CNET Editors' review
There are a variety of photo-hosting sites on the Internet, each with its own pros and cons. Switching from one to the other isn't easy unless you have a little something to help you move your images between sites. Migratr might just be that little something. It's not perfect, but for the basic task of moving your photos en masse from one site to another, it's not bad.
The program's interface is straightforward, if not particularly attractive. The steps involved in migrating images are arranged in tabs numbered one through six. In the first step, users select the service from which they want to import images; the options include 23HQ, Flickr, Gallery2, Picasa, Phanfare, Photobucket, SmugMug, Zenfolio, and Zoomr. Migratr will automatically launch the authentication page for the selected site, letting users enter their username and password so that Migratr can access the images. From there, users simply click Import and select a destination location, and Migratr will download all of the images stored on the selected site. Therein lies one of the biggest drawbacks of Migratr; it does not let users select particular photosets, galleries, or albums to be downloaded, so you'll end up downloading all of your images whether you want to or not. Uploading the images to a different site is a similar process; simply complete the authentication, select the images, and wait for Migratr to finish the upload. The program has no Help file, but this wasn't a major drawback, as its use is pretty straightforward. Overall, we think Migratr is a great choice if you need a simple way to move all of your photos from one photo-sharing site to another, but if you want to be more selective, another option might be more appropriate.
Migratr installs a desktop icon without asking but uninstalls cleanly.
Publisher's Description
From Alexander Lucas:
This photo management tool lets you upload and download photos between various online photo-sharing sites. Supported sites include: Flickr, 23HQ, SmugMug, Faces.com, PicasaWeb, Phanfare, Zenfolio, Gallery2, and Photobucket. Metadata is transferred along with the photos, including tags, title, description, and album organization.
What's new in this version: Version 1.06 fixes some bugs.
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All versions:
2.5 starsout of 12 votes
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Current version:
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"Not bad, but it's got kinks to work out...."
Version: Migratr 1.05
Pros
-Very simple and straightforward interface and layout
-Novices should have an easy time usingCons
-Can't select certain pictures; it's an all or nothing system
-Doesn't copy names
-The first group of photos imported upside down, and I am unclear as to why.
-Interrupting the process (i.e. canceling it) returns a "completed successfully" messageSummary
I have only used this for downloading pictures from my Flickr account to my computer, so that is what this review is based on.
This program is pretty straightforward: you start it, it asks you where you want to download from and offers a list of popular sites like Photobucket, Flickr and even AOL Pictures (among others). It then asks you to authenticate whichever site you picked by giving you a log-in screen to enter your account info into.
In my case, logging in started my internet browser and brought me to a Flickr page, which asked if I wanted to allow a third-party program to access my pictures. I confirmed all that, then went back to the program window to click the "finish authenticate" button and continue.
Next there is a large "Import!" button. Click it, and it asks you to select where you want your photos to be saved. Once you click "OK", the import begins.
I had just over 17k pictures to import, and it took a VERY long time to get them all, but I fully expected this. What I did not expect is that the first 200 or so pictures would be imported upside down. I have no idea why this happened, and it did not happen to the rest of my photos.
I cancelled the process when I realized the pictures were upside down, and a box popped up saying the import was completed successfully......right. I deleted the photos and looked for an option to select certain pictures/albums to import, but there is none. So I started the whole process over again. I did have to re-authorize the program to connect to my account--it would be nice if that could be a one-time thing, but it's minor overall. Again, the first 200 photos were upside down, but the rest were fine so I just let it finish entirely.
When it was done, I checked everything out. All my photos were there, but the program did not copy the titles. Renaming 17k+ photos is not exactly my ideal hobby. It did manage to copy the details of what sort of camera was used and the dates.
Overall, I think this program is ideal for novices with a small collection of personal photos who want to download them for back-up, possibly even for moving them to another account (though, seeing how it handled the import I am weary of what it would do with an export). Otherwise, I'd recommend finding another program to use. -
"Couldn't have been simpler!"
