Download iCloud photos to Mac and include Captions

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Level 1

15 points

Download iCloud photos to Mac and include Captions

If I have my iPhone sync photos to iCloud, Captions I created in many of the iPhone photos are retained and can be seen via the little "i in a circle" choice for Info when viewing via iCloud in a browser.

But when I download the photo from iCloud, even when choosing the download option of "Including Edits," that Caption is nowhere to be found for the file. Not in the "Get Info" for the file, or in Preview using the Inspector feature to look at more info, like Exif, GPS, etc. info.

Anyone know a way to keep the caption info when downloading an image from iCloud?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Aug 10, 2024 4:21 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 11, 2024 9:33 AM in response to Rich Apple

"Highest Resolution" does include edits, but as far as I can tell, the IPTC metadata (meaning caption, title, and keywords) doesn't export, though the Exif metadata does.

But it's all there, and it's available through the Photos app on your Mac. If you're not already syncing with iCloud, you can create a new Library, designate it as the System Library, turn on iCloud, and you'll get all the pictures, both originals and edits, with all metadata.

If you create this new Library on an external drive, you need to be sure it is formatted in either APFS format or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Additionally, the drive can not have had Time Machine on it since it was formatted. See this:

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Rich Apple Author

Level 1

15 points

Aug 11, 2024 10:21 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Hmmm... Thanks, Richard.Taylor, for the good advice. I do already work with multiple Photos libraries on external drives, and I imagine if I designate a new "iCloud collection" one as the system Photo library on the mac, then sync, and it should all be there. :-)

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