Bulk Create Folders and Galleries from CSV

Create entire folder and gallery hierarchies on SmugMug from a CSV file. Define your structure in a spreadsheet, preview it, and let Folio build it all in seconds.

Folio's Bulk Create feature lets you create entire folder and gallery structures on SmugMug from a simple spreadsheet. Instead of manually creating dozens (or hundreds) of folders and galleries one by one, define your structure in a CSV file and let Folio build it all in seconds.

This is ideal for event photographers setting up client delivery structures, studio managers organizing seasonal shoots, or anyone migrating an existing folder plan into SmugMug.

How It Works

Prepare a CSV file describing your folder/gallery structure
Open Folio and choose where to import (a specific folder or the root of your site)
Preview the tree, adjust settings, and create everything in one click
Export the results — viewing URLs and optional guest upload URLs — ready to share with clients

Getting Started

Open the Bulk Create sheet

You have two options:

Right-click any folder in the sidebar and select Bulk Create from CSV... — galleries will be created inside that folder
File → Bulk Create from CSV... (or press ⌘⇧K) — galleries will be created at the root level of your SmugMug site

Select your CSV file

A file picker opens filtered to .csv files. Folio supports both UTF-8 and Windows/Latin-1 encoded files (up to 1 MB).

Preview and configure

The preview sheet shows your folder/gallery structure as a visual tree. You can configure the following settings:

Setting	Description
Album Template	Apply one of your SmugMug album templates to all new galleries. Default: none (SmugMug defaults).
Folder Privacy	Set the privacy level for newly created folders: Private (default), Unlisted, or Public.
Include Guest Upload URLs	When enabled, each gallery gets a unique guest upload URL that you can share with clients so they can upload photos directly.

If something looks wrong, click Choose Different CSV... to pick another file without closing the sheet.

Create

Click Create All. Folio creates each folder and gallery sequentially, showing progress as it goes. You can cancel at any time — items already created remain on SmugMug.

Export results

When creation finishes, you'll see a results table with:

Gallery name and path
Clickable viewing URL (opens in your browser)
Guest upload URL (if enabled)
Any warnings

Export your results using:

Copy All — copies tab-separated data, ready to paste into Excel or Google Sheets
Export CSV — saves a CSV file with all results

Want to try it right away? Download the example CSV — a full photographer season with 17 galleries across 4 quarters.

CSV Format

Your CSV file uses a simple convention: each row is a path from left to right, where the last non-empty column is the gallery name, and everything before it is the folder path.

There are no required column headers — Folio auto-detects whether your first row is a header or data. If you include headers, use descriptive names like Folder 1, Folder 2, Gallery Name, etc.

Basic Example

Wedding,Ceremony,Getting Ready
Wedding,Ceremony,The Service
Wedding,Ceremony,Recessional
Wedding,Reception,First Dance
Wedding,Reception,Speeches
Wedding,Reception,Party

This creates:

📁 Wedding
├── 📁 Ceremony
│   ├── 📷 Getting Ready
│   ├── 📷 The Service
│   └── 📷 Recessional
└── 📁 Reception
    ├── 📷 First Dance
    ├── 📷 Speeches
    └── 📷 Party

Example with Headers

Folder 1,Folder 2,Gallery Name
Smith-Johnson Wedding,Ceremony,Processional
Smith-Johnson Wedding,Ceremony,Vows & Rings
Smith-Johnson Wedding,Reception,First Dance
Smith-Johnson Wedding,Reception,Cake Cutting
Corporate Gala 2026,Main Event,Stage & Speakers
Corporate Gala 2026,Main Event,Networking
Corporate Gala 2026,Awards,Ceremony
Corporate Gala 2026,Awards,Portraits

This creates two separate event trees:

📁 Smith-Johnson Wedding
├── 📁 Ceremony
│   ├── 📷 Processional
│   └── 📷 Vows & Rings
└── 📁 Reception
    ├── 📷 First Dance
    └── 📷 Cake Cutting

📁 Corporate Gala 2026
├── 📁 Main Event
│   ├── 📷 Stage & Speakers
│   └── 📷 Networking
└── 📁 Awards
    ├── 📷 Ceremony
    └── 📷 Portraits

Mixed Depths

Not every path needs the same number of levels. Use fewer columns for shallower paths — just leave the trailing columns empty:

Folder 1,Folder 2,Folder 3,Gallery Name
Portraits,,,Headshots
Portraits,,,Family Sessions
Events,Summer 2026,,Beach Party
Events,Summer 2026,,BBQ Cookout
Events,Summer 2026,Conferences,Tech Summit Day 1
Events,Summer 2026,Conferences,Tech Summit Day 2
Events,Winter 2026,,Holiday Gala

This creates:

