Aperture 2 question (getting rid of duplicates)

[seenew]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought and started using Aperture 2 when I upgraded to a newer iMac and figured iPhoto wasn't handling 30,000 images too well anymore. So anyway, after finally getting all my photos from my iPhoto library into Aperture, I realize that I have TONS of duplicates, even though in the "import iPhoto library" window I clicked "do not import duplicates."

These duplicates appear to be just rotated versions of the original files, like portrait style photos turned right-side-up. They're grouped into what I have learned (through the online tutorials) are called 'stacks.'

Is there a way for me to isolate these duplicates and delete them? I have a feeling they're adding a lot to the total space my Aperture library is taking up...

Thanks in advance!

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought and started using Aperture 2 when I upgraded to a newer iMac and figured iPhoto wasn't handling 30,000 images too well anymore. So anyway, after finally getting all my photos from my iPhoto library into Aperture, I realize that I have TONS of duplicates, even though in the "import iPhoto library" window I clicked "do not import duplicates."

These duplicates appear to be just rotated versions of the original files, like portrait style photos turned right-side-up. They're grouped into what I have learned (through the online tutorials) are called 'stacks.'

Is there a way for me to isolate these duplicates and delete them? I have a feeling they're adding a lot to the total space my Aperture library is taking up...

Thanks in advance!

unless you plan on using your old photos for anything there isn't a lot of reason for you to have imported your photos into Aperture just leave them in iPhoto. You don't really have a lot of use for Aperture unless you have a DSLR that shoots RAW files.

 

[GoCubsGo]

unless you plan on using your old photos for anything there isn't a lot of reason for you to have imported your photos into Aperture just leave them in iPhoto. You don't really have a lot of use for Aperture unless you have a DSLR that shoots RAW files.

I completely disagree. First, iPhoto actually handles some raw files. I say some because there's undoubtedly someone out there who will protest me saying "all". That said, just because you do not shoot RAW doesn't mean you wouldn't want to use Aperture. I can name a few "pros" who shoot mostly JPEG, these are the people who really know how to control their exposure and read a histogram. Not to say if you shoot RAW you do not, but there are some who simply don't care to spend the extra time shooting in RAW.

The OP has it right, iPhoto may very well not be handling all of his 30,000 files as easily as say Aperture would (should). Also, there are P&S cameras out there that shoot in raw.

OP: Personally, I'd delete the Aperture library and try again. There may have been some weird glitch that brought in duplicates. But my suspicion is that iPhoto didn't consider them duplicates, rather it was "master" and "adjusted". I'm not home so I cannot try, but can you select "all" in iPhoto and import to Aperture that way, instead of course going to Aperture and selecting "import from iPhoto?" I do not think Aperture was designed to import that way...clearly it's bothersome.


I will fiddle with it more when I get home and see if Aperture does the same for me.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

I completely disagree. First, iPhoto actually handles some raw files. I say some because there's undoubtedly someone out there who will protest me saying "all". That said, just because you do not shoot RAW doesn't mean you wouldn't want to use Aperture. I can name a few "pros" who shoot mostly JPEG, these are the people who really know how to control their exposure and read a histogram. Not to say if you shoot RAW you do not, but there are some who simply don't care to spend the extra time shooting in RAW.

The OP has it right, iPhoto may very well not be handling all of his 30,000 files as easily as say Aperture would (should). Also, there are P&S cameras out there that shoot in raw.

OP: Personally, I'd delete the Aperture library and try again. There may have been some weird glitch that brought in duplicates. But my suspicion is that iPhoto didn't consider them duplicates, rather it was "master" and "adjusted". I'm not home so I cannot try, but can you select "all" in iPhoto and import to Aperture that way, instead of course going to Aperture and selecting "import from iPhoto?" I do not think Aperture was designed to import that way...clearly it's bothersome.


I will fiddle with it more when I get home and see if Aperture does the same for me.

