AlbumsBridge — User Guide

User Guide

Requirements

Make sure all prerequisites are in place on your Windows PC before launching AlbumsBridge.

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Windows 10 or Windows 11 AlbumsBridge requires a 64-bit installation of Windows 10 (version 1903 or later) or Windows 11.

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Apple Devices app Required for USB communication with iOS / iPadOS. Install Apple Devices from the Microsoft Store and just open it only one time after the installation.

USB cable & trusted connection Connect your device via USB and tap Trust on the iOS / iPadOS prompt. Use a data cable — charge-only cables will not work.

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Valid AlbumsBridge license A license key is required. See License Activation for setup steps.

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If the Apple Devices app is not detected at launch, AlbumsBridge will show a warning and album loading will fail. Install it, open it only one time after the installation and restart the AlbumsBridge.

Main Window Overview

The window is split into two panels. The left panel manages your device, albums, and activity log. The right panel controls the output folder, download stats, options, and progress. Numbered callouts map to the legend below.

Device Bar Shows the connected device icon and name, total album/photo/storage counts, and a colour-coded status badge. Click the icon to switch between multiple connected devices.

Album Controls Refresh re-queries the device for the latest album list. Select all and Deselect toggle every checkbox at once.

Album List Scrollable list grouped into PHOTOS (virtual sets) and ALBUMS (named collections). Each row shows item count, size, and a real-time status badge.

Activity Log Timestamped log of all events — device detection, album loading, file transfers, skips, conversions, and errors. Click Clear to empty it.

Output Folder Read-only field showing the chosen destination path. The folder icon opens a picker. The arrow icon opens the folder in File Explorer.

Download Stats Live counters for albums selected, photos selected, albums downloaded, and total download size. All start at 0 until albums are checked.

Download Progress Aggregate percentage across all selected albums, displayed as a number and a progress bar that fills green as files transfer.

Options Three toggles: Skip existing (on by default), Convert HEIC → JPEG, and Convert MOV → MP4. Settings persist between sessions.

Start / Stop buttons Start Download activates only when a folder and at least one album are selected. Stop Download activates only during an active transfer.

1Connect Your Device

AlbumsBridge detects iOS / iPadOS devices automatically over USB.

Plug your iPhone / iPad into the PC with a data-capable USB cable.
On the device screen, tap Trust when the "Trust This Computer?" prompt appears, then enter your passcode if asked.
The Device Bar updates: the device icon gains a green outline, the device name appears, and the badge changes to ● Connected.
The subtitle shows the total album count, photo count, and storage size. Albums populate the list automatically within a few seconds.

Device Bar — device detected with a Connected badge and full device summary

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Multiple devices? If more than one iOS / iPadOS device is connected, click the device icon button to open a picker and choose which one to browse.

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Device not appearing? Ensure you tapped Trust, that the Apple Devices app is installed, and that you are using a data cable. Check the Activity Log — it shows exactly which step failed.

2Select Albums

Once connected, the left panel fills with two groups: PHOTOS (system-generated virtual sets) and ALBUMS (named collections you created in the Photos app).

PHOTOS group

Entry	Contents
All photos & videos	Everything on the device — the full camera roll
Photos & videos not in albums	Items that have not been added to any named album

ALBUMS group

Lists every named album on the device (e.g. Vacation 2024, Family, Pets, City Trips). Smart albums such as Favorites, Videos, Selfies, Screenshots, Bursts, Hidden, and Recently Deleted also appear when they contain items.

How to select

Click the checkbox on any row to select that album. The right-panel stats update immediately.
Use Select all to check every album, or Deselect to clear all.
Press Ctrl+R or click Refresh to reload the list if you added photos after connecting.

Album list — PHOTOS and ALBUMS groups, each row showing name, count, size and status

Album status badges

Badge	Meaning
Pending	Queued — waiting for earlier albums to finish
Downloading	Actively transferring — an inline progress bar is visible on the row
Done	All files in this album transferred successfully
Stopped	Transfer was interrupted — can be resumed

3Choose an Output Folder

All downloaded files go into a single folder you choose. Each album is saved as its own sub-folder, mirroring the structure on your device.

In the right panel, find the Output Folder row.
Click the folder icon button to open the Windows folder picker.
Navigate to your destination and confirm. The path appears in the read-only field.
The arrow icon next to the path opens the folder in File Explorer at any time.

Output Folder row — path field with browse (folder) and open-in-Explorer (arrow) buttons

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Remember the folder. Enable AlbumsBridge → Save OUTPUT FOLDER so the last-used path is restored automatically on the next launch.

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Before downloading, AlbumsBridge checks that the destination drive has enough free space. If not, a warning dialog appears and the download does not start.

4Download Options

Three toggle switches in the right panel control how files are handled. Settings are saved automatically between sessions and cannot be changed while a download is in progress.

