Mac Drag Photos From Photo Library To Desktop Not Working

admin 08.04.2020

Mac Drag Photos From Photo Library To Desktop Not Working Iphone
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If your iPhone photos not showing up in iPhoto/Photos on Mac? Read this post to learn some quick solutions to fix the problem.

How to Download Photos from iCloud to your Mac. You may select and drag the pictures from the Photos app to your Desktop or a Folder. How to Download Photos on Windows PC using iCloud for Windows. Run the software and click on Options next to photos. Here make sure iCloud Photo Library is turned on. Fixes to iPhone Photos Not Showing up in iPhoto or Photos on Mac. Here we collect some common quick solutions that once worked for some users to fix the iPhone photos not showing up on Mac or in iPhoto issue easily. Update your Mac and your iPhone system to the latest version. If possible update iPhoto to Photos (for Mac OS X Yosemite and later).

Issue: How to Fix Not Working Drag and Drop Function on Windows 10? Hello, please help. Drag and drop function stopped working on my Windows 10 laptop. Since yesterday I can’t drag anything from the desktop to the folders. I have to copy and paste all files to folders, which is annoying.
Apr 22, 2016 Are you one of the many users experiencing a Windows 10 drag and drop not working problem? Recently, many Windows 10 users have started reporting problems with dragging and dropping files, be it from some folder to the desktop, to a program window or some page on the Internet. Among the many complaints there have.

Read in: Read This Article in

iPhone Photos Tips

Export Photos from iPhone

Import Photos to iPhone

Fix iPhone Photos Problems

Other iPhone Photos Tips

Camera roll is about 4.4GB, and I want to save my pictures to the MacBook Pro. I connect my iPhone to MacBook Pro and iPhoto shows iPhone 6s yet displays the loading message. iPhone photos not showing up on Mac. I have just updated my iPhone to iOS 13, is that the problem?

iPhoto or the upgraded Photos app on Yosemite and later is the default app on Mac to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac. However, some users have met the same problem as the above user asked – photos on iPhone will not show up on Mac in iPhoto/Photos when connected with the iPhone. This may also happen to users who have just updated to the latest iOS 13. In this guide, we will show you some easy tips to fix iPhone photos not showing up on Mac issue.

Fixes to iPhone Photos Not Showing up in iPhoto or Photos on Mac

Here we collect some common quick solutions that once worked for some users to fix the iPhone photos not showing up on Mac or in iPhoto issue easily.

Update your Mac and your iPhone system to the latest version. If possible update iPhoto to Photos (for Mac OS X Yosemite and later).
Unplug your iPhone, and quit iPhoto/Photos as well as iTunes. Then plug the iPhone back and restart iPhoto/Photos.
Try an iPhoto alternative like AnyTrans for iOS to move iPhone photos to your Mac more easily and quickly.
Turn off your Mac and restart again, also restart your iPhone.
Unlock your iPhone, and when you plug in with it a pop-up will show on your iPhone and ask whether to Trust or Don’t Trust this computer. Tap on Trust.
If you use any other photo storage device on your Mac like DropBox, which can be conflicting with iPhoto. You should close DropBox or just remove it.
If you enabled iCloud Photo Library on your Mac and iPhone your photos might already be on your computer. That’s why those photos do not show up in iPhoto.
Reset iPhone trust settings. Disconnect your iPhone from your Mac. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Location & Privacy > Reconnect to your Mac and select Trust when your iPhone asks.
Use the Photos repair tool: Make sure that you backed up your main Photos library > Quit Photos > Press and hold the Option and Command keys as you open Photos again.
You will see the Repair Library dialog appears > Click Repair, and then enter an administrator password to begin running the Photos repair tool.

A Better Solution: Export Your iPhone Photos with an iPhoto/Photo Alternative

If none of the above works, how do I get my iPhone photos to show up on my Mac? Another way is trying a Photos/iPhoto alternative tool – AnyTrans for iOS to transfer your iPhone photos to Mac. With AnyTrans for iOS, transferring iPhone photos to Mac/PC computer will become much easier and quicker.

AnyTrans for iOS – iPhone Photo Transfer

Transfer all types of photos and albums to Mac as well as Windows.
Convert incompatible iPhone photos automatically.
Guarantee you no harm to picture quality.
Also help you transfer photos from iPhone to iPhone directly.

Free Download100% Clean & Safe

Now, Free Download AnyTrans for iOS on your computer, and then follow the simple steps below to import photos from iPhone to Mac without effort.

Step 1: Open AnyTrans > Connect your iPhone to the computer using a digital cable > Choose “Device Manager” mode > Click on “Photos” option.

