1. Connect your camera or card reader to your computer.

   The Import browser appears, showing the photos on the camera or card.

   Note: If iPhoto opens when you connect your camera or card reader, quit iPhoto. Then, in Aperture, choose Aperture > Preferences and click Import. Choose Aperture from the “When a camera is connected, open” pop-up menu. Disconnect and reconnect your camera to have Aperture open the Import browser.

   

2. Do one of the following:

   • If you want to import the photos into a new, empty project: Choose New Project from the Destination pop-up menu to create a new project, and enter a name for the project in the Project Name field.

     

   • If you want to import the photos into an existing project: Select the project in the Library inspector.

     

     The selected project appears in the Destination pop-up menu.

3. Choose a location to store the original image files by doing one of the following:

   • To store imported originals in the Aperture library: Choose “In the Aperture Library” from the Store Files pop-up menu.

   • To store imported originals as referenced images in the Pictures folder on your hard disk: Choose Pictures from the Store Files pop-up menu, then choose whether you want the image files moved or copied to the Pictures folder by clicking the “Move files” or “Copy files” button.

   • To store imported originals as referenced images in a location other than the Pictures folder: Choose “Choose” from the Store Files pop-up menu and select a folder. In the dialog that appears, choose a location to store the imported originals, then click Open. Choose Project Name from the Subfolders pop-up menu to specify that the files be stored in a folder with the same name as the project. Choose whether you want the image files moved or copied to the new location by clicking the “Move files” or “Copy files” button.

4. To add controls for additional import settings, choose an option from the Import Settings pop-up menu.

   For more information about Import Settings, see Import options overview.

5. Do one of the following:

   

   • To import all photos from the camera or card reader: Click the Check All button.

     The checkboxes for all the photos in the Import browser are selected.

   • To import a subset of photos from the camera or card reader: Click the Uncheck All button to clear the checkboxes for all photos, then select the checkboxes for the photos you want to import.

     You can also Shift-click adjacent photos and Command-click nonadjacent photos, and then select the checkbox for one of the photos. Selecting a single checkbox selects the checkboxes for all of the selected photos.

     Note: Depending on your camera type, you may be able to double-click a thumbnail image to see a larger version of the photo, if you want to verify its contents before importing it. Double-click the photo again to return to the thumbnail image view.

6. Click the Import Checked button.

   

   The import process begins and an indicator appears next to the project’s name, showing the progress of the import. When the photos are imported, a dialog appears.

7. Click Eject Card, Erase Imported Items and Eject Card, or Done.

   Note: The options offered in this dialog depend on the way your camera is made available when it is connected. Some cameras connect as mass storage devices. When you import from these cameras, the Erase and Eject options appear. Other cameras simply connect as cameras, and you will not see either Erase or Eject after the import is completed. In that case, you can erase the photos directly in the camera.

As the photos appear in the Browser, you can begin working with them. Photos may temporarily appear as gray boxes until the loading process is complete.

You can import image, audio, and video files stored on your computer and other storage devices. You have a choice of storing the imported files in the Aperture library, or importing the files as referenced image, audio, and video files and then moving or copying them to a different location.

You can import image files in many common image formats, including images scanned from nondigital sources such as film and photographic prints. You can also import any QuickTime-compatible audio or video file. Adding these files to your Aperture database is as simple as navigating to the folder where they reside on your hard disk using the Import browser.

1. Click the Import button in the toolbar (or press Command-I).

   The Import browser appears.

2. Select your computer.

   

3. At the bottom of the browser, navigate to the folder containing the files you want to import.

   Your computer, connected servers, and connected storage devices are listed in the column on the left.

   Tip: To quickly select the desktop, press Command-D.

   

   When you select the folder containing the files you want to import, thumbnail images appear in the Import browser representing the image, audio, and video files within the folder.

4. Do one of the following:

   • If you want to import the files into a new, empty project: Choose New Project from the Destination pop-up menu to create a new project, then enter a name for the project in the Project Name field.

     

   • If you want to import files into an existing project: Select the project in the Library inspector.

     

     The selected project appears in the Destination pop-up menu.

5. Do one of the following:

   

   • To import all the files in the selected folder: Click the Check All button.

     The checkboxes for all the files in the Import browser are selected.

   • To import a subset of files from the selected folder: Click the Uncheck All button to clear the checkboxes for all photos, then select the checkboxes for the photos you want to import.

     Note: Depending on your camera type, you may be able to double-click a thumbnail image to see a larger version of the photo if you want to verify its contents before importing it. Double-click the photo again to return to the thumbnail image view.

6. Choose a location for the imported files by doing one of the following:

   • To store imported originals in the Aperture library: Choose “In the Aperture Library” from the Store Files pop-up menu.

   • To store imported originals as referenced image files, audio files, or video files in their current location: Choose “In their current location” from the Store Files pop-up menu.

   • To store imported originals as referenced image files, audio files, or video files in the Pictures folder on your hard disk: Choose Pictures from the Store Files pop-up menu, then choose whether you want the files moved or copied to the Pictures folder by clicking the “Move files” or “Copy files” button.

   • To store imported originals as referenced image files, audio files, or video files in a location other than the Pictures folder: Choose “Choose” from the Store Files pop-up menu and select a folder. In the dialog that appears, choose a location to store the imported originals, then click Open. Choose Project Name from the Subfolders pop-up menu to specify that the files be stored in a folder with the same name as the project. Choose whether you want the image files moved or copied to the new location by clicking the “Move files” or “Copy files” button.

7. To add controls for additional import settings, choose an option from the Import Settings pop-up menu.

   For more information about Import Settings, see Import options overview.

8. Click the Import Checked button in the lower-right corner of the Import browser.

   The import process begins and an indicator appears next to the project’s name, showing the progress of the import. When the import process is complete, a dialog appears.

   Tip: If you want to immediately import additional image, audio, or video files, Option-click the Import Checked button. The Import browser remains open, and you can immediately start importing additional items.

   As the files appear in the Browser, you can begin working with them.

   Important: You can import and export XMP sidecar files in Aperture. However, Aperture displays only metadata that adheres to the XMP 1.0 specification. Ratings, label values, and custom metadata created by third-party applications are not supported.

You can drag image, video, and audio files from the Finder or desktop directly into the Library inspector, Viewer, and Browser. This is useful if you receive image files from a source other than your camera and you want to use them in Aperture. You can also use this technique if you have image, audio, and video files scattered on your desktop or throughout folders on your computer and you want to consolidate them in one place in the library.

1. Select an item in the Library inspector, such as a project or an album, in which to import the photos.

2. Locate the image, audio, or video files in the Finder.

3. Drag the files to either the selected item in the Library inspector or anywhere in the Browser or Viewer.

The import process begins and an indicator appears next to the project’s name, showing the progress of the import.