Photos in your System Photo Library are available in apps like iMovie, Pages, and Keynote. You can also sync them to iOS devices and view them on Apple TV. And if you want to use your own images as your desktop picture or screen saver, the images need to be in your System Photo Library before you can select them in System Preferences.
If you have only one photo library, then it's the System Photo Library. Otherwise, the first photo library that you create or open in Photos will become the System Photo Library. If you have more than one library, you might need to designate a System Photo Library, so other apps can access the photos and videos you want them to use.
Follow these steps to designate a System Photo Library:
- Quit Photos.
- Hold down the Option key and open Photos. One of the photo libraries is already designated as YourLibraryName (System Photo Library).
- Choose the library you want to designate as the System Photo Library.
- After Photos opens the library, choose Photos > Preferences from the menu bar.
- Click the General tab.
- Click the Use as System Photo Library button.
The Photos Library 'Masters' folder holds all your original image files. Screen capture by Brad Moon. Start copying the contents to a new location, one folder at a time. Make certain you are. Navigate to Photos to find the new 'Memories' tab in the center of the app, where you can scroll through your personally curated list of memories and choose whichever one you wish to edit and share.
Drag the exported photos into the Photos library or use File Import to select and import them. Apple You can export unmodified or edited photos from an iPhoto library.
If you open a second or different library in the Photos app, and you haven't designated it as the System Photo Library, other applications will use photos from the original System Photo Library. Hold down the Option key when you open Photos to see which library is set as the System Photo Library.
iCloud and the System Photo Library
You can use iCloud Photos, Shared Albums, and My Photo Stream only with the System Photo Library. If you choose a different library in Photos without designating it as the System Photo Library, the iCloud tab in Photos preferences is disabled:
If you designate a new library as the System Photo Library and then turn on iCloud Photos, the photos and videos in the new library will merge with those already in your iCloud Photos. If you want to keep the contents of your photo libraries separate, don’t turn on iCloud Photos for more than one library in Photos.
To get to the Photos Repair Library tool on your Mac, follow these steps:
- If Photos is open, close the app. Then, while you click to open Photos, hold down the Command and Option keys at the same time.
- In the window that opens, click Repair to start the repair process. You might be asked to enter your user account password.
The Repair Library tool analyzes the library's database and repairs any inconsistencies it detects. Depending on the size of your library, the repairs might take some time. When the process is done, Photos opens the library.
Rename Photos Library Mac
If you repair a library that's used with iCloud Photos, iCloud checks the library after the repair process completes to ensure everything is synced correctly.
Rename Photos Library Mac
If these steps still don't work, or you can't open the repair tool, contact Apple Support.