Export iPhone Photos to Computer with AnyTrans- Step 1

Step 2: Select the photos you want to see on your computer > Click “To Computer” button at the top-right corner to start the process. After it completes, the selected photos should be on your computer now.

Export iPhone Photos to Computer with AnyTrans- Step 2

Part 3. Other iPhone Photos Related FAQs

You may have some other iPhone photos related questions and we’ve prepared some guides to give you answers.

Question 1. Where are photos stored on mac and how to view my photos on Mac?

After you import your iPhone photos to Mac with the Photos app, you can view them in Photos app directly or view photos on Mac in the Photos library folder.

On your Mac, Go to Finder > Choose Pictures > Right Click Photo Library > Choose Show Package Contents > In a folder named Masters, you will find photos in different folders.

Question 2. How can I import photos from iPhone to Mac in more ways?

To transfer photos from iPhone to Mac, besides using Photos or iPhoto, you can also try AirDrop, Image Capture, iCloud, etc. Read this guide to learn how to import photos from iPhone to Mac >

Question 3. What to do when the iPhone not showing up on PC?

If you are using a Windows PC and your iPhone won’t show up, here some fixes you can try. To get more info you can refer to How to Fix iPhone Not Showing up on PC :

Restart your iPhone and your Windows PC.
Make sure the iPhone is NOT locked and it is showing the home screen when you plug it in.
Try a different USB port if you have one.
Try enabling Windows AutoPlay.

The Bottom Line

If photos not showing up in iPhoto and you want to transfer iPhone photos to Mac, you can try AnyTrans for iOS. If you have any problems with this guide, please contact our support team via email.

Why you should (and shouldn't) use an external drive with Photos for Mac

There are a number of reasons why an external drive might make sense when you're working with Photos for Mac:

You have a giant Photos library (and, if you use iCloud Photo Library, you want to ensure you have a secondary backup of everything in that library)
You frequently swap computers and want to work on your images from any Mac
Your library isn't huge, but you'd prefer to save space on your Mac for other files
You share a computer with other users and you have limited drive space
If you're working with space constraints on your primary computer, it's one of the easiest ways to back up your full iCloud Photo Library

That said, there are some downsides, too. Here are some reasons you might not want to use an external drive:

You don't have a big enough library to warrant moving it off your Mac
You don't want to have to worry about always having your external drive connected to view and edit your images
You use a laptop frequently and can't afford an SSD, and you don't want to risk breaking your disc-based hard drive by constantly moving it
You don't want to accidentally create duplicate libraries that can't be connected to iCloud Photo Library (because your offsite library is connected)
Unless you purchase a speedy drive, working externally is almost always slower than working on your default hard drive
You don't want to spend the money on an external drive
If you use an automated backup service for your computer, you'll have to set up a second set of rules for backing up your hard drive

Best external drives for storing photos

Okay, so you've decided to move your Photos library over to an external drive. What next? If you already have an external drive, you can always use it for storing your Photos library (and save on cash). But if you're considering getting a new drive for this endeavor, here's what I suggest:

Get a drive that's at least 1-2TB in space, preferably 4TB. With the iPhone able to save 4K video, our space needs aren't shrinking anytime soon: The bigger hard drive you can afford, the better.
If you're buying a stationary hard drive, buying a disc-based hard drive is great, but buy good brands — don't try and save $50 on an off-brand hard drive. It's rarely worth the HDD failure.
If you're buying a portable hard drive, consider SSD: It's very pricey in comparison to a disc-based drive, but if you know you'll be frequently moving around — especially if you plan to move around with the drive connected — you want a drive that can take a little rumble and tumble without skipping or failing.
Hard drive speeds are important, too: The faster a drive's write speed, the quicker your images will copy; the faster a drive's read speed, the easier it will be for you to view images or video and edit them, too.

Want some recommendations for specific external hard drives? We've got those, too.

How to move your current Photos library to an external drive and use it as your primary library

As with creating a new library, moving your library to your external drive is a multi-step process. Here's how to go about it.

Step 1: Copy over your Photos library

Connect an external drive to your Mac via USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt.
Open a new Finder window.
Open your external drive in that window.
Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to your external drive), as you'll need it shortly.
Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
Select the Pictures folder.
Select your old library.
Drag it to your external drive in the other Finder window.

Your library will begin to copy over to your external drive. Depending on the size of your library and speed of your drive, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, so be patient. Don't unplug your drive or turn off your computer during this process.

Step 2 (if you use iCloud): Turn off iCloud sync on your old library

Before you open your copied Photos library on the external drive, you have to disassociate the library on your Mac from iCloud. (If you don't use iCloud Photo Library, you can skip these steps.)

