IPhoto vs Picasa - Referenced vs Managed

I want to use one of these 2 sw tools for managing our iPhone photos.
My jpg folder container has 6 GB of photos.
When I import these photos in iPhoto as a managed library - resulting library weighs in at around 13.31 - so twice as much as original raw Jpeg folder.
When Picasa scan this folder - it doesnt change it's size.
When I create new library as a referenced Library - what happens is the new lib file weighs in at 6+GB - so again it copied full raw jpg files, and added thumbnails on top of it.
So the question I have - will iPhoto be unusable after the DB is corrupted and referenced links are broken - even though the referenced files are already in the iPhoto Library per se ?
Someone will ask me what I tried to achieve - I wanted to keep using iPhoto for syncing albums to our iDevices. I thought I could do this while not doubling source of jpgs.
I also like the way slide show are presented and ease of use while ordering stuff from iPhoto.
OTOH I like how picasa handles management - it has albums as virtual management tool, while not touching your folder structure - in this case the structure is simple:
iPhonePhotos/YearRecorded
I also found out i can import photos through image capture into 2014 folder and then reimport same folder into iPhoto (in referenced mode). Only new photos are recognized and added, and then this event can be manually merged with old 2014 folder.
It's a bit longer process but it's fairly easy.

Use the one you like. It really doesn't matter which is "better" it will bring you no joy if you don't like using it.
Don't use iPhoto in referenced mode - you're only storing up issues for further down the road.
For more on iPhoto and file management see this User Tip:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6361
As to the size of the Library: my guess is that your jpegs have exif display tags. iPhoto reads the tags and produces a Preview of the image for sharing purposes. One of the big differences between the two apps is the OS integration.

Similar Messages

  • Original in iPhoto library or referenced?

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    Well, I could do that. But the reason I am doing this exercise is that I am preparing to merge my 3 main libraries, all rebuilt and recovered from a crashed hard drive. I created a couple of test libraries, just to see how iPhoto Library Manager handled the files when I merged them, and that's when I discovered that that some identical photos came in twice, and into different events. I am pretty sure this will happen again when I do the big merger, and if so, I will need to know how to fix it, and creating a new library will not be an option for I will loose all my albums, etc. Since I checked the "do not import duplicates" I am assuming that iPhoto believes that they are different files because they come from different locations, i.e. iPhoto library or referenced library? Or what other reason could there be for the duplicate files not being caught?

  • Iphoto and picasa exporter get stuck exporting

    I am using iphoto 11 on a macbook pro running OSX 10.7.5. I have uploaded photos from iphoto to Picasa many times before, but three weeks ago, iphoto got stuck every time it tried to export photos to picasa. It simply says that my photos are uploading, but stops and gets stuck when it reaches 288k on the first photo. When I try to upload photos one at a time, it will get to the end of a photo, and then say it is "finishing upload" and never finishes. I have tried exporting directly with Iphoto to Picasa and then using my picasa uploader application, and both have the same problem. I have plenty of space on my picasa account, and it allows me to log in without any problems. Any ideas of what is wrong and how to fix the problem? Thank you.

    That Picasa exporter is made by Google - though it hasn't been updated in years. But they're the folks who can help with that.
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  • Referenced vs Managed, Fragmentation etc

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    Message was edited by: Shuttleworth125
    Message was edited by: Shuttleworth125

  • Referenced Vs. Managed work with Photoshop editing

    How Referenced Vs. Managed work with Photoshop editing
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    DocOrly wrote:
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  • Referenced and managed files

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    Hi Steve.
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    Message was edited by: Kirby Krieger -- minor clarification.

  • Lost my iPhoto to Picasa Web Albums upload plugin

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    Well that plug-in was made by Google and they haven't updated it in years. Here's a possiblr alternative:
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  • Importing from iPhoto Library - referenced or managed?

    I'm moving my entire iPhoto library into Aperture. Is it better to reference them in place (i.e. keep the iPhoto library where it is) or import them as managed files? What are the pros and cons of each? Thanks for your help.

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    Good luck,
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  • Can iPhoto and Picasa co-exist?

    I am using OS X, my wife has a Vista PC, our huge photo collection is on an external NAS.
    We both use Picasa to access our photos - me, I have to boot into Vista to do so, since there still is no Mac version for Picasa.
    What I would LIKE to do though, is using iPhoto on my Mac while my wife uses Picasa on her PC. I guess I could use Hazel to automatically add all photos to iPhoto that are dropped into a folder on our NAS. And tell iPhoto to store all photos on the NAS. But I guess I am missing something big here, right?
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    The answer is Yes... but...
    If you use iPhoto in Referenced mode you can do this. Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
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    1. Import and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You are responsible for file management. You put the pics on the NAS, you remove them yourself after deleting them from iPhoto. Essentially you're telling iPhoto 'Don't touch my pics' and this includes on the way in and the way out.
    2. You cannot rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them. Nor can you move them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
    3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
    Always allowing for personal preference, I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers. But then again, you are.
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    Or change your wife to a mac.
    Regards
    TD

  • Adobe Bridge 4 vs Iphoto 09 using referenced libraries

    I've always used iphoto with referenced libraries, usually with no problem with an external HD with my imac. The reason: I don't want to consume my HD with hundreds of photos and video files and large photoshop files. Here's what I would like to do. I recently purchased Apple's new time capsule, and would like to do the following, store all these media files on the time capsule, with iphoto's library on my imac's HD and referencing those media files on the time capsule, wirelessly. My question is, would adobe bridge be a better way to view and track these media files rather than using iphoto? Any insight with either programs would be appreciated.
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    Oh, and the other reason to storing these files on the time capsule is so that my husband's pc laptop and my mac laptop (powerpc G5) would have access to these files too.

