As an iPhoto user chooses to migrate to Aperture, they’ll likely have a large library of images to bring with them. Aperture offers twoasy ways to migrate iPhoto images into your Aperture library. Which method you select will vary depending upon your needs.
Migrating an Entire iPhoto Library
When you launch Aperture for the first time, a dialog offers to let you import your entire iPhoto library. You can choose to copy the images into your Aperture library or to simply reference the images in their current location. Even if you choose not to import your Aperture library the first time you launch, you can do so at any time.
Because Aperture and iPhoto are both manufactured by Apple, the two programs are designed to share information seamlessly. For example, any organization you did to create albums in iPhoto will translate into projects in Aperture. The EXIF, keywords, ratings, and applied adjustments are also maintained.
Importing an iPhoto library is very easy. To import your iPhoto library, do the following:
1. Choose File > Import > iPhoto Library. Aperture navigates automatically to your current iPhoto library.
2. Select the iPhoto Library folder using the file browser.
3. Choose the location where you’d like Aperture to store your images.
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- Choose "In the Aperture Library" from the Store Files pop-up menu to store imported masters in the Aperture library. This will allow Aperture to manage the images in its library architecture.
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- Choose "In their current location" from the Store Files pop-up menu to import the files as referenced images. This means the files are stored in their current locations on your hard drive.
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- Choose "Pictures" from the Store Files pop-up menu to store imported masters in the Pictures folder for the current user. The images are treated as referenced images.
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- Choose "Choose" from the Store Files pop-up menu and pick a folder where you want to store the imported masters as referenced images. You can also specify an organization method for the images by clicking the Subfolders pop-up menu.
4. Specify a naming convention from the Version Name pop-up menu. You can choose Master Filename from the Version Name pop-up menu to store your images using the current master filenames assigned by the camera. There are also several options for assigning custom names.
5. Click Import to add the images to your Aperture library.