing a library

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