Photos Library: Can I Start Over & Consolidate?

[Jodeo]

Hi,

Lonnnnnnnnng story short: I have three iPhotos/Photos libraries on my iMac. The older two were back-up copies I made due to possible corruption and duplication fixes.

I'd like to consolidate them and remove dupes in the process. I've already used de-dupe apps with some success but I still have a ton in duplicate, triplicate, and more.

Is there a way to extract all the photos from these libraries into a new location/folder/destination and then import? My main concern is that many different photos will have the same file name (I've seen this before), and the possible loss of some data.

Like I said, lonnnnnnnng story short. (There's a history of why there's so many copies of the same photos; largely due to a 10.2.x-era hack using a HD partition to boost performance which wasn't compatible with OS/iPhoto upgrades around 10.4.x or so.)



Thanks.

 

[8Apples]

You should be able to left click (two finger click) on the library, and select "Show Package Contents". The folder called Masters is all the original pictures. I don't know if edits are in there or not. That should allow you access to all the pictures in that library. From there you should be able to figure out how to copy them to a new location and import them to a new Photo library.

 

[Dave Braine]

This may help you to consolidate your libraries. Don't know if it highlights any duplicates though.
https://blog.macsales.com/40866-roc...ltiple-photos-libraries-into-a-single-library

 

[organicCPU]

If you copied/exported all the images or browse the library packages, you could try dupeGuru, one of my favourite de-duplication apps. Even though it has a special function for images I usually get very good results for equal images using Standard and Scan for Contents. I only utilise the special Pictures function to find equal or similar images that do have different file formats and/or resolutions.

 

[mpainesyd]

Try Powerphotos
https://fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos/
I use it to copy albums between Macs