May 22, 2007  Question: Q: i got a new iMac, how do i get my library to it if old PC broke? I just got a new iMac since my old computer broke. I don't have all of my songs on my iPod, so is there a way to get my old library onto my new computer??? IMac Mac OS X (10.4) More Less. Posted on May 15, 2007 5:16 PM. Dec 12, 2016  From the Finder of Mac OS, pull down the “Go” menu and hold down the SHIFT key Choose “Library” from the drop down list You can also hit Command+Shift+L from the MacOS Finder to immediately jump to the /Library directory of the active user account.

1. How To Use A Mac
2. My Mac Library
3. Access Library On Mac
4. How To Get To The Mac Library
5. How To Do Mac Update
6. How Do I Get To The Library On My Mac
7. How To Go To Mac Library

If you want your Mac's photos to wirelessly sync to all your other iOS devices and computers, you want to set up iCloud Photo Library: Apple's photo sync service lets you back up your images on all your devices, as well as access them — online or offline — on said devices. If you're willing to pay for the extra iCloud storage space, you can store an incredible amount of photos and videos, all accessible at the touch of a button or multi-touch screen.

Here's how to set it up on your Mac and get everything configured to your liking!

How to set up iCloud Photo Library on your Mac

1. Launch the Photos app on your Mac.
2. Select the Photos menu in the upper left corner of your screen.
3. Go to Preferences.

4. Click on the iCloud tab.

   Source: iMore

5. Check 'iCloud Photos.' This will begin uploading any and all images you have stored in the Photos app to iCloud.

   Source: iMore

How to optimize your photo and video storage

If you routinely shoot 4K video or high-quality images on your iPhone, iPad, or DSLR, you may run out of storage space fast. (I have a 1TB iMac, but also have almost a terabyte of 4K video stored in iCloud — it gets unwieldy, fast!) This is especially true if you have a Mac laptop with limited hard drive space: It's nice to look at your iPhone's gorgeous Portrait mode photos, but not necessarily always practical to store all of them locally.

Thankfully, Apple offers an Optimize Storage option, which lets you store full-resolution photos and videos of only your most recently shot and accessed imagery; all older photos and videos are available to download via iCloud and are stored as low-resolution previews on your device to save space. You can switch between optimizing your Mac's photos storage or storing your full library locally: Here's how!

How To Use A Mac

Note: If you plan on using Optimize Storage, we suggest having at least one device that stores your entire library locally (usually a Mac with a large local or external hard drive), so you have multiple backups of your photographs and video.

1. Launch the Photos app on your Mac.
2. Click Photos in the App menu in the upper left corner of your screen.

3. Select Preferences from the drop-down menu.

   You can't merge libraries using Photos; you can only view them separately.If you decide at some point you'd like to pick a different photo library as your default library for Photos, you can do so by going to the General tab of Preferences and click the button Use as System Photo Library.Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNETIf you are using iCloud Photo Library with the Photos app, it will work only with the System Photo Library. You might logically conclude that Photos always opens the System Photo Library unless otherwise instructed, but the app instead opens the Last Opened library.Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNETTo choose a different library than the library you last opened, hold down the Option key when launching Photos. That is, your secondary libraries will not upload photos to iCloud to share across your iOS devices and OS X machines. If you want to get all of your photos and videos in iCloud, however, you can designate another library as your System Photo Library and then enable iCloud Photo Library. Create new system photos library on mac. It will open a dialogue window before opening Photos, asking you to Choose Library or Create New.

   Source: iMore

4. Click the iCloud tab.

5. Click Optimize Mac Storage.

   Source: iMore

Full-resolution versions of your photos and videos will be uploaded to iCloud.

How to share photos with iCloud Photo Library

Apple's photo service doesn't just provide online backups and sync for your images and video: The company also offers a free sharing service that allows you to send shared albums to friends and family (or create a publicly-shared website). Here's how to turn it on for your Mac.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments below.

Updated January 2020: Updated for macOS Catalina. Serenity Caldwell worked on a previous version of this post

iCloud Photo Library: The Ultimate Guide

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Martin Scorsese's next movie might come to Apple TV+ after Paramount walked

Spiraling costs have put Paramount off Scorcese's next gig and Apple TV+ is one potential suitor. Netflix is said to be another potential avenue.

Learn how to access the hidden Library folder in your Home folder on your Mac so you can tweak app settings and access app files.

Inside the home folder on your Mac is a Library folder that stores app-specific files and settings, personal settings, and some data. The files and settings in the Library folder should be left alone for the most part. But, you may want to tweak the settings for an app, which may require accessing the Library folder. Or, maybe an app backs up data to the Library folder and you want to copy that to an external drive.

As of Mac OS X Lion (10.7), the Library folder in your home folder is hidden by default. That doesn’t mean you can’t get to it. It’s hidden so you don’t accidentally delete settings and data, damaging apps in the process. So, if you decide you want to access the Library folder, be very careful.

Today we’re going to cover different ways of accessing the hidden Library folder in your home folder and how to make it permanently available in Finder.

What is the Path to the Library Folder?

My Mac Library

The Library in your home folder is written as ~/Library. The tilde (~) character is a shortcut for your home directory. For example, on my Mac, that would expand to /Users/lorikaufman/Library.

Access the Library Folder Using the Go to Folder Option

If you want to access the Library folder only occasionally, you can use the Go to Folder option in Finder.

Open Finder or just click on the desktop. Head to Go > Go to Folder, or hit Cmd + Shift + G.

Type:~/Library in the Go to the folder box on the dialog box and click Go or press Enter.

If you have one or more Finder windows open, the Library folder opens in the currently active window. If no Finder windows are open, a new one opens to the Library folder.

Access the Library Folder Using the Terminal

If you prefer using the command line, you can access the Library folder using the Terminal.

Go to Utilities > Terminal in the Applications folder. To access the Library folder directly in the Terminal, type:cd ~/Library at the prompt to switch to the Library folder.

You can type:ls at the prompt to get a detailed folder listing. You can work with the files in the Library folder directly on the command line. Just be careful.

You can also use the Terminal to open the Library folder in a Finder window. Type:open ~/Library at the prompt and hit Enter.

Access Library On Mac

Access the Hidden Library Menu Option in Finder

The Library folder is available on the Go menu in Finder, but it doesn’t show on the menu by default.

To temporarily show the Library option on the Go menu, open the menu and press the Option key. The Library folder shows up between Home and Computer on the Go menu. Keep the Option key pressed while you move your mouse down the menu and select Library.

If you’re using a Windows keyboard with your Mac, press the Alt key.

Show the Library Folder Permanently in Finder

If you access the Library folder often, you can permanently show the Library option on the Go menu and the Library folder in your Home folder.

Open Finder and head to your Home folder using the left pane or by pressing Cmd + Shift + H. Then, go to View > Show View Options, or hit Cmd + J.

How To Get To The Mac Library

A dialog box displays with options you can set for your Home folder. Check the Show Library Folder box at the bottom of the dialog box. The Library folder now shows up in your Home folder in Finder windows and the Library option becomes permanently available on the Go menu.

How To Do Mac Update

When you permanently show the Library folder in Finder, you can hit Cmd + Shift + L to open it in a Finder window, in addition to selecting the Library option on the Go menu.

How Do I Get To The Library On My Mac

Happy Tweaking, But Be Careful

How To Go To Mac Library

The Library folder is hidden by default for a good reason. So, before tweaking settings and changing files in the Library folder, make sure you know what you’re doing.