How to Access Your iPhoto Library Without Opening iPhoto – How to Recover an Old iPhoto Library:
If you go to your home directory, there is a folder called ‘Pictures’ where Apple stores all your photos. If you have used iPhoto, then in the ‘Pictures’ folder there will be a file called ‘iPhoto Library’. It appears as one file. Don’t do this, but if you were to click it then it would try to open in iPhoto, or Photos. By default, iPhoto is a photo management program which comes standard on every Mac computer. But if you want change your Mac computer to Windows PC, then you need to transfer you all data from Mac to Windows PC. The most important thing is your photos and videos. You can transfer all your photos from iPhoto to Windows with simple steps. First, open the Finder and find the source library that you want to delete. By default, photo libraries are stored in your Pictures folder. If you can't find the library, follow the steps to choose a library; the path to the selected library's location appears in the Choose Library window. Next, move the source library to the Trash.
iPhoto is a popular app made by Apple for its Mac computer and iOS devices. But the iPhoto apps were discontinued in 2015. If you have a backup of iPhoto library then you have to learn how to access old iPhoto library without iPhoto app on your Mac.
iPhoto app has been replaced by Photos app on Mac, iPhone, iPad and other Apple devices. Now, the Photos app cannot open the iPhoto library directly. You have to access the iPhoto library with different method and find the old photos that you want to keep in storage.
The old iPhoto library is stored somewhere on your Mac’s hard drive. Many Mac users still don’t know where did iPhoto library used to store their pictures. If you want to open all pictures from your old iPhoto library without opening iPhoto app on Mac then you should read this article ahead. We will explain the step-by-step process for you.
Contents
- 1 How to Access Your Old iPhoto Library without iPhoto
How to Access Your Old iPhoto Library without iPhoto
The iPhoto app is removed by Apple from all Mac and iOS devices. So, it is almost impossible that a Mac user still has a working iPhoto app on their Mac device. The iPhoto app is gone but its iPhoto library is still there and it contains your important photos with your beautiful memories captured and/or stored earlier.
There are two methods by which you can access your old iPhoto library without opening iPhoto app on your Mac computer.
[Method-1] Access Photos through old iPhoto Library
01. Open Finder app on your Mac computer.
02. Click on “New Finder Window” option.
03. Scroll down to find out your user folder and open it.
04. Open Pictures folder and navigate to “iPhoto library” file.
05. Hold the Control key and click on “iPhoto library” file.
06. Now, select “Show Package Contents” option.
07. Find out “Data.noindex” folder and open it.
Access Iphoto Library 03

08. You will find all your pictures arranged in year wise folders.
09. Now, you can access all your pictures in the old iPhoto library.
[Method-2] Access Photos in old iPhoto Library and Import them to Photos app
01. On your Mac home screen, click on Finder in dock.
02. Select “New Finder Window” to open it.

03. Scroll down to the user folder and click on it to open.
04. Open Pictures folder and navigate to “iPhoto library” file.
05. Hold the Control Key and click on “iPhoto library” file.
06. Choose “Show Package Contents” option to access the library.
07. Find out “Masters” or “Originals” folder and open it.
08. Here you can view all your photos arranged in year wise and month wise folders.
09. Now copy the “Masters/Originals” folder to the desktop i.e. home screen.
10. Wait till all the photos are copied and pasted on your Mac home screen.
11. Now, open Photos app on your Mac and select “Import” option.
12. Import the “Masters/Originals” folder from the desktop.
After the Masters/Originals folder is imported to Photos app, all your iPhoto library pictures will be added to the Photos app library. Thereafter you can access all your new pictures and old iPhoto library pictures in Photos app on your Mac.
Wrapping Up:
We have explained two easiest ways to access your old iPhoto library without iPhoto app on Mac. You can not only access the pictures in your iPhoto library but also import them to Photos app on your Mac device. If you still have any query or question regarding how to access iPhoto library without opening iPhoto app then you can ask us in the comment section.
Apple has brought Photo Library with its latest OS X update 10.10.3. Unlike the iPhoto Library, Photos app has more user-friendly features to let you manage your photos in an all-new way. The best part is that the Photo Library is almost identical to that of iOS 8’s regarding functionality.
Import Old Iphoto Library On Mac Free
With the arrival of the new Photos app, iPhone Library doesn’t have much significance left with it. Moreover, it can no longer be even found in the Mac App Store.
In other words, Apple has decided to leave it behind to provide a more useful Photos app for users. If you have updated your Mac to OS X 10.10.3, you’d like to migrate all your photos from iPhoto Library to Photo Library. Here is the quickest way you can do so. Let’s take a look!
Note: Before going further, make sure to delete duplicate files and update any Metadata if you want in your iPhoto Library. Once you have pruned your iPhoto Library, close it out.
How to Transfer iPhoto Library to Photos App on Mac OS X Yosemite
Step #1. Click on Finder and Go to your Pictures folder.
Step #2. You’ll see Photos Library and iPhoto Library. Open Photos Library and make sure there is nothing inside. Now, delete the Photos Library as usually to prevent it from creating multiple files.
Step #3. Next up, open Photos app from the dock.
Step #4. The menu would suggest that the system can’t find Photo Library. Ignore the suggestion and click on Open Other.
Step #5. Select iPhoto Library and then click on Choose Library.
Wait for a while until all your photos have been imported to the new Photos app.
That’s all! If you want to check out whether photos have been imported from iPhoto or not, launch Photos app and ensure it’s all done perfectly.
You can still use iPhoto Library but its data can’t be automatically stored in iCloud. If you click on it now, it tells you that all your Photos have been migrated to Photos app.
Import Old Iphoto Library On Mac Pro
You can remove iPhoto Library if you don’t find any significance in keeping it on your device. Though I am not going to get rid of it right now, I won’t keep it for far too long either. What do you think? Are you going to remove it soon?
How To Import Old Iphoto Library
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