Saving Photos library on external drive?

I have been storing my iPhoto library on an external drive and opening iPhoto from that drive. How can I do the same thing for the new Photos app? I have so many pictures and I don't want to use up storage space on my computer or pay for tons of storage in iCloud.
Is there a way to import my iPhoto library into Photos on my computer (which already has some photos in it) and then move the entire new library to the external drive?

Is there a way to import my iPhoto library into Photos on my computer (which already has some photos in it) and then move the entire new library to the external drive?
You cannot merge Photos libraries. Importing an additional library into your current library is not supported in Photos. You can only migrate the iPhoto library as a second library and then switch between the libraries.
If you open an iPhoto Library in Photos, the Photos.app will create a migrated Photos library on the same drive where the original library is. So, before you open any iPhoto Library in Photos, make sure, it is on the drive, where you want the migrated library to be. To open any library in Photos you can drag the library onto the Photos icon.

Similar Messages

  • 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

  • Want to move photo library to external drive

    I want to move the '08 iphoto library to an external drive, as I am running out of space on the iMac. However I have numerous picture folders (2007, 2006, etc) within my 'pictures' folder in addition to the iphoto library. The photos from these folders all appear in iphoto.
    My question: Do I have to copy/move these folders as well as the iphoto library?
    Thanks for the help.

    Dimitri
    Welcome to the Apple user to user assistance forums
    No - iPhoto is only concerned with the iPhoto library - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library as a single entity to the external drive - launch iPhoto while depressing the option (alt) key an use the select library option to point to the new library location.
    LN

  • Move photo library to external drive

    I would like to move my Photo library from my internal HD to an external HD.  Does anyone know the correct way to do this without losing any data?Is this done by an export of all photos (which I tried but it hung up for two days with no progress after making it mostly through).  Will dragging and dropping the Photo Library work (I am scared to try this.)  Thanks!

    Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    1. Quit Photos
    2. Copy the Photos Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching Photos. 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.
    Regards
    TD

  • Couldn't start Photos app with a photo library in external hard drive

    "Photos was unable to make a copy of your library before preparing it. Photos does not have the necessary permissions..."
    The pop-up menu allow me to read some solution in this site (If Photos can’t copy or create a library - Apple Support), but it only contains with default location in the picture folder. I've been using my photo library in external driver which I made as one for timemachine, and the terminal solution didn't work for me('couldn't find location' after entering passwords). Please help.

    "Photos was unable to make a copy of your library before preparing it. Photos does not have the necessary permissions..."
    The pop-up menu allow me to read some solution in this site (If Photos can’t copy or create a library - Apple Support), but it only contains with default location in the picture folder. I've been using my photo library in external driver which I made as one for timemachine, and the terminal solution didn't work for me('couldn't find location' after entering passwords). Please help.

  • Can photo library be saved direct to an external drive?

    can the iphoto library be saved directly to an external drive?

    Not "saved" - Moved
    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
    LN

  • How can I create an iPhoto Library from photos on an external drive?

    Here's my issue:
    I have a MacBook Pro running OS X Mavericks, and I am just about out of hard drive space.
    I also have about 20 GB worth of photos on an external drive. The photos are not organized at all, just got dumped into a folder there during a hasty backup a couple years ago.
    I'd like to use iPhoto to get these photos organized, but don't have the space to import them into the library on my laptop.
    How can I create and manage an iPhoto library with these photos while keeping them on the external drive? They are on a terabyte drive, so I have a feeling I'd like to make that my main library moving forward.

    Check that the drive's formatted as Mac OS Extended, drag the iPhoto library to it, launch iPhoto with the Option key held down, and choose that library.
    (114618)

  • The memory on my MAC is full. It holds 4GB of RAM of which 79GB are photos. I would like to back up my photos to an external drive but just don not know how. I do not wish to use time machine. How do I back up my photo library, then delete the them t

    The memory on my MAC is full. It holds 4GB of RAM of which 79GB are photos. I would like to back up my photos to an external drive but just do not know how. I do not wish to use time machine. How do I back up my photo library, then delete them from my MAC to free up that 79GB? Thank you.

