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.

  • Nov 03, 2010  How can I move pictures from one library to another in Iphoto 11? Hence my response about iPhoto Buddy which allows you to work with multiple iPhoto Libraries. Yes moving pictures from a library (aka iPhoto Library) to another library is different from moving pictures from one album to another. Terminology issue I guess.
  • How to move your Photos library to a separate drive. Giving you a chance to switch to another library file. 7) Click Other Library to continue. If you have multiple photo libraries on your Mac, know that only one photo library at a time can be set as your default, or the System Photo Library in Apple talk.
  • Feb 28, 2016  Today I show you how to transfer photos from one mac computer to another. I ran into this problem because my mac mini was beginning to slow down and it was my main computer, which I.
Photos

Mac Move Some Photos From One Library To Another Day

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.

Delete itunes library mac. How can I move photos from one library to another? A slideshow in photo and want to move it to another mac. However, when I put it on a thumb drive and import 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.

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:

  1. Launch Photos on your Mac.
  2. Click Photos in the menu bar.
  3. Select Preferences (or do this quicker by pressing ⌘,).

    Source: iMore

  4. Click on the iCloud tab.

    Source: iMore

  5. 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

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

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

Mac Move Photos Between Libraries

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.

Jul 18, 2015  Changing any single part of this folder without deep knowledge about Mac Operating System obviously causes unexpected troubles. The 2 ways to access and open Library folder in OS X – El Capitan, Yosemite or any other OS X versions? Look at 2 quick ways below: 1. Find May 30, 2019  Despite the fact that Apple keeps the Mac Library folder hidden from users, it’s good to learn how to show the Library folder on Mac. You may need to. May 24, 2016  Just loaded El Capitan. There is no visible 'Library' showing, when I hold down t he Option key and from the Go menu in Finder. Also when I try to make it permanent ly visible, by doing Open Finder Command+Shift+H to access to Home Command + J Check at Show Library Folder. There is no 'Show Library Folder' box to check?

Octoober 2019: Updated for macOS Catalina.

Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this guide.

macOS Catalina

Main

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

Power up

Anker's PowerCore Wireless 10K charger is a battery pack without the fuss

Mac move some photos from one library to another year

Mac Move Photos Library

Anker is out with a new wireless battery pack that'll keep things ticking along no matter where you are.