Relocate Aperture

I currently have 125 gigs in Aperture and need to free up hard disk space. I've created a vault on a remote hard drive and when I point Aperture to the vault there's nothing in the vault. What shows is the original location on the MacBook Pro which I need to remove. Help, it's urgent, I've done the very thing I caution all my friends not to do . . . max out the hard drive.

The only thing you be aware of is the location of the original files.
Aperture can store the original files in the library (this is the default condition, called managed) or external to the library (this is referred to as referenced).
If the originals are managed (in the library) then moving the library will move the originals as well (because they are in the library) however if the originals are referenced (stored outside the library) then moving the library will NOT move the originals. That would have to be done as a separate step.
As I said the default condition is managed so as long as you didn;t change this setting in the import window then you don;t need to worry about it. Just something to keep in mind.
regards

Similar Messages

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?

Aperture 3 Crashed; Can't relocate Masters despite time machine backup

I recently had a major crash of my OS system 10.6.8. Not sure what happened, but essentially had to rebuild the directory with Diskwarrior. When I tried to open Aperture 3, I received an error message and the inability to open Aperture. After searching through the forums and the internet I essentially reinstalled Aperture 3 with the trial version and updated it to the most recent version. My plugins (Nik Software) are no longer in Aperture as I thought this might have been part of the problem. Nonetheless, I am missing a good deal of my projects from 2011. I get the YELLOW TRIANGLE and the message that the master is not there. So, I have rebuilt the database library (using command-option) and now Aperture is reporting that the images in those projects never existed. NOW, I have fortunately been using time machine to backup regularly. However, when I go back to a recent backup and restore of the Aperture library, those projects are still missing!
I am going insane thinking about this pictures and the missing data. Shouldn't Time Machine saved the all the files prior to the crash? Is there some place/other locations that I should be RESTORING besides the Aperture Library?
I look forward to hearing from you guys and everyone's suggestions, because I am driving myself crazy!

thanks for the reply Frank:
Masters. I do not know. I left it as the default. I assume that means managed?
Error message was the LONG error code with the jist of it being related to what sounds like a PLUGIN error. I don't have the EXACT coding right now as I am not home. I've googled the code +/- other stuff on it and according to discussions here and elsewhere (albeit all archived), it looks like it was related to my plugins.
as far as the restore is concerned, I am POSITIVE that the restored library was the NEW library not the original. But keep in mind, Time Machine only lets me restore the backup to the exact place where the file was before. I am just worried that somehow Time Machine backup hosed my Aperture library somewhere along the way. This is why I was wondering if there is something else I need to restore with my time machine backup besides the library file/database itself?
Thanks for the quick reply.

How do I move from one external drive to another, without the "Relocate Masters" command?

I have my masters referenced on an external hard drive, and I've been mirroring that drive with another so that I have a backup (the volume names were ApertureLib1 for the primary drive and Photo7 for the backup). I've filled that drive, so it will no longer be my primary master drive (i.e. all new masters going forward are going on a new, separate drive). I want to keep one of the two drives online and put the other away as an offsite backup.
The catch is that the primary drive (ApertureLib1) does not place nicely with my Lexar Firewire 400 CF reader; when I insert or eject a card, it has a habit of disconnecting itself. The backup drive (Photo7) does not exhibit this issue. So I decided that I'd just rename Photo7 to ApertureLib1 and be on my way; the folder containing all the masters (PhotoLib) is mirrored by using Arrsync (an rsync GUI), so all the files should be there.
Great theory, except that Aperture does not recognize the renamed Photo7 drive as ApertureLib1, despite the system seeing it as such (both in the Finder sidebar and showing up in /Volumes as "ApertureLib1"). The "locate referenced masters" dialog shows ApertureLib1 as 'offline' and does not give me any opportunity to point to the second drive as the master location.
I assume that Aperture is somehow tracking a separate unique identifier for the drive. Does anyone know what this might be and how I might convince it to treat the was-a-backup drive as being the One, True Location for this set of masters?
Many thanks.
(and I really don't want to use "relocate masters" because I'd first need to delete the exsiting copy on the second drive and then move over all of the images from the first drive, before copying them back to have a backup)

Hi Kevin,
I understand what you tried to do but it doesn't work that way. Swapping drive names will just mess things up.
You should be able to reconnect the files though: in the Locate Referenced Files dialog make sure you click the Show Reconnect Options button — this will give you access to all the connected drives. Locate one of the files and hit Reconnect All. Should do the trick.
Best

