Merging iPhoto & Aperture libraries

I want to merge iPhoto & Aperture libraries but I have three questions before I do this:
1. Both programs have different events and albums organizing my photos. When I merge the libraries, does each program keeps the photos organized the way that are right now or does it also merge events and albums? After I merge the libraries, when I creat an album or an event in either program, does the event or album appears in both programs?
2. After I merge the libraries, when I import photos from a camera or the iPhone, does it automatically refreshes in either programs and the new photos appear in both programs? I guess this is a dumb question but I just wanna make sure.
3. I Have an external HD backing up my aperture library in a vault but my iPhoto library is not set to back up automatically like the vault thing in aperture. After the merging, now the vault is going to back up the whole master library?
I appreciate the help and guidance with this questions.
Proto V.
PS: I am mexican so english is my 2nd languaje, I apologize if I commited a gramatic mistake

The key question here is what versions of iPhoto and Aperture do you have?
If you have the latest vesions of both, then merging is as simply as using Aperture's File -> Import -> Library command.
Again, if you have the latest versions of both, thereafter both apps use the same library. So, new photos don't "appear in both programs", they go into the Library and you can use either app to see them.
Yes, after merging the vault will back up the Library.

Similar Messages

Possible to use iPhoto 9.3 to merge iPhoto & Aperture libraries?

i use aperature to edit and organize. i'd like to export certain projects as individual libraries so that i can send to family members (via shared dropbox folder) so they can easily add to their iPhoto library without having to re-organize, assign faces, locations, etc.
i know it's now possible to do this aperture 3.3 [http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5296], however who i'd like to send to only use iPhoto. Any ideas or workarounds?

No. Importing Libraries as projects are Aperture only features.
However, they could use the paid ($20) version of iPhoto Library Manager to merge the Libraries.

Merging multiple Aperture libraries

I would like to merge multiple Aperture libraries. Some images occur in more than one library. Does anyone know what the merge process does with duplicated images? Thanks for any tips

Graham Bowyer wrote:
I would like to merge multiple Aperture libraries. Some images occur in more than one library. Does anyone know what the merge process does with duplicated images? Thanks for any tips
To me it's helpful to clarify what is meant by "duplicated images". To the Library, every Image is a record in a list of records. Some of these records may be identical. Being identical means they contain the same information. They are usually not linked in any way. Often, there may be Images that look identical, but have different information or other differences (size, date-stamp, file format of the Original, a copyright notice, bit-depth, etc., etc.). The computer does not know that Images look alike. To it, every Image is a record, and that's that.
Merging Libraries combines the two lists of Images into one bigger single list of Images. If one of the merged Libraries was created by "export as Library" from the other, Aperture will attempt to "merge" each Image from the second Library that matches an Image from the first Library into one Image in the merged Library.
Other than that, no attempt to eliminate duplicates is done during a merging of Libraries AFAIK.
As Léonie says, this is still new, and you should _at least_ make back-ups prior to doing anything, and are advised to try anything with smaller test Libraries before committing your main Library to any action.

Is Therea Way to merge all my iPhoto/Aperture Libraries"

After many years and thousands of photos, I have found myself with many photo libraries, Is there a way to merge them all? this would be very, very helpful if it was possible.

The only way to merge iPhoto Libraries is with the paid ($20) version of iPhoto Library Manager
You can't merge Aperture and iPhoto Libraries, you can import iPhoto Libraries to Aperture. There are ways to merge Aperture Libraries if you're running Aperture 3 or later.
Regards
TD

Merging 2 Aperture Libraries

I'd like to know if there's a way to merge two different Aperture Libraries.
I have what we'll call a primary library and another library which I would like to add to it.
I understand that I can Export the images from the secondary library and then Import them into my primary library however I'd like to retain both the Originals and Versions of the images I'm copying over to my primary Library. My intent is to just have one Library. It's a long story how things got this way.
Can I do what I'm wanting to do?
Thanks.

