Masters Folder

I noticed that the Masters folder (iPhoto Library > Show Packaged Contents) in the current year only shows folders for events in January and there are three other folders named 03, 04, and 05. All other previous years show events for that year in their respective folders without these odd numbered folders.
The reason for me even looking at this is I've run into the dreaded exclaimation point problem. I have two users on this Mac and we both use the library is on the shared user folder. Only one person is having trouble with the exclaimation error. I'm in process of rebuilding the library using iPhoto Library Manager (which I purchased long ago and has been invaluable).
So my questions are:
1) Are these numbered folders related to my problem?
2) Why would it only affect one user?
I did upgrade from iPhoto 08 to 11 but I'm unsure of the date. Maybe it was around the January time frame. Did that "break" my events in the Master?

Accessing these folders is not supported. Changing anything in the Library is going to corrupt it, so best stay out of it. iPhoto has no way of organising outside iPhoto.
Apps like iPhoto2Disk or PhotoShare will help you export to a Folder tree matching your Events.

Similar Messages

How do I delete Photo Stream photos that are taking up hard drive space in my Masters folder, but not actually appearing in any event, or on the interface at all?

A couple months ago, I activated photo stream using my apple ID. I was under the impression that all the photos uploaded to my photo stream would only use server space on icloud and wouldn't actually utilize disk space, or at the most, the option was available to only download specific photos to my hard drive. My hope was that I could upload the photos to a specific drive, and view the uploaded thumbs or low-res comps on any device as a reference.
This is not the case.
What I have found is that iphoto has been automatically downloading any and all photos uploaded to my photo stream. Not just the thumbnails, the entire thumbnail + all resolutions. I shoot RAW photos so in my case, the original averages about 15-25MB per photo.
I have been uploading directly to an iphoto library on an external hard drive specifically designated for handling all my RAW high-res images.
What has been happening is all those RAW files are also being uploaded directly to my iphoto library on my iMac and eating up memory which I cannot reclaim, even after deactivating my Photo Stream in preferences. We're talking almost 100 GB of memory is tied up right now.
I don't want to just go in and start deleting files and folders in my Masters folder, since I have heard this will break iphoto, but the photos in my photostream do not show up in any event and I need to reclaim the hard drive space.
How can I safely delete them?

If the files are loose inside the iPhoto library package here's one way to get them out:
1 - open your library, select all of the photos in the library and add a unique keyword, XXXX, to all of them.
2 - Rebuild the library with iPhoto Library Manager as follows:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.>Click on the Add Library button,
2 - select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.
3 - make sure that in the rebuild window the checkbox "Scavange orphaned photos" is checked.
4 - now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
5 - in the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed. Click on the Create button.
Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.
Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
3 - open the library, create a smart album with the criterial "Keyword is not XXXX".
4 - the smart album will include those photos that were not visible in your original library. Select them and use the key combination of Command+Option+Delete to move them to the iPhoto Trash bin.
5 - empty the iPhoto Trash bin via the iPhoto ➙ Empty iPhoto Trash Bin menu option.
6 - empty the Trash bin in the Dock to remove the files from your hard drive completely.
Be sure to read Note 1 above. You can use the new library without your books, slideshow, etc. and it will not contain those errant files. Of course delete the original library if the new one is satisfactory.

How can I reduce the size of the MASTERS folder inside Photos?

I was trying to find out why my Photos app database is SO large. I have 8 gig of jpg photos.
I chose to NOT copy them when I imported them into Photos.
Yet my Photos app database is 8g as well! That's a lot of space to use when I didn't even copy the JPG into it.
So I went hunting to learn what was going on.
You can go to your Pictures Folder and find the Photos Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.
Here is what I found:
The "Masters" folder is very small. 300MB.
The "Previews" folder is a similar size.
"Thumbnails" are under 1G.
It's the "Resources" folder that is many gigs in size.
Very interesting. So in a sense, it could be even worse!
That is, apparently the setting prevented the "Masters" folder from getting 8 gig of photos copied into it.
But even so, "Resources" ended up with 6.5G in it -- even though no files were copied!
Wild.
Other photo management apps (e.g., Lightroom) have sort of a 10% overhead, not a 90% overhead -- i.e., close to the same size as the actual photos themselves.
I should probably start a fresh question, now that you have solved half the mystery: Yes, the actual photos were not imported into Masters, but Resources gets really big!
So here is my question: What the heck is going on with RESOURCES? How can I make that folder smaller? I mean, at this point, if I were to choose to import all my photos, it looks like that would double the size of my Photos installation. Of course, I'm not going to do that. Because, already, I don't have enough space for everything on my hard drive. And Photos, even when not importing, takes up a lot of space.
I need to get this folder under control. How can I?

