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Change Photos Library Location On Mac

Thankfully, How-To Geek shows you how to change the location of the library. For better or worse, Apple’s new Photos app sets itself up automatically using your previous settings for iPhoto (if. If your library is stored on an external drive, then you need to connect that drive to be able to select and switch to that photo library in Photos app on Mac. Following are the steps to Switch Between Libraries in Photos App for OS X: Launch 'Photos' app on Mac OS X. Hold down 'Option' key on your keyboard. Double-click on 'Photos'. By default, the photos and videos you import into Photos are stored in the Photos library in the Pictures folder on your Mac. When you first use Photos, you create a new library or select the library that you want to use. This library automatically becomes your System Photo Library. The permissions for your Photos library may conflict with those for the Time Machine backup. If you want, you can create additional photo libraries and store them in any location on your Mac or on an external storage device. If you do have multiple libraries, you can only work with the photos in only one library at a time.

Question: Q: Changing location of Iphoto library I am looking to change my Iphoto library to an external hard drive, as my 250GB internal drive is just not large enough, especially as I am now using itunes to watch movies and TV shows.

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Photos User Guide

When you import photos and videos into Photos, they’re copied to the Photos library in the Pictures folder. If you prefer, you can store photos and videos outside the Photos library (for example, in a folder on your Mac or on an external drive) and still view them in Photos. Files stored outside your library are called referenced files.

How to Move Your iTunes Library. You can move your iTunes library to a different folder, computer, or drive. Here's how to do it, even in macOS Catalina, which ditches iTunes for the Music app. 2013-2-11  I try to move my entire iTunes Library to my Synology DS 212j NAS, so that the entire family can share the library on their devices (MacBook, iPhone, iPad, iMac). The Library is about 200GB stuffed with music, audiobooks and podcasts (all in all about 28.000 files) and is on an external harddrive. Mac import itunes library music server. How to set up an iTunes library on a network-attached server Free your iTunes media from the shackles of a hard drive on your Mac. There are a few ways to transfer your iTunes library from one computer to another. When you get a new Mac, use Set-up Assistant (or Migration Assistant, if you’re switching from Windows) to move files—including your iTunes files—from your old computer to the new one. 2019-10-7  Before you transfer or restore your iTunes media library on your PC, consolidate it and create a back up. And when you back up your Mac, your media library is automatically included in that backup. Consolidate your iTunes library. Your iTunes Media folder is in your iTunes folder. To find it, go to User Music iTunes iTunes Media.

Referenced files aren’t automatically uploaded and stored in iCloud, and they aren’t backed up along with the rest of your files when you back up your photo library—you must back them up manually. To avoid manually backing up referenced files, you can move or consolidate the files into your library.

Store imported files outside the Photos library

  1. In the Photos app on your Mac, choose Photos > Preferences, then click General.

  2. Deselect the “Copy items to the Photos library” checkbox.

    Now, when you import photos or video, Photos leaves the files in their original location and accesses them as referenced files.

Find a referenced file in the Finder

  1. In the Photos app on your Mac, select a referenced file.

  2. Choose File > Show Referenced File in Finder.

Copy referenced files into a Photos library

You can copy referenced files into your photo library so they’re easier to back up and are automatically stored in iCloud if iCloud Photos is turned on.

  1. In the Photos app on your Mac, select the files that you want to copy into the photo library.

  2. Choose File > Consolidate.

  3. Click Copy.

See alsoCreate additional photo libraries in Photos on MacBack up the library in Photos on MacRestore a library from Time Machine in Photos on MacRepair your library in Photos on 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.

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

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

Change Iphoto Library

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.

Change Photos Library Location On Mac Free

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.