Managing size of Aperture library

I am a wedding photographer and shoot 10k-12k images per month. Other than latest projects, I move all my Master files to external drives, keeping only previews on my iMac. All my master files are always 'referenced'.
My concern is that the Aperture library itself is getting too large in size, its approx 70 GB. On expanding the library ('show package content), I notice that the Previews folder itself is 50+ GB.
- Do the preview files take up so much space?
- Is there a way to reduce the size of the Aperture library itself (without splitting the library into smaller ones n shifting them elsewhere)
How do others address this issue?

Using your own words, you have a concern rather than an issue.
My advice is simply don't worry about it. It's remarkably common for people to take their working system and try to apply some preventtive maintenance to it and inadvetently turn it into a non-working system! Just look through the kind of issues raised here to see many examples.
Aperture is designed to handle the volumes with ease and if the current size is not presenting any actual problems for you, I'd just let it get on and do its thing.
Having said that, storage management and planning is important, but you aleady have the lions share of that side of things under control with the use of referenced files and external drives.
The actual library is (among other things) your index into your external drives and the images they contain.
Thumbnails and Previews are the visual element of that index used for browsing and sharing your collection.
Thumbnails are used for browsing and are not optional. So previews is where you have the most opportunity to control the size.
However, keep in mind it's a trade-off; make smaller or lower quality prieviews to reduce the space they take up (in preferences), and they potentially become usuable in fewer scenarios. Elect not to keep the previews for some (or all) images, and you lose the ability to share them through iLife/Media Browser.
Previously I had a smaller internal hard and so needed to make this trade-off, and my approach was to only keep previews for my top rated images, as these were the ones I would be sharing in slideshows and online. However being a pro, I doubt this kind of trade off would work for you. It needs to be tailored to your own usage, for example perhaps keep previews for all projects for 3 years along with those that you elect to reperesent your portfolio.
Andy

Similar Messages

Trying to reduce the size of Aperture library

I have a 295 GB library and a 500 GB Hard drive.
Trying to reduce size of Aperture library, (ver 3.4.3) have deleted lots of big videos, duplicates of big videos, lots of poor quality photos, emptied Aperture trash and size hasn't changed. I don't know what else to do - I am cosidering splitting my library up into two - and keeping older stuff on an external - I like to have it on my laptop - so when I am at a show - I can show my clients, customers potential photos for purchase. I'd hate to have it all on an external.
I shoot mostly in RAW - so the files are quite large - also found 'some' dupes - and am afraid there are a lot more... Looking at the app ADD that someone suggested to see if that helps. However, if deleting dupes, then deleting trash doesn't change the size - not sure what's wrong -
I have shut down and restarted as well...
HELP

Have you emptied your OS system Trash?
The space isn't made available to any programs until you empty the system trash.
Click the Trash icon in the Dock, and then click the "Empty" button.

Vault (external) file size Versus Aperture Library (internal) file size discrepancy?

Using Aperture 3.3.1 (all my images are Referenced). I created my first vault on an external hard drive. The Vault.apvault file size is 32.8 GB. My Aperture Library.aplibrary file size on my iMac hard drive is 81.6 GB. So I am wondering if I have a full back-up in Vault or not. Seems like a large discrepency in file size. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated.

Do any Images that you don't expect show up when you filter "Photos" using the Rule "File Status" with the argument "Managed"?
If not, then close Aperture and repair your database. Instructions are on the Apple Aperture trouble-shooting page.
Does that make any difference?

