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A fresh start with Aperture
If you've been using Aperture beginning with version 1.0, or even if you're a johnny-come-lately, but have been using Aperture long enough to have gone through a number of incremental upgrades, that may have included a major OS upgrade, you must have entertained the idea or felt the need, or even compelled, to cleanly remove and then reinstall Aperture.
For one reason or the other, you must have thought about a fresh, clean start with Aperture.
In my case, I wanted to cleanly remove and then install a fresh copy of Aperture, because some of the functions are already not working. Clearly, there was something wrong with my installed copy Aperture.
And so, one day, I decided to go on a new adventure. A clean uninstall. And then a fresh install, and an update to the latest. That sounded like a good plan, and I have a free morning to do it. And, since my Aperture Libraries are all intact, what remains for me to do is just work on and fix the software side.
My first mistake happened right away. I trashed Aperture, and reinstalled. The drag-and-drop capability is good for quite a number of applications, but for major applications such as Aperture that taps on Apple's technologies, the simple drag-and-drop to the trash won't quite work.
There are some companion files that affects and directs the behavior of Aperture that must also be removed. You can, of course, manually remove these individual files, but the problem is in correctly identifying them. If you're not a hardcore tekkie, the prospect is quite daunting. And so, there must be another way.
This is when I discovered a neat little 3rd-party application called AppZapper. It is an uninstaller created for the "rest of us." When I ran AppZapper, it showed Aperture and all the other associated files that should be deleted. A total of 13 related files were "discovered" and listed; and seven of them I want to get rid of. I would have missed these files if I tried to manually uninstall it. So, finally, I was able to exorcise my machine of my old, tired copy of Aperture.
Oh, by the way, before you completely remove Aperture from your machine, you have to be aware that some preferences and settings you have previously created in Aperture may be lost, such as the 3rd-party plug-ins, the keywords, and the new pre-sets. In this case, you might want to check on these if you can afford to lose them, and if you can easily re-create the settings once you successfully reinstall a fresh copy of Aperture.
Another important thing you might want to do is to backup or export either the individual Projects or the entire Libraries. You might need several external HDD just to make sure that everything is out of Aperture, specially when you check on the Consolidate button when exporting. For extra measure, you might even want to Vault your Managed Libraries.
In my case, and confident because I have a backup of all my Masters archived on DVDs, I just set aside my existing separate Libraries and read them back into the new Aperture afterwards. I didn't bother to do backup. But I'm being foolish. There's nothing wrong with backing up specially when you cannot afford to lose your images.
Okey, it's time to zap the app. With AppZapper, hit the Zap button and see it all automatically get flushed out of your computer's system. At this point, you might want to perform a few routine maintenance tasks such as a restart, a Repair Disk Permission from the Disk Utility, among others. Going through a few maintenance chores makes me feel good; but whether it can actually do good with what I'm trying to accomplish, I have no clue.
Once you've restarted, it's now time to pop in the original Aperture installation disk, and install away. The disk that I have is version 1.0. That's what got installed. All went well with the fresh install.
And then, the next step is to upgrade to current version. I checked Software Update, and one huge update showed up. There is an issue with this single-step update. If you try it, it won't actually successfully upgrade your Aperture. A dialog box will pop up saying that "The update Aperture Update can't be installed. Sorry, an unexpected error occured. The Installer package has been moved to the Trash." And when you close that dialog, another one will appear: "An error occurred during installation."
Apple did acknowledge and reported an issue with this upgrade. You can read all about it here. The solution is to manually download the update from here, and double-click to install. From here on, you can happily follow the step-by-step installation prompt.
With a successful update, your copy of Aperture immediately jumps up to the current version which is 1.5.6. You don't have to go through incremental updates. Your Aperture gets updated in one swell swoop. And now, you are ready to bring back your Aperture library.
Go to your Preferences pane, and point Aperture to your existing Library which can be either in your internal hard drive or any of your networked or connected external drives. You can, of course, create as many Libraries as you wish, and you can, at any time, point Aperture to read any of those Libraries. However, please note that you must close and restart Aperture so you can access the new Library.
