Apple Photos Library Mac

Your Photos library holds all your photos, albums, slideshows and print projects. If your library is large, and you want to free up storage space on your Mac, turn on iCloud Library and use Optimise Mac Storage, or move your photo library to an external drive.

• Update Photo Library On Mac
• Move Mac Photo Library To New Mac
• Move Mac Photos Library To New Mac
• Repair Mac Photos Library
• Change Photo Library On Mac

Before you start, make sure that you back up your library.

Jan 05, 2020  If you want your Mac's photos to wirelessly sync to all your other iOS devices and computers, you want to set up iCloud Photo Library: Apple's photo sync service lets you back up your images on all your devices, as well as access them — online or offline — on said devices.If you're willing to pay for the extra iCloud storage space, you can store an incredible amount of photos and videos.

Dec 09, 2017  I made a backup of my iPhoto Library. Now, I want to open my backup iPhoto Library on Microsoft computer. It seems not possible to open the Library on Windows. Also, I don't have any Apple computer anymore. I cannot open the Library. Oct 24, 2019  I am also having this issue on a 2015 iMac recently upgraded to macOS Catalina. My library is stored on the internal storage 'Macintosh HD' and exhibits the same behavior. Opening Photos to a blank window and an alert that reads 'Photos cannot find the System Photo Library named “Photos Library. Apr 22, 2015  How to use multiple photo libraries with Photos for Mac. Photos for Mac lets you work with multiple libraries. Learn how to choose a default library, open another library, and merge multiple. Apr 01, 2020  Follow these steps to designate a System Photo Library: Quit Photos. Hold down the Option key and open Photos. One of the photo libraries is already designated as YourLibraryName (System Photo Library). Choose the library you want to designate as the System Photo Library. After Photos opens the. Jan 13, 2020  Keep your photo library organized On your Mac, your photo collection is separated into four main categories: Years, Months, Days, and All Photos. The All Photos tab shows all your photos and videos in chronological order. In Years, Months, and Days, you'll find your photos and videos grouped together based on the time and place they were taken. A computer of some kind really is essential though as a stopgap between Google Photos and Apple’s Photos apps, even if you’re planning to use nothing but an iPhone and iCloud Photo Library for.

Prepare your drive

You can store your library on an external storage device, such as a USB or Thunderbolt drive formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled).¹ Find out how to check the format of your external storage device.

To prevent data loss, Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.

Move your Photos library to an external storage device

1. Quit Photos.
2. In the Finder, go to the external drive where you want to store your library.
3. In another Finder window, find your library. The default location is Users > [username] > Pictures, and it's named Photos Library.
4. Drag your library to its new location on the external drive. If you see an error, select your external drive's icon in the Finder, then choose File > Get Info. If the information under Sharing & Permissions isn't visible, click , then make sure that the 'Ignore ownership on this volume' checkbox is selected. If it's not selected, click to unlock it, enter an administrator name and password, then select the checkbox.²
   
   
5. After the move is finished, double-click Photos Library in its new location to open it.
6. If you use iCloud Photo Library, designate this library as the System Photo Library.

Delete original library to save space

After you open your library from its new location and make sure that it works as expected, you can delete the library from its original location.

In a Finder window, go back to your Pictures folder (or whichever folder you copied your library from) and move Photos Library to the trash. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash to delete the library and reclaim disc space.

Open another Photos library

If you have multiple libraries, you can open a different one like this:

1. Quit Photos.
2. Press and hold the Option key while you open Photos.
3. Select the library that you want to open, then click Choose Library.

Photos uses this library until you open a different one.

Learn more

If you have a permissions issue with your library, you might be able to resolve the issue by using the Photos library repair tool.

1. You can't move your library to a disc that's used for Time Machine backups.

2. If the volume isn't formatted APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or has been used for Time Machine backups but hasn't been deleted, this checkbox will either not be present or won't be selectable after unlocking. Delete and reformat the drive for this option to be available.

How it works

iCloud Photos automatically keeps every photo and video you take in iCloud, so you can access your library from any device, anytime you want. Any changes you make to your collection on one device change on your other devices too. Your photos and videos are organized into Years, Months, Days, and All Photos.And all of your Memories and People are updated everywhere. That way you can quickly find the moment, family member, or friend you're looking for.

Your collection uploads to iCloud each time your device connects to Wi-Fi and your battery is charged. When you have iOS 11 or later, your library can update over cellular too. Depending on your Internet speed, the time it takes for you to see your photos and videos on all of your devices and iCloud.com might vary.

Before you begin

1. Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest iOS or iPadOS, your Mac to the latest macOS, and your Apple TV to the latest tvOS.
2. Set up iCloud on all of your devices.
3. Make sure that you’re signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID on all of your devices that you want to use with iCloud Photos.
4. If you have a Windows PC, update to Windows 7 or later and download iCloud for Windows.

