Photos

[dufchick]

Hi All-

In the notes app, there is a way to set it up so some notes appear on iCloud and some appear just on my MacBook Pro. Can this be done with photos so that only some appear on iCloud and the rest are just on my MacBook Pro?

Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Allison

 

[MacInWin]

Not automatically. It's either all or none if you choose to sync or not, but you can manually send some files to the cloud and not others and then download some from the cloud to your devices and not others. But it's a manual process both up and down if you do that.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

In the notes app, there is a way to set it up so some notes appear on iCloud and some appear just on my MacBook Pro. Can this be done with photos so that only some appear on iCloud and the rest are just on my MacBook Pro?

Absolutely yes you can! At least in Big Sur anyway and only for Notes... I can't vouch for older versions of macOS right now and I don't see a way for the same option in Photos. Open Notes on your MacBook and then go into its preferences. Put a checkmark in the box to Enable the On My Mac account. Once done, in the sidebar on the left, you'll see separate categories for notes that are in iCloud vs just on that Mac. You can also set the default location in the preferences once you do this.

 

[MacInWin]

LIAB, I took the Allison's comments to mean she wanted some to sync and some not to sync. Your finding was great as I had not thought of setting that option. Each note would have to be designated for one or the other, but it would work.

 

[IWT]

Can this be done with photos so that only some appear on iCloud and the rest are just on my MacBook Pro?

That part of the question awaits an answer. I don't have macOS 11 Big Sur (BS), so I can't comment on any upgrades in respect of the Photos app; but up to, and including, macOS Mojave, I can't find a way of doing what Allison wants without a lot of unreasonable workarounds.

Ian

 

[RadDave]

Absolutely yes you can! At least in Big Sur anyway and only for Notes... I can't vouch for older versions of macOS right now and I don't see a way for the same option in Photos. Open Notes on your MacBook and then go into its preferences. Put a checkmark in the box to Enable the On My Mac account. Once done, in the sidebar on the left, you'll see separate categories for notes that are in iCloud vs just on that Mac. You can also set the default location in the preferences once you do this.

View attachment 33072

Well, I'm still on Catalina and the Notes App works about the same - first pic below is the 'Preferences' selections on my MBAir w/ the same options; the bottom combo pic is Notes opened - the top pic shows iCloud selected in the sidebar; the bottom pic, All On My Mac - if a new note is started, its location depends on the sidebar selection, although a right click allows movement to other locales, if desired. Dave
.

 

[MacInWin]

It might help if @dufchick could tell us a bit more about what she really is trying to accomplish. Asking a "can this be done" question usually results in a "well, sure, but..." kind of answer that may or may not accomplish the real goals.

So, Allison, what is it you want to do with pictures? And Notes?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

LIAB, I took the Allison's comments to mean she wanted some to sync and some not to sync. Your finding was great as I had not thought of setting that option. Each note would have to be designated for one or the other, but it would work.

Yours was my initial thought also, but then I vaguely recalled there being a way to accomplish what she wanted and dug a little more into it.

 

[dufchick]

It might help if @dufchick could tell us a bit more about what she really is trying to accomplish. Asking a "can this be done" question usually results in a "well, sure, but..." kind of answer that may or may not accomplish the real goals.

So, Allison, what is it you want to do with pictures? And Notes?

Thanks all for your help, I am actually wanting to do this in the Photos app. I already know how to do this in the notes app. For notes I have the 'Enable the On My Mac Account' box checked but there is no equal box for photos preference. If there is no similar box to check in photos preferences is there another way to use the photos app with some photos being in iCloud and some not? I have Big Sur 11.1 and a 2018 MacBook Pro. Thanks!

 

[MacInWin]

There is one way I can think of, but it's hugely ugly. First, some background. Photos stores the images in a database. That database can only be in one place, defined in Photos>Preferences>General. It has a name something like Photos.photoslibrary. Also in Photos>Preferences is an iCloud preferences pane, where you can turn on or off automatic upload and storage of the Photos database to your iCloud account, from where they can be synced to any other devices attached to your iCloud account (iPhone, iPad, another Mac, etc).

