Use the Import module to copy or move pictures from a camera or memory card onto your computer. It also offers tools and options that help you organize your photos right as you download them.
Some digital cameras support USB Mass Storage. No special driver is needed to support this connection mode, and a camera connected in this way behaves like an ordinary disk, with its own letter. Other manufacturers do not support this technology, but do support another called WIA (Windows Image Acquisition). While not as convenient as USB, WIA will still get your pictures onto your computer. Some WIA cameras require that you connect in PTP/MTP (Picture Transfer Protocol/Media Transfer Protocol) mode. For more information about connecting your camera in PTP/MTP mode, see your camera’s manual. RAW files are not always visible in PTP/MTP mode. This depends on whether or not the camera manufacturer, or more precisely camera drivers, support the Windows version you are using. The core rule is that whatever is visible in Windows is visible in Import.
Use Acquire | Import… in the Browser or click the tab for the Import Module to display this module, which shows thumbnails of the pictures on your camera or memory card in the main area and import settings on the right.
To include a picture in the import, leave it selected (checkmarked). To exclude it, deselect it. To select or deselect all pictures shown, use Select All or Deselect All. To set where the selected items are copied or moved to, use the Target section.
The Import Module’s settings are divided into the following groups:
Source
Use the box here to select the camera or other source from which pictures will be copied or moved. Click Browse to set a folder of your choice as the Source to import from. It may be on any drive the computer can reach, including on a CD, USB stick, removable drive, etc. To control whether or not folders beneath the selected folder are imported, use Include subfolders. For extra convenience, turn on Show Import module automatically on attaching camera or inserting card. For removable devices (like cameras or memory cards), you can turn on automatic copying of pictures right after the device is turned on or a card is inserted.
Target
Use this to set the folder into which pictures are imported. Either enter the path to this folder manually, or choose an existing folder on disk using Browse. Turn on Create subfoldersto create one or more subfolders for the imported pictures. For a single new subfolder, enter its name. For automatically-named subfolders based on picture-taken dates, use formatting strings to sort pictures into subfolders based on their date taken, date of import, author, and/or format. Automatically named subfolders are especially useful when importing pictures taken over multiple days. To add formatting strings automatically, right-click in the box or click the small black-arrow button to the right of the box and use the menu this displays. Subfolder examples:
• Vacation – all pictures are imported into a subfolder named “Vacation.”
• {Y}-{M}-{D} – pictures are copied into subfolders named by the date they were taken, e.g. “2012-09-30”. If pictures were taken on multiple days, they are imported into multiple subfolders, one for each day.
• {Y}{M}{D} – pictures are copied into a structure of subfolders organized by picture-taken date. The top folder will contain year folders, beneath them will be month folders, and beneath those, day folders, e.g. “2012930”
• {YY}-{MM}-{DD} – pictures are copied into a single subfolder named after the date of import, not the date they were taken.
To visually double-check what folder structure will be created, use the Preview. Click the individual subfolders to display their contents in the thumbnails listing. Use the checkboxes to control what subfolders get imported. To rename a folder, press F2.
Make backup copy
Use this to make Zoner automatically create a backup copy of your imported pictures, and set its location. For this backup, Zoner uses the same subfolder structure as for the main copy.
Automatically Add Information
Use the controls here to make Zoner auto-tag pictures with Title, Author, Copyright, and/or Keywords information during import. For more on this subject, read the chapter on Information.
Rename
Files can be auto-renamed during import. The settings here are the same as for Batch Rename. This section also offers renaming via Search and Replace.
Options
Use Import non-duplicate pictures only to prevent re-importing of photos that have already been imported. The item named Mark images as read-only makes the program give imported photos the file property called “Read-only”. This protects them from being accidentally changed or overwritten. Use Autostack to have the program run analyze each picture and its metadata and auto-add photos into stacks (Panorama, Exposure Bracketing, Burst, or Similar Picture) if they relate to to those photos in some way.
Zoner Photo Studio X Step by Step. Part 1: How to Import Photos
What’s the Best Way to Download Your Photos? By Importing Them in Zoner Photo Studio.