Author Topic: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension  (Read 23047 times)

Offline dmwierz

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Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« on: March 05, 2007, 01:39:57 PM »
I'm sure this is possible, and I've perused the manual and these boards (learned some other stuff, BTW, but not what I was looking for, exactly) and not found this, so here's what I need to do:

I have a client who requests that file names and IPTC titles be the same. Wait, there's more; he also wants the title/file name to include the ".jpg" extension AND contain information about the subject, as in "KirkBakerCameraBitsAuthor.jpg".

Any suggestions how I might do this without going nuts? I already have my hands full with hundreds of images from each event to edit and caption (select down to a hundred or so, but this still leaves a LOT of captioning to do) without having to custom name and add a ".jpg" to the "IPTC "Title" field.

Thanks in advance,

Dennis
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Offline dmwierz

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2007, 01:54:35 PM »
OK, let me explore my own post. What if I rename the files using the file/copy/variables then choose the IPTC Field "title, titl" which should rename the image to whatever the title is. Now how do I add the extension to the title? And, how might I incorporate player info into the title? Could I make each player a keyword, then use these in the title?

Help!!!

Dennis

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2007, 02:29:24 PM »
Dennis,

I'm sure this is possible, and I've perused the manual and these boards (learned some other stuff, BTW, but not what I was looking for, exactly) and not found this, so here's what I need to do:

I have a client who requests that file names and IPTC titles be the same. Wait, there's more; he also wants the title/file name to include the ".jpg" extension AND contain information about the subject, as in "KirkBakerCameraBitsAuthor.jpg".

Any suggestions how I might do this without going nuts? I already have my hands full with hundreds of images from each event to edit and caption (select down to a hundred or so, but this still leaves a LOT of captioning to do) without having to custom name and add a ".jpg" to the "IPTC "Title" field.

First fill in the IPTC data in all of your fields but the Title field.  Then rename your photos using various {variables} to do your chosen rename.  Then after the rename, select your photos, open the IPTC Stationery Pad, and clear all of the "Apply checkboxes" and then set the Title apply checkbox.  Put the following into the Title field:

{filename}

And then apply the IPTC Stationery Pad to your photos.

That should do it.

-Kirk

Offline dmwierz

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2007, 03:02:51 PM »
Kirk,

Thanks. I'll give this a try.

What do you mean by "Then rename your photos using various {variables} to do your chosen rename." ? Do I need to assign player's name to variables as a "Supp Cat"? Plus, what is the syntax to addding text to the end of a variable, such as {variable}.jpg?

By "Title", do you mean the field actually entitled "Object Name", 'cuz whenever I upload to my wire service, the data in the field "Object Name" ends up in their field called "Title", and the only PM field called "Title" is actually under the sub-category "Credits" on the IPTC Stationary Pad which seems to be organized to be part of Photographer data.

???

This is CRITICAL to me, as I think it's impacting how editors are being able to search for my action and stock images, and as a result, if i can't get this right, they won't find my stuff and as a result, I won't get paid  :(

Is there anywhere that CLEARLY defines what each of the IPTC fields is supposed to mean? I went to the http://www.iptc.org and it was predictably cryptic. I mean, What does "Code" mean??? How does "Object Name" differ from "Title", and how do they both differ from "Headline"?

Dennis

« Last Edit: March 05, 2007, 03:09:29 PM by dmwierz »

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2007, 06:06:35 PM »
Dennis,

What do you mean by "Then rename your photos using various {variables} to do your chosen rename." ? Do I need to assign player's name to variables as a "Supp Cat"?"

If you want to tuck away the player's name so you can use it later, then put it into some IPTC field.  Then later use its variable name in renaming.

Quote from: dmwierz
Plus, what is the syntax to addding text to the end of a variable, such as {variable}.jpg?

You don't need to add the extension back on yourself.  PM does that for you since you can't know if the file you're renaming at the time is a JPEG, NEF, CR2, etc.

