Merge imported iPhoto stacks?

Hi,
In the olden days, I used to use iPhoto. In my library were some 8000 pictures, and to many I have manually added GPS data, captions, faces and so on.
Now I have purchased Aperture and imported my iPhoto library into my brand-new Aperture library. For about 3000 of my iPhoto's, Aperture has created stacks (a very handy feature btw). Every stacks contains two pictures:
1: The original iPhoto with keywords generated by Aperture ("iPhoto Original"), plus the metadata, such as faces and places from iPhoto
2: The definitive iPhoto with keywords "iPhoto Edited" (or "iPhoto Externally Edited"), without the metadata
I want to keep only one version of each set. The problem is that the picture I want to keep is the edited one, and the metadata (which I also want to keep) is in the original picture.
So I need to merge the metadata from the original picture with the edited picture and then delete the original. Is there some way to do this automatically? The algorithm would be something like:
For each stack in library:
Does the stack contain exactly two versions and are the version names the same and has one of them keyword "iPhoto original" and the other one "iPhoto edited?
If so, copy metadata from original to edited version and delete (or reject) original
Does anyone know if a script or program exists that is capable of doing the above?
Many thanks in advance!
Wopke - Aperture newbie

Hi Wopke. Welcome to the user-to-user forum.
A few thoughts, but you'll have to work this out yourself, it seems. My thoughts aren't even enough to build a scaffolding, let alone an arch.
If you can merge the files in iPhoto, do it. Then delete the ones in Aperture, and import the newly merged.
I would look into other ways of solving this prior to importing into Aperture.
You cannot merge photos in Aperture.
In Aperture the process of copying metadata from one image to another is done by a process known as lifting the metadata from the source image and then stamping it onto the target image. Look these up in the help file. The Lift & Stamp has several useful options. Unfortunately for your predicament, it is always a one-to-one or a one-to-many operation. There is no way to lift the date from one member of each of ten pairs, and then stamp it onto the other member of each of the ten pairs, or to automate doing one pair, then the next pair, and so on.
You can quickly turn the mouse cursor into a "lifter" and a "stamper", which for even 250 image pairs might be useful. For 3,000 ... no.
There is no way that I know of to query Aperture "is image in Stack", or anything like that. The lone exception is the curious checkbox in the Filter HUD, "Stack Picks Only". That won't do what you want (I suggest ignoring it for quite awhile).
To script your algorithm, you'll have to replace the Stacks query with something else. I don't use iPhoto, but perhaps the original and the edited version have similarly differentiated file names.
If you do solve this, please post your solution. Good Luck. Sorry not to have actually helpful.

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What's your plan for the remaining images in the iPhoto Library (the 2k photos and 4 videos)?
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TD

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Yes there is.
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Hello,
I would like advice on an easy way to merge my iphoto library with my husbands. I am concerned for the following reasons. We have many pictures and events that are on both computers, but also have many pictures that just reside on one computer.
I'm concerned as each computer has varying amount of faces/locations identified on it, and they are different between both computers (some pictures have had faces identified on both computers, and then some on one and not the other). Also, for common pictures on both computers, the event name is often different between both computers.
What is the best way to merge both our libraries together, while preserving faces and locations specified, event names, and avoiding duplicates?
Thank you so much for your help!

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. The only way to do what you want is with the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager.
Connect the two computers so when iPLM is launched on one it can see both libraries. Then select one of the libraries and go to the File menu and select Merge Libraries. You can set the iPLM preferences to not copy duplicates and maintain Events, etc. Keywords, faces, places and titles will automatically be kept.
You select the location and name of the new, merged library.
Click to view full size
Slideshows, books and other keepsakes will not be copied. If you need them to be included then select the library with the least important books, slideshows, etc. and copy it into the the other library. That will keep the keepsakes of one library intact.
OT

Aperture import iPhoto library, no duplicates

Merging iPhoto libraries into a single Aperture library risks duplicate images. Multiple iPhoto libraries might contain the same image.
According to the online manual there is a command 'File > Import > iPhoto Library' that would allow the 'Do not import duplicates' option. This command does not seem to exist in the current version of Aperture.
This may be a way to do this -
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Any comments on this - will it work?