Size of Aperture Library

I was seriously running out of space on my internal drive (2 TB). Moved my "original" Apterture library (1.5 TB) to an external drive over the weekend. Made sure everything went well (performed Vault backup before and then made sure all Projects, etc transferred with library to external drive) and then moved library from internal drive to the trash. Question -- Library is/was 1.5 TB, but after trashing it I only gained back approximately 800GB on my internal hard drive (only about half of what I expected to get back). Is this common? Shouldn't I have gained back the full 800GB?
Thanks,
John

I have not seen any recent problems reported due to the size of a Library. Have you?
John Dunnigan wrote:
(And indeed, you're correct -- I should not allow a library to get that big!!).
I do recommend moving most Originals to a separate drive when a Library hits the 100 GB mark.
Do you know how big your Library would be with no Originals in it?
It's easy to make all of your Managed Originals into Referenced Originals. You could put these on secondary or external drives, and perhaps put your Library back on your system drive.
I import all Originals into my Library, and then regular relocate to an external drive all Originals older than 60 days except the Originals for 5-star Images. This works well for me -- my computer is a laptop. The administrative effort is minimal. I regularly copy the drives holding Originals. Something similar might work well for you.
Re: the unrecovered storage space. I got nothing that hasn't been mentioned, unless you have not rebooted, in which case you should. The sectors are there -- you'll get them back eventually.

Managing a cloned Aperture library

Hello all,
I'm working with a referenced library system on my laptop and I make incremental backups of my OS using Carbon Copy Cloner.
I have just realised that the cloned libraries are copying all the new info but do not take account of deletions I have done in Aperture i.e. they are much bigger than the library on my laptop.
I always plan to have all my projects in the Aperture library. From time to time I will relocate referenced images on my internal HD to one of the externals so as to free up space. But that is the only deleting I would do. If I ever want to remove a project then I would export it and save this exported project to both of my externals.
Bearing in mind the above, is there any danger if I change the cloning options of the library to 'delete any items which do not exist on the source'?
Ross

Hi Chez
The following might work for you...
1) Right-click on the cloned Library file on your external drive.
2) Choose Compress "Aperture Library". This will produce a compressed version of the Library in a zip file.
(I did this on my iMac at the weekend before carrying out my Aperture 3.1 upgrade. Just under 6000 referenced images have my ApLib file at 8.8GB. The zipped file is 6.5 GB and took somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour to complete compressing. Your iMac has a more powerful processor, but your library file is a bit bigger. You're probably looking at about an hour to an hour and a half. NB you'll require enough free space on your external drive to accomodate the new compressed file, which will probably be about 12GB or so, if mine was anything to go by. Ideally you'll have a lot more free.)
3) Drag the zip file back over to your Pictures folder. (This should go a heck of a lot faster than dragging the library itself ever would. That's because you'll be dragging a single huge file, rather than a hundred thousand small files - there's less overhead.)
4) Rename your broken Library file. (You might just want to keep it around until you're back up and running again.)
5) Double-click the zip file - it will decompress and create a replacement "Aperture Library" file. (That's why you rename the old one.)
6) Launch Aperture and run the maintenance described below. You'll definitely want to repair Permissions on the library - and that might be enough to solve your problems. If not, step up to the Repair Database step. If that's not enough, go the whole way and try the Rebuild Database.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3805
All being well, you'll be back up and running after that. All told, you're probably talking about a couple of hours - and much of that is just kicking things off and letting them run in the background. If you follow these steps and it fails, you'll still have your cloned copy intact on the external drive.
Good luck!

Vault size vs APerture library size and related questions

My aperture library is 50GB for some 65,000 referenced pictures...how does this compare with others? To me, it seems a bit big.
Also odd. The vault backup of my libarary is 9.1GB ONLY! How come?
I think that all of my pictures are referenced.....is there an easy way to check?
If I make a new fresh library and restore from the vault, what will I loose, if anything? Will I need to reconnect pictures or anything?

that seems about right to me. what's taking up space are previews and thumbnails. afaik, the vault doesn't hold any of those, only the database, albums, projects and configuration files.
if you restore from a vault, all the previews and thumbnails have to be rebuilt. you can save a little space that way, because the thumbnail files don't shrink when you erase photos or move them to another project, but personally i don't think it's worth the time and effort.
j

Time Machine file size vs actual file size of Aperture library

My Aperture database is 74.5GB. I have a referenced library. My photos are backup up on their own using Time Machine. I also use Time Machine to backup my Aperture database. However, I noticed yesterday that the Aperture filesize on my time machine backup is only 28.3GB. I need to upgrade my hard drive and had planned to just restore form time machine backup, but I am worried about losing Aperture data. Does anyone know why there is a discrepency?
-Debbie

