Combine Two Photos Libraries Mac
- macOS Mojave or Catalina
Jan 31, 2017 Feature Request: iCloud Photo Library support for multiple Apple IDs. It’s a lot less time than managing two iCloud Photo Libraries. You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news. Nov 01, 2017 I'd like to merge two macOS Photos libraries into one, with the ability to weed out duplicates during the process. I just sold an old Mac and moved its Photos library onto another Mac with its own existing Photos library. Now I want to merge these two libraries into a single one.
Registration FAQ
Documentation
Older version downloads
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
Download icloud photo library to pc. '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
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 Photo Library and use Optimize Mac Storage, or move your library to an external drive.
Before you start, be sure to 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
- 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. 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 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
- After the move is finished, double-click Photos Library in its new location to open it.
- 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 disk space.
Merge Two Photos Libraries Mac
Open another Photos library
If you have multiple libraries, here's how to open a different one:
- Quit Photos.
- Press and hold the Option key while you open Photos.
- 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 disk that's used for Time Machine backups.
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 —.
Merge Two Photo Libraries Mac
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 erased, this checkbox will either not be present, or won't be selectable after unlocking. Erase and reformat the drive for this option to be available.