3.4

Chapter 1 Aperture Basics 27
What Are Folders?
In Aperture, you use folders to organize projects and albums. For example, you can import
photos into projects and then place the projects in folders based on photo type or location.
If you shoot multiple projects for the same client, you can create a folder that holds the
client’s projects.
These folders organize
projects based on type.
Folders contain only albums, projects, and other folders. They don’t contain originals or versions.
What Is the Library?
The Aperture library tracks every project, album, folder, original, and version, no matter whether
the photos, video les, and audio les are stored in the Aperture Library le or in other hard disk
locations. Aperture automatically creates a library le in the Pictures folder the rst time you
open Aperture. You can import media into the library or have Aperture access the les in other
locations. The library tracks all your image, video, and audio les and the information recorded
about them, as well as information about where backup les are stored.
You can move the library le to a dierent folder or hard disk. You specify where the library is
located using the Preferences window. For information about working with multiple library les
in Aperture, see An Overview of Library Files on page 39.
You can also transfer libraries from other Aperture systems and merge them with the library
on your local Aperture system. All links between versions and their originals are maintained
when projects are transferred. This is particularly useful if you use a portable computer when on
location or away from your studio, and a workstation at your studio. For more information about
merging libraries, see Merging Libraries on page 41.
When you back up your originals to vaults on external hard disks, those actions are tracked
by the Aperture library as well. For more information about backing up your library, see An
Overview of the Backup Workow on page 581.