    Hi
    Just to clarify a couple of points in your post.
    RAM (memory) is different from hard drive space. You have 4GB of RAM, but that has no bearing on the amount of drive space you have, of which we know that 79GB are photos.
    If those photos are in iPhoto, you should be able to move the entire iPhoto Library, from the Pictures folder, to your external hard drive. You can just drag and drop. Do not have iPhoto open while you're doing this. Once it's done, you can double-click on the moved iPhoto Library file to associate it with iPhoto, so that the app remembers where the library is for next time.
    One more thing. When you move a file to a different location, and then delete the original, you don't have a backup. You still only have one copy. So if that external drive dies, you will lose all your photos. Time Machine is a very good way to prevent this from happening. You should dedicate a different drive for Time Machine backups.
    Matt

  • Can't read iPhoto library from external drive

    I suddenly can't can't read iPhoto library from external drive. I have talked to WD and nohing is wrong with the network drive. I can open images and files from it. But, I can't read in iPhoto Library.

    Network Drive? a NAS?
    iPhoto needs to have the Library sitting on disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Users with the Library sitting on disks otherwise formatted regularly report issues including, but not limited to, importing, exporting, saving edits and sharing the photos.
    Basically, you need to move the library to a correctly formatted disk.

  • How Do I Keep My Photos on an external drive?

    I was using an external drive to store my iPhoto Library.  When I clicked it to convert it to the Photo app, I started seeing my laptop's hard drive space slowly ticking down.  I had no option to keep my photos on my external drive, it seemed they where transferring over to my computer.  I don't see where they are saved on my laptops hard drive either?  Any recommendations how I can convert my library without bogging down my laptop?
    (I won't save them on the Cloud because I have a TON of photos and it will fill that up too)

    My iPhoto library was on an external drive.  I just dragged and dropped that library onto Photos and Photos then made its own library on the same external drive.  Photos does not convert your iPhoto library but makes a whole new library with all your photos.  You end up with both libraries and, if drive space is an issue, you may need to trash and empty trash the old iPhoto library.

  • 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

  • Moved Library to external drive and can't get my library!

    Someone please help me! I have moved all my photos to an external drive but do not understand how I can get iPhoto to automatically recognize this and grab my photos into the library on startup. I did the same thing in iTunes and had no issues!
    I'm sure its an easy fix....I just have no clue how to do it. Any help would be appreciated.

    Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
    Quit iPhoto. Hold down the Option key as you launch iPhoto. A dialog box will ask you to Choose or Create a library. Select Choose, then navigate to the iPhoto Library folder on your external drive. It should open in exactly the same condition as before you moved it.
    Regards.

  • Is it possible to store all photos in an external drive? How do I do it?

    I have too many photos to store in my MacBook. Is it possible to store all photos in an external drive and still use iPhoto (or Aperture) to view them all?

    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.
    Regards
    TD

  • Local preview database with library on external drive

    I'm wondering if iPhoto '09 has made any progress with the handling of photo libraries on external media and drives. With so many large photos it is impossible to store my entire photo archive on my laptop, but I'd like to have access to small preview images, while storing the originals on an external drive. To this date there is no option that I'm aware of to move some photos to the external drive, but still have access to the previews when the external is not connected. Adobe lightroom does this and so do other photo managers. This is really the one thing keeping me from using iPhoto and I think it's a horrible oversight. Has this been fixed or improved in iPhoto 09?

    You're referring to a referenced library and even though it's possible the risks, IMO, greatly outweigh the advantages. Since you have a laptop and want to have at least some of the pictures to take with you on the road I suggest two libraries: a full library to be run off the external HD and a smaller one with the most current or needed photos.
    You can use iPhoto Library Manager to copy Events or Albums between libraries and keep the metadata intact (titles, keywords and descriptions - Faces and Places are not yet supported but should be soon).
    There are some apps that can create a catalog of thumbnails for viewing with the originals not available. QPict is one that can do what you want. More on the professional side isMedia Expression. It can do that as well as much, much more. I use it as my primary DAM (digital asset management) application and iPhoto for creating books, calendars, etc.

  • How do I get photos from backup external drive on to my new hard drive?

    How do I get photos from backup external drive on to my new hard drive on my MacBook

    How did you use this backup drive? Was this a Time Machine backup, or just an external drive to which you copied files?
    I assume your photos were in iPhoto.  If you're just talking a bunch of JPEG files you can just drag them wherever you like, otherwise:
    iPhoto: How to move the Library folder to a new location - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1229

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