How to export your data stored at Nikonians

It is easy to export some or all of your data that is stored at Nikonians, including your gallery images, portfolio, forum images, image comments and forum posts.

Why should I bother about exporting my data? 

It can be a smart thing to export your personal data if e.g.:

1. You want to have backup of the data.

2. You wonder what kind of personal data is stored at Nikonians relating to you.

3. You want to move the information somewhere else, maybe setting up a gallery or portfolio somewhere.

4. You are writing a book about photography and you want to include all of the golden nuggets that you have posted throughout the years in the community.

5. You want to commit digital sappuku and disappear from the community. In that case, you probably want to export the data first, prior of testing the sharp blade upon that very same digital self.

Under "My profile" and "Membership" tab you will find the link "Export my personal data".
Click that link to open the export data window, see below.

Under "My profile" and "Membership" tab you'll find the "Export my personal data" link.
Click that link shows the export data window allowing you to select what to export.
The export window allows you to select some or all of the personal data kept of you at Nikonians.

Step-by-step how to export your data

1. Make sure you are logged in

2. Go to "My Profile" and click the "Membership" tab

3. Click the link "Export my personal data"

4. Select the data you want to export. By default everything is selected. You can select one or more of the following areas of data to be exported:

- Profile information. All the data you have stored in your private/public profile at Nikonians

- Forum posts. All of the forum posts you have made. Does not include any posts made by others (of course!), i.e. complete discussion threads are not exported, only your contributions (messages).

- Forum attachments. Any of the images you have attached to your forum posts. Uploads to galleries via the forums are not included in these images.

- Gallery images. All of your gallery images, no matter if private or public and no matter in which category of the galleries they have been kept, i.e. images uploaded to other areas than your own member gallery will be included as well. Should you have a portfolio, the images are included as well (since they are images stored in your membership gallery).

- Gallery comments. Any comments you have made on any images in the galleries, your own images and those of other members.

All of the images in your gallery, no matter format can be included in the export.
Intermediate sizes that are automatically produced by us in addition to the images you have uploaded are NOT included in the exported data.

Some common questions (FAQs)

How can I export my Nikonians portfolio?
See above: Export your gallery images, which will include all images in your portfolio as well. They are not explicitedly marked as being from the portfolio - that you'll need to keep track of yourself.

How can I import existing images from my computer to my portfolio?
Well, since this page is about exporting data, not importing it, we recommend you to see our portfolio FAQ/help page.

Are all intermediate sizes of my images included in the data export?
Nope. Only the images that were uploaded or attached are included. The thumbnails and intermediate sizes, e.g. 800 pixels wide are not included.

How long does it take until my data has been exported?
Depends on how much data is stored. If you are a member with Nikonians for e.g. fifteen years and you've uploaded, let's say 5 000 images, the export will probably taken 5-10 minutes and the resulting ZIP file might be 1 GB large. If you have not contributed that much information, the download process will be much faster, maybe below 60 seconds.

The download never starts, what shall I do?
If the download link shows (the download has been prepared), then click the download link. If no download link is shown and you have waited let's say 5 minutes and there is no indication that the download is being prepared, you may want to do redo the download: Go back to the Membership tab and click the export data link again. Select less items to export. We recommend you try to download all data except the gallery images first. If that works, then you download the gallery images in a separate download.

What happens to my data after I have exported it?
A temporary ZIP file is created at Nikonians for you to download. The download should start automatically when the export is done. If it does not automatically start, you can download it via the download link which should be shown once the download has been prepared. Just do not leave the download window until the download link appears.

The temporary ZIP file is deleted from our system within two hours after it was created.

Can someone else download my data?
No. No one else has access to the download of your personal data.

Which data formats are provided?
The data itself, e.g. your forum posts and profile, is provided both as (a) CSV for import in other systems, to be shown in e.g. MS Excel plus (b) in a fairly generic XML format.
Images are exported the way they were stored, often as JPG.

I still have issues with the download, what shall I do?
You can post about your issue in the About Nikonians forum. That way also other members with similar issues might be helped and the team is alerted as well and is the recommended way how to proceed. If you rather want to keep it between you and the organization only - No problem, just contact us and we will help you.