    1. You know that's not a supported use for a Time Capsule, right?And folks who have tried storing items other than Back Ups on there have had permissions issues etc.
    2. Running a Referenced Library is fraught with problems +should anything go wrong+. This is particularly the case where the Library and the files are stored on different volumes. If the path changes in any way you will need to resolve each alias individually. There is no need to have all the photos referenced if you want to store them on an external drive. You can easily run a Managed library from an external disk.
    3. I'm not sure what, if anythign, Bridge would bring to the set up. It's a file browser and not a Photo Organiser. You might want to post on an Adobe forum for more on Bridge. The one thing I will tell you is that the "file management" capabilities of Bridge make it lethal to photos also managed by iPhoto.
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  • Is it possible to use one respository between iPhoto and Picasa?

    Quick background: I have ~1k photos sitting on a file server on my LAN. Currently there is a Windows machine with Picasa using the file server as it's library (for both adding new photos and editting). I recently purchased a Mac Mimi and was hoping to use the same photo respository in iPhoto.
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    jasontc:
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  • Balancing iPhoto and Picasa...or do I even need Picasa?

    I use iPhoto for business purposes, taking pictures of all the items I make as a handcrafted jewelry designer. Only use my Coolpix 4500 for this purpose. Recently received a Kodak which I am using for personal picts.
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    Seems this should be a matter of setting preferences in both. If so, what should they be?

    TD,
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  • IPhoto Import - Need some library management Ideas...sound off please

    I just got Aperture and love the functionality. I have been using Iphoto pretty faithfully for about a year after migrating from a PC. I have about 13,000 (40GB) jpeg photos in Iphoto. I will exclusively use Aperture from now on as far as I can tell. Do I import the Iphoto library or use them where they are? IS there an advantage to using the managed files vs referenced files? IF all new photos going forward are imported directly into Aperture, I will infact have two libraries, right? I figure I am about 2-3 months away from having to migrate my libraries to an external drive from my MBP. If I do that, can I still view and show photos if I migrate my master files to the external. I like to travel and work my my MBP and having my entire library, at least a low res copy of it would be useful.
    I am looking to hear from people who have 30 - 60GB libraries on their laptops and have recently migrated from Iphoto and what they found workable and what was not.

    Couple of things.
    Your by line shows you are still running 10.4.6 is this true? You really should update to 10.4.8, all the most recent firmware and iLife updater to be integrated with Aperture 1.5 (and now 1.5.1), and the most recent raw camera updater. The most recent raw updater actually fixes a output bug on Aperture 1.5 as well as adding recent cameras.
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    Just make sure that you manage the size of preview files. The default file size may be as large as your original jpeg, depending on what you shoot. I have my preview limited to 1440x1440 (I have 15" MBP -> 1440x900 screen, 17" is 1680x1050) with compression for browsing. I use a large external monitor when working with an external HDD so full res, original file is used for editing the images.

  • Using Iphoto or Picasa?

    I am VERY new to the Mac world and Iphoto 09 came with my Macbook. I have been using Picasa for many years and have been looking at Iphoto with interest. I usually keep my pics in folders under my username and tend to back the whole thing up, knowing that I won't lose anything. From what I have seen, it appears that Iphoto can't watch folders for new pics like Picasa can. I seem to have to import everything which seems odd to me. I assume this takes up twice as much space on my drive as using Picasa alone? Can Iphoto be set to watch a folder or set of folders for new pics?

    Not to be disagreeable, but.... I respectfully disagree
    Ditto. However, there are some inaccuracies in your comments:
    However, when one wants to manipulate photos and not store multiple copies,
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    or move files easily from device to device, iPhoto becomes an obstacle.
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    Well this is also untrue. You can set any editor as an external editor in iPhoto. You can run referenced Libraries.
    But there are a number of minor UI issues which seem very "unApple" to me - the fact that manipulations in albums don't show up in the library, for example.
    Well this makes no sense at all. What do you mean by this? Edit a pic in an Album it will be edited in the Library view.
    So, frankly, I’m not really sure what you’re talking about. By all means clarify.
    Regards
    TD

  • Can i use an old iPhoto library for referenced images?

    I upgraded to Mavericks today (from Snow Leopard) and want to find a way to continue to view + edit images from my old iPhoto library.
    My version of iPhoto is 8.1.2, and is 390GB.  I have also been using Aperture for some time, and now have 3.5.1.  The Aperture library is 71GB of Managed Images.
    I have several backups of the iPhoto library of external disks.  Can I set things up so that the images can be accessed by Aperture as Referenced Images'?
    And if so, will the iPhoto structure (events, folders etc) be retained?

    It's achieveable, but somewhat of a hack, and the best you'll get is something close to your event structure, but not albums.
    I'd really recommend lêonie's approach above.
    However, if you really want to play...:
    There are two main problems to solve.
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    To make them accessible for import in Aperture, drag any folders your are interested in (eg: originals, masters, previews, etc) to your finder favourites sidebar. This doesn't move them anywhere, it just gives you shortcuts to those folders that reside inside the iPhoto library bundle.
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    As I say, it's a bit of a hack, and in the long run you will probably be better off by just importing the library and relocating the masters. This will keep your event and album structure and be much cleaner, but it will give you an additional copy of the images, which I suspect is what you are trying to avoid.
    Also, if you get future problems with your images, you'll have to explain all the above or people may have trouble helping you!
    Andy

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