It involves manually exporting every project from one library and importing it to the other...
that should preserve all versions and metadata.
Read about it here: http://www.bagelturf.com/files/9ad36f04aff15d63635209d935f9c709-777.php
maybe there is an easier way.. perhaps some scripts or other programs that can help?..

How to merge iPhoto v2 libraries into one iPhoto v11 library

Hi,
I just are going through a major upgrade from my iBook dual USB (500 MHz Power PC G3, OS 10.4.11) to my brand-new MacBook Pro (2.3 GHz core I5, OS 10.6.8).
As my old iBook was running so slow, I had splitted my libraries into two using IPhoto Library Manager some years ago running with iPhoto 2. Now I need to merge these two libraries into one and then transfer it to my new computer and let iPhoto 11 upgrade the library at once.
Based on very helpful earlier threats, I intend to follow the process below:
Merge libraries using iPhoto Library Manager (registered version) to get one library (on my old computer)
Copy this library into the Pictures folder of my new computer
Open iPhoto (shift key will give me the option to select if needed) and it will automatically upgrade my library.
So far so good - but I experience one issue I did not manage to solve. I use iPhoto Library Manager version 3.5.2 on my old computer, but after starting the merging process it tells me I need iPhoto version 4 at least; but I have version 2 only. I guess I cannot use iPhoto version 11 on my new computer as I first need to merge the libraries as old versions, as the iPhoto version 11 cannot work with the not yet upgraded libraries, can it? I have the IPhoto Library Manager registered version 3.6.8 installed on my new machine.
Before I make a major mistake to my pictures (> 20 GB): is it possible to upgrade both old libraries separately in iPhoto v11 and then merge them in iPhoto v11?
Many thanks for your advice!
Best regards,
Markus

Rename the second iPhoto 2 library to something other that iPhoto Library and put it in the Pixtures folder next to the other library on your new MBP. Then open it with iPhoto11 to convert.
Once both are converted to the same version you can use iPLM to merge them into a new library.
HOWEVER if you don't care about any metadata you might have in your last iPhoto 2 library you can use SyncPhotos
to import the photos in your iPhoto 2 library into your iPhoto 11 library.
Here's how it works:
1 - it compares the databases and/or album.xml files of Libraries A and B.
2 - the files in A that are not in B are imported into B by copying the original files from A into B's Import folder.
3 - it then does the same for B.
4 - metadata is not copied.
It can be used to just copy from A to B and not sync both ways if desired. It will work with 2 libraries that are different versions, i.e. between an iPhoto 08 and iPhoto 09 library.
OT

Merging iPhoto 6 libraries with iPhoto 11

I have a MacbookPro running OS10.4.11 with iPhoto 6 and just bought a new iMac with OS10.7.3 with iPhoto 11.
I currently have iPhoto Library Manger v3.73 on both machines. I also have three iPhoto Libraries set up - two libraries are on an external hard drive - "2006-2007" and "2008-2010", and the 3rd library, "2011-2012", is on my laptop.
When I bought the new iMac, the Apple Store geniuses were able to move my 2011-2012 library from my laptop to my iMac. Unfortunately, they refused to merge/move my other two libraries that I have on my external drive.
What I'd like to do is merge all three iPhoto libraries together into one library on my iMac. What is the best way to do this? Please give me step-by-step instructions, I'm a duffus when it comes to 'puters! :)
thank you very much in advance!

your need to have good backujp of all of your iPhoto libraries and then convert each one to the latest version - depress the option key and launch iPhoto and use the select library option to select, convert and open each library
Then use the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - to merge the libraries
LN

Problem syncing photos to iPad from Aperture with a merged iPhoto/Aperture library