With the reinstall, Aperture will be back up to snuff. A fresh new install of Aperture, to me at least, feels like I'm using an optimized version. And of course, it's making me fall in love with Aperture all over again.
And now, where is that version 2.0 upgrade? Hmmm ... Oh, that's right, Apple hasn't released it yet. Macworld 2008 has come and gone ... and that means, a wait somewhere along the road. Oh well, I know I can wait for it.
Comments (26)
You know you can wait for Apple's upgrade! Me thinks you are not one of us who purchased a Nikon D3 or D300 and are still waiting for support from Apple for the RAW files from these cameras. Support that showed up in LR very soon after the release of these bodies. I've been not only a supporter of, but an evangelist for Apple since the days of the Apple II computers. And, for the first time (during Steve's turn at the helm) I'm worried about Apple's commitment to professional photographers.
I don't want to switch to LightRoom or Capture One or Nikon's Capture NX. I really hope Apple doesn't make that necessary.
Ken Seibert
Hi Ken,
I do understand your impatience. If I were a Nikon D3 or D300 owner, I would surely feel antsy. I was expecting at least an upgrade, even if minor, during Macworld 2008, but no such upgrade came our way.
I'm quite, somewhat still contented with the Nikon D2Xs I'm currently using, but of course, true to form, at the back of my mind, I'm already lusting for the latest and the greatest from Nikon.
I've got quite a number of wonderful and interesting work done on the D2Xs, and I'm giddy with excitement thinking about what I can do with a D3 and D300 the moment I get my hands on them. Believe me, I have lots of projects in mind that I'd want to do on a D3 and a D300, and on all the new gorgeous lenses. If there's one true Nikon loyalist, that would be me. I've been a Nikonian through and through.
As for Apple's Aperture, well, Steve Jobs said in his keynote that we're just a few days into the year. This could mean that there will be lots more surprises to come our way. Surely, one of those could possibly have something to do with Aperture.
Meanwhile, I console myself with a quip: "Patience is a virtue."
Dominique James
Patience is a virtue that Apple is taxing.
Apple silence and lack of support for Aperture is bothersome. How is it that a program that was designed for the new intel MAC in mind run sooo poorly on them? I bought a MACPRO with 4Gig just so I could wrong Aperture the way Apple promised it would run. While I love my MACPRO I am sooo disappointed with Aperture performance. The cropping tool is useless and basic adjustment does not happen in real time.
When you compare it to Lightroom, Aperture may have awesome features as far as organizational and 2nd screen support but where it counts to help my workflow go fast it lacks far behind Lightroom. Forced to choose between organization and image process I had to start using LR.
I, like many others, feel abandon by Apple. It feels that Apple, as a company, is more concerned about the iphone and ipod than with Aperture.
It is not impatience but just expectation that Apple would support a software that was designed for professional photographers and we have not seem much of it after 1.5 came out.
Even the Aperture podcast have died out.
In the meantime they continue to loose ground to Adobe's LR.
Aperture 2.0 better be an incredible upgrade that sings in the MACPRO and perform as it was advertise or else I am done with Aperture.
I too wait for Aperture 2.0. Currently, Aperture is too slow even with 8Mpixel files from my Canon 30D.
PMA 2008 may be the answer to our prayers.
I usually do my first edits and all my ratings of my portraits and wedding shots in aperture. I picked up the stunning 1DsMKIII which shoots absolutely gorgeous images. However, I too am still waiting for Apple to come out with support for the 1DS MKIII RAW. I thought maybe...just maybe the 1D MkIII would work...nope! Until then, my jobs keep piling cause I dont like editing them in bridge and losing all the raw file XML data when I import into Aperture. And yes, if 2.0 is not a mind blowing experience, I will be highly considering a move to Lightroom, as it seem Adobe as demonstrated stronger commitment to the evolution of an integrated imaging platform. APPLE GUYS, Get yoru stuff together already!!!!