How to delete masters from within Aperture

Hi all,
I have searched the discussion forums for this one, with no luck.
What I want to do is import say 500 images from a shoot, and review them in Aperture. I will delete 200-300 of them. I'd like to look at them in Aperture, and if I don't like the image, delete it. But I want to delete the underlying image file in the filesystem as well.
I have tried File | Delete Original Image and All Versions followed by emptying the Aperture trash and then emptying the system trash. Does not work.
I am on Aperture 3.5.1 and OSX 10.9.2.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Brian

It's a common mistake If you set the import pane to copy the originals into the library (which is the Aperture default) then you wind up with two copies of the original and deleting it from Aperture doesn't delete the original original
As a suggestion start off with managed originals, there is less to deal with while you get use to the rest of Aperture. You can always turn the managed originals into referenced originals down the road by using the Aperture command File->Relocate Originals.
regards

Aperture import is not working

I just installed Lr 5.0 and upgraded to 5.7. I'm trying to import my Aperture library, but Lr does not recognize any photos that I have on my laptop. Using a MacBook Pro. I have no idea what to do. I'm so new to this, I don't even know what questions to ask. I just need help!

When you say it "doesn't recognize any photos", what do you mean?
I'll try to guess. You probably cannot import because you're not using the Aperture plugin. It could be you only have PNG files, or some other compatible format, but that's unlikely.
If you're importing your Aperture Library, you'll need to go to "File" "Plugins", "Import from Aperture", or something to that effect. You find your Aperture library, and it begins the import process.
Depending on what you're trying to do, this could be a simple process, or one that requires pre-work and post-work on your part. This guide is helpful:
http://www.lightroomqueen.com/ready-move-aperture-iphoto/
Lightroom does not make file organization easy, and it does not mask file organization like Aperture. You may want to look for other threads I've posted on how to relocate your masters in Aperture before importing to Lightroom.
Finally, most of the metadata will make it across. Your masters should make it across. Aperture image adjustments will not. Lightroom supposedly copies "Aperture Previews", which is the image created by your adjustments. But I've found it only copies about 1/3 of them. The import process is one way, so you want to make sure you get it right the last time.
Highly recommend exporting a test Aperture library or using a small one to test with first. I've run 15 tests so far and am still not happy with the results, given a few remaining bugs. YMMV.

New to Aperture - Library vs Reference files

I'm coming to Aperture from Picasa, which replicated and managed my folder structure as it appeared on my hard-disc, which was nice.
Am I better off importing images into my Aperture Library, or managing the folder structure how I want and just having Aperture work with the reference files?
I'm not a pro-photographer, just a pretty basic user, so will not have loads of large raw image files. What's the benefit of using the Library over using Reference files? I've tried Google-ing but everything I've found just addresses folder/project management within Aperture.
If I use the reference option, can Aperture manage my photos on my hard-drive in the same way Picasa could (ie if I moved a photo from one folder to another in Picasa, it also moved on my drive)
Thanks

Hi TxH,
Welcome to the user-supported Aperture discussion group.
I'm coming to Aperture from Picasa, which replicated and managed my folder structure as it appeared on my hard-disc, which was nice.
If you use Aperture for even a little while, you'll realize that the structure of your photos in your hard drive is not as important as how you organize them in Aperture, especially when you start making albums, which merely contain a pointer to the image in your library. You can have a picture in many albums, but your library (and therefore hard drive) only contains it once.
Am I better off importing images into my Aperture Library, or managing the folder structure how I want and just having Aperture work with the reference files?
That's a matter of opinion. Some people are very opinionated that using referenced files is the only way to go, some are opinionated the other way. Sometimes there really is a better solution for you depending on what you are doing.
What's the benefit of using the Library over using Reference files? I
You will find loads of conversation if you search this discussion group for "managed" and "referenced".
You will always have a library. Your managed pictures will live in the library and you won't have direct access to them through Finder (and you should not want direct access to them for the most part). Your referenced pictures live wherever you tell Aperture to take them from, but the bookkeeping parts of the Aperture library/database are still stored in the Aperture library package.
Benefits of managed include: you don't worry about where the files are; Aperture backs them up if you use its vaults; they are always with you.
Benefits of referenced include: you know exactly where the files are; your Aperture library is significantly smaller than if all your photos were in the library; you can find them with Finder if that's important to you (and a lot of people think it's important to them but then realize they only think that because they're really not using Aperture to its full potential).
If I use the reference option, can Aperture manage my photos on my hard-drive in the same way Picasa could (ie if I moved a photo from one folder to another in Picasa, it also moved on my drive)
Yes. I've never used Picasa, but Aperture allows you to "relocate" your photos in order to manage their external directory structure. You can also choose to "relocate" a managed master to make it referenced.
nathan