Ok, with that background, the hugely ugly way is to create a new photos library with a different name and, for sake of this discussion, put in it the images you do NOT want to share in iCloud. To do that you hold down Option as you launch Photos and give a name and location for this new library. But before you put the images into that library, go to Photos>preferences and turn off the iCloud option. Now import the images you want in this NON-iCloud database.

Ok, so now you have two photoslibrary databases, one with images synced to iCloud, one not. Not so bad so far, but it's now going to get ugly. To shift from one to the other, you are going to have to change the iCloud option BEFORE you open the library. That is more important for the non-iCloud version but you are going to have to remember, or check, every time. Your habit should be that when you are about to close the iCloud version to open the non-iCloud version, first change the preferences to stop iCloud, then make the change by restarting Photos with Option and pick the one you want. You need to NEVER open the non-iCloud version with the Preferences still set to iCloud, but you can temporarily open the iCloud version with iCloud turned off.

As I said, hugely ugly. But I can't think of a different way to accomplish it. The real Photos expert is Ian, so maybe he had a trick for you to use when he reads this thread.

Again, you have not said WHY you want to do this. If you can share that, maybe there is a different solution for you besides abusing Photos this way.

 

[dufchick]

Thank you for this ugly but possibly good way to do this. Essentially I want to save space on my phone and iPad, but I pay for iCloud space, I really like the photo app as is, I do not have to make subfolders due to the way the app behaves. But if I have to choose, I would say because I take pictures of everything (documents, receipts, people, dogs, plants, places, things, shopping comparisons in stores...you name it I photograph it), I have really gotten so used to taking pictures of my day but I would like to access only more recent photos on my phone and iPad via iCloud rather than going back several years. I have Camscanner and other document apps, but the iPhone camera is just so darn convenient. I used google photos for storage but I am extracting myself from anything google due to their policies so all my photos are now in iCloud and none remain in google photos. I was considering getting DayOne app but I would love to make it work if I can, in Icloud. I do not just take photos, I refer back to them for various reasons all the time. I really love the photos app and having all my stuff under one seamless apple umbrella. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Thanks all for your help, I am actually wanting to do this in the Photos app. I already know how to do this in the notes app. For notes I have the 'Enable the On My Mac Account' box checked but there is no equal box for photos preference. If there is no similar box to check in photos preferences is there another way to use the photos app with some photos being in iCloud and some not? I have Big Sur 11.1 and a 2018 MacBook Pro. Thanks!

Wow. My reading comprehension has really gone to pot the past couple years. I just re-read your first post and see that I completely mis-read “In the notes app, there is a way to...” as “In the notes app, is there a way to...”.

 

[MacInWin]

Thank you for this ugly but possibly good way to do this. Essentially I want to save space on my phone and iPad, but I pay for iCloud space, I really like the photo app as is, I do not have to make subfolders due to the way the app behaves. But if I have to choose, I would say because I take pictures of everything (documents, receipts, people, dogs, plants, places, things, shopping comparisons in stores...you name it I photograph it), I have really gotten so used to taking pictures of my day but I would like to access only more recent photos on my phone and iPad via iCloud rather than going back several years. I have Camscanner and other document apps, but the iPhone camera is just so darn convenient. I used google photos for storage but I am extracting myself from anything google due to their policies so all my photos are now in iCloud and none remain in google photos. I was considering getting DayOne app but I would love to make it work if I can, in Icloud. I do not just take photos, I refer back to them for various reasons all the time. I really love the photos app and having all my stuff under one seamless apple umbrella. I hope that makes sense.

I think what you want may be possible with a combination of Photostream and Photos, but I'm not the expert like Ian is. I'm sure he'll get to this thread eventually. I have DayOne and I really like it. All I use it for is journaling when I travel so I can recall the trips and the pictures I take on the various days of each trip. I've not explored the options much, but it syncs from my Mac to my iDevices, I think through iCloud although I don't really recall the details.

