Aperture to Lightroom questions

[f8lee]

I've done the search thing and started looking through the pages of postings here to avoid being redundant (which I imagine i must be - certainly not the first person to wonder about this), but I have some questions about importing from my Aperture (v3.6) to Lightroom. I know LR v6 was just released and will likely download the 30 day trial, but on the conceptual level I'd like to have an understanding of how it works, particularly on the DAM side.

I've got 50K+ images in my Aperture library, all of them as referenced files. I know LR can "do" referenced files in general, but on Adobe's "landing" page in the segment about importing from Aperture it states "Select the location of your Aperture library and choose a new location for your images." - which leads me to ask what if they are referenced images? That is, I don't need to relocate the terabyte of images I have sitting on the external drive, right? So if I import that Aperture library Lightroom will "know" where to find the originals, right? Seems simple, but the way adobe presents the instructions seems to assume the Aperture library itself contains the image files.

So assuming the import happens without incident (I did this for a trial version of Capture 1, after deleting my smart folders as per directions) here are some other questions:

1) In Aperture, I have many projects (obviously), some grouped in folders, etc. But keywords cut across all projects, such that if I make a smart album to contain all files with the keyword "butterfly" (or whatever) that folder will find any images with that keyword, regardless of what project the image is in. In C1, the key-wording only works within a "catalog"; this makes it far less useful for my needs.

2) If for some reason I need to relocate the referenced files to a different directory (or hard drive), in Aperture I use the "relocate files" function after first moving them around using the Finder drag-and-drop. C1, meanwhile, has the ability to take care of the file movements at the OS level when you relocate things from within the program - a nice touch, actually. So where does LR sit on this spectrum?

TIA for any help - again, before downloading LR6 this week I would like to have some sense in my mind's eye as to how it "thinks" - back in the day I tried both LR and Aperture (at v1 levels) and found Aperture to be more intuitive and 'friendlier', thus my (at this point) unfortunate choice at the time. Presumably LR has gotten a lot better along the way, so I hope it will suit me decently, if not well.

[ButchM]

Referenced files work the same in Lightroom as they did in Aperture. The only difference is if you move, alter, rename or otherwise make changes outside of Lr, you will have to relink the affected images. Aperture was able to "see" some changes made in Finder for example. Lr can't see such changes.

[f8lee]

Thank you - I did figure LR does referenced files (as Adobe added that feature back at v2 or 3 as I recall) - but the question is if I import the Aperture library will LR recognized the referenced file pointers and such? Because when the Adobe direction states "Select the location of your Aperture library and choose a new location for your images." it makes me wonder why there needs to be a new location for the images.

[ButchM]

Thank you - I did figure LR does referenced files (as Adobe added that feature back at v2 or 3 as I recall) - but the question is if I import the Aperture library will LR recognized the referenced file pointers and such? Because when the Adobe direction states "Select the location of your Aperture library and choose a new location for your images." it makes me wonder why there needs to be a new location for the images.

Lightroom has always been a referenced file system only. It never has actually "imported" user image files. Only in the sense that the image file management data is recorded in the .lrcat file. It was Aperture (and iPhoto) that actually stored user images within the Library file. It was later that Apple added the option to use referenced files.

The info you are referring to pertains to importing new images from the camera or card that does not yet have a home on a drive in your system. Images you already have saved to a drive previously and later import into the Lr database will not be moved, altered to otherwise changed.

[f8lee]

Thank you -  in fact the info I found specifically pertained to Adobe's instructions on how to migrate from Aperture - the longer instruction list is:

"To migrate from Aperture:
In Lightroom, go to File > Plug-in Extras > Import from Aperture Library.
Select the location of your Aperture library and choose a new location for your images."

But what you're saying is that since my stuff is all referenced anyway it should port over easily.

Thanks again!

[ButchM]

Select the location of your Aperture library and choose a new location for your images."

I would think that portion of the instruction would pertain to managed photos in Lr, not referenced.

[f8lee]

I would think that portion of the instruction would pertain to managed photos in Lr, not referenced.

You may well be right, but for those of us who are not familiar there is no way to tell given the way they wrote the direction.

[john beardsworth]

I would think that portion of the instruction would pertain to managed photos in Lr, not referenced.

You might think so, but it's not the case. It refers to all your aperture photos - by default, the plugin makes copies of the referenced files too.

Click the Options button and there's a setting to import the referenced photos where they are.

[f8lee]

You might think so, but it's not the case. It refers to all your aperture photos - by default, the plugin makes copies of the referenced files too.

Click the Options button and there's a setting to import the referenced photos where they are.

Thank you - and just to clarify - by selecting the option to import the photos where they are I do not need a second 2TB external drive onto which LR would store the copies it would otherwise make?

[john beardsworth]

That's correct. Once you set that option, it will only make copies of any managed files, which you don't appear to have. LR will be referencing exactly the same files as Aperture.

I've got screenshots of the important dialog boxes on my Aperture to Lightroom page.

[john beardsworth]

2) If for some reason I need to relocate the referenced files to a different directory (or hard drive), in Aperture I use the "relocate files" function after first moving them around using the Finder drag-and-drop. C1, meanwhile, has the ability to take care of the file movements at the OS level when you relocate things from within the program - a nice touch, actually. So where does LR sit on this spectrum?

LR is more like C1's method. If you want to relocate files that are referenced in LR, drag and drop them within LR (until you are more confident).