Cool article, but not relevant.
I did not import from iPhoto nor Aperture.
I have my photos as JPEG files in a folder on my hard drive.
Photos, the app, did not make any duplicates. Rather, it made a giant Resources folder, almost as big as my folder of Image files.
FInder Info confirms the size increase and lost capacity on my hard drive.
But I appreciate the link. That could certainly give someone the same impression.

Installed Aperture 3 using existing iPhoto 11 library. Did relocate masters to location outside of library and a handful remained in iPhoto masters folder.

Hello,
I have a large iPhoto library and realized I was doing more with the tool that it was made to do. Bought Aperture and was deligihted to find that I could relocate the masters outside of the library in a folder structure that made sense to me. The masters are now in a folder structure that is organized by year/month so I can use it in other aps and/or back it up to the cloud.
After relocating the masters, I went back into the iPhoto libarary masters folder and saw that there were a handful (150 out of a 7K+ library) still there. Some of them I do see within Aperature and some not. What are these that got left over in the iPhoto Masters folder? Are they ones that have been edited in iPhoto so the original got moved to the new location and these haven't? I could see not pattern in them. Some I know have never been edited, some have had a name change, some were deleted, etc. There does not appear to be a reason. Potential important info: the relocating masters function failed a couple times and restarting it got through the whole library. Could these have just been random ones that Aperture choked on at the time? If so, how do I get them into the referenced masters folder & out of these orphaned folders?
Thanks in advance!

Like Aperture the 'edits' are in the database. These apps work as follows:
Import an original
Edit it. Your decisions are stored as text commands in the SQL database. When you view the file it's essentially the original with your 'edits' overlaid on it. There is no edited file without exporting - that's what lossless processing is all about.
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.
The Aperture export dilaogue has even more options.
To dave you the bother of always having to export iPhoto automatically generates Previews. (In Aperture you can choose to generate them or not). What's a Preview? It's a sort of 'good-enough-for-most-things version of the shot, medium quality, medium size but missing lots of metadata - designed for use in scenarios like email, uploading and using in Word Processing.
Is your plan to back up the Library to the Cloud?

IPhoto Preview Folder Twice the Size of Masters Folder

I am trying to back up my computer to a cloud-based server. It is getting hung up on iPhoto each time. The server team is looking at it but the representative noted that my preview folder is twice the size of my masters folder. I have a little over 28,000 photos totaling 492 GB; the Masters folder is ~175 GB; the Preview twice that. Is that normal?

Most Simple Back Up:
Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
Slightly more complex: Use an app that will do incremental back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically.
Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store
But note the back up disk must be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
The size of the Preview folder seems odd. Look inside and sort it on size. What's in the biggest folder?

What are all the empty folders in my masters folder?

I am using an iMac OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 and am running Photos.
In my masters folder there are lots of empty folders eg 20140409-173348.
1. What are these folders?
2. Can I delete them or do they serve a purpose?
Thanks
Les

Hey there, jwessels! Unfortunately, I haven't found any information on the Sony eSupport website for this Model Sony Headphones, so I looked on Amazon, and it seems that the container is a Padded Carrying Case. And as for the bag, it's an Accessory Pouch. That's all the information I was able to find for you regarding your question, so I hope this information has helped you! Best regards,

I just purchased and downloaded Logic 9. I had Logic 8 previously installed. What the **** happened to my Logic 8. It's gone along with the sounds and my my G4 mastering Folder. And... where are all these sounds stored on my computer I can't find them?...

I just purchased and downloaded Logic 9. I had Logic 8 previously installed. What the **** happened to my Logic 8. It's gone along with the sounds and my my G4 mastering Folder. And... where are all these sounds stored on my computer I can't find them?...

Very many thanks Niel. My problem solved in less than five minutes. I've never had to use that command before. I found the folder and copied it - but I'm still no clearer as to where it was!
Thanks again

How do I put back masters folder in iPhoto library back to the iPhoto library?

I was tinkering with the iPhoto library and clicked the Show Package Contents. I inadvertently dragged the masters folder outside the iPhoto library. Now it's under Pictures alongside the iPhoto library. How do I put back the masters folder into its original location?