Johnk93 wrote:
MacDLS,
I recently did a little house-cleaning on my startup drive (only 60Gb) and now have about 20Gb free, so I don't think that is the problem.
It's probably not a very fast drive in the first place...
I know that 5MB isn't very big, but for some reason it takes a lot longer to open these scanned files in photoshop (from aperture) than the 5MB files from my camera. Any idea why this is?
Have a look at the file size of one of those externally edited files for a clue - it won't be 5MB. When Aperture sends a file out for editing, it creates either a PSD or an uncompressed TIFF after applying any image adjustments that you've applied in Aperture, and sends that out. Depending on the settings in Aperture's preferences this will be in either 8-bit or 16-bit.
As a 16-bit uncompressed TIFF, a 44 megapixel image weighs in at a touch over 150MB...
Ian

Using Reference Files - Aperture Library still larger than file storage

Still new to Aperture, and so far LOVE the metadata tagging functionality, but am troubled by the huge size of the Aperture library. Here's my stats so far, after a couple of days of importing, with no image management done so far other than assigning some metadata...
# photos managed as reference files=1175
Size of folder where reference files are stored=883MB
Size of Aperture library (.aplibrary)=1.44GB
My expectation would be that the ratio of Aperture library to reference file folder would be about 1/10. But 1.6/1 seems way out of whack. I selected all photos within Aperture and then selected "Manage Reference Files..." and all 1175 file references showed up. On that basis, I'm pretty confident that the jpegs aren't being copied into the Aperture library. But I cannot explain why the library continues to be 1.5+ times as large as the reference file folder.
This seems to defeat the purpose of keeping reference files external from Aperture.
Am I missing something, or is this to be expected? If these ratios hold, then it seems if I end up managing 10GB of photos I will incur another 15-16GB of storage requirement just for Aperture to do its thing.
What is Aperture doing with all that hard drive storage space?

By default, Aperture creates previews of all of your images. A preview is little more than a JPEG copy of the original. The size of these are determined by the settings in Aperture's preferences. When you're dealing with RAW images, the size of the previews are significantly smaller than the master image, but if you're working with JPEGs, then the previews can balloon the library to as large (large when you add up the thumbnails and duplicates) as the referenced files.
You can reduce the size of the previews, or delete them and turn them off all together if you're not sharing your photos with other iLife & iWork apps from Aperture. There are some other reasons you may find them beneficial, and this article will help you determine if they are right for you:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304499

Aperture library resides in external HD

My main Aperture library is not present in my Mac when I disconnect it from the external HD. This is troublesome when I travel without the external HD. How can I establish my main library in the Mac?

A quick addendum, make sure Aperture is closed when you copy the library. Probably won;t be catastrophic if it is open but it will slow things down. Also the estimated time to copy will seem outrageous at first especially for a good size library. In most cases that time is way out of wack and will become more reasonable as the copy proceeds but if you are copying from a USB 2 drive expect it to take some time, possibly even over night.
Most likely your originals are managed in the Aperture library, that is the default and if you did;t change any settings that is how it should be. You can run a filter on your library to check to see if any files are reference.
Select the Photos icon in the Library tab of the inspector, then set the following filter (hopefully the images below will be visible)
First select Add Rule and select File Status
Then in the File Status rule select Referenced
If nay thing shows up in the display you have some referenced files and you will need to handle those a bit different;y when you copy. If this is the case post back.
regards

Aperture 3 Library size vs iPhoto Library

Hi!
I recently switched from iPhoto to Aperture and am wondering about the library size? In iPhoto the library size was bloated because it made a copy of every photo behind the scenes upon import. I got tired of that and thought that moving to Aperture would solve the problem. But, after importing most of my photos into Aperture, then comparing the size of my Aperture Library package with the size of my Photo folder in Finder that I imported from, I'm finding my Aperture library is over 100 GBs bigger!! Yikes! How did that happen?
I am running a managed library, but I thought Aperture didn't make a copy of every photo behind the scenes but rather just made versions of the master when changes are made.
Frankly, I haven't even done any editing yet, just importing. So, why the huge library size compared to the size of my Photo library in Finder? It's 186 GBs versus 85 GBs. Same photo collection. Crazy.
TIA!

