Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Interesting that they suggest switching the system library between two libraries rather than logging into a different user account.
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On May 9, 2025, at 14:20, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
If you ever need to update the "download originals" copy on the external drive, you would perform the steps in that article, to switch the system/iCloud library temporarily to the external drive, and then back again when you're done."
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
I sent the same question to support at fatcatsoftware.com <>, makers of PowerPhotos. Their reply is below. Their suggestions are similar to what has been posted here with additional elaboration:
"Yes, the basic setup for this is outlined in the PowerPhotos manual at the page below, the very last section would be the most relevant to your setup. Since in your case your existing library already has "Download Originals" selected, you should initially just be able to copy the library to the external drive, and it will already be a fully downloaded copy of the library.
If you then want to clear up the disk space being used by the library on the internal drive, Photos won't automatically purge local copies unless the drive really starts running low on space. If you want to reclaim space right away, what you'll need to do is:
? Delete the library from the internal drive.
? Create a new, empty library in its place (this can be done by selecting File > New Library in PowerPhotos)
? Use the Photos settings window to first make the new library the system photo library, then enable iCloud Photos with the optimize storage option enabled.
Photos will then download and populate the thumbnails for all the photos from iCloud, but initially without any of the full size photos downloaded. Photos will then be downloaded on demand as you use them, e.g. viewing them full size, editing, etc.
If you ever need to update the "download originals" copy on the external drive, you would perform the steps in that article, to switch the system/iCloud library temporarily to the external drive, and then back again when you're done."
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On May 8, 2025, at 12:16?PM, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
I sent an email to fatcatsoftware.com <> asking if their PowerPhotos app could help with this. If/when they reply I will post here.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
On May 9, 2025, at 03:47, Peter Rasmusen <peter@...> wrote:
I think you will have to accept, that it¡¯s either full-size or low-res. It can¡¯t be both. This might be a novel solution, don¡¯t turn on optimize storage for the iCloud account. Then do regular backups to an external drive. The OP is fighting against a situation that is ¡°either/or¡±, not ¡°this/that/or the other thing¡±. It is like the old sign in an old-fashioned print shop, you can have it quick, cheap or accurate, pick two, but you can¡¯t have all three.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Steve, the way I understood your original post, you were concerned about your ¡°up to this point¡± photos, going forward you will need to repeat what ever steps you take. If you are worried about not remembering the steps, write yourself a Note or TextEdit and place copies in both locations. As with other data and docs, back it up.
You are worried about full sized photos. If you take a lot of photos you want to keep, your iCloud Storage is going to get expensive, so I would put them on external drives in any case, even if you have then in the cloud and on your computer.
Brent
On my iPhone Xr
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On May 8, 2025, at 10:16, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
?Otto, that is what I was kicking around but then I realized what Ben said earlier, that it would not capture future photos.
Ben, that looks doable, though I know myself well enough to know that future me might miss a step or even forget just what the heck I had done. ;-)
My M2 MacBook Air is carrying the full 2TB SSD. But, I am a digital pack rat (since 1987). Though I did just trash all 150MB (sigh, not GB) that was sitting in my Downloads folder.
I sent an email to fatcatsoftware.com <> asking if their PowerPhotos app could help with this. If/when they reply I will post here.
On May 8, 2025, at 11:28?AM, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
I think your best scenario is to move your library of originals to an external drive, create a second user account on your Mac, sign into your same Apple account, and point iCloud Photos to the external. Make sure this drive is included in backups. Then, make your local library optimized.
Ongoing, to keep your full library up to date, you¡¯ll need to make sure your second account is at least logged-in in the background and the external drive connected. Photos¡¯ background process will handle the syncing.
When you go out, you can eject the drive. Upon reconnecting, background syncing will continue as long as the second account is logged in.
On May 8, 2025, at 08:47, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote: ?But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
I think you will have to accept, that it¡¯s either full-size or low-res. It can¡¯t be both.
My solution would be - as someone else has already suggested - to buy a fast external SSD with enough space to hold your pictures for the foreseeable future.
Make a new user on your MacBook, use the same Apple-ID and place this users Photolibrary on the external SSD - in full resolution.
This way you can have the optimized library on your Steve user profice and the full-resolution version on your ¡°Steve-2¡± profile.
As long as as you are logged in on your Steve-2 profile, your photos will syncronize the the external SSD, and this will work in the background.
