So, finally getting to back up the Aperture library “properly” but I'm not sure how to proceed. I'd like some input on what the best workflow would be, from an easy to implement perspective.

I have several projects over the years in a single referenced library, but don't necessarily want them in the same vault (which I'd like to back up to an external drive). The masters are backed up separately already. My main drive where the library resides is also backed up but I figured it would be easier to potentially share a backed up vault if necessary to a different computer if it was already on a networked drive (instead of having to export a specific set of projects as needed). Just thinking of potential other usage scenarios…

For older projects/vaults that I'd like to keep more as an archive, I'd like to store on an “old projects” drive which wouldn't need updating the vault. Newer projects/vaults that I might need more readily would go on a different drive, eventually moving to the “old projects” drive.

The problem is that I don't see an easy way to do this at this point, without sticking the whole library into one vault first, then removing unwanted projects, updating that vault to reflect the projects I want, moving that to the drive I want, and repeat on a duplicate library.

Or should I export the projects that I want separated, into a new library, switch to that library, then vault as needed? Any downsides to that approach (time?) or simpler methods? I thought that if multiple vaults and libraries were involved, which may or may not be connected at the time, this would get a little complicated. Especially with moving vaults to multiple drives as this may involve?

Or am I overthinking this?