Merging iPhoto libraries into a single Aperture library risks duplicate images. Multiple iPhoto libraries might contain the same image.
The recommended procedure to merge iPhoto libraries using Aperture is described here:
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You will need the current Aperture 3 version - at least Aperture 3.3. and open all your iPhoto libraries in iPhoto 9.3 or later at least once.
Merging libraries is preferable to simply importing the "masters" folder - this way you will be able to save all your work - edits, tagging, albums, etc.
If you move the "Masters" folder from your iPhoto library, you may corrupt the library, and by importing only the originals and not the edited versions, all your work done in iPhoto will be lost.
If you have Duplicate Annihilator, you can still run it afterwards to check, if duplicates are remaining after merging. The "Merge" will only look for perfect duplicates - similar filename, similar size.
Regards
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I have imported my iPhoto library into Aperture 3. The import must have failed because only some made it over. I chose to leave the photos in their current location. How can I do a fresh import and get the rest of the files imported (still leaving them in their current location) and not get duplicates of those already imported?

I understand what you want to say - I think - our disagreement is whether what you are complaining about is a bug or a feature, and if a feature, if it is good design or broken design .
I am not looking for Aperture to detect and reject similar files, but bit-identical images imported on separate occasions.
But when are two files identical image versions? Most users would expect two copies of the same images in two different locations on the disk to be treated as duplicates - you obviously do. And as you say, it could easily be checked, if two bitmaps are identical. The problem is conceptually:
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I sometimes have images that are similar in all pixels but not duplicates of the same images. Those are images created by animation software visualizing data, and I would not want two similar images with identical bitmaps but belonging to different experiments to be treated as identical images.
Are identical twins the same person - everyting the same, only name and location differ?
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As long as you remember that you are sharing the masters. If you relocate masters in Aperture you will be stealing iPhoto's masters; if you delete an image in Aperture or iPhoto you may delete a master that is used by the other Application, if you batch change your images in Aperture and select "apply to masters" you are changing the master image files. I would not risk it, but it is up to you.
Try it: import from iPhoto, and then import again. Even with duplicate detection, you get images twice.
True
Lets talk about the different ways to import to iPhoto.
When you drag from the iPhoto Browser there is no way to turn on "Do not import duplicates", so no promises made and no promises broken - no bug, but maybe a bad feature.
When you import an iPhoto Library, there is the checkbox "Do not import duplicates", and this is ignored - you are perfectly right . But we still disagree - I consider the presence of the checkbox to be the bug - a bug in the GUI, not the import of the duplicates - for what do you expect to happen, when you import a library? It does not make any sense at all to import a library structure and omit some images, only because they are alredy present in the library you are importing to. Aperture would have to merge the newly imported iPhoto library with your current library, but for that we would need a "Merge Library" option, not an import option. This would have a big impact on your existing library structure, but might be useful, so make a feature request to Apple.... (Aperture menu -> Send feedback)
Just try dragging a file in twice. No warning, no message, no annotation.
Again, this is a feature (maybe a bad one), but not a bug, since no promises are made that you will be prevented from dragging in duplicate images.
Make a feature request ...
This is not hard to accomplish, and it is done by other software.
I like not to be bothered with warning messages when I am dragging carefully selected images to Aperture that I want to import, then I want those images together in one project, independent of potential duplicates, and I do not want to be bothered with warning messages while I am dragging ...
Cheers
Léonie

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How do I merge two Iphoto libraries

Actually it can be done on the command line. This will be quite tedious if the library you are transferring is large.
Log into the computer on which you want the merged library to reside.
Then, go to Applications->Utilities, and launch the Terminal.
At the prompt, cd to the following directory:
Lydias-MacBook-Pro:~ lydiachet$ cd Pictures/iPhoto\ Library/Auto\ Import
Now launch an ftp session with the computer where your other library resides:
Lydias-MacBook-Pro:Auto Import lydiachet$ ftp 192.168.1.36
Connected to 192.168.1.36.
220 192.168.1.36 FTP server (tnftpd 20080929) ready.
Name (192.168.1.36:lydiachet): carolchet
331 User carolchet accepted, provide password.
Password:
230 User carolchet logged in.
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
On the remote computer, cd to the Masters directory in the iPhoto library:
ftp> cd Pictures/iPhoto\ Library/Masters
The directory tree from here down is listed by year, month and date, so actual directories will vary: in the example I'm looking in a directory from July 21, 2012:
ftp> cd 2012/07/21
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> ls
229 Entering Extended Passive Mode (|||62595|)
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for '/bin/ls'.
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 12 carolchet staff 408 Jul 21 11:29 20120721-112923
226 Transfer complete.
Now cd to the only directory found here:
ftp> cd 20120721-112923
View the photo files using the ls command:
ftp> ls
229 Entering Extended Passive Mode (|||62596|)
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for '/bin/ls'.
total 5
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 231082 Jul 21 11:04 IMG_0035.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 249389 Jul 21 11:04 IMG_0036.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 253379 Jul 21 11:04 IMG_0037.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 270819 Jul 21 11:05 IMG_0038.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 253501 Jul 21 11:05 IMG_0039.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 243288 Jul 21 11:05 IMG_0040.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 248939 Jul 21 11:05 IMG_0041.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 287363 Jul 21 11:06 IMG_0042.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 248358 Jul 21 11:07 IMG_0044.JPG
-rw------- 1 carolchet staff 268819 Jul 21 11:08 IMG_0045.JPG
226 Transfer complete.
ftp>
from this point you can copy the files to the local computer using mget
ftp> mget *.JPG
If you have lots of pictures this will be tedious as you then need to navigate through the diretory trees until you have copied all the photos.
Good news is, next time you launch iPhoto on the local computer, it will automatically import all of the new files.

