• Welcome to the Lightroom Queen Forums! We're a friendly bunch, so please feel free to register and join in the conversation. If you're not familiar with forums, you'll find step by step instructions on how to post your first thread under Help at the bottom of the page. You're also welcome to download our free Lightroom Quick Start eBooks and explore our other FAQ resources.
  • Dark mode now has a single preference for the whole site! It's a simple toggle switch in the bottom right-hand corner of any page. As it uses a cookie to store your preference, you may need to dismiss the cookie banner before you can see it. Any problems, please let us know!

renaming: uniqueness?

Status
Not open for further replies.

les_stockton

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Messages
39
Lightroom Experience
Beginner
I've looked at various file renaming ideas, but my frustration with Lightroom is that it still does not have the granularity I feel I need in renaming a file with date and time. It doesn't go down to the hundredth of seconds, so if two shots are taken within the same second, the filenames will not be unique with a naming strategy that attempts to use date and time.
But someone mentioned to me that Lightroom will add on a -1 or -2, etc, if two files have the same name. I was wondering if this is true, because it would certainly solve the uniqueness problem.
 
Why not solve your "uniqueness problem" by retaining the filename number suffix somewhere in your rename template?

As to your other question, I don't really know but I would think you could very easily test that and perhaps report back with the answer.
 
Why not solve your "uniqueness problem" by retaining the filename number suffix somewhere in your rename template?

As to your other question, I don't really know but I would think you could very easily test that and perhaps report back with the answer.

That's an example of the inflexibility. It doesn't solve the problem of why I want to name my photos by date and time, in the first place.
Unless I remember to reset my camera's image counters each day, those image counters could roll over and then the images wouldn't sort in my directories in order. My filenaming strategy is to keep the files in order in the file system.
 
Les by incorporating date and then a numbering system into your renaming uniqueness will be guaranteed.
I use date then a custom text insert and then a sequence number.
It does not matter a jot if one happened to take several images in one second.
So a possible renamed image might look like this:
2013_10_02-guanthame_point-0001.CR2
The four digit sequence number allows ten thousand images per calender day.
If you really need to the sequence number can be increased to five digits - 00001 to 99999 is possible.
The custom text you need to add.
A renaming convention like this gives one full control over the result and uniqueness is guaranteed.

Tony Jay
 
OK, slightly different requirement from your first post....so why not add "Sequence Number" when you rename? By default that resets back to 1 for every new import, so provided you have the date/time first then you should be OK.

Out of curiosity, why is it so important to "keep the files in order in the file system"?
 
OK, slightly different requirement from your first post....so why not add "Sequence Number" when you rename? By default that resets back to 1 for every new import, so provided you have the date/time first then you should be OK.

Out of curiosity, why is it so important to "keep the files in order in the file system"?

I tried SEQ number but the files don't get named well. It's only a kluge. Yes, you do end up with a unique name, but the numbering doesn't end up with two files taken in the same second to have 01 and 02 tacked onto the end, which would make sense. Instead, the SEQ starts at the beginning of the import and increments from there.

Because of Lightroom's lack of flexibility, I have been using Downloadeer Pro so that I can have better control of renaming. However, I'd prefer to use Lightroom so that I can run tethered and have files renamed and imported straight from the camera. But with the limitation that Lightroom appears to have, I prefer to continue the way I am.

that's why I was asking about the -1 -2, etc.
Yes, I could try it out, but I don't have a lot of time and figured that with so many other users out there, that someone would have run across the -1, -2 already and would know. I really can't believe that I'm the first user to want this flexibility.
 
I rename to "YYYY-MM-DD hhmmss seq"

A photo shot today that originally has the name DSC_2744.JPG wil end up as:
2013-10-02 153421 2744.JPG

For me that is unique enough. Down to a second and with the original sequence number from the camera as a final distinguisher.
 
