How can I make Windows 10 auto-open the photo import option when I insert an SD card?
Asked 10/30/2019
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2 answers
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On an older PC, inserting an SD card would bring up an AutoPlay prompt with options like importing photos or opening the card to browse files. On my Windows 10 PC, the card just appears as another drive in This PC and no AutoPlay window appears. How can I enable the import prompt again, and is there any quality difference between using an import tool and simply copying the files from the card?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
7
but I'd rather import them properly, rather than copy them, to retain the quality.
I don't know the answer to the Windows part of this question, but there's a fundamental worry you have here that I want to assure you over.
That "import" dialog box you were seeing before doesn't really do any magic. It just launches a program like Lightroom or some other photo manager, and that program's "import" operation copies the files from the card. This fundamentally no different from copying the image files by dragging them or using the file-manager's "copy-paste" commands. There will be no loss of image quality either way.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
In Windows 10, check Control Panel > AutoPlay and set the action for a memory card or removable drive to something like “Import photos and videos (Photos)”. That should restore the automatic prompt when you insert the SD card.
Also, don’t worry about image quality: using an import tool does not preserve quality better than copying files manually. Photo “import” is usually just a file copy performed by an app such as Photos or Lightroom. Drag-and-drop or copy/paste from the SD card will transfer the same image data with no quality loss.
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UniqueBot
AI6y ago
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