Turn a studio laptop into an always-on backup station: every tethered capture is copied to Dropbox and recorded in snapflow, automatically, with no one signed in.
Desktop/BP17/HOTFOLDER…/BP17/HOTFOLDERDecide the name before you start. Use the label on the laptop lid — short, uppercase, one per machine: BP1, BP2, BP17… This one name becomes the station's identity in snapflow and its Dropbox folder, so get it right the first time.
Download the installer on the station laptop:
⬇ Download for Windows (.exe) ⬇ Download for Mac (.dmg)Either button always grabs the newest version — the links never change. After this first install, Payload updates itself — you'll never reinstall by hand.
Windows shows a blue warning the first time you run the installer. This is normal and expected — the app is signed by Cherished Memories Photography, Inc.; Windows just hasn't seen enough installs of this version yet.
Open the .dmg and drag Payload into Applications. The app is notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings.
Each station laptop has one shared, password-protected login that everyone at the seat uses — no per-photographer accounts. After any reboot, whoever is at the seat signs in to that account by hand — no auto-login on these machines (they hold client photos) — and Payload starts itself in the tray from there.
Open Payload. On a fresh machine it starts straight in the setup wizard — three screens, no sign-in:
Desktop/BP17/HOTFOLDERThe name is checked live — if it says the name is already registered, that station name is in use on another machine; pick the next number rather than reusing it.
Clicking Create station does everything at once: registers the station, creates Desktop/BP17/HOTFOLDER and Desktop/BP17/PRINTS, starts watching them, and sets Payload to launch hidden in the tray on every login.
Windows: keep "Rename this computer" checked so the PC itself is named after the station. The rename finishes on the next restart — you'll do one in Step 4 anyway.
On the wizard's last screen, before clicking Done:
Desktop/<STATION>/HOTFOLDER (e.g. Desktop/BP17/HOTFOLDER).Within a few seconds the wizard flips to ✓ Test shot received — that's proof the whole chain works, end to end. Click Done.
If it stays on "Waiting for your test shot…", the photo went somewhere else. Re-check the EOS Utility destination folder and the date-subfolder setting, or click "Photos not arriving?" in the wizard for the built-in troubleshooter.
…/<STATION>/HOTFOLDER and in snapflow under the station name.All three pass? The station is done. It now runs hands-off: any photographer can sit down, tether, and shoot.
The station backs up no matter who is at the seat. Photographers rotate freely; there's nothing for them to do in Payload.
Captures queue on the laptop and upload automatically when the connection returns. Nothing is lost offline.
Folders inside HOTFOLDER (like Captura's archive/<school>) are backed up with the same structure. New files at the top level upload within seconds; files inside subfolders can take up to ~5 minutes — that's normal, not stuck.
The backup is add-only. Clearing space on the laptop is always safe once the tray shows everything is backed up.
Payload holds the laptop awake while uploads are in flight and releases it when the queue drains. Glance at the tray before closing the lid.
New Payload versions roll out automatically to the whole fleet. No manual reinstalls, ever.
| Situation | What to know |
|---|---|
| Blue Windows warning | Expected on first install — More info → Run anyway (Step 1). Confirm the publisher name first. |
| Name already registered | Another machine owns that station name. Use the next number on your scheme — don't reuse a name without checking with production. |
| Duplicate filenames | Payload flags them in the tray and in snapflow. Fix the naming scheme in EOS Utility so every capture is unique; duplicates are still backed up safely (Dropbox auto-renames, e.g. IMG_0001 (1).JPG). |
| Renaming a station | Possible, but its Dropbox destination moves with it — earlier uploads stay under the old name. Talk to production before renaming. |
| PRINTS folder | Desktop/<STATION>/PRINTS is watched too — drop print files there and they back up the same way. |