Removing Videos From Your iPhoto Library

If your iPhoto library is huge, one way you can cut it down is to remove all of the videos and store them elsewhere. But finding and then deleting videos in iPhoto can be tricky. You'll need to create a smart album, and then flag the videos before using a hidden command that moves all flagged items to the trash.

Comments: 19 Responses to “Removing Videos From Your iPhoto Library”

    James Hallows
    9 years ago

    Excellent video - thanks!

    Mike
    9 years ago

    With reference to this great topic. I was curious about the cursor and the round shape connected with the arrow and the ability to speed thru gathering the files etc. Is that some simple keyboard command I'm overlooking?

    Perhaps you could post something related in an upcoming video. I was mesmerized by the speed of that cursor. Thanks, Gary.

      9 years ago

      The circle around the arrow cursor is just something in the video to help you follow my actions. You won't see that when you do the same steps. Not sure what you mean by the "speed" of the cursor. There's nothing special about that in this tutorial.

        Mike
        9 years ago

        I picked up on what I was referring to. The command+click in order to drag and drop multiple files. Guess I should learn the chart.

    Anthony lavacca
    9 years ago

    What a great tip as it open up so much space on my drive

    Linda Lyn
    9 years ago

    Hi Gary
    Your knowledge is so valuable and you have make them so simple for users to learn from you. Thank you so much.

    jennifer
    9 years ago

    I have a lot of flagged photos, is there a way around that?

      9 years ago

      You mean you use the flags for something else? I would suggest using keyword tags or an album instead of flags. Should be easy to assign a tag to the flagged photos by viewing them all, selecting them all, and assigning the tag. Then you can clear your flags and use them for this an other things. Flags are great for temporary use. Keyword tags and albums are better and more versatile for other uses.

    Peter
    9 years ago

    Excellent. I was particularly taken with the ability to press Control to trash flagged photos.

    Corinna
    9 years ago

    Thanks for that, Gary. Still trying to create some storage space, so this is helpful.
    Once you've moved the videos to your desktop video file though, they are still taking up the same amount of storage space on your computer, right?
    What do you suggest doing next? Moving them to your external HD and deleting off your laptop? What format would they then appear in on your external HD? Easy to view from there? That's what I like about Iphoto- how easy it is to organize and view photos.

      9 years ago

      Moving them to an external drive for archiving is what people often do. The files are simple video files that you can view in QuickTime Player or a video app of your choice.

    Corinna
    9 years ago

    Thanks, Gary.

    How about moving photos from iPhoto to an external HD? Is there any way to keep them in the "events" you've set up in iPhoto, so you don't have to open them one by one on the external HD (which would be a pain)?

      9 years ago

      You could simply move your entire iPhoto library to the external drive. It is a single "file" on your drive, usually in the Pictures folder, but you can put it anywhere you want. You can also have multiple iPhoto libraries, so you can store some photos in one on an external drive and some in one on your internal. But you can only view one library at a time.
      Of course this is a bad time to be thinking about splitting your iPhoto library up, as Apple is close to releasing the Photos app which will make iPhoto obsolete and completely change the way we store photos. I would wait instead of making any changes.

        Corinna
        9 years ago

        Thanks so much for the heads up, Gary. I didn't know about the upcoming Photos app. Can't wait to see it.

        I've just been a little concerned b/c I see how many photos I've taken in just the past few years, then multiply that by the next 30 years, and I don't think they'll all fit on my laptop. However, I want super easy access to them. Sounds like the Photos app will be a good solution.

          9 years ago

          Well, also consider how much things have changed in the LAST 30 years. In 1985 you couldn't even get a hard drive and the largest floppy wasn't even large enough to hold a single modern digital photo. Even just a few years ago, the largest drive consumers could get was many times smaller than what you can get now for $100.

            Corinna
            9 years ago

            Yes, of course, good point. I'm not suggesting I'll have this exact laptop for the next 30 years, but even if I upgrade it every few years and copy all my info (including photos) from the old to the new laptop, the photos wouldn't all fit, I'm guessing.
            Good point... will have to stay tuned for all the upcoming changes.

    Sally Richards
    9 years ago

    I love your column! I have a similar question, but it may be worthy of another column. The slow-mo videos are so huge on iphone 6 — crazy big, you can't email or message them anywhere, you have to download them. I haven't downloaded them yet to my iphoto backup, but would the process be the same, or do you have a better idea about how to put them directly into an external drive?

      9 years ago

      If you ever want to take any photo of video directly from your iPhone to a file on your Mac, skipping iPhoto, just run the Image Capture app that comes on every Mac. You can easily get them that way, or even just erase things you don't want at all.

    Mike W
    9 years ago

    Gary, I look forward to any advice you will give about removing and storing photos once the new Apple Photos app is released. I have many older photos which I retain on my MBP in an iPhoto library. I also use Aperture once in a while (same library). I won't want to purchase extra storage space (can't as I don't have an Apple ID with a credit card). So, I will want to remove photos and videos to other locations (ext HDD for example) so I can keep my Photos app in the cloud low memory level.

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