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Mac newbie - photo query

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  • 08-03-2020 5:23pm
    #1
    just pete
    Registered Users Posts: 126 ✭✭


    Hi all,
    popped my iMac cherry and just moving across from a PC.

    In my photos, I have all my pics but I want to create folders say for work/house/family etc. When I move them to the designated folder they are still there in Photos. Is there a way of not having these duplicate photos?
    Am I missing a setting?

    Thanks all!


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    #2
    Sad Professor
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,678 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    Designated folder? You mean in the Finder? Or do you mean an album in Photos?


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    #3
    5uspect
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 10,518 Mod ✭✭✭✭5uspect


    The Photos app has what is called a Library database that stores various versions of everything you see when browsing the Photos app. You usually find this in the Pictures directory in your home directory. Don’t mess with this unless you know what you’re doing.

    In the Photos app itself you can create Albums and sort images how you like, just like a playlist. I don’t bother because the search in the Photos app is pretty good. I can search by location where the photo was taken (if there is GPS metadata), person or a large range of objects detected by ML.

    In Finder photos are just files, sort them into directories as you wish. MacOS doesn’t care about the file path, it’s not how it stores them at the OS level, it’s just another bit of metadata like tags.

    If you have imported all the photos from Finder into Photos then you will have duplicated the data. One copy in Finder as regular old files and a copy in the Photos Library.

    Have you a back up solution? Have you setup Time Machine?


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    #4
    just pete
    Registered Users Posts: 126 ✭✭just pete


    album in Photos.

    When I open Photos library I would like to have folders for a go to place for stuff but I don't want want a copy in the photo library?


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    #5
    5uspect
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 10,518 Mod ✭✭✭✭5uspect


    https://support.apple.com/en-ie/HT207368

    The photo will appear in any album you add it to and the main library, this isn’t eating extra disk space, it’s just metadata.


  • Options
    #6
    just pete
    Registered Users Posts: 126 ✭✭just pete


    5uspect wrote: »
    The Photos app has what is called a Library database that stores various versions of everything you see when browsing the Photos app. You usually find this in the Pictures directory in your home directory. Don’t mess with this unless you know what you’re doing.

    In the Photos app itself you can create Albums and sort images how you like, just like a playlist. I don’t bother because the search in the Photos app is pretty good. I can search by location where the photo was taken (if there is GPS metadata), person or a large range of objects detected by ML.

    In Finder photos are just files, sort them into directories as you wish. MacOS doesn’t care about the file path, it’s not how it stores them at the OS level, it’s just another bit of metadata like tags.

    If you have imported all the photos from Finder into Photos then you will have duplicated the data. One copy in Finder as regular old files and a copy in the Photos Library.

    Have you a back up solution? Have you setup Time Machine?

    Thanks, Time machine is on my list of todo's.
    Trying to get the hang of OS at the mo


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