Thanks, Terence Devlin. Just read a discussion about this...

IPhoto 11 previews folder but images in masters folder gone

I hope someone can help because I'm stumped. I put photos in iphoto and then edit them and they go into the previews folder but for some reason they are being deleted from the masters folder so when I go to edit an image it says it can't be found. I know the photos are in the previews folder and I have to reimport the images but can't figure out why they are being deleted from the masters folder as I'm not deleting them in iphoto. Also I assume that if I delete a photo in iphoto it will delete also the previews, is that correct?
Somehow there are photos that I have not edited that have ended up in previews but are not in masters.
Any thoughts would be helpful
Thanks
Derek

Try rebuild with iPhoto Library Manager
Note the Caveats:
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.

Download iPhoto to lightroom? when masters folder is huge?

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/import-iphoto.html Here are the directions.... but I'm lost at step one.
Background....
CC new subscriber. Mac up to date.
1st time ever to use lightroom & photoshop. Trying for over 12 hours. Ready to throw it all out the window & wondering why the heck did I ever spend this much money on something. Watched about 45 how-to videos.
I am completely missing something.
I just want onen little file pictures to be put in lightroom. When I turned my head, I had 4,386 download from my pictures folder on my hardrive; none that I wanted. So I clicked them and pressed remove.
SO..... Now when I go to find Lightroom using the magnifying glass....
I see this: <there should be a picture here!>
I really don't care what! I just want my little file from iphoto called WVLHS to be in lightroom so I can edit these stinkin' pictures. UGH!!!!!!!!
Begging for help.
From a kindergarten teacher who REALLY has to begin to learn to say NO when people ask me to do things at the last minute and I have NO idea what I am doing!
This doesn't even come close to what I'm trying to do... this was supposed to be the EASY PART!!!!
Here are the directions I am trying to follow......
To import photos from iPhoto into Lightroom, first you have to help Lightroom find the original photos, which are hidden in a package file. Then, you can copy or add the photos to a Lightroom catalog just like you would import any other photos from a folder on your computer.
Note: These instructions are for iPhoto '11 version 9.2.
In the Finder, navigate to your iPhoto package file. By default, it's located in /Users/[user name]/Pictures, and it's called iPhoto Library.
Control-click the iPhoto Library file and choose Show Package Contents.
A Finder window opens that shows the contents of the package file. The Masters folder contains all of the photos that are in iPhoto. However, Lightroom cannot access this folder.
Control-click the folder named Masters and choose Duplicate.
<<<<<<ACK! I CAN'T IT SAYS THERE ISN'T ENOUGH ROOM.....!>>>>>>
It's listed by years....is there a way to just do the last year?
When I did; it began to copy right away, I couldn't go onto the next step.
Drag the folder named "Masters copy" from the iPhoto Library Finder window to your Desktop.Lightroom can see this folder.
Open Lightroom and drag the Masters copy folder into the Grid view of the Library module.The import window opens, with your iPhoto files selected in the preview area. By default, Lightroom wants to Add these photos to your catalog. Select Copy or Move, if preferred, and specify the destination folder and other options in the panels on the right side of the import window.

Hi Kglad,
Thanks for the response!
When I click it to follow the directions, it immediately begins to make a copy. It won't let me put it anywhere. For example; on the picture, do you see where it says 2014 copy 2? That's what started to happen when I went to follow these directions: < Control-click the folder named Masters and choose Duplicate.>
Do I just wait for it to finish & then scoot that copy folder over there?
Thanks!

Masters folder moves in library

Today all my photos, that are loaded in Aperture Library, are no referenced!!!
Checking the Library I see that Masters folder is moved in another folder.
Why this behaviour?
What's the solution?

You would need to clarify that a bit. You know a referenced library means your masters are stored someplace other than the Aperture library, where a managed library would mean that your masters are stored within the library.
If you were actually running a referenced library, where did you have your masters stored prior to them ending up, not only in your library, but within the Previews folder within your library?
If you did click on the File menu and choose Locate Referenced files does it show a path to where your referenced files were stored? Why was it impossible to locate the files?
Thanks

In iPhoto '11, is it safe to delete aliases in the masters folder?

