Sources, Sidebar, and Tabs

PhotoCuller is fastest when you treat the sidebar as your source browser and tabs as separate workspaces.

Use this page for Mac source-loading and tab-management options. For a quick first session, see Getting Started. For touch procedures, see Sources on iPad & iPhone.

Source Types

PhotoCuller can load from:

• Folders (internal/external drives) for local jobs and archives
• Network locations (SMB NAS shares) for shared studio storage
• Remote servers (FTP / explicit FTPS) through PhotoCuller’s direct connection
• Connected cameras listed under Devices when supported
• Apple Photos albums for library-based review sessions

Use + > Folder in the sidebar to bookmark a filesystem folder, or File > Open Folder… to open one. Already-mounted network folders can also be opened as filesystem sources; that is different from adding a protocol connection.

Connected Cameras

Connect and power on a supported camera, allow any requested access, then find it under Devices. Right-click it and choose Open. Wait for its contents to load; keep the camera connected during reads, Ingest, and sharing. If it is not detected, check its connection/transfer mode or use a card reader instead.

• Ratings, rejection, flags, favorites, labels, and IPTC edits for a connected camera are stored by PhotoCuller on this device, not written back to the camera/card. Do not expect those edits to appear when the card is opened in another app or device. Use Ingest or publish a CullSync to carry decisions onward.
• A card opened through a reader is a filesystem source instead: metadata writes follow the file/sidecar settings and permissions. Camera browsing and direct card access are not interchangeable.
• Camera capabilities vary. Rename, file locking, and EXIF correction writes are not available through the connected-camera source. Deletion, when offered, is permanent rather than Trash; verify backups first.
• AirDrop sharing can download camera media to temporary local storage before sharing. Allow time and space, and do not disconnect early.

Supported File Types

PhotoCuller recognizes these filesystem media and sidecar formats:

Recognizing a file does not guarantee playback or a preview for every recording or camera format. See Video Support for clips and Live Photos.

XMP files hold metadata such as ratings, labels, and crops. PhotoCuller also groups matching DxO .dop, RawTherapee .pp3, ON1 .on1, and Apple .aae files with their photos. It keeps these editing-app files but does not apply or display the edits they contain. They can follow their matching media during file transfers, renaming, and deletion; see Quick Transfer and Rename.

Sidebar Basics

For folders and volumes, you can choose:

• Open in Current Tab to load the source in the current tab
• Open in Current Tab with Subfolders to include photos in nested folders in the current tab
• Open in New Tab to keep your current tab unchanged and open the source in another tab
• Open in New Tab with Subfolders to include nested folders in that tab

If the same source is already open with the requested subfolder mode, Open in New Tab switches to its existing tab rather than creating a duplicate.

Use double-click for the default open action, or right-click for explicit open modes.

If you prefer tab-first browsing, enable Always open sidebar items in a new tab in Settings > General.

Sidebar Keyboard Navigation

You can navigate the sidebar without the mouse:

• ↑ / ↓ or W / S — move between items
• ← / → — collapse/expand a folder node
• Return or Space — activate (open) the focused item
• Escape or Tab — hand focus back to the photo grid

Multi-Folder Selection

Hold Shift and click to select a range of folders, or Cmd-click to add or remove individual folders within the same sidebar section.

Right-click one of the selected folders and choose Open in New Tabs to open each selected folder in its own tab, or Open in New Tabs with Subfolders to include each folder’s nested photos. Current-tab open commands are hidden for multi-selection. If a source is already open with the requested subfolder mode, PhotoCuller reuses its existing tab.

Multi-selection does not combine folders into one grid. If they share a parent folder, select that parent alone and use Open in Current Tab with Subfolders to review its photos and those in its nested folders together.

You can also choose Add Source to Ingest to add selected filesystem folders as separate ingest sources.

Volumes and SD Cards

The Volumes section of the sidebar lists removable and external media:

• SD cards, USB drives, and mounted external volumes appear automatically when connected
• PhotoCuller auto-detects DCIM folders on camera cards and shows them as a ready source
• Internal drives, Time Machine volumes, and disk images are filtered out automatically

Network Locations

The Network Location form is for SMB shares, not arbitrary network protocols.

