Moving select photos to an external?

I understand that you can put your entire library on an external by creating a new library but it seems you have to put everything in it. I just want to move certain groups of pictures to my external. Since I have a laptop I do not always connect to my external drive. Can this be done?

Tanger,
The easiest way to split your library while preserving your organization and metadata is to use iPhoto Library Manager. You create a new library on your external hard drive and use iPLM to move the rolls between your libraries.
The other way to do it is to copy your entire library folder to the external drive, Option-Launch to open the library from the external and delete what you don't want in that library. Then Option-Launch to open your main library and delete the rolls you don't want on your boot drive. However, this method won't allow you to move rolls from your internal to your external in the future (while preserving metadata). So you're better off with the first method, in my opinion.

Similar Messages

Moving Iphoto photos to an external drive

I have a huge image set of more than 23 Gb on Iphoto 6. I use two different mac both with Iphoto 6. Is there any way I can change the location of all the library to an external drive so In this way i could just plug the external drive to any of the two machines (work and home) and work without problems ?

hi Marcos,
Copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library folder to a Mac formatted external drive.
Launch iPhoto while holding down the Option key.
At the prompt, choose to open another library.
Navigate to the library on the external and highlight it.
Hit the "open" button
iPhoto will open the library on the external and from now on will use this library to import images too. This will now be your working library. Make sure everything is working correctly and everything is fine in the library.
You can then delete the library on the internal if you wish.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93037
As far as using this library with two Macs, I am not sure of what will happen. I know that is is done .
This is an excerpt from the iPhoto Library Manager documentation page on the subject:
"There is one other way to get around the issue of permissions in sharing a library. In Mac OS X, you can tell the system to ignore all permissions on a particular drive or partition (this cannot be done with the volume that your computer is running OS X from). To do so, select the drive in the Finder and press command-I (Get Info). In the info window, click the disclosure triangle next to "Ownership & Permissions", and then check the box that says "Ignore ownership on this volume" (note: you may be prompted to enter an admin password when doing this). This will allow all users to read and write files on that drive regardless of how permissions are set. One drawback to this approach is that it requires either a) storing your library on an external drive, or b) formatting and partitioning your main hard drive, which requires backing up and reinstalling your data and applications. After setting up the drive you want to use, either create a new library on the drive by clicking "New Library" in iPhoto Library Manager, or copy one of your existing libraries to the drive and then add it to iPhoto Library Manager by clicking "Add Library"

Moving selected photos to Macbook pro

We're giving the grandkids a macbook pro. Don't wish to migrate our harddrive to their's but would like to send all the photos we have of them to iphoto '09 on the new computer. We have iphoto 08. What's the best way to select events we want them to have and transfer, via firewire at set up I guess, without transferring unwanted data as well.
Thanks

either use iPhoto library manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - or export the photos to a desktop folder and move that folder
LN
PS - it is a good idea to post in the correct forum - in many cases the answers are different depending on the version you are using - this is the iPhoto 5 forum

Moved photo library to external, space on internal drive did not change.

At the end of each year I like to move the current iPhoto library to an external hard drive to save space. The library get retitled Library 2007, Library 2008, etc.
I do this to save space on my hard drive. My trusty iMac has only 80 gig hd (but that was a lot a few years ago). I was down to 11 plus gigs of free space.
So, I moved over 4000 photos to the external hard drive, using the directions posted on this forum about using the pictures folder and the library in it, then deleting old photos. OK, so all my pictures from 2008 are on the external. I kept only 72 pictures on the internal hd (had to reimport them after the big move). This only freed about 4G of hd space, and if I do “Get info” or use Whatsize, it shows my iPhoto as using 9.7G of space. 9G of space for 72 photos??? Can’t be. If I select my old Library 2008 with 4000 plus photos it also says the size is 9.7
I know I have the right Library chosen when I start iPhoto with option key held down.
What have I done or failed to do???
I tried shutting down and restarting. Have repaired permissions once, though not from original disk.
This has been hard to explain, I hope I made it understandable.
Thanks in advance for all help.
Jane

