Batch Photo Renaming: Bridge and Sequence Number by Date

[avery_nelson]

Hello,

 

I am trying to use Adobe bridge to batch re-name my photos, as I have both a lumix and canon camera and want to

have one-stop shopping.

 

I encounter the following issue (which may just be the design of the tool).

 

Example: I have 3 photos to rename, and I want them to have the format:

 

I_YYYYMMDD_####.EXT

 

The three original photos are named:

P10001001 (shot 20080908)

P10001002 (shot 20080909)

P10001003 (shot 20080909)

 

Now, using bridge, with a sequence number, I batch rename all of these at the same time. My files are now named:

I_20080908_0001.raw

I_20080909_0002.raw

I_20080909_0003.raw

 

Which is not what I want, because the sequence number does not reset with each day's photos (say, when i take a

trip for a week).

 

What I actually want is:

I_20080908_0001.raw

I_20080909_0001.raw

I_20080909_0002.raw

 

Is there a way to accomplish this in Bridge? Both Canon's and Nikon's delivered software is able to do this.

 

Any thoughts are appreciated. If this isn't an option with Bridge, is there recommended (non-vendor) software that

can handle this?

 

Thanks!

Avery

[eric merrill]

Avery:

 

Instead of selecting all, select the range of photos for each day, and rename just the selection.

 

 

Eric

[will_daniel1]

I have to select a group of files by date to do that in ThumbsPlus Pro, as Eric says. The ideal state would be a renaming convention that pulls EXIF date from metatata and puts it in the file name during a batch re-naming routine. If such software exists, someone please tell me where I can find it. ThumbsPlus does one thing that comes close: I can batch change the file date to the EXIF date. This is particularly useful if, for example, you took some photos on Aug. 31 and didn't get to edit them until Sept. 6. The file date defaults to the last-saved date, although I think some editing software will give you date options at the save point.

 

Will

[avery_nelson]

Eric -- Yes, I agree that I can do that. However, for instance, I just returned from a 14-day trip and that means that 14 times I have to switch between Bridge and IE to align the dates with the pictures, select the appropriate ones, run the program, etc. Frequently, I will have multiple days of photos on a card. I'd prefer to do this just once.

 

Will -- I think I'm understanding your question. Bridge (and other delivered vendor programs such as Canon's and Nikon's) pull based on Created or Modified date. I believe that if you copied from your camera to computer on a different date, that the Modified date field will actually do what you want. My issue is the sequence numbering not resetting with each group of dates, simiar to how Canon and Nikon do this.

[will_daniel1]

I didn't have a question as much as a statement. One of the options I have in ThumbsPlus is to batch change file date to EXIF file creation date. In my case these two dates are almost always going to be different because I will frequently edit a file sometime after file creation date. After editing, the new file date will be the date modified. File creation date remains embedded in EXIF.

 

Here is a typical file name for me: 090908_wjd_d40_rw_001.jpg. I want the first part of that file name to be the date the photo was taken, NOT the date of last modification. In order to batch re-name the files to the specification I want, I must first make sure I'm using the right date. I can then sort them in date sort order, select all the files for that date, and then batch re-name.

 

Actually, to be clear, I don't have to use that whole process very often anymore. I did that on a bunch of older files, but all new ones get that naming convention as I download them from the camera.

 

BTW, that file name tells me who shot the photo, what date, what camera and whether or not a RAW file exists for that JPG.

 

NOTE: I use the underscore instead of a hyphen and ALL lowercase letters. That is for compatibilty with all web browsers. Some don't recognize hyphens, and some will choke and puke on uppercase letters. By sticking with these characters, I don't have to worry about web authoring software changing my file names on me.

 

Will

[eric merrill]

Avery:

 

Why would you need to keep switching between Bridge & IE? Just select the pictures in bridge (sort by

date), and rename.

 

I use the date_sequence naming standard, too. Something I've done when I have related pictures

spanning several days is to not reset the sequence for each day. So I might have day1_1, day1_2,

day2_3, day3_4, etc. After all, the whole point is just to come up with a unique name for each photo.

 

 

Eric

[ellis_vener_photography]

how to set up bridge to do most of what you want

 

(from the menu bar in bridge 2)

 

Tools>Batch Rename

 

and see the screen shot I've included, but no the sequence number does not index to the date but to the entire contents of the folder.

 

You could pu tthem into individual folders or keep them in the same folder and just select the individual dates as a range. The latter approach is the one I take with either Adobe Bridge or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2. .<div></div>

[ellis_vener_photography]

And there is no need to go into IE (Internet Explorer?) to organize by date.

[twmeyer]

BreezeBrowser Pro will do it. <p>You can tell it's batch renaming tool to sort the folder by image date/time and then code the renaming action using their designations for those specific renaming requirements as this text says that I lifted from their help file: <i>Rename as the date and time the picture was taken plus the image number: %d%t_%r</i> . You can continue to customize the naming with almost any other consideration you have including starting each file name with your name and inserting a sequence number where ever.

<p>I am pondering this same issue and think that BB Pro will do what I need, and what you need too... t<p>(and it's a damn fine browser for us windows guys, with a proactive presence from Chris Breeze on their forums. Mac folk must look elsewhere... t

[twmeyer]

Yep, works great.<p>using meyer_%Y%m%D_%[5-] as the keys, I just

renamed<p>Z08_3244.NEF<p>to<p>meyer_20080908_3244.nef<p>and saved the protocol as "OrigCameraFiles".<p>So

renaming the next folder is as easy as selecting all, choosing Batch Rename from the Tools menu, choosing

"OrigCameraFiles" from drop down Style options, and click "Rename Selected". Done.<p>I decided not to add a

unique sequence number, as the combination of YYYY/MM/DD and the original file number will be unique, at least

for my life time.<p>Next is making a renaming style option for derivative files and all the various permutations

of those...whew... t

[will_daniel1]

Awesome, Tom. I just downloaded the trial version of BreezeBrowser Pro, and tested it. It indeed did something I've been looking for -- pulling the original date out of EXIF and putting it in the file name. Way cool. Thanks!

 

Will

[twmeyer]

Well your question was part of my search for the answer, so thank you. I can't believe I made it work with software I had already had, no $100 upgrades, no $300 new "Whatever" to learn. Now if I could just make LR v2 open my D700nefs... t

[will_daniel1]

Hmmm... Something going on with Nikon that they haven't yet released the color libraries for the D700 NEF. I use ThumbsPlus Pro by Cerious Software and get great results with RAW files using the Nikon libraries in ThumbsPlus Digicam plug-in (it also has Canon libraries). They just released a plug-in update, but with a note saying D700 libraries not yet released. Trial version downloads and release notes available at www.cerious.com. (Not a paid ad; I'm just a long-time user and big fan of the software.)

 

Will

[twmeyer]

I'm sorry, I meant LR v1.4. V2 does handle the files, and upgrading is inevitable and will be part of the new back up strategy as is this file renaming issue we have solved together. I just like to put off expensive/time consuming things as long as I can. That attitude recently paid off when I hesitated for a week to join Photo Shelter Collective... which then announced it is closing down. Finally! Procrastination pays off! You just have to wait long enough :^)... t

[avery_nelson]

Thanks to everyone for your input -- have several options to use now.