I've moved my Aperture library to another computer, and masters are referencing an old path name. How can I update these references? Reloctating masters does not work in this case :(

I've moved my Aperture library from one computer to another using Finder.
I merged the library with one which was already on the computer.
Now, the photos I imported have reference to the old path name on my old computer.
How can I update these references as "Relocate Masters" does not work in this case?

Just one suggestion to be able to reconnect all at once:
Create a smart album containing the images with missing masters:
File -> New -> Smart Album, and add a rule: File Status is "Missing" (or File Status is "offline")
Then select the images in this album and go to the File menu:
and select: File -> Locate referenced File
If you are lucky, Aperture will reconnect all at once, if you point the first image version to its counterpart.

How do I move a referenced Aperture project from a laptop to desktop?

I utilize Aperture by reference rather than managed.
I have a project on my laptop that I want to tranfer including all versions, crops and rated images onto my desktop as a referenced project.
If I export Project as a New Library on my laptop and import as library on my desktop, everything comes over BUT it is now a managed library with no corresponding folder in Pictures.
If I simply copy the referenced folder to the desktop and Import Folders as Projects, the only versions that transfer as cropped and processed are those images processed by an external editor (ie Nik) but nothing else.
SO, I'm going crazy thinking either Apple just doesn't really want me using a referenced library (thinking someday I will easily jump ship to Lightroom which I am now seriously considering) OR I am missing something in the process.
Can anyone assist with this somewhat technical issue?
Thanks!

Thanks Frank.
"Once there start Aperture and relocate the originals turning them back into referenced files"
How specifically do I do this?
Chris

How can I slim down the aperture library?

Hi,
My aperture library grew a lot. Is there any way to slimmed it down, without erasing content? I am talking about recreating previews with less quality or smaller size, deleting old thumbnails (I read that even if you delete a picture from the library, Aperture won't delete the thumbnail).
Does anybody knows any tricks about how to do that?
Thank you very much for your answers!
Gus

Easy. Switch to Referenced-Masters Library with Masters on external drives.
More complete explanation:
First make a Vault to an external drive as backup.
Then from within Aperture:
File Menu--> Relocate Masters. Choose external hard drive(s) and direct Aperture to move the Masters to those drives. Give it plenty of time depending on how many Masters are being moved. The Library remains on an internal drive, only the Masters get moved.
Next back up the drive that the Masters were relocated to, because now you have a Referenced Masters Library so Masters are backed up (once) separately from the Library Vault backups.
In the future back up originals (once) on external drives prior to import into Aperture or any other images app. I cannot overstate how important that is, and various manuals, texts, etc. present workflows that skip that critical step. Also back up the Aperture Library using Aperture's Vaults, which are designed for that purpose.
A complete Referenced-Masters workflow follows. Note that for image security reasons Aperture is not involved until the end of the process:
• Create a folder ("abc") for the incoming images. Easiest is to create the folder on the external hard drive where the Masters will permanently live, but Referenced Masters can be temporarily on the laptop's internal drive, then moved later as described above. I initially put Masters referenced on my MBP internal drive, then after backup and editing I use File Menu--> Relocate Masters to move the Masters to a permanent external drive location.
• Connect a card reader with the camera card in it. The camera card should show on the desktop. If it does not show, restart the Mac with the reader and card still plugged in. You can of course use the camera directly in this step, but I do not recommend it. Obviously cameras like the iPad2 do require direct camera-to-computer uploading.
• Drag the contents of the card's image folder(s) to the abc folder that you previously created on the hard drive.
• Review the abc folder contents to be sure they all copied properly.
• Software-eject the camera card.
• Physically disconnect the camera card reader from the Mac. This step is important to help avoid all-too-common human error.
• Again review the abc folder contents to be sure they are indeed all there (because stuff happens sometimes...).
• Back up the abc folder contents on to another drive.
• Review the files on the backup to be sure they all copied properly.
• At any time after but not before the previous step you can reformat the camera card in-camera. Do not delete images on the card using the computer.
• Start Aperture.
• Import the images from folder abc into Aperture, selecting "Store Files: In their current location" on the right-hand side of the import window (important!). Note that the Library remains on an internal drive, only the Masters are on externals.
HTH
-Allen Wicks

If I move a picture from one project to another in aperture why doesn't the jpeg change folders if all my pictures are referenced?

