Importing from Aperture, and "Lightroom Masters" folder

[E. Seale]

So like a lot of people, I'm finally moving from Aperture to Lightroom. I'd like to leave my masters in place (I've already changed my Aperture library from Managed to Referenced), so pick that option when importing my library:

Yet still, when I use Lightroom's Import from Aperture Library tool, it populates the "Lightroom Masters" folder and uses those images for masters (vs. the ones I so carefully arranged while in Aperture). Why is Lightroom apparently ignoring my selection and duplicating my masters? FWIW, I'm running on Lightroom CC, and moving from Aperture 3.6.

 

[clee01l]

Welcome to the forum, Do not confuse the Folder panel with the Collections Panel. The Folder panel will show you the path to the referenced image files. In the catalog derived from the Aperture Library, there will be a special Collection in the Collection panel that shows you the master images that were in the Aperture Library. You can right click on any image in the "Lightroom Masters" collection and choose "Go to Folder in Library" This will then take you to the folder in the folder panel. You can also right click on any image in the "Lightroom Masters" collection and choose "Show in Finder" This will then take you to the folder in the Finder Window.

Collections are a container in LR that has an equivalence with Album containers in Aperture.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

You're right, if Aperture has them referenced, Lightroom shouldn't be duplicating them. It's possible that LR's confused about whether the photos are managed or referenced, or that Aperture didn't change all of them. Or could there be some kind of permissions problem? Let's have a look at Finder screenshots of your Aperture referenced files and the populated Lightroom Masters folder. That might give us a clue.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

One situation that can cause file duplication is as follows. If you select all images in Aperture and choose 'Relocate Masters', you will not relocate any image that is hidden inside a collapsed stack. Only the top image of the stack will be relocated, so the others may remain 'managed'. Before relocating images, always choose 'Expand all stacks' before you choose 'Select all'. That applies to Lightroom as well, by the way.

 

[Tobman]

Is there not an Aperture import plugin for Lightroom on a Windows machine? Is MacOS the only option for the plugin or to easily import an Aperture library in Windows?

 

[Johan Elzenga]

No, because Aperture is a Macintosh-only application, so there won't be many people switching from Aperture to Lightroom on Windows.

 

[E. Seale]

One situation that can cause file duplication is as follows. If you select all images in Aperture and choose 'Relocate Masters', you will not relocate any image that is hidden inside a collapsed stack. Only the top image of the stack will be relocated, so the others may remain 'managed'. Before relocating images, always choose 'Expand all stacks' before you choose 'Select all'. That applies to Lightroom as well, by the way.

Thanks, Johan -- this is what did it to me. That and the fact that I'd forgotten to empty the Aperture "trash," and I had a bunch of managed files lurking there.