A modern photo library application has two jobs: organize the photos you add to the library so you can locate them easily, and edit photos to make corrections or change their appearance. Beyond Compare is a multi-platform utility that combines directory compare and file compare functions in one package. Use it to manage source code, keep directories in sync, compare program output, etc. Affinity Photo is a past Apple Mac App of the Year Winner and the professional tool has everything you’d expect in a premium photo-editing product. Use it to edit and retouch images as well as create multi-layer pieces. The professional corrections and adjustments tools rival any other app out there and it has a great noise-reduction filter. My /Library/Application Support/ON12020 is about 4GB now. From the time I open the app till I get a browseable photo browser, it takes around 2 min. I’m running a macbook pro 15 inch retina with 2TB internal HDD and 2TB external USB3 (500MBps) drive. If I put the library on my synology 1019 NAS, it takes maybe 10 minutes to open the catalog.

1. 2 Photo Libraries Mac
2. Compare 2 Photo Libraries Macbook Pro
3. Compare 2 Photo Libraries Machine
4. Can I Merge Two Photo Libraries On Mac

You select photos in the Grid view that you want to work with in the Library or other modules. The photos you select are reflected in the Filmstrip. Likewise, the specific photos selected in the Filmstrip are displayed in the Grid view.

When you select a photo, it becomes the active photo. You can select multiple photos, but only one photo at a time is the active photo. Selected photos are indicated in the grid and the Filmstrip by a thin white border and a cell color that is lighter than unselected photos. The lightest colored cell indicates the active photo.

2 Photo Libraries Mac

When you have several photos selected, you can click any selected photo to make it active without deselecting the other photos. If you click a photo outside the selection, it becomes the active photo, and all other photos are deselected.

When you have more than one photo selected in the Grid view and you make changes such as applying ratings, labels, or adding metadata, those changes are applied to all of the selected photos.

When you have more than one photo selected in the Filmstrip and you're in Loupe, Compare, or Survey view, changes such as adding ratings, labels, or metadata are applied only to the active photo.

Photos in your System Photo Library are available in apps like iMovie, Pages, and Keynote. You can also sync them to iOS devices and view them on Apple TV. And if you want to use your own images as your desktop picture or screen saver, the images need to be in your System Photo Library before you can select them in System Preferences.

Compare 2 Photo Libraries Macbook Pro

If you have only one photo library, then it's the System Photo Library. Otherwise, the first photo library that you create or open in Photos will become the System Photo Library. If you have more than one library, you might need to designate a System Photo Library, so other apps can access the photos and videos you want them to use.

Follow these steps to designate a System Photo Library:

1. Quit Photos.
2. Hold down the Option key and open Photos. One of the photo libraries is already designated as YourLibraryName (System Photo Library).
3. Choose the library you want to designate as the System Photo Library.
4. After Photos opens the library, choose Photos > Preferences from the menu bar.
5. Click the General tab.
6. Click the Use as System Photo Library button.
   

If you open a second or different library in the Photos app, and you haven't designated it as the System Photo Library, other applications will use photos from the original System Photo Library. Hold down the Option key when you open Photos to see which library is set as the System Photo Library.

Compare 2 Photo Libraries Machine

iCloud and the System Photo Library

Can I Merge Two Photo Libraries On Mac

You can use iCloud Photos, Shared Albums, and My Photo Stream only with the System Photo Library. If you choose a different library in Photos without designating it as the System Photo Library, the iCloud tab in Photos preferences is disabled:

If you designate a new library as the System Photo Library and then turn on iCloud Photos, the photos and videos in the new library will merge with those already in your iCloud Photos. If you want to keep the contents of your photo libraries separate, don’t turn on iCloud Photos for more than one library in Photos.