Photo Organizer v3.0

A Python application that automatically organizes your photos and videos into date-based folder structures using metadata analysis. Built with PyQt6 for a modern, user-friendly interface.

✨ Features

• 📂 Intelligent Date Detection: Extracts creation dates from EXIF data (photos) and metadata (videos)
• 🎯 Multiple File Format Support:
  • Images: JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, HEIC, HEIF, CR2, ARW, DNG, AVIF
  • Videos: MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV
• 📅 Flexible Organization: Sort by month (YYYY/MM) or day (YYYY/MM/DD)
• 🧹 Smart Cleanup: Optional removal of empty folders after processing
• 🖥️ Modern GUI: Intuitive PyQt6 interface with real-time progress tracking
• 🔒 Safe Processing: Confirmation dialogs for file removal operations

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• Windows OS (tested on Windows 11)

Using the Pre-built Executable

Download the latest release from the Releases page and run the installer.

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/PhotoOrganizer.git
   cd PhotoOrganizer

2. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run the application

   python src/gui.py

📖 Usage

1. Launch the Application: Run src/gui.py or use the installed executable
2. Select Source Folder: Choose the folder containing your photos/videos
3. Select Destination Folder: Choose where organized files should be placed
4. Configure Options:
   • Sort into subfolders by day: Creates YYYY/MM/DD structure instead of YYYY/MM
   • Remove empty folders after sorting: Cleans up empty directories
5. Start Sorting: Click "🚀 Start Sorting" and monitor progress

Example Output Structure

Destination Folder/
├── 2023/
│   ├── 01/
│   │   ├── 15/          (if "Sort by day" enabled)
│   │   │   ├── IMG_001.jpg
│   │   │   └── VID_002.mp4
│   │   └── 20/
│   └── 02/
└── 2024/
    └── 03/

🛠️ Core Components

• src/PhotoOrganizer_v3.py: Main processing engine with metadata extraction
• src/gui.py: PyQt6 GUI application with threading support
• assets/MainWindow.py: Main window UI components
• assets/ProgressWindow.py: Progress tracking dialog

⚠️ Important Notes

• Backup Your Files: Always maintain backups before processing large photo collections
• File Safety: Existing files with identical names are skipped (not overwritten)
• Hidden Files: System and hidden files (Thumbs.db, desktop.ini, files starting with "." or "~$") are automatically excluded

📋 Supported Metadata Sources

Images

• Primary: DateTimeOriginal (EXIF tag 36867 in Sub-IFD)
• Fallback: DateTime (EXIF tag 306)
• Formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, TIF, WebP, HEIC, HEIF, CR2, ARW, DNG, AVIF

Videos

• Primary: recorded_date
• Fallback: encoded_date, tagged_date, file_last_modification_date
• Formats: MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV (using PyMediaInfo for metadata extraction)

🔄 Version History

• v3.0 (Current): Complete Python rewrite with PyQt6 GUI
• v2.0: PowerShell implementation (archived)
• v1.0: Initial prototype (archived)

🔧 Development

Project Structure

PhotoOrganizer/
├── src/                    # Main application code
│   ├── gui.py             # GUI application entry point
│   ├── PhotoOrganizer_v3.py # Core processing logic
│   └── TO DO.md           # Development roadmap
├── assets/                # UI components and icons
│   ├── MainWindow.py      # Main window UI
│   ├── ProgressWindow.py  # Progress dialog UI
│   └── icons/            # Application icons
├── archive/               # Legacy versions
└── InstallForge/          # Installer configuration

Building from Source

1. Install PyInstaller

   pip install pyinstaller

2. Create executable

   pyinstaller gui.py.spec

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Development Roadmap

See [src/TO DO.md](src/TO DO.md) for current development priorities.

🐛 Issues & Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the Issues page for existing reports
2. Create a new issue with:
   • Your operating system
   • Python version
   • Steps to reproduce the problem
   • Error messages (if any)

🙏 Acknowledgments

• PIL/Pillow: Image processing and EXIF data extraction
• PyMediaInfo: Video metadata parsing
• PyQt6: Modern GUI framework
• pillow-heif: HEIC/HEIF format support

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Third-Party Attributions

This software includes icons from Twitter Twemoji, licensed under CC-BY 4.0:

• Camera icon (1f4f7.svg)
• Folder separator icon (1f5c2.svg)