I'll see if I can PM Ian to get him to join in.

 

[IWT]

Allison

This is what I believe you want.

1. To save space on your iPhone and iPad.
2. To keep only the most recent, or selected, pics on your iPhone and iPad
3. You like the Photos app on your Mac as it is and are happy to store the Mac’s pics on iCloud.

Before we start and to be certain that we do not lose any pics you want to keep, make sure that every pic on your iPhone/iPad is already in the Photos app of your Mac.

To avoid terminological confusion, I am calling all photographs - pics (short for pictures). When I refer to Photos, I mean the app, whether it be on the iPhone, iPad or Mac.

I am also assuming that all pics will be taken on your iPhone and NOT on your iPad. (I’ll amend my advice if you do take pics on your iPad, but things are complicated enough as it is).

On your iPhone and iPad:

Go into Settings > Photos and make the following adjustments.

iCloud Photos OFF

My Photo Stream ON

On your Mac:

Open the Photos app > Preferences > iCloud and make the following adjustments.

iCloud Photos ON

My Photo Stream ON

This is what will happen from now on:

Any pic taken on your iPhone will appear:

In “Recents” (formerly Camera Roll) AND in “My Photo Stream” on your iPhone

In “My Photo Stream” on your iPad

In the Photos app on your Mac - from which they will be saved to iCloud.

If you want to remove pics from your iPhone, you’ll have to do that manually from the “Recents” Album. This will ALSO remove them from “My Photo Stream” on your iPhone AND from “My Photo Stream” on your iPad.
But it will not change anything already stored in the Photos app on your Mac.

If you subsequently decide that you want to restore a pic deleted from your iPhone, but now in the Photos app on your Mac, you will have to do that manually. There are various ways to do this. I can give you a separate “tutorial” on how to do that another time.

But my advice is to try NOT to delete pics from your iPhone if you think they might be of interest later.

The one thing that you don’t have is the ability to retrieve pics from iCloud on to your iPhone - that is an “All or Nothing” thing.

But otherwise, I think I’ve met your criteria. Tell me if I’ve not, please.

Ian

 

[dufchick]

Allison

This is what I believe you want.

1. To save space on your iPhone and iPad.
2. To keep only the most recent, or selected, pics on your iPhone and iPad
3. You like the Photos app on your Mac as it is and are happy to store the Mac’s pics on iCloud.

Before we start and to be certain that we do not lose any pics you want to keep, make sure that every pic on your iPhone/iPad is already in the Photos app of your Mac.

To avoid terminological confusion, I am calling all photographs - pics (short for pictures). When I refer to Photos, I mean the app, whether it be on the iPhone, iPad or Mac.

I am also assuming that all pics will be taken on your iPhone and NOT on your iPad. (I’ll amend my advice if you do take pics on your iPad, but things are complicated enough as it is).

On your iPhone and iPad:

Go into Settings > Photos and make the following adjustments.

iCloud Photos OFF

My Photo Stream ON

On your Mac:

Open the Photos app > Preferences > iCloud and make the following adjustments.

iCloud Photos ON

My Photo Stream ON

This is what will happen from now on:

Any pic taken on your iPhone will appear:

In “Recents” (formerly Camera Roll) AND in “My Photo Stream” on your iPhone

In “My Photo Stream” on your iPad

In the Photos app on your Mac - from which they will be saved to iCloud.

If you want to remove pics from your iPhone, you’ll have to do that manually from the “Recents” Album. This will ALSO remove them from “My Photo Stream” on your iPhone AND from “My Photo Stream” on your iPad.
But it will not change anything already stored in the Photos app on your Mac.

If you subsequently decide that you want to restore a pic deleted from your iPhone, but now in the Photos app on your Mac, you will have to do that manually. There are various ways to do this. I can give you a separate “tutorial” on how to do that another time.

