Importing media and folders
FreeBring files, folders, and large libraries onto the canvas.
Importing is the board-ingest path: FenSight recursively enumerates dropped or selected folders, filters known media/project files, groups image sequences, places the new items, then backfills thumbnails and metadata without blocking the canvas. The direct import paths are Free. Watched folders are a Pro automation path that can feed the same ingest machinery after a watcher scan.
Screenshot coming soon
FenSight import progress while files and folders are being added to the board
Import access paths
File -> Import Folder...
Ctrl+Shift+I. Opens a FolderBrowserDialog, remembers LastImportFolder, recursively imports the folder and subfolders, then arranges and fits the imported items.
Explorer -> drag files or folders onto the canvas
Drops use the canvas point as the layout center and copy effect. Internal FenSight drags are ignored by the import handler.
Ctrl+V
If FenSight's internal clipboard is empty, materializes OS clipboard files, images, virtual files, or URLs and imports the resulting files.
View -> Folders -> right-click folder node -> Add folder to board
The left folder tree supports single, Ctrl, and Shift multi-select. The context command recursively imports the selected folder path(s).
View -> Folders -> drag a folder node onto the canvas
Folder-tree drag creates a FileDrop payload, so dropping it on the canvas follows the normal recursive folder import path.
Tools -> Browse folder... -> select cells -> right-click -> Add N to board
Browse folder opens a non-import overlay for one folder. Add N to board imports the selected visible file paths.
Tools -> Watched folders... -> Add to current board
Pro. Scans a watched folder config and imports eligible added files into the active board.
Tools -> Refresh watched folders
Pro. Refreshes watchers linked to the current board; Auto-add new files can import immediately, otherwise FenSight prompts Add to board / Open manager / Not now.
Help -> Tutorial -> Get Started
The tutorial's Get Started button opens a folder picker labeled Select a folder to import into FenSight and then calls the same folder import path.
Import entry points
These are the verified ways files become board items. Rows marked Pro are automation around importing; the underlying manual import is Free.
Import settings and toggles
Supported import groups
This page lists the exact extension groups because they decide whether a path enters the import plan, the document prompt, or the generic shell-thumbnail fallback.
Fallback Ingest Documents dialog
The current primary pipeline imports PipelineSupportedDocuments directly, so this dialog is a retained fallback surface rather than the normal document-import path. It is still listed here because the controls and persisted settings exist in app code. If shown, every checkbox starts unchecked unless a previous OK persisted that document-family setting.
Fallback large folder prompt
The retained fallback import path shows this dialog when the plan contains 2,000 or more items after filtering and sequence detection. The current lightweight pipeline does not show this sampling dialog before importing supported media/document paths.
Folder Browse controls
Folder Browse is a temporary overlay, not an import by itself. It previews one folder's immediate files, then selected cells can be added to the board.
Watched-folder import controls
Watched folders are Pro. They are included here because they are a real path for adding folders' files to the board, but the full watcher configuration belongs to the Watched folders page.
Preflight utilities
These File menu commands prepare caches for future imports. They do not add board items by themselves.
Pipeline phases and placement
Both direct folder import and canvas drops try the lightweight ingest pipeline first unless Accept all file types is enabled. The pipeline enumerates files off the UI thread, filters hidden/system/junk/generated-cache paths, detects image sequences, scans headers with bounded workers, decodes previews through the shared foreground decode arbiter, lays out the new items, then runs thumbnail and video backfill phases.
- ArrangeAndFit is used when no drop point exists, such as File -> Import Folder... and Folder Browse Add N to board.
- ArrangeAtDropPoint is used for canvas drops so newly imported items cluster around the drop position without immediately fitting the whole board.
- Watched folder adds use IngestPlacementMode.Skip during ingest, then arrange only the newly added items through the watched-folder inbox/current-layout path.
- Large/heavy imports keep new items in a layout buffer until positions are assigned so thousands of unpositioned items do not pile up at (0,0) and defeat viewport culling.
- Duplicate prevention uses a signature made from full path, file length, creation time, and last-write time. Network paths are skipped only when the same source path is already on the board.
Image sequence detection
Numbered image frames are collapsed into ImageSequenceItem objects before layout so frame runs do not flood the board as individual files.
- A candidate frame name must end with at least three digits, and files are grouped by directory, prefix, extension, and digit padding.
- Runs must contain at least three consecutive indices.
- FenSight checks file-size consistency and samples up to five frames for dimension consistency; runs with more than roughly 35% file-size variation are rejected.
- Sequence split gap (sec) can split a long consecutive run into separate sequences when timestamp gaps exceed the threshold.
Direct import, drag/drop, clipboard materialization, Folder Browse add-to-board, generic shell-thumbnail import, and import preflight utilities are Free. Watched folders and their automatic/pending import flow require Pro.
Folder Browse is intentionally non-destructive and non-importing until you choose Add N to board. Organize actions launched from Folder Browse can still change real files if you apply them.
Connected guides
Follow these related pages when the workflow crosses into setup, search, organization, export, security, or another board-level system.