But to answer the basic question you can do things like this:

hello{somevariable}there

and PM will expand {somevariable} right between hello and there.

Quote from: dmwierz
By "Title", do you mean the field actually entitled "Object Name", 'cuz whenever I upload to my wire service, the data in the field "Object Name" ends up in their field called "Title", and the only PM field called "Title" is actually under the sub-category "Credits" on the IPTC Stationary Pad which seems to be organized to be part of Photographer data.

For the most part, PM uses the actual IPTC record field names, with a few exceptions for clarity:

By-line is called Photographer in PM.
By-line Title is called Title in PM.
Original Transmission Reference is called Transmission Reference in PM.
Sub-location is called Location in PM.
Date Created is called Date in PM.
Writers is called Caption Writers in PM.

Quote from: dmwierz
This is CRITICAL to me, as I think it's impacting how editors are being able to search for my action and stock images, and as a result, if i can't get this right, they won't find my stuff and as a result, I won't get paid  :(

Is there anywhere that CLEARLY defines what each of the IPTC fields is supposed to mean? I went to the http://www.iptc.org and it was predictably cryptic. I mean, What does "Code" mean??? How does "Object Name" differ from "Title", and how do they both differ from "Headline"?

I've seen some tables over on www.controlledvocabulary.com that list some differences, but Photo Mechanic is not described on the table.

Code means Country Code.  It is a three digit code for a country.
Now some other apps take even more liberty with the IPTC record field names.  Photoshop for instance calls the following fields different names:

Caption is called Description
Caption Writer is called Description writer
Photographer is called Author
Title is called Author's position
Date is called Date Created
Special Instructions is called Instructions
State is called State/Province
Object Name is called Title

That's about it.

HTH,

-Kirk


Offline dmwierz

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2007, 06:44:56 PM »
Kirk,

Thanks. That's an interesting and informative site. This table on that page is probably the most helpful IPTC translator I've ever seen.

I'm still not sure what you mean by "tuck away" the player's name so you can "use it" later, then "put it into" some IPTC field.  Then later "use its variable name" in renaming.

Your choice of vernacular verbs is a bit obtuse, but I'll dive into the PM4 manual and try to decipher it again.

I'm also not sure why PhotoShop and PhotoMechanic and iViewMedia, etc, all need to rename the standard IPTC field names, but then again, I never could figure out why we in the English-speaking world felt it necessary to rename Roma to Rome.

Thanks again for the timely response.

Dennis
« Last Edit: March 05, 2007, 06:48:56 PM by dmwierz »

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2007, 07:12:07 PM »
Dennis,

I'm still not sure what you mean by "tuck away" the player's name so you can "use it" later, then "put it into" some IPTC field.  Then later "use its variable name" in renaming.

What I mean is that you need to put specific information into each image that describes the image.  If there is a baseball player in the photo, then it would be a good idea to put that player's name, number, position, team name, etc. into various IPTC fields.  Once that is done, you can use variables corresponding to those particular fields in order to rename your photos.

Does that make sense?

Quote from: dmwierz
I'm also not sure why PhotoShop and PhotoMechanic and iViewMedia, etc, all need to rename the standard IPTC field names, but then again, I never could figure out why we in the English-speaking world felt it necessary to rename Roma to Rome.

Ours by far is the most closely resembling of the original IIM specification.  IPTC was intended to be used for more than just photography, but to us it makes no sense to call a Photographer an Author unless they write books on the side. ;)

I'll try and get David Riecks to add Photo Mechanic to his table...

-Kirk

Offline dbrouse

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2007, 07:16:02 PM »
Quote
I'm still not sure what you mean by "tuck away" the player's name so you can "use it" later, then "put it into" some IPTC field.  Then later "use its variable name" in renaming.

Put the players name in ANY (unused) IPTC field (for example, put JOHN DOE in Supp Cat 3), then when you rename the file like this:


xxx_{suppcat3}_yyy

resulting in filename "xxx-JOHN DOE-yyy"

Make sense???