But my advice is to try NOT to delete pics from your iPhone if you think they might be of interest later.

The one thing that you don’t have is the ability to retrieve pics from iCloud on to your iPhone - that is an “All or Nothing” thing.

But otherwise, I think I’ve met your criteria. Tell me if I’ve not, please.

Ian

Ian Thank You! I am trying to do this but I do not have the option of 'My Photo Stream' on my Mac, this is what I have:

 

[MacInWin]

@dufchick, whatever you do be careful. The "Optimize Mac Storage" means that not all of your images, or as Ian called them, "pics," are on your Mac, but moved to iCloud. I'm sure Ian can provide more detail, but just be careful so that you don't lose any pics in the process.

@IWT She's running Big Sur, so maybe this can help: https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/welcome/mac

EDIT: Or this: https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/from-icloud-photos-phtf5e48489c/6.0/mac/11.0

2nd Edit: Or this: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/sync-photos-to-your-device-mchl4af095d3/mac

I don't see a parallel to Photostream being referenced.

3rd Edit: Photos sync through Finder in Big Sur. But if iCloud is turned on, the syncing process is not available because the iCloud option overrides and syncs every picture anyway. In the Big Sur user guide linked above I found this

If you prefer not to sync, you don’t have to. You can download items from the iTunes Store, the App Store, Apple Books and other Apple services directly to your device. If you have an iCloud account, you can use iCloud to make sure items like photos or contacts are on both your Mac and devices.

I just use iCloud and sync everything to everywhere, so I can't speak to the various options, I'm just trying to show what may help in Big Sur.

 

[IWT]

Well, this changes things a bit; but not much. I don't have macOS 11 Big Sur (BS), so I was unaware of the removal of My Photo Stream. BTW, thanks to Jake's Links, I have confirmed that Photo Stream is gone from the Mac; but not from iPhone or iPad - which is odd.

Keep the settings on your iPhone and iPad as I suggested. In particular keep iCloud Photos OFF.

The only difference between what I posted and BS, is that you will have to sync your iPhone with your Mac, preferably by USB cable and transfer your pics from your iPhone/iPad to the Mac. To do this, you connect your iDevice (your iPhone most likely) to your Mac using USB cable.

You now have two choices -

1. You can open the Photos app on your Mac, click on the iPhone icon on the left (it will probably say something like Allison's iPhone). Then select the the pics you want to transfer to Photos and then Click on Import Selected Images.

2. The second option after connecting via USB cable, is to use Image Capture (found in Finder > Applications > Image Capture). Again your iPhone will be visible. Click on that. All your pics will appear to the right. Select those for Import. At the bottom, you cab choose where you want the pics to go - Photos app in your case. Image Capture is really for those who want to avoid Photos app and store their pics elsewhere on their Mac.

I recommend you use option one above.

Lastly, I'd choose "Download Originals to this Mac" rather than "Optimise Mac Storage" because if you ever need to recover pics or videos, I would imagine that you'd prefer them to be of original quality & resolution. Your choice entirely.

Comment: it seems to me that Apple's policy is that everything should be Cloud based, from which you can access anything you want on any Device. That's great, but it is of little help to you, Allison, because storage capacity on your iPhone/iPad is greatly limited and your stated aim was to keep a relatively small number of pics on your iPhone.

The iCloud-based approach is "all or none". What I've suggested is a way to achieve your aims with the relatively minor inconvenience of having to transfer your pics to the Mac by USB cable.

All comments and criticisms welcome

Ian

 

[ferrarr]

I have Big Sur and the Photo Stream option:

 

[MacInWin]

Bob, what version of Photos is that? Photos 6.0, which is what I have shows only this:


No Photostream.

 

[ferrarr]

I'm using Big Sur > Photos Version 6.0 (321.0.110). But I don't use iCloud Photos. That's why I still have the Photo Stream option.