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I also have a photo library of around 32 GB with the same file name structure as mentioned above and just using Finder to manage it. I would like to use iPhoto to manage both libraries and thus need to merge / import the libraries but have some queries:
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- what would be recommended as a backup strategy (manually copying it to an external hard drive)?
- would you recommend another photo managing program for me?
That is for now, I might find some more questions. Thanks in advance, macroen

- will iPhoto become sluggish after importing 32 GB with a total library of roughly 35 GB?
No - iPhoto handles that size library just fine - it is rated for up to 250,000 photos
- if I import my older photos will iPhoto use the existing folder names for the events (or do I have to type it all in again)?
If you drag each existing folder onto the iPhoto window it will create events matching them
- if I import my older photos will iPhoto use the dates in the exif file to arrange the events (something which I do not want to happen)?
Yes - iPhoto uses the EXIF dates for photos - events can be sorted by several methods (view menu ==> sort events)
- if I export my merged library what will the names of the folders be called?
What ever you name them - when you export you say where to pace the exported photos
- what would be recommended as a backup strategy (manually copying it to an external hard drive)?
That is one way -- I use Time machine to create a time based set of backups p;us a nightly clone of my entire system including iPhoto to give me a bootable exact copy as of the clone time - plus an occasional Tm backup at a second location - my photos ( and other data) are valuable to me and worth trying to save from software/hardware/human failure
- would you recommend another photo managing program for me?
That is strictly a personal decision - I choose iPhoto - TD uses iPhoto and Aperature - Old Toad uses anoher DAM mostly and iPhoto for projects primarily
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Okay, that's absolutely accurate but I was concerned about this:
iPhoto converts RAW to JPEG
which could be interpreted to mean that it's a destructive process.
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Regards
TD

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Should I upgrade to iPhoto 9.3? Should I keep each library separate? Should I merge? Should I import iPhoto into Aperture still and have one library going forward?
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Thanks in advance!
Chrystal in TX

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Once that opens by default with iphoto, then... went to Finder again, Pictures, right click on iphoto library (local Imac library) and select "open with" = Aperture.
There I had my MBA's library opened on iphoto and my local Imac library opened on Aperture. I simply dragged the events from iphoto to Aperture. Worked like a charm..
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That works, but there is a better way with Aperture. The problem. If you drag the photos from Aperture to iPhoto, you only transfer the previews and you lose quality, because you do not transfer the high quality originals.
Aperture can do more for you:
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Seethes document: Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries

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Once that opens by default with iphoto, then... went to Finder again, Pictures, right click on iphoto library (local Imac library) and select "open with" = Aperture.
There I had my MBA's library opened on iphoto and my local Imac library opened on Aperture. I simply dragged the events from iphoto to Aperture. Worked like a charm..
PS: It is obvious to say that for this to work, both Imac and MBA have to be Shared in the same network
That works, but there is a better way with Aperture. The problem. If you drag the photos from Aperture to iPhoto, you only transfer the previews and you lose quality, because you do not transfer the high quality originals.
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Select the event (in Aperture "Projects") you want to transfer in the library Inspector and then use "File > Export > Project as new Library". This will create a new photo library with only the elected items.
Then open your destination iPhoto library in Aperture and select the command "File > Import > Library" and select the partial library with your events. Aperture will now merge this library into your iPhoto library.
This way, you will transfer the originals and all editing, keywords, etc, and effectively merge your iPhoto libraries preserving all your work.
Seethes document: Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries

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Hi,
I wouldn't say I have such a lot of movies in Iphoto but deffintely they are quite a few... anyway, I suspect it will never end because the timer gets bigger and bigger; and yes I left it running overnight with no luck.
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Well no one has ever found a way.
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