Hi Terence,
I feel like the world's biggest dummy right now. Remember when I told you that yes, I had emptied the trash? Well, the trash I emptied was on the desktop. I very wrongly assumed that when I selected and deleted photos, all trash was the same. But apparently not. The trash in the iPhoto program was filled with images. When I discovered this an emptied it, I freed up a lot of hd space.
So, your first suggestion was right, I was just too dumb to know which trash needed emptying.
Thank you so much for your help and your patience as well.
Jane

Moving iPhoto to external drive; have formatted external disk to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), moved the iPhoto library to external drive; when trying to change the library, the iPhoto file on new external is greyed out can't be selected.What went wrong?

Must have done something wrong..
1. formatted external disk to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - required a partition, but that went fine. Entire new external disk was included in the partition formatted to Mac OS Extneded (journaled).
2. moved iPhoto library to new external disk
3. Holding Option key down, opened iPhoto
4. Choose library feature appeared, however when new library function option appeared and "choose library" selected, the iPhoto folder appearing in the new external drive was greyed out and not able to be selected. Therefore the default library remains the original iphoto library on the Mac.
I've moved the original iphoto library to the trash and then tried to start iPhoto. A message comes up that the iPhoto is in the trash and needs to be pulled out before iPhoto can start (clearly the new iphoto library on the external drive is not being seen.
Can anyone suggest where I went awry? Thanks!

Try trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder.
(On 10.7 or later: Hold the option (or alt) key while clicking on the Go menu in Finder to access the User Library)
(Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)
What's the plist file?
For new users: Every application on your Mac has an accompanying plist file. It records certain User choices. For instance, in your favourite Word Processor it remembers your choice of Default Font, on your Web Browser is remembers things like your choice of Home Page. It even recalls what windows you had open last if your app allows you to pick up from where you left off last. The iPhoto plist file remembers things like the location of the Library, your choice of background colour, whether you are running a Referenced or Managed Library, what preferences you have for autosplitting events and so on. Trashing the plist file forces the app to generate a new one on the next launch, and this restores things to the Factory Defaults. Hence, if you've changed any of these things you'll need to reset them. If you haven't, then no bother. Trashing the plist file is Mac troubleshooting 101.
Then try select it again.

I have moved my iPhoto to an external hard drive. so now I have to have the external hard drive connected to my laptop to view the photos. Now when I want to import photos into iPhoto from my media card, I don't have room to connect both devices.

I have moved my iPhoto to an external hard drive. so now I have to have the external hard drive connected to my laptop to view the photos. Now when I want to import photos into iPhoto from my media card, I don't have room to connect both devices at the same time as the usb ports are side by side. How do I import my photos from the media card to the external hard drive now?

First transfer the photos to a folder on your MacBook using Image Capture in your Utilities folder. Then move them to iPhoto.
BTW, you might want to invest in a cheap USB hub.

Moving photo library to external drive

Hi,
My Mac hard drive is really getting full, i've only got 10GB left!
I've bought myself a 1TB external USB hard drive, and would like to move my large iPhoto Library onto it.
If I move it across, and then create a fresh new iPhoto Library on my Mac Hard drive will I still be able to access my old photos on my external drive?
Also will it affect syncing through iTunes, and/or syncing with my iCloud photo stream?
Lastly, can you think of any other things that are generally ok to dump on an external drive and start afresh? I'd like to move my Steam Games, but still access them through the external drive,   what do you think?
Thanks for all your help!

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.
Why would you create a second library on the internal idk? Just use the one on the external.
It makes no difference to syncing.
Regards
TD

I moved my library to an external hard drive. Now I can't sync photos on my iPad. Can anyone hep?

After moving my library to an external hard drive, I can't sync photos on my iPad. Has anyone had this problem?

