Make sure you know what will happen with video metadata, people tags on rotated pictures and other potential issues (see 'Microsoft image metadata' section).Check how files from different cameras, different sources and formats have migrated.Try searching for photos using different tags (hierarchical, star rating, etc.).Try tagging over 100 photos will all types of tags that you use.Test as much as possible before you accept that migration was successful and consider overwriting your older backups with digiKam modified files:.This is to save you from any issues that may not even be related to migration to digiKam. Make an additional Permanent backup of photo metadata – see below.Create a test photo gallery folder where you will copy-in a few files to test in digiKam, before you give digiKam access to your real photo gallery.You have to back-up all your existing image & video files, preferably so that you can very quickly copy them back to the main location (you may need to do it multiple times).And it requires a lot of command line interaction, most notably with ExifTool.īefore you allow digiKam (or any other metadata editor) import (show) your previously tagged image files, make sure you have taken all the precautions:

It covers more of the metadata managed by Windows Photo Gallery than this tutorial, but at a certain cost: The migration process described there is one-way only, where you start with exclusive Windows Photo Gallery usage and end up with exclusive digiKam usage. In addition to this tutorial it is highly recommended to also be familiar with related tutorials by the same author: “Setup of digiKam for Windows compatibility” and “Tagging and Face Tags in digiKam”.Īs an alternative to this tutorial, there is 'Migrate from Windows Photo Gallery to digiKam' of author Farblos. Microsoft OneDrive or built-in Windows tools.ĭigiKam is an excellent replacement for discontinued WLPG and can even be made cross-compatible to use both digiKam and Microsoft software interchangeably (see configuration tutorial) but you should proceed with care and caution when you introduce digiKam or any other software that can alter your existing metadata.Windows Photo Gallery or older Windows Live Photo Gallery ( WLPG).This tutorial is for people who would like to use open-source digiKam in-parallel or instead-of some Microsoft software that organizes photos (especially if you use people face tags): 5.1 Root cause and potential workaround.

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