Deleting Photos From Finder

photos.app

I am using the Photos app to organize my pictures on my mac. I had imported them a month ago and then decided to go through the Finder and Pictures directory and actually delete pictures I didn't want. So when I go into the new Photos application the pictures are still there. Do I need to go through the app now too and delete them out of there or can I reimport from that same directory. I just didn't understand why it couldn't sync with what I had deleted out of there.

Best Answer

As stated, Photos keeps its own copies in its library.

Photos Library

Provided the photos you have edited and weeded out in Finder are the only photos you want in your library, try this:

  • Quit Photos if open
  • Move the Photo Library.photoslibrary file to a new location. (Desktop for instance) This make take a few minutes depending on how large the library is.
  • Open Photos app. It will ask you for a Library.
  • Create a new Library
  • Import your cleaned up photos to the new Library
  • If you have what you want you can delete the old Library.

This should save you lots of time. Just be sure you have backups of your photos!

In case you are curious how Photos stores your photos, ⌥+Click or right click and Show Package Contents

Photos Show Package Contents

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