I've had a multi-Mac household pretty much since college, rocking a laptop and desktop in addition to miscellaneous iOS devices throughout the years. Dropbox and iCloud sync made most of the pains of using several Macs disappear, but iPhoto was always a problem. My laptop is tiny! My iPhoto library, not so much.
Transfer iphoto library to new mac. Thankfully, Photos for Mac — paired with iCloud Photo Library's Optimize Storage feature — makes working with and syncing multiple Macs a breeze. Here's how you can do it.
How to use Photos and iCloud Photo Library with multiple Macs
Here's a quick, simple breakdown on setting up your Macs to support Photos and iCloud Photo Library.
I recommend starting with your biggest iPhoto library; it'll usually be on your desktop Mac. When you open Photos for the first time, your library should import automatically; if it prompts you to create a new library, your Photos library may be stored in another location on your Mac, and you may need to manually open it.
Feb 23, 2017 Where Photos Files Are Stored on Mac Feb 23, 2017 - 50 Comments The Photos app in Mac OS aims to manage all images found within the application, including pictures copied from an iPhone or memory card into the Photos app and those imported into the app as well. Jan 12, 2020 You can access the hidden Library folder without using Terminal, which has the side effect of revealing every hidden file on your Mac. This method will only make the Library folder visible, and only for as long as you keep the Finder window for the Library folder open. How to move from Photos to Photoshop Elements Apple’s Photos app provides quick and easy tools for organising your photo library, as well as some simple editing tools that you can use to correct.
Once you've imported your biggest library on your Mac, make sure iCloud Photo Library is turned on and syncing. You can do this by following these steps:
- Launch Photos on your Mac.
- Click Photos in the menu bar.
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Select Preferences (or do this quicker by pressing ⌘,).Source: iMore
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Does time machine make backups of mac photos library. Click on the iCloud tab.Source: iMore
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Check off the box for iCloud Photos.
- You can also check off the box for Download Originals to this Mac if you have the space.
- You can check off Optimize Mac Storage to save space on your Mac by only saving a percentage of images and video locally — the rest will be thumbnails that you can click on to download when you want to.
Source: iMore Cs50 manual.
Mac Photos Library Location
Now, open your other Mac, and launch Photos. If you have an iPhoto library on that secondary Mac, follow the same steps as above — import your library, then turn on iCloud Photo Library. If you have duplicates of the same photo on each computer, iCloud should automatically resolve those conflicts when it syncs, providing you with just one version of your photos when the sync process finishes.
If you don't have an iPhoto library on your secondary Mac, create a new library in Photos and turn on iCloud Photo Library. If you want to save storage space on this secondary Mac, make sure Optimize Mac Storage is selected: This will save a certain percentage of images and video locally to your device, while providing thumbnails of all the others for you to download at your leisure.
After you've set up all your Macs with Photos and the sync process has finished, you're now good to go. From here on out, any time you add photos, they'll sync to every computer you've set up with Photos.
What syncs, what doesn't sync
- At home I use iPhoto on a 4 year old Mac Mini (with 3GB of RAM) to store my photos. My library was 50GB, and was terribly slow to open or do anything. I split the library (into 1 library per year) using iPhoto Library Manager, USD20, and it really speeded things up.
- Mar 18, 2020 Quit Photos. In the Finder, go to the external drive where you want to store your library. In another Finder window, find your library. The default location is Users username Pictures, and it's named Photos Library. Drag your library to its new location on the external drive.
Photos for Mac syncs a lot more than just your original photos and videos. According to a support document on Apple.com, here's what else you should expect to see sync:
- All folders and albums
- Smart Albums
- Keywords
- Memories
- Searchable keywords
- Key photo selections
There are a few things iCloud Photo Library won't sync, however. Here's Apple's list:
- Books, cards, calendars, and slideshows
- Keyword shortcuts
- Unused keywords
- Last imported album on the Mac in question
- Names and faces in the People album
For those not using iCloud Photo Library
If you've chosen not to enable iCloud Photo Library, Apple still offers you free syncing of your last 1000 photos via My Photo Stream, which doesn't count toward your iCloud disk space.
This will sync and download images you've imported or taken on other devices, but you won't have the option to optimize your storage or sync your albums.
Gmp library mac. Octoober 2019: Updated for macOS Catalina.
Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this guide.
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Split Photos Library Mac
The ultimate toolbox for Photos on your Mac
PowerPhotos works with the built-in Photos app on your Mac, providing an array of tools to help you get your photo collection in order.
Create and manage multiple libraries
Instead of being limited to putting all your photos in a single library, PowerPhotos can work with multiple Photos libraries, giving you many more options for how to organize your ever growing photo collection.
Splitting your photos between multiple libraries helps Photos open more quickly, lets you archive older photos, store some of your collection on an external hard drive, and reduce storage space used by iCloud Photo Library.
Copy photos and their metadata
You can split your library by copying albums and photos with a simple drag and drop. PowerPhotos will take care of copying the photos and retaining their metadata, including keywords, descriptions, titles, dates, and favorite status. Read more about what PowerPhotos can copy.
Merge Photos libraries
Got a whole bunch of libraries you want to consolidate into one? PowerPhotos lets you merge your libraries together while weeding out duplicate photos in the process. You will be shown a preview of what your merged library will look like before any modifications are done, to ensure your merged library looks how you want.
Find duplicate photos
It's easy to have multiple copies of the same photo creep into your photo collection over time. Use PowerPhotos to find duplicate photos in one or more libraries, view them side by side, and separate them into albums where you can easily delete them from your library.
Browse and search
Use PowerPhotos' image browser to quickly view your photos without having to open Photos itself. View detailed photo information using List View, and search for photos across all your libraries at once.
Migrate your iPhoto/Aperture libraries
If you have a lot of existing iPhoto or Aperture libraries that you want to migrate over to Photos, PowerPhotos will help automate your migrations so you don't have to spend time babysitting this lengthy process.
Links and reviews
'PowerPhotos is an extremely useful addition as an enhancement for any Photos user trying to perform tasksthat fall outside of Photos restricted purview.' – Macworld
'PowerPhotos may lack the punch of its predecessor, [iPhoto Library Manager], but it’s indispensable for those making the transition to Photos.' – Mac|Life
Video tutorial: Remove duplicate photos in Photos for Mac – PC Classes Online
'PowerPhotos was just what I needed… Two features make it a must-have: merging multiple Photos libraries into one, and finding duplicate photos' – Bob Levitus, Houston Chronicle
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