📁 Portraits
├── 📷 Headshots
└── 📷 Family Sessions

📁 Events
├── 📁 Summer 2026
│   ├── 📷 Beach Party
│   ├── 📷 BBQ Cookout
│   └── 📁 Conferences
│       ├── 📷 Tech Summit Day 1
│       └── 📷 Tech Summit Day 2
└── 📁 Winter 2026
    └── 📷 Holiday Gala

Single-Column (Galleries Only)

If you just need a flat list of galleries with no folder nesting:

Gallery Name
Spring Mini Sessions
Summer Portraits
Fall Family Photos
Holiday Cards 2026

Special Characters

Use quotes around names that contain commas:

Folder,Gallery
"Smith, Johnson Wedding",Ceremony
"Smith, Johnson Wedding",Reception

Practical Example: Full Event Photography Season

Here's a realistic CSV for a photographer's quarterly structure:

Folder 1,Folder 2,Folder 3,Gallery Name
2026 Season,Q1 - Winter,Martin Wedding,Ceremony
2026 Season,Q1 - Winter,Martin Wedding,Reception
2026 Season,Q1 - Winter,Martin Wedding,Portraits
2026 Season,Q1 - Winter,Corporate,Annual Gala
2026 Season,Q1 - Winter,Corporate,Team Headshots
2026 Season,Q2 - Spring,Chen-Park Wedding,Ceremony
2026 Season,Q2 - Spring,Chen-Park Wedding,Reception
2026 Season,Q2 - Spring,Chen-Park Wedding,Details & Decor
2026 Season,Q2 - Spring,Charity Run,Start Line
2026 Season,Q2 - Spring,Charity Run,Course
2026 Season,Q2 - Spring,Charity Run,Finish & Awards
2026 Season,Q3 - Summer,Beach Minis,Session 1 - Davis Family
2026 Season,Q3 - Summer,Beach Minis,Session 2 - Thompson Family
2026 Season,Q3 - Summer,Beach Minis,Session 3 - Rivera Family
2026 Season,Q4 - Fall,Holiday Minis,Morning Block
2026 Season,Q4 - Fall,Holiday Minis,Afternoon Block
2026 Season,Q4 - Fall,Garcia Wedding,Full Day

This creates a deeply nested, organized structure:

📁 2026 Season
├── 📁 Q1 - Winter
│   ├── 📁 Martin Wedding
│   │   ├── 📷 Ceremony
│   │   ├── 📷 Reception
│   │   └── 📷 Portraits
│   └── 📁 Corporate
│       ├── 📷 Annual Gala
│       └── 📷 Team Headshots
├── 📁 Q2 - Spring
│   ├── 📁 Chen-Park Wedding
│   │   ├── 📷 Ceremony
│   │   ├── 📷 Reception
│   │   └── 📷 Details & Decor
│   └── 📁 Charity Run
│       ├── 📷 Start Line
│       ├── 📷 Course
│       └── 📷 Finish & Awards
├── 📁 Q3 - Summer
│   └── 📁 Beach Minis
│       ├── 📷 Session 1 - Davis Family
│       ├── 📷 Session 2 - Thompson Family
│       └── 📷 Session 3 - Rivera Family
└── 📁 Q4 - Fall
    ├── 📁 Holiday Minis
    │   ├── 📷 Morning Block
    │   └── 📷 Afternoon Block
    └── 📁 Garcia Wedding
        └── 📷 Full Day

Limits and Validation

Folio validates your CSV before creating anything. Items with errors are highlighted in red and excluded from creation.

Rule	Limit
Maximum folder depth	7 levels of folders (SmugMug limit). If you're importing into a folder that's already nested, the combined depth counts.
Maximum items per import	500 folders and galleries total. Split larger structures across multiple CSV files.
Name length	200 characters maximum per folder or gallery name.
File size	CSV files up to 1 MB.
No gaps in paths	Every folder column must be filled from left to right — you can't skip a level (e.g., `Events,,Ceremony,Photos` is invalid).

Warnings vs. Errors

Errors (red): The item will not be created. Fix the CSV and re-import.
Warnings (orange): The item will be created, but something may need attention (e.g., duplicate gallery name under the same parent).

Start small. Test with a few rows first to make sure the structure looks right in the preview.
Use a spreadsheet app. Build your structure in Excel or Google Sheets, then export as CSV. Each column becomes a folder level.
Apply a template. If you have a SmugMug album template with your preferred gallery settings (privacy, watermark, download sizes), select it during import to apply it to every new gallery automatically.
Guest upload URLs. Enable this option if you're creating client delivery galleries — you'll get a shareable upload link for each gallery in the results export.
Paste into a spreadsheet. After creation, click Copy All and paste directly into your client management spreadsheet to have all URLs ready to share.