Import from Aperture incomplete
Hi there,
being new to CO9 the first thing I (obviously) want to do is migrate from Aperture.
I have a Mini Mac with El Capitan, my files are "associated" by Aperture (not "managed" in its DB) and are stored on a Thecus NAS (RAID-5), which I access via smb (Samba).
During "Import Catalog" CO reported, that it could not access "offline files" (I don't remember the exact Message), therefore I eventually agreed to "skip all" (I did that because I reckoned there would be a report at the end of the Import-Job which would tell me which files I maybe to transfer manually).
At the end there was only a message saying that some 3500+ files (10% of my archive) were not imported because they were considered "offline".
I spot-checked for some of these during the import - I found them all, and wondered: with a Samba Connection either all files are offline or all files can be accessed - but not both at the same time. Am I wrong?
I doubt that a mere repetition of the import would change anything.
Anyway, here come my questions:
Is there a hidden report of the import job?
If not, how would I know which files were not imported?
being new to CO9 the first thing I (obviously) want to do is migrate from Aperture.
I have a Mini Mac with El Capitan, my files are "associated" by Aperture (not "managed" in its DB) and are stored on a Thecus NAS (RAID-5), which I access via smb (Samba).
During "Import Catalog" CO reported, that it could not access "offline files" (I don't remember the exact Message), therefore I eventually agreed to "skip all" (I did that because I reckoned there would be a report at the end of the Import-Job which would tell me which files I maybe to transfer manually).
At the end there was only a message saying that some 3500+ files (10% of my archive) were not imported because they were considered "offline".
I spot-checked for some of these during the import - I found them all, and wondered: with a Samba Connection either all files are offline or all files can be accessed - but not both at the same time. Am I wrong?
I doubt that a mere repetition of the import would change anything.
Anyway, here come my questions:
Is there a hidden report of the import job?
If not, how would I know which files were not imported?
0
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Just responding because its your first post!
Since I don't have any Samba Connections ( and to look it up on Apple Forums )...
I'll ask a 'newbie' question: the NAS that you connect to - do you have it configured like it says here ' ' for the SMB connection and the picture ?
Are you saying that even with the connection being 'active/shared' that CO doesn't 'import' the Aperture Libraries? - that it 'sees' files as being 'offline' _even_ in their 'own' directories on the NAS?
Not promising anything, but if you have more info -it may help in your quest.
dan0 -
I have been through the Aperture import process a number of times. I imported into COP8,and for various reasons have decided to do it again in COP 9.2.1
Here are some of the things I have learned.
Be prepeared to do a number of COP imports until you get it just right. Most database and Metadata problems are more easily fixed in Aperture.
Make your Aperture Library changes incrementally, and save each step. It's possible to make a change that results in horrible import behaviour, and then you don't want to start over.
1) Aperture isn't reliable at noticing and reporting off-line images. IMO the best way to find out:
Select the "Photos" section of the Aperture Library - 3 lines from the top - then choose browser only, set "Showing All" in the filter. then select all images, right click on an image and choose "locate referenced files". It takes a while, but 15 minutes of work gives a thorough vetting of the file system. (Try a test Import into COP)
COP9 is currently not working too well with TIFFs and hierarchical keywords - I find videos can also cause an issue. Also, version names, smart folders and stacks are not imported. Images with any dimension smaller than about 510 pixels are not editable in COP.
2) Flatten your keyword hierarchy - all keywords first level. The keywords must not include < or > or | as these will cause COP to generate hierarchical kewords. (Try a test Import into COP)
3) Either decide to forget all version names or set all file names to the version name. Or more complicated - write an applescript to copy version name to title. I chose the middle option. Good time to review your naming strategy. (Try a test Import into COP)
4) Do something about the too small files - mostly 480x640s gifted by other people. I either chucked them, or added a 40 pixel black border with Pixelmator.
5) If you want to save any smart albums or stacks, create an album, and copy the images to the album. Color code the stack pick.
6) Deal with any PSD or PSB or TIFF files that you want to turn into JPEGS
5) Now segregate your RAWS and JPEGS from everything else. The way I do this is I make two copies of the Aperture Library file - in one I delete all the RAWS and JPEGs, in the other, I delete everything but RAWs and JPEGs
6) Now empty the Aperture trash in both libraries. Be careful that "send deleted files to system trash" is unchecked to avoid deleting the referenced files from the file system. (make a trial with a small number of images first. Check system trash to make sure large numbers of images do not suddenly appear) (Try a test Import into COP)
7) Now repair each Aperture library. Do a recheck that all images are found (step 1) Go for the final import of the JPEGS and RAWS Aperture Library0 -
That's a great write-up Eric.