William,
Did you move all your photos to the external drive, or your library to the external drive, or both?
I have started wondering if photo sharing works if the source of the photo is an external drive. I.e., what will iTunes do if you try to sync and your library is not accessible, because you stored it on an external drive and it is not plugged in? Will it remove all of the Aperture photos from your iPad, since the source of the photos (Aperture library) is effectively empty, since it is missing? Maybe iTunes takes that into account and just ignored libraries that are not local.
Can you see Aperture library in other application using a media browser, like Desktop & Screen Saver or iPhoto (browse Apertuer library)?
nathan

In photos: I have tried to select and delete some duplicate pictures that I transferred from my other iPhone 5S on this new iPhone 5S and when I select the only options available is moving the photos or email/text. I cannot put in trash bin

iPhone 5s photos/video,deleting duplicate photos and video transferred from other iPhone 5s & iPhone 4S
I have tried selecting photos and videos to throw them in trash bin, but the trash bin doesn't work when pressing and or clicking on it
I would like to know how to get rid of the unwanted and duplicate pictures that I've transferred from my other iPhones.
If someone could please help me, I would greatly appreciate it !!
Thank you so much,
Ginger

How did you transfer the photos from your other iPhone? If you did it by importing them from the old phone to a computer and then used iTunes to sync them back to the new phone, then you would delete them by syncing again using iTunes but this time change the selection of which photos are to be synced. Each time you sync using iTunes, it sets the non-Camera Roll photos on the phone to match the current settings/selection in iTunes.

Moving photos from an external hard drive to iPhoto

I recently bought a new Macbook Pro and transferred all of my photos from a Passport external hard drive into iPhoto.
I thought it worked very well but when I pull up the photos in the new computer's iPhoto they are smaller and the resolution is worse than on my old Macbook. I have some of the same photos saved on Dropbox and when I downloaded them and opened them in iPhoto they were larger and the resolution better.
Any suggestions? Is the external hard drive at fault or did I make a mistake when transferring the files to my new Macbook - I just dragged and dropped them.
Thanks for the help!

No idea - how about some information
What version of iPhtoo? Of the OS? What exactly did you do and how did you do it?
Importing photos to iPhoto has no effect on the source photo so your post does not make sense
The most basic answer it to launch iPhoto and drag the photos form the External drive to the iPhoto window which imports them into iPhoto ahas no effect on the photos on the EHD
LN

I just noticed that I can no longer select photos out of my finder that are located in my Aperture/Iphoto Library. I used to be able to attach photos to my gmail out of the aperture library in the finder and for some reason, no longer can.

I just noticed that I can no longer select photos out of my finder that are located in my Aperture/Iphoto Library. I used to be able to attach photos to my gmail out of the aperture library in the finder and for some reason, no longer can.
I can't access these images except to go into the applications.
Also, I'd like to import my iphoto library into aperture, and move aperture library to an external drive. I tried the import first, but there wasn't enough space. Then I tried copying over the aperture library onto the external drive but it failed bc it said file was in use.
As it is, I only have 50gb left on my imac, and the aperture library is 150gb. Also, I have over 10k images in both libraries combined and there are tons of duplicates that need to be sorted, and hopefully not messed up because I've organized most of them.
So in short, I need to know how to do the following:
-select photos in finder in aperture/iphoto libraries
-move aperture library to live on external drive
-import iphoto library into aperture library
-eliminate dups but maintain organization
-moving forward i need a better workflow so that I import images from camera, and can organize right away into albums rather than creating projects by default and then creating albums so essentially the photos are in 2 different places, even tho they are referenced
-live happily ever after
Thanks in advance for any support you can offer!!

