Checking download completeness before a gallery expires

A download that "finished" has not necessarily arrived whole. Interrupted connections, full storage and archive tools that stopped early can all leave a folder that looks fine but is incomplete. The fix is a short routine, done soon after delivery.

This guide belongs to our wider guide to event photo delivery, editing and preservation.

Why check at all?

The time to find a problem is while support is still running and the gallery is still available. After expiry, options depend on what the agreement says about retention, and we cannot assume in general that files remain obtainable. Our guide on gallery expiry and the photographer's archive explains the difference between a link and an archive.

Checking takes about fifteen minutes for a typical event. That is small compared with the cost of discovering a missing folder a year later.

What should you gather first?

Before you start, have three things to hand:

1. The delivery notes or confirmation, showing the expected number of files and folders.
2. The expiry date of the gallery or download link.
3. A safe destination with enough free space for the whole set.

If the delivery notes give no count, ask the photographer to confirm one. A number to check against turns a feeling into a test.

How do you check the count?

Open the folder where you saved the download and look at its properties. Most computers show the number of files and the total size. Compare them with the figures in the delivery notes.

If the files came as several zipped parts, check that every part arrived and that each one was extracted. A common slip is to unzip only the first part. If you are using a phone, move the download to a computer where counts are easy to see. When the numbers differ, write down both so the photographer can see exactly what you see.

How do you check the files themselves?

A matching count is a good start, but it does not prove every file works. Open a spread of images: a few from the start, the middle and the end of each folder. Include some of the largest files, because large files are the first to fail on a poor connection.

Look for three signs of trouble. A file that will not open. A file that opens but shows a grey block, stripes or only half the picture. A file of zero size. Any of these suggests a damaged transfer. Delivered photo files will not open or downloads fail explains what to do next.

A worked example

For example, imagine a committee that receives a download link for 480 photographs in four zipped parts, valid for a stated number of days. The treasurer downloads all four, extracts them and finds 412 files.

She checks the delivery notes: 480 files. She then notices that part three is smaller than the others and will not extract. She writes to the photographer with the file count she has, the missing part and the time she downloaded. The photographer sends a fresh link for part three, and the count reaches 480. Because she checked in the first week, the problem took a day to fix.

What if your connection is slow or unreliable?

Large downloads fail more often on weak connections. Download in smaller parts, and check each part as you go. If the connection keeps dropping, receiving event photographs over a slow or limited internet connection describes staged downloads and other methods.

What should you do once the check is complete?

Keep the downloaded set as your ORIGINAL copy, and make a second copy on separate storage. A single copy on one device is a risk. Our photo archive planner helps you plan where the copies should live, and the photo delivery acceptance checklist records your check in one place. If you find a problem and need a replacement, large gallery downloads and handovers explains how bigger deliveries are usually handled. If you think files may have been lost, see event files that may be lost or corrupted.