Too bad the forum doesn't have sub boards - I'd put your write up under 'Aperture Import' help!
Thanks
dan0 -
Eric's writeup is very good. I'd add the following:
- Start with a Referenced Aperture library.
- Eliminate PSDs all together. Convert them to TIFF. I've seen Adobe recommend this for years and my conversion to C1 finally catalyzed me to do this. It's your decision whether to save as layered or flattened TIFF—I don't know that C1 can handle layered.
- If you have Aperture versions that you want to be able to edit further or preserve in your new C1 library, export them from Aperture as TIFFs and then reimport. C1 will see the TIFFs, but not the versions (same for LR and other programs, btw). Note that you can do this from Aperture at any time, but I prefer to do it before moving to C1.
- Flatten/simplify your filing structure. Before migrating, I read about what C1 can't read from Aperture, so I eliminated constructs like Smart Albums and then I reduced the number of albums and other things I have. Now I mostly use a project structure that corresponds with my on-disc folder structure.
- Look hard at your keywords. Flattening a hierarchical structure is a good start, although I find that C1 v9.x handles hierarchical keywords well (I started at v8, which couldn't handle them). The big things, though, is to be sure that your keywords and structure make sense, and that you've consistently applied them to all of your images. Well done keywording and metadata enables me to find images independently from library structure (just search for keywords/metadata from all photos).
- In Aperture, save your Keyword list. Then in C1, import the list. Save your list in case you need it later. I've had to re-import my list into Aperture because Aperture occasionally corrupts it. I've also imported the same list into LR, so now all of the programs I use or might use have the same keyword library.
- Metadata: go through your library and make sure your metadata is as complete as you care to make it, and make sure it's consistent. Again, good and thorough keywording and metadata entry can really help with finding images in both Aperture and C1 (and LR, etc.).
- While going back through my library for keywording/metadata, I was able to chuck about half of the images without really losing anything. Reason: my standards have changed over the last decade, and I've revisited or reshot a lot of things. It took a long time, but my library's a lot nicer and more useful now. This is a good thing to do in Aperture before importing to C1.
- Optional: I embedded my IPTC metadata into the original files. C1 will not do this because P1's philosophy is to never mess with the original files. It's up to you. Benefit: YOUR IPTC metadata stays with the file, so every program that opens the file, regardless of whether it understands xmp sidecars, will see the data. I find this a huge benefit. DOWNSIDE: your Raw and other files are no longer "pure". I think there may also be a very small risk that the file could become corrupted, but I've not seen this over many tens of thousands of images. I wish that C1 gave us the option to embed the metadata (with appropriate scary warnings, of course).
If you've followed Eric's and my suggestions, you now have a referenced Aperture library based on a straightforward on-disc folder structure, a library structure that is totally understandable by C1, hopefully no filetypes that C1 can't work with, a good keyword list, consistent metadata, and your library is relatively free of unneeded images. Now you're ready to start your import process.
- If you run into import/conversion problems, consider importing a few thousand images at a time.
With all of that said, I've continued using Aperture for importing and metadata entry because I really prefer its handling of metadata. I have parallel Aperture and Capture One libraries and use C1's "Sync Folder" capability to keep changed folders updated. C1 is really really slow when reading very large groups of images (folders, albums, etc.), so some people break large libraries into several smaller ones. Aperture doesn't have that problem. Since I like to search through all of my images at once (thanks to complete, consistent keywording and metadata entry), I can use Aperture for entire library searches. As you work with C1 you'll start to understand. I don't find this as much of a pain as it sounds, and I'll probably keep doing it until C1 gets better at handling libraries with tens of thousands of images and some lingering keywording issues are squashed. I use C1 for all of my editing, though, which is the main reason I bought C1.
While I'm hopeful that Phase One will solve C1's library shortcomings in a future v9 update, I'd totally expect it no later than v10. Aperture's going to stop working eventually and I need a DAM replacement by then. C1's got the potential to fill the space, but some serious database programming is needed.0 -
What a great supplement Isme!
One question - you mention embedding the IPTC data into the image files - how do you do that?0 -
Just select the images you want and:
Metadata —> Write IPTC Metadata to Original0 -
@Isme, thanks a lot! I am already making good progress here following your advice!
@zoemax, it turns out that no files were offline, but some were deleted, hence CO couldn't handle those. The rest I may be able to collect following Isme's checklist.0
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