I'm running the latest update of iPhoto '11.
I'm trying to do some house cleaning and I'm discovering many duplicates of photos because I used to have iphoto copy pictures into the library.
So, I'm getting rid of duplicates, and I keep coming across these folders which have aliases to the original picture (not in the library).
I've noticed that some of these aliases are pointing to pictures that are no longer there (i.e. I deleted them a long time ago). So I was wondering if it's safe to delete the aliases.
I've noticed that any photos added in '11 dont actually have aliases. Only the photos added in prior versions.
On a similar note, if it's not safe to delete the aliases, then if I did delete them, would they be recreated somehow? (like, if i rebuild the library database by pressing "command" and "option" on iphoto launch....or something).
Just curious so I can continue my house cleaning.
Thanks in advance.

It's impossible to say whether it's safe to delete those aliases or not. What you're doing is simply not supported.
There are two possible uses for aliases in an 11 Library. One is linking up the old Library to the new structure. The other is to track referenced files. So, good luck with that.
I'm sure you've thought this decision through but for the benefit of others who may be thinking of this:
A Referenced Library is when iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing. The files are then stored where ever you put them and not in the Library package. In this scenario you are responsible for the File Management.
This is an attractive option for some users at face value, but it contains a significant number of issues that you might want to consider before making the decision to run a Referenced Library
How to do it:
iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck the box at 'Copy items to the iPhoto Library'
Now when you import iPhoto makes an alias in the Library Package that points to the stored file. Note: iPhoto still creates a thumbnail of the image and it makes a Preview of edited photos inside the Library Package.
Issues?
1. You are responsible for file management. That's more work:
You must first move the files from your camera to the storage location before importing.
If you want to delete files then you must first trash them from iPhoto and then afterwards find them in your storage and trash them.
Thereafter, you cannot move the files on early versions of iPhoto at all, on iPhoto 08 and later you may move them on the same Volume or Disk. If you move them to a new volume or disk the aliases my break. If they are on an different volume and you move them the aliases will break.
You cannot rename the files.
Migrating: moving to a new machine, moving the files to another disk are all a lot more complex.
2. You gain no extra functionality from running a Referenced Library. Nothing. This is just storage. You still manage the files via iPhoto. You edit them with iPhoto or via iPhoto's External Editor setting, otherwise you're changes will not be available in iPhoto. You don't save byte of storage space.
3. If you have the Library on one volume and the photos on another you if anything changes in the path to a file (Like if you upgrade your machine, move the files on the NAS or on to another one?) then the alias will break, and you'll have to repair it manually. For every photo in the Library. One at a time.
Why do you want to run a Referenced Library?
Because my photos won't fit on my HD?
You can run a Managed library from an external disk. Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
You're worried about accessing the files?
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
There's a similar option in Outlook and many, many other apps. If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running:
For users of 10.6 and later: You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu.
Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and 10.5 Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
Drag and Drop: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
File -> Export: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
Show File: a. On iPhoto 09 and earlier: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected. 3.b.
b: On iPhoto 11 and later: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Reveal in Finder -> Original. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
Regards
TD

Importing old pictures with wrong date stamp. After adjusting date they are landing in the correct folder of referenced masters.

I was thrilled to learn that with Aperture I could have one big library and using referenced masters, I can organize the pictures by date so I know where everything is and can backup to the cloud. I started importing really old photos that were taken with god knows what camera and the date is wrong. Since I had all these in date structured folders I could make a best guess on the date - not needing it to be exact, just so it shows up close enough in projects and the original lands in the right folder for future use & backup. I have come to learn that changing the metadata is only referring to how Aperture sees it. In other words, images that were taken on 10/31/04 are still landing in the referenced masters folder on the date the camera said. I now understand that the metadata date is not the date Aperture needs fixed. Is the best way to fix this to delete the images from Aperture, find some tool that will adjust to the approximate real date, then reimport. If so, can someone recommend a utility that does this? If I can fix this inside of Aperture, even better. I saw on one of the discussions: "it's all about the Exif and IPTC and not about the file metatata." Please feel free to learn me on that. Cheers.

That answers some of it - the relocate files. That will allow me to put the files in the right year/month folder. I imported full folders into Aperture so need to edit the metadata date for multiple pictures at the same time. I understand when you select multiple pictures and then ajust time, it adjusts in relation to the first picture. In my case these things were taken by all sorts of crappy cameras & re-edited years later (2003 data). So pictures taken on the same day have 2001, 2003 & 2007 dates. I really do just wnt to set all of them to the same (ballpark) date.
So my goals are:
1) have the pictures land in the right referenced folder - answered
2) do a mass adjust time to the same date for a folder of images
3) have the projects then land chronologically inside Aperture - not sure about this one yet
Thanks for your help, it's very much appreciated.

