How to Use Smart Folders to Update Photo Portfolios and Website Embeds Automatically

A Smart Folder is a local folder on your computer connected to a PhotoView portfolio. You finish the photograph in Topaz Photo, Topaz Gigapixel, Capture One, Photoshop, Affinity, DxO, ON1, Luminar, or another desktop application, then export the finished file into that folder. The PhotoView watcher notices the completed export and uploads it to the portfolio assigned to that route.

PhotoView does not edit, sharpen, upscale, or reinterpret the file. The editing application remains responsible for the finished image. PhotoView receives the exported JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, HEIF, or TIFF and uses it for storage, portfolio presentation, sharing, and embeds.

The watcher runs on the computer that contains the export folders. It checks for new files every few seconds, waits until a file has stopped changing before uploading it, and records completed uploads in a hidden .photoviewpro-uploaded.json file inside each watched folder.

Begin by deciding which bodies of work need independent destinations. A wildlife photographer might create PhotoView-Wildlife, PhotoView-Birds, and PhotoView-Landscapes inside the Pictures folder. A commercial photographer might instead use PhotoView-Products, PhotoView-Architecture, and PhotoView-Portraits.

Every Smart Folder route needs a unique local folder path and a destination portfolio name. Use names that remain clear months later. The local folder and PhotoView portfolio do not have to share the same name, but matching names make troubleshooting easier.

If a portfolio with the selected name already exists, new photographs are appended to it. Otherwise PhotoView creates that portfolio when the first finished image arrives. Account portfolio limits, available storage, and subscription write access still apply.

Step 1: Sign in to PhotoView and open Settings, then Imports, then Smart Folders.

Step 2: Turn on Enable Smart Folder imports.

Step 3: Give the route a descriptive name such as Wildlife website or Architecture portfolio.

Step 4: Enter the complete local watch-folder path. The default pattern is $HOME/Pictures/PhotoView-Exports.

Step 5: Enter the PhotoView destination portfolio name. Add an optional client name when the files belong to a client or project.

Step 6: Turn on nested folders only when exports inside subfolders should also be uploaded.

Step 7: Save Settings. Generate a private import key from the Lightroom import page if the shared 90-day import key is missing or has expired.

In Topaz Photo or Topaz Gigapixel, complete the enhancement and choose the matching Smart Folder as the export destination. The same approach works with a Capture One process recipe, a Photoshop export action, an Affinity batch job, or the output settings in Photo Mechanic, DxO, ON1, Luminar, Pixelmator, RawTherapee, and darktable.

Export only the finished presentation file that belongs in the portfolio. Keep RAW captures, layered working files, and archival masters in their normal archive. Smart Folders are publishing lanes, not replacements for a managed photography archive.

Use a filename that will remain meaningful in PhotoView. The watcher preserves the exported filename and uses its base name as the initial photo title. If the editing app exports a revised file with a changed size or modification time, PhotoView treats it as a new finished export rather than silently replacing an existing portfolio photograph.

Choose New folder on the Smart Folders page for every additional publishing lane. PhotoView supports up to 12 saved routes. Configure a unique watch folder and destination portfolio inside each tab, then save Settings.

One copied watcher command contains all saved routes. Run that command once on the export computer and leave it running while you work. You do not need a separate terminal window for every folder.

A practical three-route setup could send PhotoView-Wildlife to a Wildlife portfolio, PhotoView-Portraits to a Portraits portfolio, and PhotoView-Architecture to an Architecture portfolio. Exporting a file into one folder affects only its assigned portfolio.

Smart Folders deliver photographs to portfolios; saved embed profiles decide where those portfolios appear. First set each destination portfolio to Public and confirm that Include this portfolio in website embeds is enabled. Protected portfolios cannot be exposed through an iframe.

Open Settings, then Sharing. Under Create an embed, choose New embed and give the tab the name of the outside placement, such as Wildlife homepage, Architecture studio, or Portrait booking page. Choose One portfolio and select the portfolio fed by the corresponding Smart Folder. Copy the generated iframe code and paste it into the matching WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, Wix, or custom website page.

Repeat that process for every outside site or placement. Each saved embed profile remembers its own portfolio selection and produces independent code. The websites may use different domains; the photographs and presentation remain securely hosted by PhotoView.

The embed code points to a live PhotoView presentation rather than a frozen copy of the photographs. When the watcher uploads another finished image to the selected public portfolio, that image becomes available to the corresponding embed without changing or repasting the iframe code.

Portfolio controls remain authoritative. Reordering photographs changes their order in the embed. Hiding a photograph removes it from the public presentation without deleting it. Disabling embed permission or changing the portfolio away from Public removes it from generated embed access.

This separation makes the workflow predictable: the desktop folder controls where finished exports arrive, the PhotoView portfolio controls curation and visibility, and the saved embed profile controls which outside page displays that work.

Copy the command shown on the Smart Folders page and run it from the PhotoView project folder on the export computer. The command contains the PhotoView API address, the private import key, and an encoded version of all saved folder routes. Do not manually edit the encoded routes; update the tabs in PhotoView and copy a fresh command.

Leave the watcher running during exports. Closing the terminal stops automatic delivery, but no photographs are lost; restarting the watcher scans the folders again and skips the files already recorded as uploaded.

Treat the import key like a password. Do not paste it into public documents, screenshots, support posts, or source control. The key is subscriber-specific and expires after 90 days, at which point a new key and watcher command must be generated.

If a file does not arrive, confirm that the watcher is running, the export format is supported, the route uses the correct local path, and the import key has not expired. Also check account storage and portfolio limits. The terminal reports upload errors without marking the failed file as complete, allowing a later scan to retry it.

If an image appears in the wrong portfolio, stop the watcher, correct the route in PhotoView, save, and copy a fresh command. Moving the local file after it has uploaded does not move the photograph between PhotoView portfolios.

Review every destination portfolio before relying on it publicly. Choose a cover, arrange the display order, hide unfinished work, verify embed permission, and open each outside website on desktop and mobile. Smart Folders automate delivery; the photographer still controls the edit.