If you leave home, and forget ypur external SSD, all you need is an internet connection, because once you open an image in say Photoshop, it will download in full resolution so you can work with it.
That said - a friend of mine is an avid bird photographer, and like you he has space issues. Being a very low-practical guy in wellies and trekking gear, he has solved it by attaching a Samsung T7 Shield SSD to the backside of the screen on his laptop with velcro. I assume double-sided tape coyld work too :-)
Perhaps not the most aestetic solution, but like I said, he¡¯s a practical guy and it works for him. And once he opens his laptop, he can¡¯t see the external SSD anyway.
:-)
Peter
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On 8 May 2025, at 16.32, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
In which case, I¡¯d save the full-res photos elsewhere and back them up *before* they go into iCloud.
Otto
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On 9 May 2025, at 01:14, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
?That¡¯s exactly right. That¡¯s how iCloud Photos works when Optimized Mac Storage is enabled. That is, there¡¯s no dependency between iCloud Photos and Time Machine.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
?That¡¯s exactly right. That¡¯s how iCloud Photos works when Optimized Mac Storage is enabled. That is, there¡¯s no dependency between iCloud Photos and Time Machine.
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On May 8, 2025, at 15:34, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
? Are you saying that future photos will be ¡°optimised¡± (reduced) automatically without you having a chance to back them up? That can¡¯t be right.
Otto On 8 May 2025, at 18:16, Steve Kane via < skane-l@...> wrote:
Otto, that is what I was kicking around but then I realized what Ben said earlier, that it would not capture future photos.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Are you saying that future photos will be ¡°optimised¡± (reduced) automatically without you having a chance to back them up? That can¡¯t be right.
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On 8 May 2025, at 18:16, Steve Kane via < skane-l@...> wrote:
Otto, that is what I was kicking around but then I realized what Ben said earlier, that it would not capture future photos.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
No, of course not: like any backup, it needs to be kept up to date.
Otto
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On 8 May 2025, at 17:28, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
Doing so wouldn¡¯t capture future photos added to the library.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Otto, that is what I was kicking around but then I realized what Ben said earlier, that it would not capture future photos.
Ben, that looks doable, though I know myself well enough to know that future me might miss a step or even forget just what the heck I had done. ;-)
My M2 MacBook Air is carrying the full 2TB SSD. But, I am a digital pack rat (since 1987). Though I did just trash all 150MB (sigh, not GB) that was sitting in my Downloads folder.
I sent an email to fatcatsoftware.com <> asking if their PowerPhotos app could help with this. If/when they reply I will post here.
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On May 8, 2025, at 11:28?AM, Ben Rosenthal via groups.io <ben@...> wrote:
I think your best scenario is to move your library of originals to an external drive, create a second user account on your Mac, sign into your same Apple account, and point iCloud Photos to the external. Make sure this drive is included in backups. Then, make your local library optimized.
Ongoing, to keep your full library up to date, you¡¯ll need to make sure your second account is at least logged-in in the background and the external drive connected. Photos¡¯ background process will handle the syncing.
When you go out, you can eject the drive. Upon reconnecting, background syncing will continue as long as the second account is logged in.
On May 8, 2025, at 08:47, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
?But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Doing so wouldn¡¯t capture future photos added to the library.
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On May 8, 2025, at 09:21, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
?Steve,
I must be missing something here, but why can¡¯t you back up the *full res* photos as I said *before* enabling Optimize¡?
Otto
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
I think your best scenario is to move your library of originals to an external drive, create a second user account on your Mac, sign into your same Apple account, and point iCloud Photos to the external. Make sure this drive is included in backups. Then, make your local library optimized.
Ongoing, to keep your full library up to date, you¡¯ll need to make sure your second account is at least logged-in in the background and the external drive connected. Photos¡¯ background process will handle the syncing.
When you go out, you can eject the drive. Upon reconnecting, background syncing will continue as long as the second account is logged in.
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On May 8, 2025, at 08:47, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
?But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Steve,
I must be missing something here, but why can¡¯t you back up the *full res* photos as I said *before* enabling Optimize¡?
Otto
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On 8 May 2025, at 16:47, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
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Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
Something isn¡¯t clear to me about this.
You want to free up space on your internal drive, right? But you don¡¯t want to put the photos on an external drive because you leave it behind when moving around with your MBA. Because you want your MBA to have your photos.