I started importing all my pictures into Aperture and have been debating whether to use a managed or referenced library. I'm leaning toward referenced, but before import everything that way, I do a couple of "test drives".
In Aperture, I moved a photo from one project to another expecting that the jpeg in finder would move from the original folder to the new one, but it didn't. Anyone know why? Is there a way to make this happen? Is it bad that I want this to happen? Should I just use a managed library. I like having control of the actual files (thus wanting to go with a referenced library).
Any thoughts?
Mark

In Aperture, I moved a photo from one project to another expecting that the jpeg in finder would move from the original folder to the new one, but it didn't.
Mark, Aperture does not store the originals organized by project, but by the date of the Import Session. So moving an image to a different project will not change, were the original file is stored.
This has a big advantage for backing up the originals. If they never move or change, you do not have to backup the originals other than directly after importing, if your library is referenced. And even incremental backups of a managed library are quicker.
Is there a way to make this happen?
You can always use the command "File > Relocate" to move the original files anywhere you want.
Is it bad that I want this to happen? Should I just use a managed library. I like having control of the actual files (thus wanting to go with a referenced library).
If it is bad, will depend on why you want to have control of your originals. If you just want to know where they are, it is o.k., or if you don't have enough space on the drive with the library and need to split the library across several drives. But it would be bad to move, edit, or access the referenced originals in any way. Let Aperture do the handling, or you will be risking broken references.
Aperture has several buil-in ways to show you the original: The "M" key will switch the Browser to the original, "File > Export > Original" will give you an exact copy of the original, or you can relocate the file to another folder. I simply open the aperture Library in iPhoto, when I want to view my managed originals. iPhoto has a command "File > Reveal in Finder > Original" that will show you also the managed originals in the "Masters" folder inside the Aperture/iPhoto Library package.
You may want to have a look at Terence Devlin's User Tip: How do I access my Photos in Aperture?
Regards
Léonie

Can I use multiple iPhoto libraries with Aperture?

I've been using iPhoto to manage my photos (successfully) for many years. I have multiple themed iPhoto libraries with many thousands of photos in them (ten years' worth of digital plus another fifty years scanned). I am thinking of downloading Aperture and giving it a try (thanks to an App Store gift card).
Can I use Aperture to edit photos within these iPhoto libraries? Do the libraries become "common" to both applications, or does duplication occur? I have limited hard drive space and don't want to create large duplicate files on my iMac.
Thanks.

luba petrusha wrote:
I have some 50-100 libraries (haven't counted recently) which occupy most of my hard drive. I find it easiest to manage my photos with themed libraries (annual, trip, subject).
You could make each of your "themed Libraries" a Folder in Aperture, with all your current Projects and Albums intact. In this way, you could search across all of your Image at once (e.g.: a Smart Album showing all Images in which you've identified a Face as "Mom"; or filter for the keyword "Sunset"). In general, the more Images in a Library, the more useful that Library is. I strongly recommend one Library for each photographer (or group of photographers working as a business). Aperture has no trouble handling enormous Libraries (officially, it supports up to 1,000,000 Images, iirc).
A more advanced Library organization would replace each "themed" Folder+Projects with Albums. There is no reason to limit your "themes" to the Images in just the Projects contained in a Folder.
My general recommendation has always been to put all your Projects in one Folder (with sub-Folders as needed); and to put all your Albums in another top-level Folder. In this way you build two structures: a _storage_ structure, in which you put all your Projects, where each Project = one shoot, and an _access_ structure, where you have Albums organized by Folders into whatever groupings you need.
The newest version of Aperture (3.3.1) leans in this direction. For the first time there is a default division between Project storage and Album storage (one the Library tab of the Inspector, there are now two built-in top-level containers, one for Projects and one for Albums).
A separate issue is where on your system your Library and your Originals are stored. Aperture allows you to move your Originals to storage on external drives or other non-system drives. The limitation of the storage available on the system drive is something that all active photographers encounter at some point. (In Aperture-speak, you would convert Image's Originals from Managed to Referenced using "File➞Relocate Originals". This isn't something I'd look into right away, but rather after you become familiar with the Aperture interface.

