WIA-Loader is a Windows application from Patrick Mortara for importing photographs and videos from cameras, memory cards and mobile devices. Reusable profiles combine copying with naming, image processing, metadata changes and geocoding. It offers free and paid access, with additional grouping, automatic tagging and wireless-camera functions in the paid version.
Choose the source images
The Sources menu selects a camera, phone, card reader or configured folder. Direct device access uses Windows Portable Devices drivers. Card readers and mass-storage connections support importing but cannot provide camera control.
Users choose an import profile, mark images and start the transfer. A date-selection menu narrows the selection to photographs from a particular day. An optional watcher imports new images as they appear on the active source. Another option deletes source images after import.
Double-clicking a preview opens a larger viewer. It can show EXIF data, histograms, focus information and a location map when the image supplies that information. Keyboard controls rate images and toggle their import marks.
A profile runs ordered steps
The profile wizard creates an initial workflow, which the profile editor can extend. Every profile needs Transfer and SaveAs steps. Users drag steps into order and attach file-type filters or metadata conditions. A condition can apply a particular operation only to exposure-bracket images, for example.
Additional steps perform distinct operations:
- Rotation follows the EXIF orientation or a chosen angle. Resizing accepts a percentage or target dimensions; setting just width or height preserves proportions.
- The DNG Converter step passes RAW images to Adobe DNG Converter. The alternative dcraw integration can develop RAW images into JPEG files.
- SaveAsToFTP uploads images to a server with supplied credentials. HTML Gallery builds an album from the imported pictures.
- Execute Script launches an external program and can pass the last imported image’s path. Change flow can skip an image or show a message.
Names, metadata and import history
SaveAs chooses the base directory, subfolder pattern and filename pattern. Variables insert capture dates, original names, sequence numbers, ratings and information from earlier profile steps. Date and numeric formatting control their appearance. Several SaveAs steps can direct pictures to different destinations.
A structured keyword catalog assigns tags to individual images and can include their parent categories automatically. ExifTool Changes writes configured keywords, comments or copyright information during import. Its MWG mode synchronizes corresponding metadata across EXIF, IPTC and XMP.
The SaveAs database option records previous imports. Automatic selection can compare filenames alone or also consider the source and profile. A separate existing-file check only tests target filenames; it does not compare image contents.
Groups feed later steps
WIA-Loader groups photographs by shooting-time gaps, day or metadata. Group numbers, names and keywords become variables for subsequent steps, such as saving each bracket into its own subfolder.
Paid access adds similarity grouping and manual grouping by drag-and-drop. The similarity algorithm remains experimental. In the group editor, users move images between groups and assign names or keywords before importing continues.
Match photographs to GPS tracks
A Geocoding step loads one or more GPX files and compares their timestamps with each photograph’s capture time. A sufficiently close match supplies coordinates for the image’s EXIF data. Users can shift GPS timestamps to compensate for a camera-clock difference.
The map viewer previews how a chosen time offset changes image positions along the track. Track names also become naming variables. A separate GeoNames step retrieves place information from coordinates for later naming or metadata operations.
Automatic tags and captions
Paid automatic tagging uses an AI configuration for a local model, a local LM Studio server or an online OpenAI model. Users can invoke it for selected images, from the group editor or through an AutoTag profile step.
The OpenAI configuration supplies a prompt, model and the user’s own API key. WIA-Loader sends images for keyword and caption generation; that provider charges separately. Local processing uses a model or server on the computer.
Capture through the computer
Compatible cameras support individual shots or series with optional live view. WIA-Loader imports those captures directly through the selected profile. Exposure bracketing requires a camera that allows exposure-parameter control. Interval shooting provides repeated captures.
Paid PTP/IP support connects compatible Nikon Z cameras over the computer’s network. After pairing and enabling PTP/IP camera discovery, users select the camera as a source.
