Too many Photos

Question

Level 1

4 points

Too many Photos

My iCloud storage is totally full - too many photos. I want to keep only current year photos in iCloud and in my System Library. I want to move the originals of older ones to a new library, and then I can delete those from iCloud and free up space.

So, I created a new library to export the older photos to, but when I try to export, the new library name is dimmed and it won't go. It won't let me me export to any other library. If I export to a folder instead, will the originals go? Or will they be lost if I do that and then delete them from iCloud?

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 13.5

Posted on Sep 20, 2023 10:56 AM

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Answer 1

Yer_Man

Level 10

165,576 points

Sep 20, 2023 10:35 PM in response to GeorgeBC

The trick is to come at it from the other side :)

Import photos from another library in Photos on Mac - Apple Support

Open the destination library and import to it, not export from the other. However, according to that document there is another problem for you:

as long as the library you want to import from doesn't have iCloud Photos turned on.

It might be worth considering PowerPhotos for the job, but read the documentation first.

https://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos/

https://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos/Docs/index.html

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Answer 2

Sep 21, 2023 7:51 AM in response to GeorgeBC

On the other hand, you could create the new Library (as you've done) and in Settings make the New Library the System Library. Then you can turn on iCloud in Settings in this New Library-- this will automatically disconnect your Old Library from iCloud. iCloud will go, "Hey, what happened?" and start re-populating your new System Library (the New Library) with all the pictures in iCloud Photos. After maybe a few days, the New Library will have everything in it, and you now have two libraries with all your pictures.

In the New Library you can command-delete all the pictures over a year old, and that that will sync iCloud Photos to do the same there and to your phone. So iCloud and your phone will have only recent pictures in them.

This will take a few days (if you have a large library), but it all happens automatically. Keep the computer on overnight, but with Photos in the background and with other apps up front. Photos doesn't like to do management stuff if it thinks that you're working in it.

And, whatever you do, back up your existing Library to an external hard drive first.

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Answer 3

GeorgeBC Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 24, 2023 2:38 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

I got Power Photos, created a new library, made it the system library (in PowerPhotos) and put all the old photos in a different named library. All seemed to work: iCloud now says my storage is down w/in range, when I look at my 2023 photo library (opening it either in Photos our in PowerPhotos, it shows only the 2023 photos. All good.

However, when I log into iCloud.com on my Mac, or open Photos on iPhone, it still shows all the old stuff. And when I look at Photos/Settings on the Mac, it shows the library location correctly, but, the button "Use as Systems Library" is dimmed, so I must have done something wrong.

Any ideas?

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