Transfer

Transfer copies photos from an SD card or a folder into one or more folders on disk. A Transfer Preset sets the folders and a naming pattern for the file structure. When the copy starts, Aphera imports the copied files into a new or existing project.

Transfer does not change or delete the files on the source.

Opening Transfer

• File > Transfer from Card… (Cmd+Shift+I) opens the Transfer window.
• Transfer from Card in an empty project opens the window. The button appears while a camera card is inserted.
• Importing photos from a camera card opens Transfer in place of the import. This applies to Import Photos…, drag and drop, and paste.
• Inserting a camera card opens Transfer while Aphera is running. Turn this off in Transfer Settings. Aphera does not open the window for a new card while a transfer is running.

Aphera treats a mounted volume with a DCIM folder as a camera card.

When you open Transfer from a project window, Aphera sets Import to to that project.

The Transfer Window

The top of the window holds the transfer settings. The bottom shows the files Aphera found on the source.

Preset

The Preset menu lists your Transfer Presets. Choose New Preset… to create one in Settings. The gear button opens the selected preset in Settings. Aphera remembers the last preset you used.

Tokens

When the preset’s naming pattern contains {tags}, a {tags} field appears. Enter words that describe the transfer, for example Coastal Walk, Family, Santa Cruz. The field shows the tags from your previous transfer as a suggestion; press Tab to use them. Start Transfer stays disabled until the field has a value.

Source

The Copy from menu lists:

• SD Cards — each inserted camera card with its name and used space. The menu reads No SD cards detected when there are none.
• Folders — folders chosen earlier.
• Choose Folder… — pick a folder to copy from.

Aphera selects the first camera card when one is inserted. Aphera remembers the last folder you chose.

Destination

Copy to lists the preset’s folders. Aphera copies every file to each folder. To change the folders, edit the preset.

Files

Below the settings, Aphera shows a thumbnail of each file to copy. Filter the files with:

• RAW — ARW, CR2, DNG, and other RAW formats.
• SOOC — JPEG, HEIC, and other camera-rendered files.
• New Files Only — skip files that Aphera transferred before. On by default.

Aphera remembers the RAW and SOOC choices. New Files Only turns on again for each transfer.

The summary line shows the file count and total size, for example 120 of 240 files / 6.2 GB. A second line reports how many of the files Aphera already transferred to all destinations and how many to only some of them. A clock icon marks a previously transferred file; click it to see where Aphera copied it.

Import to

The Import to menu sets where the copied files go:

• New Project — create a project for this transfer.
• Recent Projects — import into one of your recently opened projects.
• Nothing – Transfer Only — copy the files without importing them.

Aphera remembers your choice.

With New Project, Aphera names the project from the project naming pattern. When the transfer’s naming pattern contains {tags}, the tags become the project’s {name}. If Ask for a name every time is on, Aphera asks for the name with the tags filled in. Cancelling the name prompt stops the transfer before Aphera copies any file.

Problems

A warning appears above Start Transfer when:

• A destination folder does not have enough free space for the files.
• One destination folder is inside another.

Running a Transfer

Click Start Transfer or press Return.

While the transfer runs, the window lists each file and its result, and a progress bar shows the current file.

Aphera imports each file into the project as it lands in the first destination folder. The photos appear in Last Imported.

Click Cancel or close the window to stop the transfer. Aphera asks to confirm with Cancel Transfer or Continue Transfer. Cancelling leaves the files already copied on disk.

Right-click a file in the list and choose Show in Finder to reveal it.

When a file with the same name is already at the destination, Aphera compares the two using the preset’s Existing Files setting. Aphera skips a matching file and marks it Already there. Aphera does not overwrite a file that does not match; the list reports A different file is already there.

Transfer Settings

Open Settings with Cmd+, and select Transfer.

• Transfer Presets — the list of presets. Click a preset to edit it.
• New Preset — in the toolbar. Creates a preset named My Transfer and opens it for editing.
• Open Transfer when a camera card is detected — on by default.

To remove a preset, right-click it and choose Remove preset name, or open it and click the trash button in the toolbar. Aphera asks to confirm. Removing a preset cannot be undone.

Preset Settings

A new preset starts with the File Structure {exif:year}/{exif:date} {tags}/{original}, Verify Copies, Match by Size, and no folders.