What a great site. I've learned so much. Thanks for all you do, Joseph!
Over the last several months, I have changed over to referencing files in my library as my Aperture library was getting up there in size. Any new photo I've imported recently resides on a Drobo connected to my iMac and are referenced in Aperture.
I've noticed things slowing down recently and checked the size of my Aperture library (it's on the internal HD). It's a whopping 410 GB! (my iMac's HD is 1TB).
I'd like to get the size of the library down significantly in hopes my iMac will work a bit faster but before I did some irreparable damage, I wanted to see what options I have and what you guys think is the best route.
Should I split up the existing library into smaller libraries that reside on the Drobo? If so, I still would like to keep all my 5 star photos together regardless of what library they are in.
Any other options out there that will work?
Thanks again!
Spartacus,
Thanks for writing in, and your kind words on the site!
The size of your library is most likely due to Preview generation. Chances are you have previews being generated at half-size for every photo imported, and that can increase the Library size dramatically. Personally, I have Preview generation off for all new projects, and I create them on demand with a custom keyboard shortcut, and also I have them generated at a smaller size (1920 max).
Start by reading this post, “Reducing Library Size—Dramatically” which was written for Aperture 2 but is still relevant. Also read this post “A Comprehensive Look at Thumbnails, Previews, and More in Aperture 3” to gain an understanding of the different files stored in the Aperture Library.
-Joseph @ApertureExpert
@PhotoJoseph
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Thanks, Joseph.
I took a look at the first post and reduced my library from 410 GB to 387 GB. Looking to go lower - I’ll have a look at the 2nd post too.
Joseph, I did a quick search and couldn’t find anything on converting master to referencing filing system. For the past few months, I’ve been using the reference file system when importing new images but have a boat load of RAW files in my library (masters) that I want to convert to referenced to free up space on my iMac HD. You have any posts/articles on this? “Relocate Masters for Project” option under File? I’m kind of paranoid of doing irreparable damage. ;)
Thanks!
Spartacus,
The term is “referenced” vs “managed”, that may be why you weren’t finding anything. It is as easy as using the “relocate masters” command, and you can do it for a single image, a selection, a project, or your whole library—basically whatever is selected.
There are a few tips for it in my eBook “ApertureExpert’s 15 Tips on File Management in Aperture 3”, which I think you already have. The tips aren’t on selecting the command (that’s the easy part), they’re on what you can do to with them when you do, such as choosing an intelligent folder structure, renaming on the move, and so on.
-Joseph @ApertureExpert
@PhotoJoseph
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