Renaming Files

[paul@seiserphotography.co]

When i rename a file (either a single one or select a few together), after PM has renamed the files it moves the renamed files down to the bottom of the folder (which is great) but it takes you down to where it has relocated the file, which then means you have to scroll back up to the top of the folder where the bulk of the files you are renaming are -is there a way to continue to stay at the section you are renaming without following each file you rename?

Also is there a way that when you use the keyboard shortcut to rename files it can simply start typing (while maintining the option of having the filename stay) instead of having to use the mouse to click in the screen  in front of the Filename

[Kirk Baker]

When i rename a file (either a single one or select a few together), after PM has renamed the files it moves the renamed files down to the bottom of the folder (which is great) but it takes you down to where it has relocated the file, which then means you have to scroll back up to the top of the folder where the bulk of the files you are renaming are -is there a way to continue to stay at the section you are renaming without following each file you rename?

No.  Each time a file is renamed, the contact sheet is sorted again.  If you are sorting by filename then this will likely change the position.  If you change your sort to be "Capture Time" then renaming the files will not cause their position to change.

Also is there a way that when you use the keyboard shortcut to rename files it can simply start typing (while maintining the option of having the filename stay) instead of having to use the mouse to click in the screen in front of the Filename

Try pressing the Home key.  On the Mac, pressing the left arrow key will put the cursor at the start of the text field.

HTH,

-Kirk

[paul@seiserphotography.co]

hi Kirk,

thanks for the tips have looked more at the resort options -sorting by filename does appear to be my best option, as this allows me to see the files that i still need to rename, Along with what has been renamed, it is just frustrating to be dragged down to where the file has been resorted to , instead of staying up at the point of where I was renaming the file..as this is where i need to be to continue renaming the other files. Is there a way to create something like this using the Custom sort? (or any method for that fact)

[Kirk Baker]

hi Kirk,

thanks for the tips have looked more at the resort options -sorting by filename does appear to be my best option, as this allows me to see the files that i still need to rename, Along with what has been renamed, it is just frustrating to be dragged down to where the file has been resorted to , instead of staying up at the point of where I was renaming the file..as this is where i need to be to continue renaming the other files. Is there a way to create something like this using the Custom sort? (or any method for that fact)

Capture Time sorting will keep the images where they are.  Sorting by Filename will cause the undesired behavior you are seeing.

Is there some reason you can't rename in bulk?  The Rename command is very powerful and flexible.

-Kirk

[paul@seiserphotography.co]

yes I do initially batch rename all files taken each day to give them a unique photo number, however after that (as I cover sports photos), I use the players name to save the photo, so it involves individually naming them, or renaming a few files at a time (that applies to the same player)...hence the resorting issue, and sorting by file name i think is the best option as it does move out of the way the files i have renamed (where the image capture tends to leave things i ntheir original place, which makes it difficult for me to see what still needs to be renamed and whats left!)

[Kirk Baker]

yes I do initially batch rename all files taken each day to give them a unique photo number, however after that (as I cover sports photos), I use the players name to save the photo, so it involves individually naming them, or renaming a few files at a time (that applies to the same player)...hence the resorting issue, and sorting by file name i think is the best option as it does move out of the way the files i have renamed (where the image capture tends to leave things i ntheir original place, which makes it difficult for me to see what still needs to be renamed and whats left!)

OK, well then I don't know how I can make a change to solve your problem.  You want the renamed files to re-sort, and the sorting code makes sure that whatever photo is selected is visible when the sort is complete.  It scrolls to the selected photo's position in order to do this.  I could make it optional that it sorts each time a photo is renamed, but then while the scrolling wouldn't happen (which you would like),  you would also miss the feature that you like that moves the renamed items to their proper place.

There is no win/win solution here...

-Kirk

[Kirk Baker]

yes I do initially batch rename all files taken each day to give them a unique photo number, however after that (as I cover sports photos), I use the players name to save the photo, so it involves individually naming them, or renaming a few files at a time (that applies to the same player)...hence the resorting issue, and sorting by file name i think is the best option as it does move out of the way the files i have renamed (where the image capture tends to leave things i ntheir original place, which makes it difficult for me to see what still needs to be renamed and whats left!)

