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How to put my photos in the "photo systems library"?

How can I get my photos on my Mac into the "photo systems library"? They are in the Pictures App at present.

MacBook Air 11″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Nov 10, 2022 8:21 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 11, 2022 12:16 AM


Arawai wrote:

How can I get my photos on my Mac into the "photo systems library"? They are in the Pictures App at present.

Do you mean by "Pictures" the Photos.app? The Photos.app has a different name in each language, depending on the system language, for example "Fotos" in German.

And when we translate its name from or system language back to English, we might and up with a different word for "photos".


Even if you are importing your photos using the Photos.app, the photos will not be stored inside the app. They are stored in a Photos Library. You can have several several separate Photos Libraries, and only one of them can be your System Photos Library.


You make a library your System Photo Library in the Photos Preferences (or Photos Settings), depending on the system version. See: System Photo Library overview



3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 11, 2022 12:16 AM in response to Arawai


Arawai wrote:

How can I get my photos on my Mac into the "photo systems library"? They are in the Pictures App at present.

Do you mean by "Pictures" the Photos.app? The Photos.app has a different name in each language, depending on the system language, for example "Fotos" in German.

And when we translate its name from or system language back to English, we might and up with a different word for "photos".


Even if you are importing your photos using the Photos.app, the photos will not be stored inside the app. They are stored in a Photos Library. You can have several several separate Photos Libraries, and only one of them can be your System Photos Library.


You make a library your System Photo Library in the Photos Preferences (or Photos Settings), depending on the system version. See: System Photo Library overview



Nov 10, 2022 10:00 PM in response to Arawai

Hello,


These are known as "reference files" and can be coped into your library fairly easily. I also included more about the System Photo Library incase you have multiple libraries and need more info about that as well. 


Change where your files are stored in Photos on Mac - Apple Support

"Copy referenced files into a Photos library


You can copy referenced files into your photo library so they’re easier to back up and are automatically stored in iCloud if iCloud Photos is turned on.


In the Photos app  on your Mac, select the files that you want to copy into the photo library.


Choose File > Consolidate.


Click Copy."


System Photo Library overview for Photos on Mac - Apple Support

"When you first use Photos, you create a new library or select the library that you want to use. This library automatically becomes your System Photo Library. Although you can use multiple photo libraries in Photos, the System Photo Library is the only library that can use iCloud Photos and Shared Albums. In addition, some Apple apps and third-party apps also access your System Photo Library using the Media Browser. 


By default, your System Photo Library is stored in the Pictures folder on your Mac, but you can move it to another location on your Mac or store it on an external storage device."


I hope this helps.

How to put my photos in the "photo systems library"?

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