Version: Migratr 1.05
Pros
Straightforward instructions, intuitive interface and, of course, free!
Cons
Needs Google+ added
Summary
Simply put, this was exactly what I needed. Thanks!
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"Missed pictures on importing"
Version: Migratr 1.05
Pros
Free, easy to use
Cons
Couldn't import all pictures
Summary
Very disappointing. I have about 500 photos on flickr and this thing imported the first 50 or so. It didn't even tell me import failed and proceeded as if everything is fine. I tried different folders to store photos, but it stopped after the same picture. I gave up. Now do I have to pay Yahoofor for showing more photos on flickr or find another migrating software? Sigh....
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"Possibly will do what it should"
Version: Migratr 1.05
Pros
Finds the photos to migrate
Cons
Gets blocked by a Copyright attached to my photos that I uploaded. Probably a Flikyr issue but it stopped me cold with no time to research.
Summary
If you van get non copyrighted material it will do a great job.
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"Did what I needed easily"
Version: Migratr 1.05
Pros
Just wanted to download pics from Flickr so I could transfer them to photobucket
Cons
maybe could use more API from each site to hammer out details within migratr instead of at each site.
Summary
I didn't explore the full content of the program. The alternative program was not even compatible with one of the site's API.
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"Easy transfer from Flickr to home PC - DElighted"
Version: Migratr 1.05
Pros
Tons of high resolution photos taken by my son in New Zealand, and transferred to Flickr. How to get these on to my PC - in their original high resolution - and without transferring them one by one? Migratr worked simply and easily - saving hours!
Cons
Cannot see a problem with Migratr.
Well done, guys!Summary
see above
Brilliant! -
"Worked flawlessly between Flickr and Google Picasa"
Version: Migratr 1.05
Pros
When exporting and importing between Flickr and Google's Picasa, this application remembered all of the albums, descriptions and tags when importing them into Picasa. I didn't have to do any organizing at all. You can choose the albums to import.
Cons
The programmer has reversed export and import notation. He calls downloading images from Flickr as 'importing'. He calls uploading them to Google as 'exporting'. This notation is reversed. The application doesn't have a 'stop' button.
Summary
This application does what it claims. Yes, it does take quite some time for this process to complete depending on how many photos you are exporting and importing. I also haven't tried every possible combination of exports and imports. I've only tried from Flickr to Picasa. However, it did that work flawlessly and managed to keep all of the albums, tags and descriptions. I can't speak for any other services than these two, but in this specific instance it performed as it should.
You will need an intermediate storage device to store the exported images for reimporting to your other service. The application doesn't tell you how much space you will need. So, just make sure to have around 2GB available for each 2000-3000 pictures that will be downloaded.
When I ran out of space on Google, the program did not error out as I would have expected. Although, I knew that I would run out of space and purchased additional space from Google. Still, Migratr continued to chug along making you think something was happening. Digging through the error log tells a different tale, though. The application should ask you to stop uploading when it begins receiving errors... or at least offer a stop button.
These issues, though, were minor and ultimately Migratr did what it was supposed to do... upload my image library to Picasa. -
"Could be a lot better"
Version: Migratr 0.9.9
Cons
I tried using it with Flickr. Program sucks. You select 1 folder on your computer and it sends all photos to your account.
I does not give the option to select certain photos to send and does not give the option to send to a personal set or collection.
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"Didn't work with snapfish"
Version: Migratr 0.6.2
Pros
Can't figure out how to use.
Cons
It doesn't come with very good instructions and I can't use it with Snapfish.
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"I couldn't get it to run, doing a very basic procedure."
Version: Migratr 0.6.2
Pros
I couldn't run it, so it's hard to tell if I might have liked it.
Cons
Each time it was supposed to authenticate, (the beginning of working with a Website, I was given an error message. I couldn't get past this, most elementary, part of the program, therefore, it was useless for me.
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