1. Click the + button in the sidebar.
2. Choose Network Location.
3. Enter an SMB Address, such as smb://server/share/photos, and click Add. You can instead enter smb://server and choose Connect… to select a share, or connect to a server listed under Nearby.
4. Complete the macOS authentication prompt if one appears. Do not put a password in the address.

You can also use cifs:// for SMB. This form does not accept afp://, nfs://, or FTP URLs. If a share using another protocol is already mounted and accessible to macOS, open its folder with File > Open Folder… rather than entering that protocol in this form.

The saved SMB location appears under Network Locations. PhotoCuller reuses an existing mount when possible or attempts to connect the share. Once connected, use the folder open modes from Sidebar Basics.

Remote Servers

FTP/FTPS profiles are separate from mounted folders and saved SMB locations. They can be used for browsing and remote workflow delivery. For touch procedures, see FTP/FTPS on iPad and iPhone.

Set up a server

1. Choose + > Remote Servers… in the sidebar, then click + in the manager.
2. Enter a Name, select FTP or FTPS, and enter Host (such as example.com), Port, Username, and Password. Enter the host separately from the path; do not paste a connection URL or password into Host. A username is required, even if the Mac field shows Optional.
3. Set Remote Base Path to the folder you want to browse or deliver into, such as /uploads. Use an absolute path as seen by that account, starting with /; avoid ... This becomes the profile’s top-level folder, not a local folder on your Mac.
4. Click Test Connection. Mac profile edits save automatically. The test checks access to the base folder; success does not prove permission to upload, rename, or delete. Verify delivery with a small Copy before a real job.

Profiles and disk caches are local to each device; passwords are saved in that device’s Keychain. Configure and test the server separately on each device. Deleting a profile removes the saved connection and its local password/cache, not files on the server. Reassign workflows that used the deleted profile.

Browse or watch for arrivals

Expand the server under Remote Servers to browse folders. Right-click the server or a folder:

• Open in Current Tab / Open in New Tab loads existing media and watches for changes.
• Watch New in Current Tab / Watch New in New Tab starts with an empty review view and watches for newly arriving items. This is useful when a camera or another app uploads to the server; PhotoCuller is not acting as the FTP server.
• Refresh updates the sidebar folder listing. To reload the open media view, use File > Reload Tab.

Each remote source covers that folder, not its nested folders. Open subfolders separately. New uploads can take time to appear. Check that an upload has finished before relying on the file. Keep the source open and connected. A new watch establishes a new starting point; use normal browsing to find files already present or arrivals missed while the source was closed. If completed uploads do not appear in Watch New, switch to normal browsing to review them.

Manage the disk cache

Select a server in Remote Servers… and open its Cache section:

• Per-server limit controls retained cache size; Off disables persistent caching, not temporary downloads.
• Resolution values from 512px to 4096px retain JPEG previews with that maximum long edge. Original retains full-resolution source files. A small preview can still require downloading a full remote file first; the limit is not a network-data budget or a cap on temporary working space.
• Disk Usage shows this server’s cache usage. Refresh updates the measurement; Clear Cache removes local cached data, not remote media or XMP sidecars. Some cached files may remain while PhotoCuller is using them.

The cache keeps some files you have accessed, not a backup or a complete offline library. Browsing folders, opening uncached files, editing, and delivery still need the server. After changing connection or cache settings, reload the source. Allow local space for full-size downloads and workflow processing as well as the retained cache.

Edit and organize remote files

Culling and IPTC edits are written to XMP sidecars on the server, subject to its permissions. They are not local-only camera edits, and they do not rewrite embedded metadata in remote originals. Wait for writes and inspect Activity Log for failures. Embedded EXIF corrections, Finder labels, file locking, and renaming individual remote photos are unavailable.

Right-click a remote folder for New Folder or Rename; renaming applies to the folder, not its photos. You can move subfolders within the same saved server by dragging them to another folder. The configured base folder cannot be renamed, moved, or deleted through these folder actions.

Deliver selected media

For a simple upload:

1. Load your source and select a few test items in the browser.
2. Expand the destination server in the sidebar, right-click the intended folder, and choose Copy Selected Items Here. Choose Copy explicitly rather than dragging, which can mean Move.
3. If Items Already Exist appears, choose Skip Existing to preserve those destination files, or cancel and choose a different folder. Overwrite replaces existing files. A skip is not a new copy or verification that the existing file is identical.
4. Check Activity Log, then open the destination and verify the uploaded files before delivering the full selection or removing originals.