How can i delete the masters of iPhoto without losing my photos

Mac Book Pro (Mid 2012) 13 inches
256 Solid State Start up Insert in DVD Drive
1T Hard Drive in reg slot
16 GB Ram
Mavericks 10.9.4
iphoto 9.5.1
I am currently keeping my iPhoto library on my 256 SS Main Drive of my MacBook Pro.
How can I delete the masters of iPhoto without losing my photos in the main iPhoto display library and all their masters and edits.
I take loads of photos and import them and then will keep only 5% of the ones that I import. As a result I have a masters folder of over 50GB and actual photos that take up less that 5GD. Is it possible to delete the master folder without losing all the photos and without having to pain stakingly go through every folder and pick out from literally hundreds the ones that i kept and edited. How do I reduce the size of the masters just down to the ones that I have kept and not every single photo and video that I imported in the history of my iPhoto experience.
If I delete the master folder will all the photos and their edits be deleted.
If so, is there a way to just delete the masters that are no longer in the iPhoto library, while keeping the masters and edits of the ones that I clearly want to keep because they are the ones that I did keep.
Why do they keep the masters of photos that I clearly deleted and emptied the trash on.
I like to maximize space and this would help a lot to clear up for me. Thank you.

All the 5000 photos that reappeared after repair today were from my canada mega event, but for some reason it did not do it for all the other mega events. It is a start but not complete.
Try the rebuild to recover more lost photos.
If "rebuild" with iPhoto does not recover more lost photos, rebuild with iPhoto Library Manager as described by Old Toad in this thread, but rebuilding with iPhoto Library manager will not recover your projects like cards, bilks, slideshows.
Re: iPhoto glitch with retained masters https://discussions.apple.com/message/26354337#26354337
Mostly the way I organize all my photos is that I make a folder for each country I visit. i.e. New Zealand Folder, Canada Folder, India Folder; and at the same time, any photos that I import I delete directly from new imports and just keep the ones i want and then i go up to events and move the latest imported event into a mega event for that country and so they all get joined in a sense.
As a workaround, merge the events right after importing, before you start deleting photos. And empty the trash always before merging projects.
You might consider to use albums instead of events for your country lists. I simply use the events as basic containers. One event for each day of shooting photos. I found, that smart albums and searches are quicker in iPhoto and Aperture, if the events are smaller, also browsing is easier, if the events are not so large.
You can merge albums and remove photos from albums without the problems mentioned above.

How can I access my iPhoto library folder?

My hard drive recently had to be replaced, and when they replaced it, they updated to OSx 10.9. I had not backed up my photos before my hard drive crashed, but they backed up all my files for me. I went to open my iphoto library from the backup files and as a new (to me) version of iphoto 11 opened, I got a message saying that it had to update the photos in my library in order for them to be compatible with this version of iPhoto and that after updating them, I'd no longer be able to read them on an older version of iphoto. I clicked ok. It only imported 9 photos (out of several thousand). I went to finder and tried to open the iphoto library folder (which contains the library file and the cache, etc.), but the folder will not open. Instead, when I click to open the library folder, it brings up iphoto, as though to indicate that my library is there. Did I somehow unknowingly overwrite my library or something?? Any ideas why I can't access my iphoto library? Are my photos gone?
I'm stupid so I don't have copies of the photos anywhere else. I don't have Time Machine or anything. Did I irreversibly screw up??

I didn't think to check what photos were there or what the library size was before trying to import at first. How do I restore my backup of the iphoto library? (sorry if that's a stupid question). I checked in the Masters folder and only saw a few of my photos (the same ones that were imported to iphoto).
I definitely know it was a mistake not to have a backup of the photos. It'll be the first thing I do if I can get them back. The mistake I was referring to in my initial post was clicking "ok" when it asked to update---but from what you're saying it sounds like that wouldn't have deleted anything.
I'm thinking maybe the backup is not complete (even though I asked the tech people 5 times if it was!), because I checked the imovie events folder, and it's also empty (and it definitely shouldn't be)! If this turns out to be the case, I may have to go back to the repair place to see if they can still pull files off.

Masters Folder

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