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click on the iCloud tab.
Uncheck iCloud Photo Library.
Press Remove from Mac to remove any undownloaded low-resolution items from this library.
Quit Photos.

Step 3: Make your new library your system default

Now, it's time to make your newly-copied Photos library your system default.

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click Use as System Photo Library.

Step 4 (if you use iCloud): Connect your new library to iCloud

Your external library is now set up to be your system default, but it's not currently connected to iCloud. If you use iCloud Photo Library and want to keep that connection active so that you can continually download items you've stored, read on. (Otherwise, you can skip this step.)

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click on the iCloud tab.
Check iCloud Photo Library.
Click Download Originals to this Mac.
Wait for your Mac to download your images from iCloud. (Depending on the size of your iCloud library and your internet connection, this may take up to 24 hours; don't disconnect your external drive or turn off your Mac during this time.)

Once your library has fully synced and downloaded images, you can disconnect your drive; whenever you want to use your Photos library, you now need to connect your drive to your Mac.

Step 5: Get rid of your old library

A personal plea: Please, please, please make sure your library is fully copied and working on your external drive before you follow the steps below — once you've thrown away your original library, it's gone!

Open a new Finder window.
Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
Select the Pictures folder.
Select your old library.
Drag it to the Trash (or press Command-Delete on your keyboard).
Empty the Trash.
Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to the Pictures folder), as you'll need it later.
Select your external drive.
Right-click (or control-click) on your copied Photos library on your external drive.
Select Make Alias.
Drag the alias to the Pictures folder.
Rename the alias to remove the 'alias' part of its name.

Now you have a direct link to your copied Photos library from the Pictures folder: This prevents your computer from accidentally creating multiple Photos libraries in case you forget to launch Photos with your external drive connected.

Note: If you're worried about accidentally creating libraries, you can always launch Photos by option-clicking on its icon in the Dock or Applications folder; this will give you the option of picking which library you'd like to launch.

How to create a new Photos library on your external drive and use it as your primary library

Creating a new library on your external drive is a multi-step process. Here's how to go about it.

Step 1 (if you use iCloud): Turn off iCloud sync on your old library

Before you create a new Photos library, you have to disassociate your current library as your system default. (If you don't use iCloud Photo Library, you can skip these steps.)

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click on the iCloud tab.
Uncheck iCloud Photo Library.
Press Remove from Mac to remove all low-resolution items from this library.
Press Remove from Mac once more to confirm.
Quit Photos.

Step 2: Create your new Photos library

Once you've done this, it's time to create a new library.

Connect an external drive to your Mac via USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt.
Option-click (and continue holding down option) when launching the Photos app on your Mac.
When it asks you to choose a library, click on Create New….
Name your library.
Press the Down arrow to expand the File picker and choose your external drive as the new location.
Press OK to save it to your external drive.

Step 3: Make your new library your system default

You'll now have an empty library on your external drive. Next up: Making it your system library.

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click Use as System Photo Library.

Step 4 (if you use iCloud): Connect your new library to iCloud

Your external library has now been set up from scratch. Library dictionary mac. If you use iCloud Photo Library and want to download all the items you've stored there to have an external backup, read on. (Otherwise, you can skip this step.)

Open Photos on your Mac.
Go to the Photos menu.
Select Preferences.
Click on the iCloud tab.
Check iCloud Photo Library.
Click Download Originals to this Mac.
Wait for your Mac to download your images from iCloud. (Depending on the size of your library and your internet connection, this may take up to 24 hours; don't disconnect your external drive or turn off your Mac during this time.)

Once your library has fully synced and downloaded images, you can disconnect your drive; whenever you want to use your Photos library, you now need to connect your drive to your Mac.

Step 5: Get rid of your old library

A personal plea: Please, please, please make sure your new library is live and working on your external drive before you follow the steps below — once you've thrown away your original library, it's gone!

Open a new Finder window.
Click the Go menu and navigate to your Home folder.
Select the Pictures folder.
Select your old library.
Drag it to the Trash (or press Command-Delete on your keyboard).
Empty the Trash.
Open a new Finder window. Don't close your previous window (open to the Pictures folder), as you'll need it later.
Select your external drive.
Right-click (or control-click) on your new Photos library.
Select Make Alias.
Drag the alias to the Pictures folder.
Rename the alias to remove the 'alias' part of its name.

Now you have a direct link to your Photos library from the Pictures folder: This prevents your computer from accidentally creating multiple Photos libraries in case you forget to launch Photos with your external drive connected.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

Updated March 2019: Updated for macOS Mojave.

Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this post.

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