How to Move the iPhoto Library On Mac
The form of the photos we store may have changed drastically in the past few decades, their function has remained as relevant as ever - keeping a memento of our precious moments, experiences and memories. With time, however, the saved photos may start to take up a significant portion of the space available on the current drive. To fix the issues, users can start deleting some of the less important items or move the whole photos folder to a different drive that has either more free space or is simply bigger than the previous one. Mac users can follow the guide below to learn how to move their iPhoto library. Before we start, make sure that you have a backup of the folder containing the pictures in case some of them get corrupted during all of the copying and moving accidentally.
Changing The Photo Library Location on Mac
The first part of the process is moving the Photo folder itself:
- Quit the iPhoto or Photos app.
- Open Finder and navigate to the new location for the Photos folder.
- Open another instance of Finder, but this time select the 'Go' menu, followed by 'Home,' and finally 'Pictures.'
- Drag the Photo library folder to its new location.
- Wait for the transfer of files to finish and then double-click the new Photo library.
The second part of the process involves designating a new System Photo Libary. To do so go to the already opened Photos app. Select 'Photos' followed by 'Preferences.' In the new window, select the 'General' tab. All that is left now is to click on 'Use as System Photo Library.'