Adding media and watch folders

Renaming or resyncing an existing watch folder does not regenerate its posts’ saved captions. Updating an existing Pending post’s source media preserves its saved caption, per-platform copy and caption state, whether that copy was generated automatically or edited by hand. Newly imported posts still receive their initial caption. Use the explicit caption controls when you want to generate replacement copy.

You can upload media and edit pending drafts in your own active profile before connecting any social platform. Connecting platforms is not a prerequisite for preparing a draft. Only successfully connected accounts appear as publishing destinations; connect and select the intended account before approving or publishing a post. Accounts still waiting for authorization do not block other connected destinations.

Use Add post to bring media into ShootFeed, or open an existing post and choose Add media to append files to it. Keep the same profile selected when opening and updating the post. Watch-folder connections are configured in Settings → Watch Folders for the appropriate profile. A cloud folder must be authorized before ShootFeed can read its contents. Each child folder in a watch folder becomes one post. Adding images to that child folder updates its pending post; removing images takes two complete scans before ShootFeed removes the imported images. Images added directly in ShootFeed stay in the post. An empty or deleted source folder leaves the post and its media in ShootFeed and shows a source warning. Approved and posted media do not silently change; move an approved post back to Pending to review later folder changes. A new cloud folder with the same name does not take over the old post.

In Settings → Watch Folders, expand Exporting from your photo editor for editor-neutral setup guidance. Export finished photo copies as JPEG in sRGB at high quality (around 90%), keep enough pixels for cropping, avoid upscaling, and keep each photo under 50 MB. Keep original editing files outside the watch folder. Use one uniquely named child folder per intended post and keep its name fixed throughout the export. Do not use live current date/time folder tokens or other per-photo folder rules; even an export that crosses midnight must stay in the same set folder. A date typed once into a set name is fine. Choose a new set folder for the next post. Use distinct original filenames or a sequence, including distinct names for alternate edits, and send only one output version per photo to the watch folder. Re-exporting with an automatic suffix can add another image rather than replace the first. To add photos to the same pending post, reuse its existing folder. Let export and cloud sync finish, then check the pending post's media, order, caption and destinations before approval. Users can save these settings in their own editor; ShootFeed does not currently offer a downloadable photo-export preset.

Direct uploads accept videos up to 1 GB each. The Add post and Add media upload boxes show this limit and a Video export tips button that works by click or tap. If a selected video exceeds the limit, ShootFeed rejects it before decoding the preview and opens the guidance. Known cloud-file sizes are checked before downloading. Photos retain their 50 MB limit; mixed uploads retain their existing total limits.

Rejected and trashed posts stay ignored during automatic Dropbox scans. Changing source files does not return those posts to Pending. If you want to use an ignored shoot again, review its existing record in Rejected or Trash instead of uploading another copy. Older ignored sources whose identity cannot be confirmed are held for review rather than imported again.

For a smaller social-upload copy, export an H.264 MP4 with a high-quality preset. ProRes is useful for editing but produces much larger files. Keep the original master, and review the exported copy rather than expecting a guaranteed lossless result. For vertical video, 1080 × 1920 is a starting point; match the source frame rate. If necessary, lower bitrate slightly and check the result. In Final Cut Pro, use Share → Export File → Settings, choose Computer and H.264, and check the estimated size. The tips do not convert or replace the user's source file.

Imported media still needs review, destination choices, and scheduling. If files are missing, check the selected profile, folder, connection and sync status before uploading duplicates. Never tell a user to bypass a provider security warning. When the Google Drive button is available in Add post, choose it beside Dropbox, sign in to the intended Google account, browse your Drive folders, select supported photos or videos, and choose Insert. To import a folder’s worth of media, open that folder and select all its photos and videos. Subfolders and their contents are not included automatically. The selected media appears in Add post for review; choose the destination profile and save using the normal Add post flow. Each import opens Google again so you can choose another batch. It does not connect a watched folder or automatically import later additions. Closing or cancelling the picker adds nothing, and closing Add post cancels a Drive download. Selecting the same unchanged Drive file again in the open dialog does not add another copy. Google requests access only to selected files; its permission includes editing/deleting them, but ShootFeed only reads originals. New Google Drive watch-folder setup stays hidden. Existing saved Drive folders remain intact. If the Google Drive button is absent, use Dropbox or direct upload. A successful import is not a successful publication.

Successfully imported posts can appear in Pending review before approval. Review is required before publishing, not before a post can appear in the grid.

When choosing a Dropbox watch folder, you can select an existing folder or choose Create a new folder in Dropbox. The latter opens Dropbox in another tab; choose New folder (or New → Folder) there, give it a name such as ShootFeed, return to ShootFeed, and select Refresh folders. Browse to the new folder and choose Use this folder, then save the watch folder for the intended ShootFeed profile. ShootFeed keeps read-only Dropbox access; it does not create or modify Dropbox folders itself.

In Settings → Watch Folders, each cloud account has one card. Its account details appear at the top, and its Watched folders appear underneath. Choose Add Folder on the account to expand setup inside that card, select the folder and destination ShootFeed profile, then choose Add Folder to save. Open a watched folder to edit its profile, location or label, pause it with its switch, or choose Unsync to stop importing while keeping existing posts. When you have multiple profiles, Show folders for filters the lists.

The upload-source buttons are centered. Video export tips opens a separate focused dialog over Add post, keeping the upload form compact. Close it with the close button, Got it, Escape, or a click outside. Closing the tips leaves the Add post form and its selected media intact.

After a video upload, the existing background caption preparation can use spoken audio plus representative frames for videos up to ten minutes. It keeps the post pending and saves reusable private speech context. Larger-duration clips and analysis failures still use visual context.