Options panel — Skip existing is ON by default — HEIC and MOV conversion are OFF

Option	Default	What it does
Skip existing photos / videos	ON	Files that already exist in the output folder are skipped. Ideal for incremental backups — only new photos transfer each session. Disable to force a full re-download.
Convert HEIC → JPEG	OFF	iPhone / iPad photos are stored as HEIC. Enabling this converts them to JPEG during transfer so they open natively in all Windows apps without extra codecs. Adds conversion time and roughly doubles file size.
Convert MOV → MP4	OFF	iPhone / iPad videos record as MOV. Enabling this re-encodes them to MP4 so they play in Windows Media Player without installing third-party codecs.

5Start a Download

The ▶ Start Download button activates once at least one album is checked and an output folder is selected.

Click ▶ Start Download (or press F5).
AlbumsBridge validates disk space. A warning dialog appears if the drive is too full.
Albums process in list order, one at a time. Each transitions: Pending → Downloading → Done.
The Download Progress bar fills as files transfer. The percentage updates to one decimal place.
The Activity Log streams live updates — file names, skips, conversion steps, and any errors.
When all albums finish, a Download complete dialog appears (if notifications are on) with the destination path and an option to open the folder.

Right panel — Download Stats, Progress, Options and action buttons

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Enable AlbumsBridge → Notification for download completion to see the "Download complete" dialog after all albums finish. Disable it for unattended background transfers.

6Stop & Resume a Download

Stopping

Click ■ Stop Download (or press F6) at any point during a transfer.
The active album is marked Stopped. Queued albums remain Pending. Finished albums stay Done.
Start Download becomes active again immediately so you can restart at will.

Resuming

Click ▶ Start Download again (or press F5).
The stopped album restarts from its beginning. If Skip existing is on, already-saved files are skipped automatically — only missing files re-transfer.
Already-done albums are not revisited. Pending albums continue in order.

Action buttons — Start Download (left) and Stop Download (right)

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To start a completely fresh download, click Deselect then re-select your albums (or click Refresh). This resets all status badges so the full queue reruns.

License Activation

A valid license is required to use AlbumsBridge. The activation dialog opens automatically on first launch and is accessible at any time via Help → License.

Purchase a license from the AlbumsBridge website. The key arrives by email.
Open Help → License in the menu bar.
Paste the license key into the text field.
Click Activate. AlbumsBridge validates the key online and displays a confirmation message.
The dialog closes and the app is fully unlocked.

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Internet access is required for the initial activation and for periodic background license checks. If your firewall blocks outbound connections, whitelist the AlbumsBridge process.

Menus & Settings

Menu bar — AlbumsBridge · Download · View · Help

AlbumsBridge menu

Item	Description
Save OUTPUT FOLDER	Checkable toggle. Remembers the last chosen output folder and restores it on the next launch.
Notification for download completion	Checkable toggle (default on). Shows the "Download complete" dialog after all albums finish.
Minimize to tray `Ctrl+M`	Hides the window to the system tray. Downloads continue in the background. Click the tray icon to restore.
Exit `Alt+F4`	Closes the application.

Download menu

Item	Description
Start download `F5`	Same as clicking ▶ Start Download.
Stop download `F6`	Same as clicking ■ Stop Download during an active transfer.
Refresh albums `Ctrl+R`	Re-queries the connected device for the current album and photo list.

View menu

Item	Description
Dark mode `Ctrl+Shift+D`	Toggles between dark (default) and light themes. Preference is saved between sessions.

Help menu

Item	Description
License	Opens the license activation dialog.
About	Shows version information and credits.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`F5`	Start download
`F6`	Stop download
`Ctrl` + `R`	Refresh album list
`Ctrl` + `M`	Minimize to system tray
`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `D`	Toggle dark / light mode
`Alt` + `F4`	Exit the application

Tips & Troubleshooting

Activity Log — green lines confirm successful steps — use this first when troubleshooting

Albums not loading

Press Ctrl+R to refresh. Check the Activity Log — it pinpoints whether the failure was at device detection, trust, or album scan.

HEIC photos won't open

Enable Convert HEIC → JPEG before downloading, or install the free HEIC Image Extension from the Microsoft Store.

Incremental backups

Keep Skip existing ON and use the same output folder each session. Only photos added since the last run will transfer.

Background transfers

Use Ctrl+M to minimize to the system tray. The download continues while the window is hidden.

Insufficient disk space

The Download Stats grid shows the total size before you start. Free up space on the destination drive, or pick a drive with more room.

Red lines in the log

Red entries are individual file errors and do not stop the whole download. Review them after completion to see which files need attention.

Slow transfer speeds

Use a USB 3.x port and cable where possible. Transfer speed is typically bottlenecked by the iOS / iPadOS device's internal storage, not the cable.

License check fails

Periodic license validation requires internet access. Check your firewall or proxy settings if validation consistently fails after activation.

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Large libraries: Download in batches — select a few albums at a time. It is easier to track progress and recover gracefully if the USB connection drops mid-transfer.