How can I find and view, and possibly move cached photos?

[BraveNewMalden]

Hello, happy Mac Helpers.

My screensaver of images from Photos occasionally throws up shots that aren't actually stored in Photos. And some of these I'd like to find and save.

I believe they're hidden in a cache folder somewhere. A search on Google tells me how to delete cache folders, but the advice on how to view individual images is less clear-cut. And there's nothing (that I can find) on how to move these photos from the cache folder to somewhere more convenient.

Any tips on how to do this will be gratefully received. Please bear in mind I'm over 200 years old and won't be able to undertake any solutions that involve coding or bending at the knees.

Many thanks.

 

[BraveNewMalden]

Well this is going well.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Hmmm...strange issue that I haven't run across before, but I don't use any of the photo screen savers very often.

• Which version of macOS?
• Which screen saver?
• Are the photos ones that were previously in your Photos Library...i.e. photos you took/downloaded at some point?
• Can you post the link to the article(s) you found with the Google search?
• Do you have a Time Machine backup?

C

 

[BraveNewMalden]

Hi Cory
I'm on Monterey 12.6.5
I use the screensaver that came with the Mac, the Source being Photos.
The photos were probably in my Photos library at some point. They were definitely downloaded. I know that a few years ago I transferred loads of pics to an external hard drive to free up space. Unfortunately, a few years later the EHD decided I needed a password (which I had never assigned to it), so all those photos are lost.
This tells me how to view cache activity (which I don't think is what I want): https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/activity-monitor/actmcdbbd395/mac
Other links seem to give advice on how to delete cached files, which again is not what I want.
Yes, I have a Time Machine backup but wouldn't know where to start with that!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

OK, thanks for the additional information.

View cache activity in Activity Monitor on Mac - this is only viewing the system cache activity in Activity Monitor, which won't help, because you don't have "access" to any files from within that view.

The others are ways to clear the cache, which also doesn't help.

They way that cached files are stored in a Mac isn't very user-accessible, as they are deep down in various Library folders, and aren't really accessible/restorable.

I am still a bit puzzled as to why photos would still show in the screen saver without actually being present in your Photos Library, since it is using it as the source. I don't recall seeing this issue where phantom/cached imhges are still displayed in a screen saver.

You could try restoring an older Photos Library from Time Machine, which may contain those files. CAUTION: You have plan a bit so you don't overwrite your existing Photos Library, as it will simply replace your current library if it has the same name.

How many photos are your Photos Library?

C

 

[BraveNewMalden]

Thanks, Cory. I think it's getting to that stage where the need to see the photos stored deep in the cache is starting to lose its importance.

I'll just have to be quicker with the old command+shift+F3 when these 'deleted' photos come up on my screensaver!

Thanks for helping.