No, from folders in Finder. I always have my photos in Finder too on an EHD, even after I import them to iPhoto or Aperture.

Aperture library file size ?

Hello,
I have all my pictures on a specific drive. I don't want aperture to import the files into this aperture library, i only want the files to be referenced. So when i import the pictures from the drive, i select "Store in Current Location". And it seems to be ok (meaning when i click on a file and say show in finder, it shows the drive in question), only my aperture library (even when i import files as referenced) ... increases it's size drastically, no matter whether the files are stored in the library itself or if they are only referenced ... how come? I want to avoid a 100GB aperture library file!!
Can someone explain to me how this works?
regards,
k
(i just bought aperture 3)
Message was edited by: whateveraliasidontcare

K,
Aperture stores many little JPG files for every photo that is in your library (whether referenced or managed). There are thumbnails and previews for every photo unless you run out of space or turn off previews.
Your library should not increase by the *same size* if you store a photo *by reference* as if you store managed. For a managed photo, Aperture will have your original (master) plus the thumbnails and previews. The referenced will have only thumbnails and previews. You can browse your Aperture library by right-clicking and viewing the package contents. You can then look (*but don't ever touch!!!*) at what exactly Aperture is managing. You will see pictures with the same and/or similar names are your original, but you will see they are different sizes. If you see your original, then something is out of whack.
I hope your "100GB" library was just an example. If you store by reference, you would need a LOT of photos to make the thumbnails and previews take 100 GB.
nathan

Aperture Library size different after restore from TM and rebuild Thumbnails

I have just completed an erase-install-migrate from Time Machine using Setup Assistant.
The size of the managed Aperture Library originally was 397.8Gb
After completion of the migrate back in I opened Aperture and as expected it rebuilt the thumbnails (TM does not backup the Thumbnails).
After doing this I tested the Library as far as possible and all seems well, and the number of photos is exactly the same as before (49,883).
However, the size of the library is now 357.8 Gb.
The only logical explanation (to me) is that the restore process has eliminated previews and thumbnails from photos which I have deleted over the years.
I still have a backup of the original (397.8Gb) version which I could put back with the Finder, but if the restored library has cleared years of redundant previews and thumbnails I would prefer to stay with that.
All done with Mavericks and Aperture 3.5.
Any insights very welcome.
Thanks

Just had the idea of looking at sizes in the Library package contents, and the explanation for the change in size is due to three things:
Thumbnails old: 44.95 Gb
Thumbnails new: 15.13 Gb
There is also an iPod photocache of 14.6 Gb which is not yet present in the new.
However Previews old was 27.95 Gb and Previews new is 33.18 Gb, so I assume some previews were smaller in the original Library.
Masters is 304.3 Gb in the original and new libraries.
I am beginning to feel more confident about the new library.

Help in managing Aperture library

Thanks for your time.
I think I am getting too many photos on my Mac. I'd like to be able to effectively manage the images there but I am having a hard time figuring out where to get help.
Is there a way to see what images are using the most space? There are some I have worked in external editors and I notice they are coming back into Aperture as much larger files, i.e., 1.5 MB before and 27.5 MB after.
And is there a good FAQ someplace about general dusting and cleaning and deleting of unneeded files?
Thanks!

Modern digicam workflows require increasing amounts of mass storage. Sorting/deleting IMO only provide limited benefit. Bottom line is image handlers need lots of scalable mass storage.
Single-drive computers are limiting to the volume handling of modern digicam image files. Those of us with single-internal-drive computers like laptops or iMacs IMO should use a Referenced-Masters Library. If you are not using Referenced Masters now is the time to set up with Referenced Masters rather than Managed.
External drives that are not eSATA decrease speed, so your Library should stay on the internal drive. Use external drives to relocate data from your internal drive so that there is room for a (Referenced-Masters) Library there.
When using Referenced Masters the Library does not actually hold the large Master images themselves. That way even a laptop drive can hold an Aperture Library of 100,000 images by referencing Master images that live on external drives.
To store Master images by "Reference," when you go to Import on the right hand side of the import window you must select "Store files in their current location." Obviously at some point referenced Masters must be on external drives to keep from overfilling any single internal drive.
In general IMO graphics users do not give enough attention to hard drives setup that really is very important for graphics performance optimization. A few comments:
• Aperture users' mass storage needs tend to increase very quickly.
• The location, size/speed/fullness and connection method of hard drives can have a huge impact on performance within any given specific setup. Internal better than external; with external eSATA better than FW800 which is better than FW400, and USB2 unacceptable except for backup-only.
• Hard drives slow as they fill. A good rule of thumb is not to fill any drive more than 70%, and for best speed keep important drives no more than 50% full. Drives will operate more full but at a performance cost.
• Without careful management a single internal laptop hard drive will become overfilled.
• Your laptop allows up to 500 GB internal drive size. Since drives slow as they fill, an option is to replace the internal HD with a 500 GB drive and keep it less than half full to optimize operation.
Some of the reasons that I prefer Referenced Masters to Managed Masters are
• The much smaller Library is easy to keep on a faster underfilled drive.
• Vaults are much smaller; hence easier and more likely that multiple Vaults will be created.
• An infinite number of Masters and originals can be stored on as many drives as necessary and backed up ad nauseam using the Finder, backup software, Time Machine, whatever. Using Referenced Masters, Aperture (and any anomalies that a complex app like Aperture might introduce) are not in the Masters backup loop.
-Allen Wicks

Aperture library size vs iphoto

My aperture library and iphoto library have the same photos in them. Photos seem to be the same size and quality (I imported all photos from aperture into iPhoto). iPhoto's library is 20GB, Aperture is nearly 60. I'm guessing that while Aperture might be a hair bigger because of the previews (default settings there), 3x the size means something is wrong.
Is there a way to rebuild the Aperture library without losing all my albums/libraries?
While 60GB isn't the end of the world, I'm trying to move my photos to my laptop. And between photos and music, I'm really pushing my hard drive's capacity. That 40GB difference is going to mean I'll use iPhoto (09) vs Aperture (2), and I'm still partial to Aperture.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Message was edited by: unleashed

Thanks everyone for their help. Redoing the previews helped. I think I had the previews set to "do not limit" on my dekstop and had just pulled the aperture library to my laptop. Redoing those previews took 20GB off my library size.
I see where you're coming from with the referenced images, but for now, it just keeps things simpler for my to keep it all managed. It's a brilliant solution though, if I need to in the future I might go that route. Especially when you think about possibilities with having the referenced images on Time Capsule or something. I don't take that many photos, and I upgrade my computer every year or two. I'm hoping the laptop hard drive space will expand gradually with my photo and music library, and by the time I have to worry about it, there will be another solution.
As far as how I went from Aperture to iPhoto (Ernie), I did (from iPhoto) file > show aperture library > then pulled them all in. I know there are issues with this though, you might check the iPhoto forum if you have trouble, there are work-arounds I believe.

Aperture library size 0

My aperture library is obviously corrupted. In the finder, it shows up with size 0 bytes. However, something seems to be there because the finder becomes very slow when browsing to the containing directory and it takes Aperture several minutes to show an error message when I try to open it. Showing the package content does not work, either. Any suggestions what I could do (apart from restoring a backup)? I did nothing special to the library, so I assume an Aperture crash might be the reason for the damage.

Ack.
Too much time with the voodoo that is Photoshop optimization has infected people. Thankfully, Apple's applications don't need the same micro-management; which really for Adobe's application serves nothing more than employing people who defend their unnecessarily complicated products.
Seriously, the difference between block sizes will make like 1 ns of difference in loading an image. You're not going to notice a difference, speed wise.
Leave the block size at its default, is my recommendation.

Managing size of Aperture library

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