If you're using apps like iPhoto or Aperture then they replace the Finder for managing your photos. The point is that you use the (many) options available via these apps for the things you want and need to do with the Photos.
So, simply, you don't select the photos in the Finder. I'll append the supported ways to do this - which are faster and will yield the current version of your Photos - to the end of this post.
-move aperture library to live on external drive
Managed or Referenced Library? Managed -
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit Aperture
2. Copy the Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching Aperture. 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.
Referenced - relocate your Masters first.
These issues are covered in the Manual and on this forum hundreds of times.
-import iphoto library into aperture library
FIle -> Import -> iPhoto Library? Have you done this already? If so are you trying to move the Masters to Aperture from an iPhoto Library? Or Consolidate them?
-moving forward i need a better workflow so that I import images from camera, and can organize right away into albums rather than creating projects by default and then creating albums so essentially the photos are in 2 different places, even tho they are referenced
You can't. Every photo is in a Project. They’re the basic building blocks of the Library.
You might want to spend a little time with the manual or the video tutorials. I'm not sure you've grasped the app you've purchased.
The following is written for iPhoto, but about 97% works for Aperture too.
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto/ APerture: 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. This is what you use to attach your shot to your GMail
(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/ Aperture.
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/ Aperture 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 Library from your Services Menu.
Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser

Moved iPhoto 11 library to external drive and have a iPhoto Library file left on desktop

Hello,
I have a blue file on my desktop labeled iPhoto Library, that appeared during the course of me moving my iPhoto Library ( iPhoto 11) to an external hard drive to make room on the internal disk, my attempts to reopen iPhoto on the internal disk, move selected photos from the iPhoto Library on the external drive over to the newly emptied iPhoto Library on my laptop.
The blue iPhoto Library file contains these items:
AlbumData.xml
AlbumData2.xml
iPhoto.ipspot
Questions: does this blue file belong somewhere or can I trash it?
This is what I did:
1. I opened Pictures, dragged the iPhoto Library from there to the external drive.
2. When I opened iPhoto on my MBP it said it needed a library to open with and the choices already in the box were:
iPhoto Library(default)
iPhoto Library
3. I chose "iPhoto Library" because I thought "(default)" meant restoring the original library.
4. iPhoto opened to the "get started with iPhoto" like a new install.
5.I moved (drag and drop ) some photos from the external drive back into the "empty" iPhoto Library. I tried to move a group of photos but I didn't know how to do it so ...
6. I took the iPhoto Library from the trash and put it back into the "empty" iPhoto Library.
7. I tried to delete all the photos except the ones I wanted to keep in the internal iPhoto Library. I couldn't do it so....
8. I closed iPhoto, went back into Pictures and trashed the internal iPhoto Library again.
9. Reopened iPhoto and it needed a library to open with and I think I clicked
iPhoto Library (default)
10. When I opened iPhoto this time, it was the "get started with iPhoto" but the original photo albums and labels listed but all empty.
That's what I remember so far.
Hope you can help.
Medusa59

It appears you created a new library. Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and select "Choose Library".
Navigate to the library on the external hard drive and select it. Once you're satisfied that it's the one you want you can delete that folder from your desktop.
OT

I just backed up my photos by copying my iPhoto Library onto an external drive. Now the Library on my MacBook won't open. I can only open the photos if the external is plugged in. How can I resolve this issue?

I just backed up my photos by copying my iPhoto Library onto an external drive. Now the Library on my MacBook won't open. I can only open the photos if the external is plugged in. How can I resolve this issue?

Exactly what did you do?
The correct steps are
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
My guess is that that you have not switched iphoto to use the external drive yet - opttion launch and select libary
LN

Moving entire catalog to bigger external drive

...or any different drive external or internal...
A friend just had major problems moving his v3 files. He had one top folder for all Lightroom. He keeps his catalog and photos on an external and now needs to increase the capacity of the external. So he copied them over in Windows with the entire Lightroom folder remaining intact, and reassigned the old drive letter to the new external hard drive, so the path to all photos is preserved.
However, everyhting shows up Missing. "Find this folder" doesn't work. You navigate to the new location but it's not clear what exactly you "do" to relink. Clicking the name of the lost folder in the resulting dialog box (new-but-named-the-same-as-old-drive) didn't cange anthong back at the Library display of that folder..
I know I -- myself -- will be moving to a new internal drive from the one currently storing my photos in the near future. So his problem is relavant to the hassle i can expect.
What step was missing?
jonathan7007