How would your MBA have your photos if you move them off its SDD? Which is what you seem to want to do, to free up space.
Jerry
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On May 8, 2025, at 5:47 PM, Steve Kane <skane-l@...> wrote:
But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
But if I enable "Optimize Mac Storage" in the Mac Photos app then my local copy of Photos Library.photoslibrary would only contain thumbnails, or anyway reduced resolution copies of my photos. The full resolution photos would only exist on Apple's iCloud servers.
I would like to have a way of having a backup of my photos (and preferably the whole Photos Library.photoslibrary file) in another place in addition to Apple's servers.
For practical reasons I do not want to simply move my Photos Library.photoslibrary file to an external drive because I sometimes move around with my MacBook Air and leave behind all other devices, in which case, my MacBook Air would not have my photos. Photos Library.photoslibrary would be left behind on an external drive.
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On May 8, 2025, at 9:56?AM, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
You could use TM, CCC or SD to back up whatever you want.
Otto
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 8 May 2025, at 15:32, Steve Kane via groups.io <skane-l@...> wrote:
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
backup full res photos with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled
macOS 15.4.1, M2 MacBook Air
Photos > Settings > iCloud
In the not too distant future I may have to enable "Optimize Mac Storage" on my Mac to recover storage space on the internal SSD.
Is there a way I could make backups to an external SSD of the full res photo library on an ongoing basis?
I suppose iCloud would have to somehow be persuaded to download the full res photo library to an external drive?
Maybe some third party utility?
Anyone know?
|
Re: Need iPhone Clock App
Jim -
?
Yes, that app from Emerald and Sequoia worked great until I switched from my beloved iPhone SE (pretty small form factor). Keep your old iPhone as long as you can if you need to keep an old app running.?
--
Charles Phillips
Houston, Texas
Some C and C++ coding, orbital mechanics analysis, amateur astronomer tracking satellites
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Re: Safari "Tracker blocking"
On May 4, 2025, at 10:34 AM, Budd Turner via groups.io <n7eoj@...> wrote:
Several updates ago, I noticed Safari "Tracker blocking" statistics.
I thought it was interesting and would check it every time I launched.
I noticed it was always between some number between 80 - 100.
A recent Safari update increased the statistics had doubled¡but that statistic is now twice what that 80-100 range it used to be.
Is it really valid?
It¡¯s hard to say. But I have over half a dozen browsers installed on my machine so that I can keep track of which currently seems to be the best. While several of them block trackers, none of them are reporting such outlandish numbers. Frankly, while I believe that Apple is making a stab at security with Safari, I don¡¯t believe that they are as motivated in that regard as some third party browsers that hang their hat on security. I always keep coming back to the Brave browser. It¡¯s just a nicer Web browsing experience, and they seem to be all-in on security. Have a look at: Note that Brave is the top recommendation for security, and Safari doesn¡¯t even rate a recommendation. __________________________________________________ Randy B. Singer Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions) Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice __________________________________________________
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Re: Need iPhone Clock App
Doing a direct wired transfer from one iPhone to another is different from backing up an iPhone to iCloud or a computer and then restoring that back to another iPhone.
The former includes all data on the source device whereas the latter does not transfer apps and instead redownloads them from the App Store, if available.
This thread began with a discussion of an app that¡¯s not longer available in the App Store, and thus couldn¡¯t transfer to a new iPhone via backup or wireless transfer. However, wired transfer eliminates this obstacle.
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On May 4, 2025, at 02:11, Otto Nikolaus via groups.io <otto.nikolaus@...> wrote:
Is this the same as backing up an iPhone, then restoring another (usually later) iPhone from that backup? If not, why not?
Otto?
Read it again, you can move from older iPhones _to_ the 14, it says nothing about moving apps from older iPhones to another older iPhone.?
Convert¡¯s graphics are much like Apple¡¯s Calculator, but has a wider range of measurement units to convert between. I will look at the Apple Calculator again, but when I moved to the XR, the conversion list was much shorter.
My most current Mac is a late 2012 Mac min, Catalina is the highest OS it can run. I bought a clearance iPhone XR, when they shut down the 3G Networks. My old daily driver was an early 2008 MBP, but it has become very temperamental and about worn out. Living on a fixed income is limiting.?
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Ben Rosenthal
Brent
Charles Phillips