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Import Pictures Automatically

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9 replies

by smclellan

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I'm using windows xp. I would like to automatically import pictures from a camera when it is plugged in. I would like to place all the imported pictures into a folder named by the current date and delete them from the original media after copying.

9 replies

by robo_dev

Of course, is that anything that copies and deletes could copy, burp, and then delete, leaving you without any photos.

There are some apps such as CatGrab, PhotoSurfer, and SmartPhoto Import that can grab the photos and categorize/store them based on exif data in photo files.

However I do not believe these apps have the capability of deleting the photos on the camera once the copy is complete.

by tobif

I never delete the file on the camera memory until I have copies on at least 2 different hard drives.

by seanferd

I was doing something, or I decided to format my drive, and now all my (pictures, documents) are gone.

Now way I trust Windows to automatically copy anything then delete the source files.

Heck, I remember an incident with Win95, where copying a set of files to a different folder resulted in them all having extended characters overwrite part of the file name. That was a headache.

by nexs

Did you get software with your camera? If so, does it have this functionality?

If you answered no to either question, your next step is to call a software development company and pay them to write you a program.

by smclellan

Thank you for the responses. I am testing some of the suggestions now; however, I was really looking to write a script that could be run possibly triggered by the insertion of the memory card that would automatically import new pics and remove them from the card. Upon reading your suggestions and cautionary tales, it would be very good to have the folder to which the pics were copied open and have the user confirm that they'd been copied properly before continuing. Then deleting the originals. I do have a daily backup configured so the time between the addition of the new pictures and the scheduled backup is an acceptable risk.

by tobif

On all my computers, I disable "auto-detection" when media is inserted.

There are two reasons:
- I'm so tired of the system searching through my device and after 10 seconds asking me what I want to do. By that time, I've already started doing what I want.
- autorun.inf is a popular way to infect systems. The AV usually stops such attempts, but why take an unneeded risk.

by nexs

It would end up being a very long, powerful script.
Take into consideration what you're asking.
1- Identify specific memory card
2- Look for and open todays folder (if none go to next step)
2.1- Take date/time stamp and create folder with that name
3- Copy all files from memory stick
4- Past into directory
5- Verify copy
6- Delete from memory stick

This is a support forum, not a free software development company.

by smclellan

I know it's a long shot. I just haven't found a piece of software that does exactly what I need without too much configuring and I am trying to simplify things for my grandmother mostly. Although something similar would come in handy elsewhere. I was just trying to get some suggestions on bits of the code like triggering the event and such not having someone write the whole thing.
Seriously, Grandma drives me nuts asking all the time how do I get my pictures off my camera again. Surely someone else deals with the same thing and its not like I can do grandma like the idiots I deal with on my network.

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