Picture Keeper only backs up the places and the file types it has been told to search. When you first install it, it looks in the folders where photos are most likely to be kept, and it looks for JPG and JPEG pictures. If some of your files live somewhere else, or are a different type, you can widen the search in a few minutes. The steps below are the same on Windows and Mac.
Open the Search Options
- Plug your Picture Keeper into the computer and open the Picture Keeper app.
- On the Home screen, click Search Options in the left-hand menu.
A window opens with three areas: Where to Search at the top, Search Summary at the bottom left, and What to Search at the bottom right.
Where to Search
This area controls which folders Picture Keeper looks in.
- The list on the left groups your locations: HOME (your user folder), LIBRARY (your Photos Library), DEVICES (your computer's own disk and any external drives), and ONLINE SERVICES.
- Click a group and the main list shows the folders inside it, such as Pictures, Desktop, Documents and Downloads. Each folder has a tick box.
- Make sure the folder holding your photos is ticked. If your pictures are in a folder that is not ticked, tick it now.
- To choose only some of the folders inside a folder, click the > arrow next to it. Its subfolders appear, and you can tick or untick them one at a time.
- The Search Summary at the bottom left lists every location that will be searched. Click the x next to any location you do not want.
What to Search
This area controls which file types Picture Keeper looks for.
- Tick More Pictures to include other picture formats as well as JPG.
- Tick Video Clips to include videos.
- Leave Exclude Pictures Under 50 KB ticked unless you want very small photos included (see below).
- Leave Custom Search, Allow Duplicates and Clone your Picture Keeper unticked unless our support team has asked you to use them.
Each option is explained in more detail further down this page.
Save and run the backup again
- Click Save Settings at the bottom of the window.
- Go back to the Home screen and click Start Backup.
Your new settings apply to this backup and every backup after it. You do not need to change them again each time you plug in. If you ever want to go back to the original settings, click Reset Search Options (Default Settings) at the bottom of the window.
What each option does
More Pictures adds TIF, TIFF, GIF, BMP, PNG and RAW files to the search. Some of these formats are much larger than JPG, so your Picture Keeper may fill up sooner if you include them.
Video Clips adds MOV, AVI, WMV and MP4 files. Videos are much larger than photos and will fill the drive faster. Picture Keeper only looks in the folders ticked under Where to Search, so if your videos are kept in an unusual folder, tick that folder as well.
Custom Search lets you back up any type of file. Tick the box and type the file extension in the field, for example .PDF, .DOC or .PSD. Be aware that when Custom Search is on, Picture Keeper searches only for the types you have typed. If you still want your pictures backed up, add .JPG, .JPEG and .PNG to the list too.
Exclude Pictures Under 50 KB is ticked by default. Clipart, album covers and website logos are usually smaller than 50 KB, and this option keeps them out of your backup. If you have small cropped or edited photos that you want to keep, untick this box.
External drives and network drives appear under DEVICES in Where to Search once they are connected to the computer. Tick a drive to have Picture Keeper search it and copy its pictures onto your Picture Keeper.
Allow Duplicates and Clone your Picture Keeper are for special cases. Clone ignores your previous backup history and starts again from scratch. Leave both unticked unless our support team asks you to change them.
If you have any trouble changing your search settings, contact us and we will be happy to help.