106 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
106 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
# Quick Start
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**AutoIngest — running in under 5 minutes.**
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A Windows tray tool that moves photos off a camera, SD card, USB reader, or phone into a dated folder, converts them to JPG, and applies your branding. Built for ecommerce sellers.
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---
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## 1. Build
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### Prerequisite (build machine only)
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[Visual Studio 2022](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/community/) with the **.NET desktop development** workload, or the [.NET 8 SDK](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/8.0) standalone. Windows 10/11.
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### Option A — Visual Studio
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1. Open `AutoIngest.sln`.
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2. Build → Build Solution (Ctrl+Shift+B).
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3. Output: `AutoIngest\bin\Release\net8.0-windows\AutoIngest.exe`.
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### Option B — Command line
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```bat
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cd AutoIngest
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dotnet restore
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dotnet build -c Release
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```
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## 2. Publish a single exe
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Two profiles ship as scripts. Both produce a single self-contained `AutoIngest.exe` — pick the size/dependency trade-off.
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| Script | Size | Target PC needs |
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|--------|------|-----------------|
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| `publish.bat` | ~15 MB | .NET 8 Desktop Runtime (Win11 has it; Win10 may need it) |
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| `publish-standalone.bat` | ~150–200 MB | Nothing. Runs on any Windows 10/11 PC. |
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```bat
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publish.bat REM framework-dependent
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publish-standalone.bat REM self-contained (recommended for handing to a non-technical seller)
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```
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Output lands in `publish\` or `publish-standalone\`.
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## 3. Deploy
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Copy `AutoIngest.exe` to the target PC. No installer, no admin rights. Put it anywhere the user can run it (Desktop, Downloads, anywhere).
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## 4. First launch
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1. Double-click `AutoIngest.exe`. It starts in the system tray — no window opens.
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2. On a brand-new install (no config yet), a **welcome wizard** appears:
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- **Skip for now** — default settings, no branding. Get straight to importing.
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- **Customize branding** — enter store name / URL / handle, set a text or logo watermark, optionally embed EXIF copyright. A live preview shows the result. The tray icon renders your mark immediately on finish.
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3. The wizard runs exactly once. Reach branding later from the tray: **Options ▸ Branding ▸ Edit branding…**.
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## 5. Import photos
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1. Insert an SD card, USB reader, or phone.
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2. The first time a device connects, AutoIngest prompts: **Register & Import** (trusted forever), **Import Once**, or **Ignore**. A friend's device picks Ignore — it is never touched.
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3. Registered devices import silently on every future plug-in.
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4. A small toast pops into the bottom-right corner during import:
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- JPGs copy straight through.
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- RAW / HEIC / PNG / etc. convert to progressive JPG and the original is removed.
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- Same-day duplicates (size + SHA-256) skip automatically.
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5. Photos land in `%USERPROFILE%\Pictures\YYYY-MM-DD\`.
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## 6. Tray menu
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Right-click the tray icon for the menu:
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| Item | Action |
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|------|--------|
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| **Show status** | Pop the toast to peek at the log |
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| **Open import folder** | Open today's `Pictures\YYYY-MM-DD\` in Explorer |
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| **Settings…** | Device registry, retention, access-tracking |
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| **Reset drive memory** | Re-scan devices already seen this session |
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| **Options ▸** | Auto-orient, Strip metadata, Delete from phone after import, Branding, Start with Windows |
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| **About** | Version, author, license |
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| **Exit** | Quit |
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Left-click the tray icon to toggle the toast.
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## 7. Recommended first-run setup for a seller
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1. Complete the welcome wizard with the store name and a logo if available.
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2. Confirm **Options ▸ Auto-orient** and **Options ▸ Strip metadata** are on (defaults) — phones photos arrive right-way-up without leaking GPS.
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3. **Options ▸ Start with Windows** → on, so the seller never has to launch it.
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4. Plug in the seller's SD card → **Register & Import**. Done forever.
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## Troubleshooting
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| Problem | Resolution |
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|---------|------------|
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| `dotnet` not found | Install [.NET 8 SDK](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/8.0). |
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| Magick.NET restore fails | Check internet; NuGet.org must be reachable. |
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| Target PC says "missing runtime" | Use `publish-standalone.bat` (self-contained). |
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| SD card not detected | Verify it mounts as a drive letter. Right-click tray → Show status for the log. |
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| Phone not detected | Unlock the phone and tap "Trust this PC." MTP enumeration needs an unlocked, trusted device. |
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| Photos land in the wrong place | Destination is `%USERPROFILE%\Pictures\YYYY-MM-DD\`. OneDrive redirection can move `Pictures` — check there too. |
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| Branding not applying | Branding applies to **converted** files only. JPGs that move straight through are byte-for-byte untouched. |
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| Retention not firing | Retention is off by default. Enable in **Settings…** and pick an age. The sweep runs on startup then daily. |
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| "Delete from phone" log says "src kept" | The phone driver did not honor the delete verb. The local copy is fine; the phone original remains. Re-run the import or delete manually. |
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| "Photos disappeared" / need a record of what happened | A persistent log lives at `%LocalAppData%\AutoIngest\autoingest.log` (with a `.bak` for the prior rotation). It records every import, retention sweep, and crash. Open it in Notepad. |
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---
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**Author:** Jeremy Anderson — [dcos.net](https://dcos.net) — info@dcos.net
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**License:** MIT. See [LICENSE](LICENSE).
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