How do I transfer an existing Aperture library to a new external hard drive

I have a new external hard drive where I want to store my pictures to free up room on my iMac
How do I take an existing Aperture library and move it to the external hard drive so that Aperature can find and use it? Once it is moved can I delete the library from my iMac without causing problems with my new hard drive library?
thanks

Hello Barty,
is your library referenced or managed?
If your Aperture Library is managed, then you can simply copy it to your new external drive using the Finder. Make a backup of your old library and convince yourself that the backup is working.
If your library is referenced, then use Aperture to relocate your master image files to the external drive (select all images, then File -> Relocate Master), then copy your Library to the external drive using the Finder.
To point Aperture to the new library location, double click the new Aperture Library to open Aperture with it. Test it thoroughly, before you delete the original library.
You might consider only to relocate the master images to your external drive and to leave the then much smaller Aperure Library on your system drive. That way Aperture will work faster, and you will be able to browse and share your images, even when our external drive is not connected.
Regards
Léonie

How can I transfer all my photos from mb aperture file to a external hdd?

The problem is it is taking too much of my internal memory therefore I want to transfer all my photos from mb to external. can somebody help me???

More complete explanation:
First make a Vault to an external drive as backup.
Then from within Aperture:
File Menu--> Relocate Masters.
Next back up the drive that the Masters were relocated to, because now you have a Referenced Masters Library so Masters are backed up (once) separately from the Library Vault backups.
In the future back up originals (once) on external drives prior to import into Aperture or any other images app. I cannot overstate how important that is, and various manuals, texts, etc. present workflows that skip that critical step. Also back up the Aperture Library using Aperture's Vaults, which are designed for that purpose.
A complete Referenced-Masters workflow follows. Note that for image security reasons Aperture is not involved until the end of the process:
• Create a folder ("abc") for the incoming images. Easiest is to create the folder on the external hard drive where the Masters will permanently live, but Referenced Masters can be temporarily on the laptop's internal drive, then moved later as described above. I initially put Masters referenced on my MBP internal drive, then after backup and editing I use File Menu--> Relocate Masters to move the Masters to a permanent external drive location.
• Connect a card reader with the camera card in it. The camera card should show on the desktop. If it does not show, restart the Mac with the reader and card still plugged in. You can of course use the camera directly in this step, but I do not recommend it. Obviously cameras like the iPad2 do require direct camera-to-computer uploading.
• Drag the contents of the card's image folder(s) to the abc folder that you previously created on the hard drive.
• Review the abc folder contents to be sure they all copied properly.
• Software-eject the camera card.
• Physically disconnect the camera card reader from the Mac. This step is important to help avoid all-too-common human error.
• Again review the abc folder contents to be sure they are indeed all there (because stuff happens sometimes...).
• Back up the abc folder contents on to another drive.
• Review the files on the backup to be sure they all copied properly.
• At any time after but not before the previous step you can reformat the camera card in-camera. Do not delete images on the card using the computer.
• Start Aperture.
• Import the images from folder abc into Aperture, selecting "Store Files: In their current location" on the right-hand side of the import window (important!).
HTH
-Allen Wicks

Masters in new hard drive... and Aperture can't locate them!

Hello guys,
this is my first message here... I'm from Rome, I'm a photographer and I am - obvioulsy - a Mac enthusiast user!
I use Aperture for a year, this is a great app for my workflow but now I have a "little big" problem.
Today, I've bought a new external hard drive where I've moved the Aperture Library and all my photo archive (referenced files). Now Aperture opens the library from the new location, it shows all previews but can't locate any master because it looks for them in the old path.
I'm trying to set up the new one with "Relocate Masters for Projects..." and "Manage Referenced Files..." commands but I had no success.
Please, could you help me?
What is the right procedure to solve this problem?
I'm going mad...
Thank you in advance!
Alex

I found today that you only really need to "re-refrence" one image...so the post above is correct. You just need to have all of the images you want to reconnect when you go to the "manage referenced files" box.
Assuming that all of them are on the same volume, and relatively in the same location, this should work.
1) Select all of your images...say all of the 2007 images.
2) Right click on one that is showing the offline volume.
3) Select "Managed referenced files..."
4) Find the 1 file in the browser that needs refrencencing, and it should light up the "Reconnect All" button.
5) Click "Reconnect All"
...it'll take a while (depending on # of images, but it should work.
Message was edited by: SuperToph

Relocate Aperture

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for