ChronoframeYou’ll need Chronoframe on macOS 14 or later, a source folder with photos or videos, and space for copies in a separate destination.
1. Choose your folders
Open Organize → Setup. Use Choose Source… for the unsorted folder you want to copy from, then Choose Destination… for the library that will receive the copies.
- Source: holds the originals. Organize reads these files without moving, editing or deleting them.
- Destination: receives new copies. Keep it separate from the source; neither folder can be inside the other.
The default layout is YYYY/MM/DD. To choose another layout, open Settings → Layout. Keep copy verification on; it is enabled by default.
2. Preview and review the plan
Choose Preview Plan. When planning finishes, inspect the dates, planned destination folders and anything that needs attention on the Run tab. Preview does not copy your media.
Open Review to inspect uncertain dates or other items before copying. After making changes, use Rebuild Preview and check the updated plan.
Preview counts describe planned work. The transfer rechecks files before copying, so the final counts or collision-adjusted names may differ. A large sample shown on the website is not your free allowance.
3. Approve the copies
When the plan looks right, choose Start Transfer and review any confirmation or batch selection. With verification enabled, Chronoframe checks each written copy against its source. Existing destination files are not overwritten.
Keep your drives connected while the run finishes. If you stop a run, let Stopping… finish before disconnecting a drive; the final result tells you what actually copied. Your source originals remain untouched.
If another operation is using the destination, wait for it to finish. Get help with interrupted or blocked runs.
4. Inspect the result in History
Open Organize → History to inspect the result and receipt. Check the reported copies, failures or skipped files, then inspect the destination before deciding what to do next.
For a supported organize transfer, Revert removes only copies recorded in that run whose contents still match. Files that were already at the destination are preserved. Revert stays available without an unlock and returns allowance for work successfully undone.
Keep your originals and destination support records while checking the result. If a drive disconnected, reconnect and unlock it, then inspect History before starting over.
Ready for another kind of import?
Apple Photos import and watched Sources also start with review and approval. Deduplicate is a separate workflow that moves selected files to macOS Trash. Read the import help or get started with duplicate review.