Referenced Photos on Mac: can see them but not reach them

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Level 1

29 points

Referenced Photos on Mac: can see them but not reach them

MacPro mid-2012, Catalina 10:15:7

I have referenced photos. They appear in Imports and in Photos (the complete listing of all my photos). I can't consolidate them. When I click "show referenced file in finder" nothing happens.

I mean dammit, if I can look at the photo then surely it must exist? So how can I get them permanently into my Photos as unreferenced items?

Sure baffled, but here you often find someone completely unbaffled with the answer! Do you exist?

Cheers,

DonSimon

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 26, 2023 5:42 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

léonie

Level 10

197,321 points

Jan 27, 2023 10:47 AM in response to tetters

If you wiped the drive, DonSimon, when you reinstalled the system, you have to restore the folders where you kept the referenced images from your Time Machine backup.

Only you can know, where you kept the referenced files. Photos has no tools at all to help you find the missing referenced files.

Once the originals are back in the original folders, you may be able to reconnect them to the restored files.

If you try o open an image to share it or to export, and Photos cannot find the original file, it might prompt you to locate the original. Then you can select the original in the window that will open and reconnect it. If you are lucky, all image files in the sam folder will be reconnected together in one go.

it will be at lot of tedious work, because the tools in Photos to manage a referenced library are very basic. Change where your files are stored in Photos on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

Photos is much better to use with a managed library.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

197,321 points

Jan 27, 2023 7:36 AM in response to tetters

What happens, when you select one of the referenced photos in "Imports" or "All Photos" and then try to open its in Edit mode? Can Photos add adjustments to the photo? Or can you save it to a folder with the command "File > Export > Export unmodified file"? If none of this works, Photos has still the thumbnails of the photos left, but can no longer find the originals.

Do you remember where the photos have been, when you imported them to Photos? Photos is expecting the referenced files to be exactly, where they have been, when you imported them. The files must not be moved.

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Answer 3

tetters Author

Level 1

29 points

Jan 27, 2023 9:23 AM in response to léonie

Leonie - with the accent grave - thanks so much

In Edit, the tools appear but nothing can actually be changed.

Exporting unmodified file - nothing happens.

So clearly your surmise is correct. My dreadful secret confession is that I just before wiped my hard disk and reinstalled Catalina. So I guess these actual photos will be somewhere in a previous Time Machine backup, but only I'm sure in a previous iteration of my PhotosLibrary file: can I restore this, open it, and recover the original photos for subsequent import into my present Photos? What's the best way to recover these photos do you think?

Most obliged,

DonSimon

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Answer 4

tetters Author

Level 1

29 points

Jan 27, 2023 11:28 AM in response to léonie

Yes Leonie, I follow.

I did originally import these photos into Photos then put them in an album so I'm surprised to discover they are still referenced because as you advise it's best only to have "managed" photos. It seems that the Import function is not 100% reliable in this respect.

My originals I deleted a long while back after I'd done the importation on them; I'll search back through some old Time Machine backups to see if they're somewhere. But they were originally in an iPhone Shared Photo Album only, and it was from there that I imported them - then I deleted the PhotoShare Album when I thought they were safely in Photos as "managed".

Hey-Ho, on we go! Thanks so much for all your input & time,

DonSimon

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Referenced Photos on Mac: can see them but not reach them

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