We all know Apple's policy when it comes to future releases. Until there's an official word from Apple that they are no longer supporting Aperture, and unless they don't conduct Aperture activities, then that's the time we can safely say that Apple is done with Aperture. Until then, it's almost useless to assume anything. For now, we wait ... And yeah, I know.
Hopefully that will be soon!
and hopefully you are right.
But I am not encouraged at all.
I am a wedding photographer and cannot sit and wait for Apple to make decision for me about what camera I buy.
I shoot a wedding and I need to process them fast and in a timely manner. I cannot sit around with unprocessed images just waiting for Apple just because I want to be able to catalog them in Aperture.
Lightroom may not be superior to Aperture in this regard and it may not be my first choice but it works right now.
I haven't seen much activity from Apple. I think the main activity should be supporting new pro cameras. By doing just that they will show true commitment to the product.
The last Inside Aperture Podcast was about last year release of Leopard and was posted on Jan 8.
The last AUPN podcast was last year early november. Not a word after.
Apple Aperture page hasn't been updated in a while.
In the meantime Adobe has kept up quickly with new cameras, and there are several podcast that are updated regularly let in us know that LR it is being use.
So Apple, what about doing something...
Tools, tools, tools, the cameras, the processing programs, the computers they are all just tools to do our jobs. If I find a better tool to met my needs I go for it if I can. I went to Aperture because it was the best solution for , I think, a great portion of my "workflow". I have switched my capture tool to what I see as a better solution to capture but can not use this capture tool with my processing tool.
I can only delay so long before I must change this processing tool if it does not adapt. I do not need to become emotionally attached with my tools, I just want something that effectively aides me in making my workflow better and my life easier.
I have been an Aperture fan, but have used Lightroom ever since I purchased a Canon G9 to add to my 1D Mark II. If Aperture 2.0 isn't put soon, well, I may be moving all my Aperture images into Lightroom...
Come on Apple! Stop the secrecy and at least drop some hints, and do something about improving your RAW support! A pro app needs pro support!
-paul
I suggest that we use this board and AUPN members to unite together in an open letter / petition to Apple regarding their commitment to aperture. It appears to me that as members of an Aperture user group we all are in the same boat. My hope is that we get apples attention by numbers. Perhaps they will respond, perhaps they wont, but there is a strong community here and we should leverage it to send a message to apple. Can this board be setup to do such a petition?
Ditto to all of the above. These concerns are for real and they are widespread. Get on it Apple.
I'd like to think a petition would help, but realistically I don't. Apple are well aware of this issue, and seem to have made a calculation that they are better devoting their limited resources to the millions of iPhone users, movie downloaders etc, than to a handful of photographers using high end cameras. That is their prerogative, as a business, even if it is unfortunate for us. The basic fact seems to be that they have made a stategic decision to cede the photo market to Adobe. So be it.
Have you guys seen the list of exhibitors at the upcoming PMA 08 in Las Vegas? Apple is listed as one of the exhibitors. They are at booth X128. Who knows, this might just prove to be interesting. In a few days, we'll find out if something is up in the air for photographers. I'm also very curious.
I think they have already heard us. If they dont announce something, either a product upgrade or direction statement, it seems to me that the next move is ours.
If there is no word of any kind, I'll move to Lightroom while my library is still managable. Adobe seems to care more about this market than Apple does
In one of Aperture evangelist blog, Mike Colón, without any mention of Apeture said the following:
"I just spent two amazing days with 10 of the world's top photographers from every industry brought together by Apple here in Cupertino at the "Mother Ship" for an advisory panel meeting to help Apple better understand the needs of photographers. After spending this time behind closed doors with Apple's top executives and engineers, I am so impressed with how forward thinking they are and how eager they are to make my life simpler, more efficient, and more effective as a professional photographer. Wow... our industry has changed so much in the past few years and so much of that change was made possible by Apple! Apple's got the secret sauce that turns wild ideas into reality. I can't wait to see what comes from our discussions this week!"