Yes. As I had said, I had done that before, but the numbering does nothing to number two images specifically taken in the same second so that there's a 01, 02, 03. The seq # names it so it'll be unique, but other than that, there's no logical reason for two images taken in the same second to have a 3422 and 3423 tacked onto the end of the filename, whereas a 01 or 001 and 002 would make more sense.
So I'm not just looking for uniqueness, but something that is logical. The sequence number is only logical if you strip off the time and just use a date and the sequence number. I prefer to have a little more granularity in my naming, which is why I've downloading from the card, using Downloader Pro, which does provide for more naming flexibility. Once the files are on my filesystem, I then import into Lightroom.

But as I stated, I would prefer that Lightroom just provide the flexibility so that I can elminate using the other product.
So I was asking if anyone knows if Lightroom will automagically tack on a -1, -2, etc on two files if they are named the same, so that it can make them unique. That is what I am asking.
 
les,

Robert's scheme seems pretty logical to me.

In any case, it isn't LR that adds the -2 to your file names--it's Windows. So that will probably work for you.

Hal
 
Les, in the time you've taken to discuss this you could have run a test many times over to determine for yourself. However, to save you having to do that I've just run such a test and it almost does what you want, i.e. there is no "-1" image, the sequence goes "xx, xx-2, xx-3, xx-4, etc."
 
Les, in the time you've taken to discuss this you could have run a test many times over to determine for yourself. However, to save you having to do that I've just run such a test and it almost does what you want, i.e. there is no "-1" image, the sequence goes "xx, xx-2, xx-3, xx-4, etc."

Certaiinly not enough time. I would have had to drive home, fire up my computer, etc, to test this. Not enough time.
But with what I've found here so far, I will continue to do things the way I've been doing them, because the flexibility is not there to do it in Lightroom, and it doesn't sound like other users are interested in another option besides SEQ #, which, in my opinion, does provide uniqueness, but not the granularity as far as a time encoded filename.
Currently, my filenames with Downloader Pro are:

YYYYMMDD_hhmmss_nn (where nn is 01, 02, etc).

and if both of my cameras supported hundredths of seconds, Downloader Pro would allow me to name them to that granularity.
 
Les, in the time you've taken to discuss this you could have run a test many times over to determine for yourself. However, to save you having to do that I've just run such a test and it almost does what you want, i.e. there is no "-1" image, the sequence goes "xx, xx-2, xx-3, xx-4, etc."

Thanks for running the test. When I can get to my computer, I'll test this out. If it's how I interpret, it might be within the realm of what I'm looking for. Thanks.
 
I copied a photo two times and gave them stupid names. Import in LR with JJJMMDD hh:mm:ss and got:
JJJMMDD hh:mm:ss.dng
JJJMMDD hh:mm:ss-2.dng

Number one is apparently skipped.
greetings from Vienna
Franz
 
I copied a photo two times and gave them stupid names. Import in LR with JJJMMDD hh:mm:ss and got:
JJJMMDD hh:mm:ss.dng
JJJMMDD hh:mm:ss-2.dng

As a minor sidepoint, avoid using : in filenames as it's a directory character on Mac OS X.
 
As a minor sidepoint, avoid using : in filenames as it's a directory character on Mac OS X.

Quite right. If breaking this kind of rule doesn't affect you right now, you can bet that it will come back to bite you one day.

I wonder if the problem can be dealt with using a script. If the hundredths are indeed in the EXIF, you'd run a script which would copy and reformat the capture time info to an IPTC field which you would then use to rename. Essentially it's the same method as I describe for my Search and Replace plugin here, though my tests made me think that using the plugin here would be quite tedious. I could probably knock together a freebie script pretty quickly if you're willing to test it, Les.

John
 
Quite right. If breaking this kind of rule doesn't affect you right now, you can bet that it will come back to bite you one day.

I wonder if the problem can be dealt with using a script. If the hundredths are indeed in the EXIF, you'd run a script which would copy and reformat the capture time info to an IPTC field which you would then use to rename. Essentially it's the same method as I describe for my Search and Replace plugin here, though my tests made me think that using the plugin here would be quite tedious. I could probably knock together a freebie script pretty quickly if you're willing to test it, Les.

John

I'm intrigued with the script, just because of the additional options if I would want it, but it sounds like the functionality is there to take on a -1, -2 etc at the end of the filename. I'd prefer a _1, _2, but I can't complain. The functionality that I want is there.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top