[attachment deleted by admin]
Delane B. Rouse/Rouse Photography Group, LLC
Mac OS: Version 10.7.4, Build 12713

Offline dmwierz

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2007, 02:25:48 AM »
Delane and Kirk,

I think I'm getting it. Thanks.

Let me make sure I have the syntax correct, though. Delane wrote "xxx_{suppcat3}_yy" which results in "xxx-JOHN DOE-yy", is this right? Using an underscore results in a dash in the name?

Also " put that player's name, number, position, team name, etc. into various IPTC fields." Any way to use code replacements to do this automatically? And when you say "various IPTC fields, there are only so many fields, correct, and these fields are limited in number, or can we use any field that appears in the IPTC matrix beyond the "supp" fields (as long as it isn't already being used)?

In  case you haven't been told this already (at least a million times) captioning is far any away the most time consuming portion of my workflow (especially when captioning action and stock images, where I may have over 100 shots per game to get out), and ANYTHING that can be done to reduce this will be greatly appreciated.

Clearly there is a lot of power to PM that I am only beginning to unleash, and through helpful folks like you guys, I might just learn 10% of what it has to offer.

Thanks again,

Dennis

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #9 on: March 06, 2007, 07:26:01 AM »
Dennis,

Let me make sure I have the syntax correct, though. Delane wrote "xxx_{suppcat3}_yy" which results in "xxx-JOHN DOE-yy", is this right? Using an underscore results in a dash in the name?

No.  A dash is a dash.  An underscore is an underscore.  Look at the screenshots.  Everything is dashes.  Delane just made a minor mistake is all.

Quote from: dmwierz
Also " put that player's name, number, position, team name, etc. into various IPTC fields." Any way to use code replacements to do this automatically? And when you say "various IPTC fields, there are only so many fields, correct, and these fields are limited in number, or can we use any field that appears in the IPTC matrix beyond the "supp" fields (as long as it isn't already being used)?

While code replacement is a great way to speed things up, it can't do anything automatically.  You have to setup a code replacement file and you have to use it manually.  For instance in one of Delane's thumbnails I can clearly see that the player's number is 35 and his name is Durant.  I would create a code replacement file for the two teams that are playing, listing all of the player's names, numbers, positions, etc.  Like so:

x35[tab]Durant, Center
x75[tab]Whatshisname, Forward
x14[tab]Whoishe, Guard

Then when I am captioning a photo with the player whose number is 35, I enter (into whatever field works for you, let's use Category) \x35\ and Code Replacement replaces that with Durant, Center

That's what Code Replacement does.  And now that Category is filled in, I can go to the Caption field and do something like:

{category}, yells at a referee.

And when I save that IPTC data, the Caption field will look like this:

Durant, Center, yells at a referee.

Quote from: dmwierz
In  case you haven't been told this already (at least a million times) captioning is far any away the most time consuming portion of my workflow (especially when captioning action and stock images, where I may have over 100 shots per game to get out), and ANYTHING that can be done to reduce this will be greatly appreciated.

Clearly there is a lot of power to PM that I am only beginning to unleash, and through helpful folks like you guys, I might just learn 10% of what it has to offer.

One thing you can do to speed this process up is to do captioning in passes.  First use the IPTC Stationery Pad when you are ingesting your images.  Apply only the metadata that is common between all photos.  This would be things like City, State, Country, Country Code, Photographer, partial keywords, and Copyright.

For the copyright field you can do the following which will automate your copyright text:

Copyright {year4}, your name

Set the "Apply checkboxes" to the left of any fields you want to apply, clear any that you don't want to apply.  Note that if you want to clear a field, you can make it empty and set its Apply checkbox and when applied, that field will be cleared.

So now in this workflow example, all of my images now have their City, State, Country, Country Code, Photographer, partial keywords and Copyright finished.  Now I can do another pass with similar images.  I would then identify all of the pictures with common players in them and I would select them.  Then I would filter them to be the only pictures shown in the contact sheet with the F2 key.  Then bring up the IPTC Info dialog and work with all of them, using Code Replacement to get each of the player's info into various fields like Category, Supp Cat 1, etc.

