Pictures/Photos Library Restore Guide (Mac)

Locating and Selecting the Photos Library for Restore

Pictures stores photos and the associated metadata in a package file, which will appear as a folder through the Backblaze View/Restore Files page. To restore your Photos library, the entire folder must be selected. Since metadata (such as edits, ratings, albums, slideshows, and faces) are stored in separate files that are linked to the original image, the entire Library must be restored if you wish to retain the metadata. While it is possible to restore just the original image files, all other metadata will be lost without the entire Library. By default, the Photos library is stored in the Users > *Your_Username* > Pictures directory. 

Below you can see an example of how an average Photos Library will appear on the View/Restore Files page: 

Moving the Restored Library to Your System

Once you have downloaded the restore of your Photos Library and extracted it from the zip restore, you will simply need to move it the appropriate location on your computer. Below you can see a screenshot example of the restored Photos Library being moved from the restore folder (right) to the user Pictures folder (left). Once moved to the appropriate location, you can open the Library in Photos by simply double clicking on the Library icon. 

Moving the restored Library from the restore folder to the user Pictures folder: