Export your library

Your photos are always yours. Frameleaf lets you download your untouched originals, with their metadata, whenever you like, so you’re never locked in.

Download a selection

Select photos or videos and choose Download. For an edited item, open it and choose Download original in the viewer’s More actions menu to get the untouched file; the ordinary download can include your edits. For large collections, work in batches and open a few downloads to check them. See Uploads and downloads.

Preserve originals and metadata

For a whole library, start with a complete backup of your library storage and database. That backup holds everything the original files don’t: album membership, sharing, people and your Frameleaf settings.

XMP sidecars and preservation packages carry your details along with the files. Applications read sidecars differently, so try a small sample first and check captions, dates, locations and tags in the destination.

If you use external libraries, back up their original folders as well. They live outside Frameleaf, so a Frameleaf database backup doesn’t include them.

Move to another application

1. Export a small sample that represents your library, including edited photos, videos and any formats that matter to you.
2. Import the sample into the destination and compare file counts, dates, metadata and playback.
3. Export the rest of your collection and check the result before you delete the Frameleaf copy.
4. Keep your final Frameleaf database and media backup, so you can always recover.

Bring your files across by export and import. Each application has its own database and folder layout, so don’t point another application at Frameleaf’s database or writable library folders.

To move between Frameleaf servers, use Move to a new server. To recover an installation, use Backup and restore.