That's exactly it. The Aperture library will always be larger than an iPhoto library. If you're worried about space then move your Aperture library to an external Drive.

 

[seenew]

unless you plan on using your old photos for anything there isn't a lot of reason for you to have imported your photos into Aperture just leave them in iPhoto. You don't really have a lot of use for Aperture unless you have a DSLR that shoots RAW files.

Uh, I never said I didn't have a dSLR or that I didn't shoot RAW. Thanks, I'm pretty aware of what Aperture is for, otherwise I wouldn't have spent $200 on it. You're sounding pretty patronizing there, bud.

I completely disagree. First, iPhoto actually handles some raw files. I say some because there's undoubtedly someone out there who will protest me saying "all". That said, just because you do not shoot RAW doesn't mean you wouldn't want to use Aperture. I can name a few "pros" who shoot mostly JPEG, these are the people who really know how to control their exposure and read a histogram. Not to say if you shoot RAW you do not, but there are some who simply don't care to spend the extra time shooting in RAW.

The OP has it right, iPhoto may very well not be handling all of his 30,000 files as easily as say Aperture would (should). Also, there are P&S cameras out there that shoot in raw.

OP: Personally, I'd delete the Aperture library and try again. There may have been some weird glitch that brought in duplicates. But my suspicion is that iPhoto didn't consider them duplicates, rather it was "master" and "adjusted". I'm not home so I cannot try, but can you select "all" in iPhoto and import to Aperture that way, instead of course going to Aperture and selecting "import from iPhoto?" I do not think Aperture was designed to import that way...clearly it's bothersome.


I will fiddle with it more when I get home and see if Aperture does the same for me.

Thanks for the tip, Jessica, but I think I'll try to find another route, or see if you come up with something. The initial import took a very, very long time. I'd like to avoid that if I could.
What I'd like to figure out is a way to isolate these duplicates in a smart search or something, so I can just delete them..

That's exactly it. The Aperture library will always be larger than an iPhoto library. If you're worried about space then move your Aperture library to an external Drive.

I imported them into Aperture for the sake of convenience, and once I am sure everything has been transferred, I will delete my old iPhoto library. I've got my Aperture library on an external 750GB drive already, so I'm not worried about space, but it does bother me that there are duplicates that aren't necessary.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Uh, I never said I didn't have a dSLR or that I didn't shoot RAW. Thanks, I'm pretty aware of what Aperture is for, otherwise I wouldn't have spent $200 on it. You're sounding pretty patronizing there, bud.



Thanks for the tip, but I think I'll try to find another route, or see if you come up with something. The initial import took a very, very long time. I'd like to avoid that if I could.
What I'd like to figure out is a way to isolate these duplicates in a smart search or something, so I can just delete them..



I imported them into Aperture for the sake of convenience, and once I am sure everything has been transferred, I will delete my old iPhoto library. I've got my Aperture library on an external 750GB drive already, so I'm not worried about space, but it does bother me that there are duplicates that aren't necessary.

the duplicates are necessary. They're the adjusted files from iPhoto. What would you expect Aperture do do when you imported your old library?

I recommend using your Aperture library for your more professional/hobby photography pictures and iPhoto for your family vacation/party photos.

 

[seenew]

the duplicates are necessary. They're the adjusted files from iPhoto. What would you expect Aperture do do when you imported your old library?

I recommend using your Aperture library for your more professional/hobby photography pictures and iPhoto for your family vacation/party photos.

They aren't necessary if I don't think they're necessary. I understand the importance of keeping the master image, but these duplicates are from many years ago before I started shooting seriously, and not even as a hobby. We're talking 3MP jpegs from 2001-2002. The only difference between the masters and the versions in these cases is a 90° rotation. Therefore, in my opinion, it is not necessary for these files to take up twice the space they should be.

I appreciate the recommendation about using both apps, but that just doesn't sound convenient for me. I often mix pleasure with work, and it would be a hassle to switch between two apps just to import a memory card.

