Original topic:

Why can't I OR How could I create photo albums from folders on my S24 Ultra?

(Topic created on: 01-04-2025 04:45 PM)
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eter003
Beginner Level 2
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Galaxy S

I'm growing to be very frustrated. I just recently switched from 20 years of iPhone and exclusive apple ecosystem to android, while keeping my apple laptop and iPad. So, I've sorted out my music now on Youtube music, but my biggest hurdle is my photos albums! I have my photos organized in folders in my laptop, all grouped by themes, and renamed. BUT I can't seem to find a way to create automatic albums from these folders. I don't want to do this manually. That's going to take a lifetime!

Here is what I've tested so far with no success - from my MacBook Pro to cloud services and / s24 ultra

1/ I have tried directly within the phone folders with different methods
a/ I connected my phone to my mcbook pro with a wire.
- I added a folder of pics called TEST in the folder DCIM. 
- I can see the pics folder on my phone in the MY FILES storage, within the DCIM folder. 
BUT >>> I can't see the photos in the Samsung Gallery! :( 
b/ Rinse and repeat but this time, I put the TEST folder of pics in the PICTURES folder of the phone.
>>> pictures won't show up in the Samsung gallery and even less the album
c/ Rinse and this time I tried from the one drive folder, dropped the folder of pics TEST into the one drive pictures folder, moved the folder TEST within the phone to the DCIM folder. And no result.

2/ one drive: I have copied pasted one folder of pictures, lets call it PICS 1D in the PICTURES folder of the app.
> I can access the folders PICS 1D from the one drive app on the phone.
> Now if I go in the PHOTOS section of one drive app, all the pictures are mixed with photos from all the other folders, if I filter them to be only from Pictures Folder, then it shows PICS 1D photos mixed with SAMSUMG gallery photos, and they are mixed, the pictures show up in the chronological time they were uploaded/created... quite a mess. 
> Within the one drive app, on my laptop I have been able to create an album out of the folder PICS 1D. And I can access it on the album tab within the one drive app on the phone.
BUT
a/ The album doesn't update if I add pictures in the folder!
b/ The pictures appear in alphabetical order, I have no option to change the order to chronological
c/ I can't see it within the samsung gallery app

3/ Google photos: I have dragged and dropped a folder of photos in Google photos on my laptop. 
> The photos uploaded separately from the folder and placed themselves in the timeline among my other photos. 
> If I want to create an album I have to retrieve them and select them manually! (Imagine doing that on my folders of even the last 5 years!? 

I am quite anxious and disappointed, and dreading what I have to do.
I'd like to transfert my pictures already organized in albums, in my samsung gallery and have them organized in those albums.
And in the future, I'd like to be able to add new photos directly to these existing albums without having to do double task of adding them manually to an album, and also having to save them manually to a folder.

So now I'm asking the community, is there a solution? Has anyone had this problem, am I missing something? 
I am very grateful for anyone's help. 

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1 Comment
Helenna
Moderator
Moderator
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Galaxy S

Hi eter003,

We understand your frustration with trying to transfer and organize your photos in a way that mirrors the structure you've carefully built on your MacBook Pro.

Please ensure Folders Are in the Correct Location: For your photos to show up properly in the Samsung Gallery, they need to be placed in the DCIM or Pictures folder in the internal storage or SD card. Since you’re using a MacBook Pro, make sure you're moving photos into the correct folder on your phone's internal storage via a direct connection or file transfer software.

File Transfer with USB: When you connect your S24 Ultra via USB, you can manually move the photos into the DCIM or Pictures folder.

The Samsung Gallery will automatically scan and display photos from these folders.

You mentioned using Google Photos, but the photos from folders are uploading to the timeline and are not retaining their folder structure. Unfortunately, Google Photos does not directly maintain folder structures. However, you can create albums in Google Photos and automatically group photos based on dates, locations, or even content using its machine learning features.

Upload your folder into Google Photos (from your laptop or through the app). Once uploaded, Google Photos will automatically group the photos based on time or other content. You can also create automatic albums through the "Assistant" section of Google Photos, which groups recent photos and creates albums based on activities or events.

If you want more control over automatic album creation, consider using Google Photos as your primary photo app. It has more advanced AI features that help with organizing photos, and the albums can be updated automatically when new photos are uploaded.

Samsung Gallery can display and organize your photos, but creating albums and syncing them across devices might require more manual work.

Thank you.

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