Couldn't you tuck the Player's name away in an IPTC field like Object Name?  Then you could bulk rename using the {object} variable and wouldn't need to do the individual renaming.

Maybe that would work out OK for you.

-Kirk

[paul@seiserphotography.co]

unfortunetly my naming structure has been in place for about 10 years so would be a bit difficult to change that at this stage. The best option as you mention sounds like having some ability to turn off the automatic resorting, and perhaps doing this manually at some point once i had named a batch of then -that would then keep me at the same point of the screen without having to scroll up and down to find out was has/hasn't been renamed..this i imainge would save me a bit of time and make a big difference! PM has already made a big difference in bringin down editing times (only the renaming part is still looking for a better solution!)

[Kirk Baker]

unfortunetly my naming structure has been in place for about 10 years so would be a bit difficult to change that at this stage. The best option as you mention sounds like having some ability to turn off the automatic resorting, and perhaps doing this manually at some point once i had named a batch of then -that would then keep me at the same point of the screen without having to scroll up and down to find out was has/hasn't been renamed..this i imainge would save me a bit of time and make a big difference! PM has already made a big difference in bringin down editing times (only the renaming part is still looking for a better solution!)

OK, but maybe you're not understanding me completely, because I am not suggesting that you change your naming structure.  I am just suggesting a way for you to keep your naming structure while making it possible to completely automate the process of getting your files named to your current structure.

Could you list your filename structure (just give a few examples)?

-Kirk

[paul@seiserphotography.co]

Aho, Chris portrait 310506D-1997.JPG
Brame, Will catching 310506D-1835.JPG
Brame, Will tackled 310506D-1837.JPG
Carraro, Matt passing 310506D-1992.JPG
Dallalana, Andy passing 310506D-1762.JPG
Dallalana, Andy passing 310506D-1766.JPG
Dallalana, Andy passing 310506D-1774.JPG

Samples of my naming structure the 310506D- is assigned upon import to the computer and a continuois 4 sequence number is then automatically added, after editing through and deleting the unwanted photos i then add the players name in front of the file number, as shown above

[Kirk Baker]

Aho, Chris portrait 310506D-1997.JPG
Brame, Will catching 310506D-1835.JPG
Brame, Will tackled 310506D-1837.JPG
Carraro, Matt passing 310506D-1992.JPG
Dallalana, Andy passing 310506D-1762.JPG
Dallalana, Andy passing 310506D-1766.JPG
Dallalana, Andy passing 310506D-1774.JPG

Samples of my naming structure the 310506D- is assigned upon import to the computer and a continuois 4 sequence number is then automatically added, after editing through and deleting the unwanted photos i then add the players name in front of the file number, as shown above

OK, here is what you could do:
First, use Code Replacement for the names of your players to speed up captioning.  Search for "Code Replacement" to see discussions of the feature on our forums.

In the Object Name field, use Code Replacement to enter the name of each player (or enter them manually).  Once the player name is entered, hit space and type in your "verb" (portrait, catching, tackled, passing, rushing, etc.)  Use Save & -> to navigate through all of your photos from the IPTC Info dialog.  Note that if you use the keyboard shortcuts for Save & -> your cursor will never leave the Object Name field.

Once the IPTC work is done we'll rename all of the photos, and this assumes that your filenames are currently in the form: 310506D-1997.JPG

Select all of your images.  Bring up the Rename dialog.  Enter the following into your Rename string:

{object} {filenamebase}

And then rename.

All of your photos should be exactly as you listed in your example, and now you have the added bonus of having the information inside the metadata of the file so that no matter how your photo is renamed from here on out, you can still tell who the player is and what kind of action was going on at the time.

Now you no longer need to individually rename all of your images one at a time.  And if you see any images that don't have data in their Object Name field, you will know instantly that they need the data added and will need to be renamed.  You could even put the following into your "Info Text" (Edit->Set Info Text):

Object Name: {object}

Then when you preview the images, you will see the current value in the Info text pane to the right of your images.

HTH,

-Kirk