Help Using FTP to Transfer Photos to WidePhotoViewer

FTP ("file transfer protocol") is a standard way of transferring files from one computer to another. WidePhotoViewer uses it so you can a transfer folders of photos to the WPV Library.

To use FTP, you'll need to run an FTP-client application (WidePhotoViewer is the server) on the computer where the photos to be transferred are located, typically your desktop or laptop. Some excellent free FTP-client applications are FileZilla (Mac OS X and Windows) and CyberDuck (Mac OS X). Commercial applications, such as Transfer (Mac OS X) are also available.

Both your iPhone/iPod/iPhone and the computer running the FTP client application have to be on the same network. The iPhone/iPod/iPad normally has to be connected with WiFi. (It may be possible to use 3G, but no testing of this has been done; best to use WiFi.)

When you tap "FTP Server," the FTP server starts and a screen appears telling you two pieces of information you need to connect: the server (or host) and the port number. You need to enter these exactly into the setup screen of your FTP client application, as shown in this figure, for FileZilla:

Once you're connected, transfer folders containing JPG photos to WidePhotoViewer. Each folder must be contained directly under the Documents folder on the device; it doesn't matter where on the computer the folders and photos are copied from. You can have only one level. You can also transfer individual photos, rename folders, move photos from one folder to another, and delete folders and photos.

How you go about transferring folders depends on your client application. Typically, you drag a folder from the desktop/laptop pane to the server (WidePhotoViewer) pane, as in this FileZilla example:

It's also possible to transfer photos directly from Lightroom using the FTP Upload export plugin. Set up the FTP connection like this (Lightroom requires a username, but WidePhotoViewer ignores it):

Make sure you export the photos to a subfolder and not directly to the Documents folder:

Similarly, you can FTP photos directly from Photo Mechanic:

When you're finished transferring or making other changes, stop WidePhotoViewer's FTP Server by tapping the Stop button your iPhone/iPod/iPad. You'll see the folders in WidePhotoViewer:

If you're having trouble connecting, it's probably for one of these reasons:

The iPhone/iPod/iPhone and/or computer aren't connected to the same network.
You've entered the server/host or port incorrectly.
The computer is protected by a firewall, proxy server, or other security system that prevents it from connecting. In this case, you'll have to get the problem resolved with the assistance of whoever set up your network.
WidePhotoViewer's FTP screen isn't showing. The FTP server runs only when you tap FTP Server to bring up this screen.

Some additional points to remember:

You can transfer only JPEG photos, not TIFFs, PNGs, movies, raw files, or anything else.
A folder of photos must be a direct subfolder of the Documents folder on the device. Any folders nested more deeply won't be seen by WidePhotoViewer. Individual photos can't reside in the Documents folder either; they must be in a subfolder.
WidePhotoViewer will pick up the caption if it's stored in the image's ImageDescription EXIF field, which Lightroom does automatically on export.
Keep the image size to 1024x1024 or a little bit more. Huge images (e.g., 3000x4000) will bog down WidePhotoViewer and might even crash it. Panoramic images are an exception: Their height should be 1024, and you can make the width as wide as necessary to preserve the aspect ratio.
A JPEG quality of 70 - 80 is usually enough; a higher quality slows down transmission and wastes memory on the iPhone/iPod/iPad.