Steve, is not an emotional attachment that we have with Aperture or Apple, is just that Aperture offer a series of tools and methods that Lightroom does not and most likely won't offer. Aperture is the right tool for me, but I cannot deal with lack of performance. We just would like to see Aperture improved so we can take advantage of the tool.
But what is not acceptable is not releasing camera raw updates. That fact cast doubts over Apple commitment to photographers. I think Apple has enough people to take care of Aperture while taking care of iphones and ipods.
I am willing to wait until PMA. If nothing is said by then I most likely stop worrying about Aperture and work with what I have, Lightroom.
%David Medina said:
%In one of Aperture evangelist blog, Mike Colón, without any mention of %Apeture said the following:
The comment that followed was from March of 2007, almost a year ago...
Sure hope some news is coming at PMA...
-paul
Have you guys read this yet? It looks like he wants to catch up to Aperture's current version feature set. What do you think?
I've seen it....of course I like the D.A.M. features of Aperture better, but at least I can process G9 images in Lightroom now...Apple needs to do much better at adding RAW support in a timely manner. I do not like having to work with two different apps to manage my photo library, and I will be very excited if Apple comes out with a new version of Aperture at PMA.
If nothing shows at PMA, then I will likely be moving everything over to Lightroom. There's clearly a lot of momentum coming from Adobe, and not much that I can see from Apple. Of course, I know about Apple's secrecy around product launches/updates, but clearly, Apple's dropped the ball on Aperture.
-paul
Dominique,
Have you seen this?
http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9852812-39.html?tag=newsmap
-paul
Hi Paul,
It is an interesting link, and it will surely be something to look forward to when it happens. To quote: "It's fair to be optimistic about HDR and panorama support in Lightroom, but don't hold your breath. Both are within the scope of Lightroom, Connor said, but he was careful not to promise whether or when that support might actually arrive."
Dominique James
Just a thought. During Macworld's Keynote Steve Jobs showed that 80% of Mac users are still on Tiger. If all the new fandangled features for Aperature depended on Leopard improvements and frameworks... it'd be a pain in the arse to support them both.
Just a thought.
I don't have a clue as to why Apple can't rip off Adobe's Camra Raw support. It would make things much easier if Nikon/Canon published the file format.
*****BREAKING****** NEW APERTURE ON TUESDAY!!!!
Now that I got your attention, please be aware that this information comes from a designer friend in San Francisco that works with a high-end photographer. In other words, it is JUST A RUMOR! But unless my friend is putting me on, it seems like a very viable rumor.
Apparently, the new Aperture is a major re-working of the program starting with the foundation. (This would explain the long wait between upgrades.) We should expect to see MAJOR speed improvements. Other features to expect: 1) color controls not unlike Final Cut Pro, 2) all new web album features, 3) HDR support (he was not sure what this entailed), 4) quite a few additional manipulation tools including lens effects, clarity and vibrance adjustments similar to Lightroom and a "Filter Engine"... which he could not explain.
Personally, I hate rumors. And I apologize in advance if this does not materialize. But it just seems to make sense to me. The new 10.5.2 update will support the new Nikon cameras, PMA is next week, a road show with pro photographers is planned following PMA and Apple normally rolls out new products on Tuesday (for some reason).
Are the stars aligning for us??!!!!!!
Apparently your tuesday rumor wasn't quite that reliable :-)
I, too, have set PMA '08 as my deadline for Aperture. If there is no D300 support, or Aperture 2.0, or definitive statement from Apple, I'm gone.
Adobe had D300 support before the camera we even released — although I'm now realizing that ACR RAW conversion for the D300 leaves a lot to be desired (lots of artifacts, no support for picture control settings, etc.).
Hopefully, Apple can offer a RAW converter that rivals the one in Capture NX (or even the in-camera one), or simply support Nikon's converter — ideally, as a plug-in!
very useful and timely indeed.
I had to reinstall my Aperture because some of the scroll bar aren't working anymore.
Fabulous TIP!
Hi Renzo, I'm glad the fresh install worked for you! - DJ