A better way would have been:
Move the entire folder (you call it the Lightroom folder) with all sub-folders and all images to the new external drive. Do this move in your OS (Win Explorer / Mac Finder).
Do not change any folder names or the folder structure at this point. Do not assign a different drive letter at this point.
Open Lr, right-click the folder (i.e. the Lightroom folder) and select <Find Missing Folder>. Navigate to the folder on the new drive and select it.
You wrote: "You navigate to the new location but it's not clear what exactly you "do" to re-link. Clicking the name of the lost folder in the resulting dialog box (new-but-named-the-same-as-old-drive) didn't change anything back at the Library display of that folder.."
This should work - normally. I suspect that something went wrong when your friend assigned the old drive letter to the new external hard drive.
Check in Control Panel >System and Security >Administrative Tools >Computer Management >Disk Management what the actual situation regarding the drive letters is.

Exporting Aperture photos to an external HD while keeping existing folder structure

Hi,
I have over 300gb of photos on my MBP. I need to export the photos onto an external Hard Drive and keep the existing folder structure. How can this be done?
My source for the Aperture library is iPhoto. I know that I can 'show package contents' from right clicking the iPhoto library, but this only displays the masters. I need the versions as I have done many edits on the majority of photos. I am fine with having the photos separated out by date - renaming the folder isn't a problem. I just don't want to have to sort through ALL of my photos and place them into different folders.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks!

Thanks for the information everyone! I apologize if I'm not being clear.
Here are a few call outs:
1. I have my aperture library and iPhoto synced (the source of all my photos is iPhoto. I exclusively use Aperture for photo editing however).
2. I am actually using a work computer and I am leaving the company. Therefore I need to give the computer back. I will be 'uninstalling' Aperture and eventually erasing all the photos.
3. I don't know what my next photo editing computer will be at this point as I have not purchased one.
4. Since I don't know my next computer, I would like to have all of my existing "Folders" and "Projects" (as Aperture defines them) on an external drive so I can pick and pull the ones I would like to view / edit.
5. On my next computer, I would not like to import my exact settings / folder structure from Aperture. I will be starting fresh. With that said, I would prefer to have all my existing "Folders" and "Projects" in one giant folder called "Pictures" on my external HD.
Example folder structure on my External HD:
Folder 1: Pictures
Folder 1a: Aperture "Folder" 1
Folder 1ai: Aperture "Project" 1
Folder 1aii: Aperture "Project" 2
Folder 1b: Aperture "Folder" 2
Folder 1bi: Aperture "Project" 1
Folder 1bii: Aperture "Project" 2
I have roughly 90 "Projects" inside about 5 "Folders". Of course I can create a folder on my external HD, select all the pictures, and click export for every single one of my "Projects", but I would prefer not do to that as it is incredibly time consuming. I am looking for an automated way of copying all my photos to an external drive while maintaining my existing folder / projects hierarchy into what 'finder' defines as 'folders'.
Although I would like to keep my 'masters' and 'versions', my original thought was to just export the versions. So actually, I guess just 'moving' the entire library would work. But since I don't know what computer I will work on and I may be on a temporary computer (install Aperture and manually select photos to import and work on), I wanted to have them be in a folder structure for easy importing and viewing if I wanted to on any mac.
My existing structure in Aperture are Folders --> Projects.
In order to copy my entire library, I have gone into (from finder) "Hard Drive" > Users > Wingmandan > Pictures > iPhoto Library. I have taken that icon and dragged into my external HD. It was 300 gb, and took about 8 horus to complete.
Desired end result
-Be able to quickly reference/view the versions of my pictures on any mac through my external HD (Versions)
-Be able to choose what photos to import based upon my existing 'folders' and 'projects' into my next computer (Versions and Masters)
-Have a full backup of my Aperture Library
I hope this makes more sense and I'm a bit more clear. Again, thanks again for your help. I need to return the laptop by the end of the week.

Moving select photos to an external?

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