Turn on iCloud Photos

• On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos, then turn on iCloud Photos.
• On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Apple ID. Click iCloud in the sidebar, then select Photos. If you have an earlier version of macOS, go to System Preferences > iCloud. Click Options next to Photos, then select iCloud Photos.
• On Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, go to Settings > Users and Accounts > iCloud. Then turn on iCloud Photos.
• On your Windows PC, follow these steps.

In earlier versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and iCloud for Windows, iCloud Photos was called iCloud Photo Library.

See your edits on all of your devices

When you make edits in the Photos app on your iOS or iPadOS device or on your Mac, the photo automatically updates across all your devices. So when you crop or enhance a photo from your iPhone, you see the changes when you access your library from your Mac. Your original photos and videos are stored in iCloud and you can go back to them at any time, and revert any changes you made.

The photos and videos that you delete on one device are deleted everywhere that you use iCloud Photos. Photos and videos stay in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days before they're deleted permanently.

You can make edits on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, and you’ll see them on your Apple TV automatically. Your entire collection is available on Apple TV, including your Memories and shared albums.

File types that you can use with iCloud Photos

Your photos and videos are stored in iCloud exactly as you took them. All of your images are held in their original formats at full resolution — HEIF, JPEG, RAW, PNG, GIF, TIFF, HEVC, and MP4 — as well as special formats you capture with your iPhone, like slo-mo, time-lapse, 4K videos, and Live Photos.

Back up your photos and videos

When you turn on iCloud Photos, your photos and videos automatically upload to iCloud. They're not duplicated in your iCloud backup, so you should keep backup copies of your library. You can download your photos and videos from iCloud.com to your computer and store them as a separate library, transfer them to another computer with Image Capture or Photos, or store them on a separate drive.

If you're on a device with iOS 11 or later or macOS High Sierra or later, the photos and videos you take are in HEIF and HEVC format. These formats use less storage, with the same quality.

Download your photos and videos

You can download a copy of your original photos or videos on iCloud.com, iOS, iPadOS, or Mac.

• On iCloud.com, click Photos, then select the photos and videos that you want to download. Click and hold the download button in the upper-right corner of the window. If you want to download your content as it was originally captured or imported, choose Unmodified Original. For JPEG or H.264 format — including edits, and even if it was orginally in HEIF or HEVC format — choose Most Compatible. Click download.
  

• On iOS and iPadOS, you can use AirDrop: in the Photos app, select some photos or videos. Tap the share button , then select the device that you want to share with. Learn more about using AirDrop.

Update Photo Library On Mac

• On Mac, select one or more photos. Drag the content to your desktop, or right-click and select Share > AirDrop.

Make sure that you have enough storage

The photos and videos that you keep in iCloud Photos use your iCloud storage and your device storage. And as long as you have enough space in iCloud and on your device, you can store as many photos and videos as you like.

When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. If you need more space, you can buy more iCloud storage. Plans start at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month. If you choose 200GB or 2TB plans, you can share your storage with family.

Learn more about plans and prices in your region.

Save space on your device

iCloud Photos keeps all your photos and videos in their original, high-resolution version. You can save space on your device when you turn on Optimize Storage.

Move Mac Photo Library To New Mac

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
2. Tap Photos.
3. Choose Optimize [device] Storage.
   

On your Mac:

1. Open the Photos app and click Photos in the menu bar.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Go to the iCloud tab and choose a storage setting.

Move Mac Photos Library To New Mac

If you turn on Optimize Storage, iCloud Photos automatically manages the size of your library on your device. Your original photos and videos are stored in iCloud and space-saving versions are kept on your device. Your library is optimized only when you need space, starting with the photos and videos you access least. You can download the original photos and videos over Wi-Fi or cellular when you need them. You can use Optimize Storage on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.

If you turn on Download Originals, iCloud Photos keeps your original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud and on your device.

Pause library uploads to iCloud

When you turn on iCloud Photos, the time it takes for your photos and videos to upload to iCloud depends on the size of your collection and your Internet speed. If you have a large collection of photos and videos, your upload might take more time than usual. You can see the status and pause the upload for one day.

• On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. You can also open the Photos app, go to the Photos tab, and scroll to the bottom of your screen.
• On your Mac, open the Photos app. Select Photos in the sidebar, then click All Photos in the list of tabs in the toolbar. Scroll to the bottom of your photos and click Pause.

Repair Mac Photos Library

Learn more

Change Photo Library On Mac

• Rediscover favorite and forgotten occasions from your photo library with Memories.
• Find your missing photos or delete the ones that you don't want anymore.