Now I would exit the IPTC Info dialog and press F1 to show all images.  (These are keyboard shortcuts corresponding to the View menu items.)  I would then repeat this last step for all common photos, to the least common photos.

Then I would make a keywording pass since keywords are a really great way for people to find your images and it is important to use synonyms like Delane has in his example.  His subject is basketball, but he also put in the word "hoops" in his keywords.  This way if someone looks for images with basketball, his images will be found and if someone uses the word hoops, his images will also be found.  Some of this keywording can be automated by using the IPTC Stationery Pad again, but this time we'll mine our current metadata to add keywords.

In the Keywords field of the IPTC Stationery Pad, enter {category}, {suppcat1}, {suppcat2}, {suppcat3} and make sure that the Apply checkbox and the Append checkbox (it looks like '+') are set.  Then apply this IPTC Stationery Pad to all of your images.  The images now all would say something like this:

basketball, hoops, team1, team2, madison, square garden, Durant, Center

Then I would go through the individual captions and add any final details to make them complete.

Next would be to do any image manipulation (toning, sharpening, etc.) in my favorite image editor and then upload them to a service of some kind via PM's FTP.

I hope this gets you going toward an efficient workflow.  Captioning does indeed take a lot of time and PM does it's best to provide you with enough power and flexibility to get things done the way you want to work.

-Kirk

Offline dmwierz

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2007, 10:12:02 AM »
Kirk,

Thanks! I think I'm getting it. I now have my stationary pad filled with all kinds of goodies, which is going to save a lot of time.

BTW, though, if I input a variable in to a field, how do I get the data to actually be input into that field? For example, if i place the variable {title} in the "Object Name" field of the IPTC Stationary Pad, and I "Apply IPTC Stationary Pad to Photos", nothing happens in the "Object Name" field. The image name does NOT get input into the "Object Name" field - the field is left blank.

I think I'm still missing something, or miss-interpreting what a "title" is and what the meaning of the "Object Name" is, let alone what the meaning of "is" is.

Dennis

Offline dmwierz

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #11 on: March 07, 2007, 10:19:01 AM »
Wait, I DID get it. I confused {filename} with {title}, and now it works. Kewl!

What am I going to do with all the extra free time I'm now reclaiming?

Offline mervifwdc

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #12 on: April 10, 2007, 09:53:19 AM »
This thread should be made a sticky! It's been very useful for me.

FWIW: I name my files merv_yymmdd_sequence as standard, but some places want them named "player name"_yymmdd_sequence on the basis that I can figure out which image it is just from the numbers. I do this by placing the yymmdd_sequence into the source field on ingesting, and I put the players name into the headline field. Then on export, I rename them to {source} {headline}  Saves me ages!

Having read this, I think I can now automate putting the name into the keywords too! Super.

Is there a paper manual that can be printed, that is more in the "how to" style rather than the "this button does this" style?

Merv.
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Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #13 on: April 10, 2007, 10:08:15 AM »
Merv,

This thread should be made a sticky! It's been very useful for me.

FWIW: I name my files merv_yymmdd_sequence as standard, but some places want them named "player name"_yymmdd_sequence on the basis that I can figure out which image it is just from the numbers. I do this by placing the yymmdd_sequence into the source field on ingesting, and I put the players name into the headline field. Then on export, I rename them to {source} {headline}  Saves me ages!

Having read this, I think I can now automate putting the name into the keywords too! Super.

Is there a paper manual that can be printed, that is more in the "how to" style rather than the "this button does this" style?

The best we have is a PDF manual that you can print.  It is available here.

-Kirk

Offline dmwierz

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Re: Renaming files and titles, and adding file type extension
« Reply #14 on: April 10, 2007, 10:09:12 AM »
Kirk,

Any plans on an updated manual for 4.5?

Dennis