 

[GoCubsGo]

the duplicates are necessary. They're the adjusted files from iPhoto. What would you expect Aperture do do when you imported your old library?

I recommend using your Aperture library for your more professional/hobby photography pictures and iPhoto for your family vacation/party photos.

Dude I'm totally confused (as I assume the OP is going to be) with your vast generalizations here. No offense meant to you, but it seems like each time you write in this thread there's a tone. Apologies if you're not intending to sound like you're trying to prove a point that doesn't need to be proven. I've seen other posts of yours and you're very knowledgeable so it is odd to see these replies.

Who says his 30,000 photos AREN'T of professional quality? Also, seriously, if he is using Aperture then why use iPhoto at all? Snap shots or not, they're photos. I mean hey, if that's your workflow, your **** photos in iPhoto (a highly capable application) and all of your so-called professional shots get to be put into Aperture then fine. I for one can't see the point of using both if you do not have to.

You can even use two libraries if you want, despite that isn't how Aperture was made...I do know someone who does this.

OP: I'll be home in a couple of hours and I'll work with this because I am also very curious.

I get what tuffluffjimmy is asking about what was expected to be done with the master and adjusted versions, but there has to be something less counter-intuitive here. I would think (hope) that Aperture may give an option of importing all masters or importing all masters and adjusted copies. The second you rotated those they became an adjusted copy of course.

NOW, there's an option to look for duplicates software wise, but it's outside Aperture and iPhoto. There's an application called Squirrel. What it does is it doesn't just find duplicate files based on name, but it digs deeper. I tried to run it on my older powerbook and it about blew the house down. I haven't tried it on my MP, but I presume it'll run smoother. The application gets down into everything from what I understand, pixels, meta data, etc. Check it out, if anything it's neat to have if you happen to be like me and have multiple external drives that you just keep copying files over and over again to a point of utter disorganization.

I often mix pleasure with work...snip

FWIW, me too. But that's for another thread I'm sure.

 

[seenew]

Thanks, Jessica. I searched on MacUpdate really quickly and couldn't find the app you mentioned. I did find a finance app called Squirrel, which would be useful if I had any money to manage.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Thanks, Jessica. I searched on MacUpdate really quickly and couldn't find the app you mentioned. I did find a finance app called Squirrel, which would be useful if I had any money to manage.

haha ok hold tight until I get home. Not that you'd know if I were home or not, but it's easier to search for things since my work puts the big old c-block on most my browsing.

 

[pyramis]

This is an old thread that shows up high on Google search for "aperture delete iphoto duplicates" -- yet contains no solution to the OP's question.

It's easy.

When importing photos from iPhoto that have been modified from the original (even rotation), Aperture creates a stack with two pics, tagged 'iPhoto Edited' and 'iPhoto Original', respectively. This is respectful behavior since you may have heavily edited a photo in iPhoto and want to retain those edits. Delete the original, or keep both for completeness. On the other hand, you may have only rotated it, in which case the Original is the one to keep. Delete the edited version.

To see all photos in these categories do a keyword search: click the search button next to the search field and click the Keyword box to search by Keyword. (Alternatively, create a Smart Album, which is what I prefer since it's a search I want to do often.)

If your condition is set to 'include any of the following', and you check both iPhoto Edited and iPhoto Original, you'll see all the photos you've imported from iPhoto. Modified pics will be in stacks with their originals.

It's up to you at this point on how to deal with them. Personally, I have a broad mix of pics I've heavily edited and just ones I've rotated so it takes quite a bit of attention. My policy is: if they're simple rotations, keep the original. If they're more heavily-edited but just personal pics, friends, snapshots, etc. and I don't care that much about preserving the original, I trust myself with having done a good edit in iPhoto and keep that. If it's a particularly great photo or set, I'll bias towards keeping the original. I might try to re-create the iPhoto edit w/ Aperture's more powerful tools. (Surprisingly, often I can't re-create some of the bolder edits, to my dissatisfaction.)