For repeatable delivery, use a workflow: connect Input Source → Filter Items → Remote Server, set the filter to Selected Items, choose the Server, and use Copy. Subfolder is relative to the profile’s base path: /uploads plus client-a delivers into /uploads/client-a. Set Filename to {Filename} to keep base names, review file/sidecar options, and use Append Number to avoid replacing existing files. Save the graph and run it against the intended tab.

Processing or transferring from another remote source may require full files and temporary local storage. A workflow does not use the reduced cache preview as a substitute for the requested original. Move can remove sources; review collision and deletion safety before using it.

Connection problems and recovery

• For authentication errors, check the required username and password. For an unavailable folder or permission error, check the account’s base path and permissions; read access does not imply write access.
• For timeouts or an unavailable server, check connectivity, VPN/firewall requirements, host, port, and whether the server is running. For certificate or secure-connection errors, confirm explicit-FTPS support and ask the administrator to fix the certificate/configuration.
• After correcting the profile, run Test Connection, then reload the source or choose Reconnect when offered. Use normal browsing if you need to recover the full folder contents rather than start a fresh watch.
• For interrupted transfers, inspect progress and Activity Log before retrying. A disconnected run may be waiting rather than finished. Verify the destination: completed writes are not rolled back by cancellation or failure. Keep PhotoCuller open; do not treat pending work as a job that is guaranteed to survive quitting.

Apple Photos Sources

When PhotoCuller launches for the first time, macOS prompts for Photos access.

If you allow access, Apple Photos appears as a three-section sidebar tree. If you deny access, enable it later in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos.

• Library - smart albums such as Recently Added, Favorites, Screenshots, Selfies, Panoramas, and RAW

• Albums - your user-created albums and folder hierarchy

• Shared Albums - iCloud Shared Albums when present

• Right-click an album and choose Open in Current Tab or Open in New Tab. The subfolder open modes apply to filesystem sources, not Apple Photos albums.

• Apple Photos behavior differs from filesystem sources for some actions (see Apple Photos vs Filesystem).

Sidebar Context Menu

Right-clicking any sidebar node opens a context menu. Available options depend on node type:

• Show in Finder — reveal the folder in macOS Finder
• Open in Current Tab / Open in New Tab, with with Subfolders variants for folders and volumes
• Open Folder in… — send the folder’s supported media files to one of your configured external editors
• New Folder — create a subfolder without leaving the app
• Rename — rename the folder inline
• Finder Tag — apply a macOS color tag (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Gray)
• Move to Trash — delete the folder
• Eject — safely eject ejectable volumes

Tabs Workflow

Use tabs to keep different sources or jobs open — for example, one folder per shoot or one Apple Photos album per project.

Right-click a tab for Reload Tab or Close Tab. Tab titles follow their sources; there are no tab rename or duplicate commands.

Practical setup examples:

• One tab per client or job when working through multiple shoots.
• Keep a source folder and a separate delivery folder open in their own tabs.
• Open a source with subfolders in a dedicated tab to process a full event at once.

Drag-and-Drop to Sidebar

You can drag selected items from the grid onto folder nodes in the sidebar to transfer quickly.

• Drag normally for a move (when the source allows it).
• Hold Option while dropping to copy instead.

Opening Sources from Outside the App

PhotoCuller integrates with macOS so you can open sources without using the sidebar.

Open With

Right-click any photo or folder in Finder and choose Open With > PhotoCuller. The folder containing the selected files opens as a new tab (or in the current empty tab if one is already open).

Dock Icon Drop

Drag a folder from Finder onto the PhotoCuller icon in the Dock to open it:

• If PhotoCuller is already running, the folder opens in a new background tab.
• If PhotoCuller is not yet running, the folder opens automatically once the app finishes restoring the previous session.

Multiple folders dropped at once each open in their own tab.

Dock Right-Click Bookmarks

If you have saved folder bookmarks in PhotoCuller, right-click the Dock icon to open them directly from the Dock menu.

• The bookmark list stays current automatically
• Choose a bookmark to open its folder in PhotoCuller

Reloading a Source

Use File > Reload Tab to manually refresh the active source.

Filesystem sources normally refresh through directory watching; FTP/FTPS sources use periodic checks.

See Also

• Getting Started
• Ingest
• Apple Photos vs Filesystem
• Workflows
• CullSync