I recently 'upgraded' to us Aperture instead of iPhoto. One of the features of this was that I could continue to use the old iPhoto library in Aperture, and it automatically configures to Aperture settings - and it works great in Aperture.
The problem is that when I come to sync photos to my ipad, I have the drop down options for iPhoto and Aperture. The Aperture option shows zero photos, and the iPhoto option shows all the complete list of all my photo event/projects (from both my iPhoto days, and the more recent stuff in Aperture); but anything that I have created since moving to Aperture is greyed out and not accessible.
Any clues as to how I can sync the new photos as well as the old ones?
Thanks

Have you enabled the sharing and creation of previews in Aperture? That is one big difference between Aperture and iPhoto - in iPhoto it is impossible to disable previews, but in Aperture you can create previews selectively, see: Working with Preview Images
Check Aperture's Preferences > Previews settings for "New Projects automatically create Previews".
Then select the images with missing previews in Aperture in the Browser and use the command "Photos > Update previews".
If that is not the problem, the iPod Photo Cache or the Aperture library may need repairing or rebuilding, see these documents on how to repair the Aperture Library:
Repairing and Rebuilding Your Aperture Library
iTunes: Understanding the iPod Photo Cache folder
First try, if a simple repair of the Aperture library will suffice, then delete the iPod photo cache folder. Make sure, that the backup of your Aperture library is current, before try any of this.
-- Léonie

Merge iPhoto 09 libraries between two macs

How do I move some iPhoto 09 events to another mac but keep the faces and places data?

wait for iPhoto Library Manager's update to handle that - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/
LN

Find, mix and have several aperture libraries opened?

I had a harddisk break, so I am now with a new disk, same machine, but with backup files stored from Apple on my disk.
Problem, where to find my old aperture library. I did start at new when I had my new machine this year. January I think. And then I have an old library file too, from the older machine from 2008, that one I got. Afraid to do something wrong here, what to do?
Is it possible to mix two libraries in aperture? Its so sad if I have lost all the work with building the libraries from this last year. Think I will call in and ask where to find. Because its only showing the one library I had at first. Not the second. At least I can not find it on the backup search.
Thankfully I had backuped the photoes on an external harddisk. Put it up that way when I transfer the images to aperture.
Hope for some good ideas here.. thanks. And how should we backup aperture really? Hope the developers give us a good solution in next version:)
Tove

I had a harddisk break, so I am now with a new disk, same machine, but with backup files stored from Apple on my disk.
Tove, was your backup a full time machine backup? Or did you have parts of your system excluded from backup?
Problem, where to find my old aperture library. I did start at new when I had my new machine this year. January I think.
What is your Aperture version? The answer to your questions will depend on your system version and Aperture version.
Have you searched using the Finder? Open any Finder window and type ⌘F.
Then press the "+" button to add a search rule. Set it to "Kind" "Other" and enter "Aperture Library".
That should list all Aperture Libraries on your system, if you set the scope of the search to "This Mac".
This screenshot is done in Snow Leopard, it would look a bit different in Lion or Mt. Lion:
Do you remember, in which folder you stored your Aperture library? By default the libraries are located in your Pictures folder. Or did you have it on an external drive?
Is it possible to mix two libraries in aperture? Its so sad if I have lost all the work with building the libraries from this last year. Think I will call in and ask where to find. Because its only showing the one library I had at first. Not the second. At least I can not find it on the backup search.
You can merge two Aperture libraries by importing one into the other.
And how should we backup aperture really? Hope the developers give us a good solution in next version:)
Aperture Vaults will backup the library and create archival backups. Time Machine is very good now for backing up the current version, as long as you do not exclude the Aperture Library from the backup locations. A clone of the drive with the aperture library is a good backup. The important thing is to check the backups, if they are current and working, before something happens and to have more than one backup. I had it happen, that a power failure crashed my mac while I was doing the backup, and both - mac and backup drive were unusable afterwards.
Regards
Léonie

Merging two Aperture Books

I have tried following all the directions I could find. Let's call my book files Book1 and Book 2. I exported Book2 to my mac as "book as library" This appears to work. I then highlight Book1 and choose Import library. I end up with a book called Book2 (1) which is a duplicate of Book2.
Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way to merge two different books?

Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way to merge two different books?
It is simply not possible. You can merge two Aperture libraries and move the photos from one book to another, but you cannot move the pages you played out to a different book.
As a work-around you could print one book to PFD or JPEG and then simply add the JPEGS as full page images to the book, but the quality would suffer.
For a full-quality merge, add the photos from the second book to the first, and then copy and paste all texts from the first to the second.

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.

File Sizes Surge with Merger of Aperture an iPhoto Libraries

I merged an Aperture library and an iPhoto library. All went well. However, the resulting file sizes on BOTH new libraries have increased significantly. The iPhoto file size went from ~ 50 gigs to ~144 gigs and the Aperture library went from ~90 gigs to ~ 102 gigs.
I thought I would be able to delete one of the libraries (iPhoto) after the merger, but now that it is so big...I;m not sure what to do.
I can understand the post merger Aperture library getting larger, but why the iPhoto library?
Also, I read that the iPhoto library may contain "originals" and that only versions merged over into the new Aperture (post merger) library. Is that true? If so, what can be done to move over the originals to whicheveer library survives?
Thanks!

How exactly did you merge? And what are your Aperture and iPhoto versions?
Why are there two new libraries after merging an Aperture library and an iPhoto library? Merging two libraries should create one merged library, or am I missing something?
WIth Aperture 3.3 or later and iPhoto 9.3 or later: If you want to merge an iPhoto library into an Aperture library, you would open the Aperture library and then use "File > Import > Library" and select the iPhoto Library to merge the iPhoto Library into your Aperture library.
The Aperture library should increase in size to accomodate your iPhoto images, but the size of the imported iPhoto library should stay the same.
Also, I read that the iPhoto library may contain "originals" and that only versions merged over into the new Aperture (post merger) library. Is that true? If so, what can be done to move over the originals to whicheveer library survives?
That will depend on the iPhoto and Aperture versions you are using. With any Aperture version later than Aperture 3.3. both the originals and edited versions will be imported into Aperture, when you import an iPhoto library as library to merge it into the Aperture library. Only if your iPhoto library is referenced (the original image files not included in the iPhoto library), then Aperture will also reference these original files and not import them into the Aperture library. YOu can consolidate the originals later in aperture.
But we need to know, how exactly you merged your libraries to be able to understand, how both libraries increased in size. Did you not use "File > Import > Library"?
-- Léonie

Merge multiple Aperture and iPhoto libraries into Photos?

I have around 80GB of material in multiple Aperture libraries, and around 12GB of old material in iPhoto. Is it even sensible to think about holding all this data in Photos, and if so, how is it possible to import multiple libraries? The option to convert an existing library only seems available at first start-up, and is then limited to only one library.

Yes it is practical - but you have to merge the libraries before converting libraries to Photos - Aperture can do that
LN

Merge iPhoto and Aperture libraries?

I boght Aperture and as I was installing it, I made the wrong choice when it asked me if I wanted to merge the iPhoto library with the Aperture library. I can't figure out how to do that after the fact. Do I need to reinstall Aperture?

I can't figure out how to do that after the fact. Do I need to reinstall Aperture?
No, you don't. Aperture can now merge any iPhoto Library into the Aperture Library.
But do you really need to merge the Libraries? If you want, you can keep the libraries separate. iPhoto can now open Aperture libraries, and iPhoto can open Aperture Libraries. You can switch between Aperture and iPhoto any time from within Aperture.
But back to your question:
To merge the Libraries
open your iPhoto library at least once in iPhoto 9.4 to upgrade it. Quit iPhoto.
Open your Aperture Library in Aperture.
From Aperture's main menu bar use the command "File > Import > Library" and select your iPhoto.
When prompted if you want to "merge" or "add" duplicate library items, select "merge".
Good Luck
Léonie

Merging iPhoto & Aperture libraries

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