I know this is not exactly the correct forum to post this in, but I am going nuts here. I have my files batch named in order by number. When I upload them to smugmug (or any of my gallery sites), they appear ALPHANUMERICALLY, 1,10,11,12,.....2,20,200,21, etc, etc. It throws the order off completely. My problem?? When I batch rename them, I have no way of selecting files names that would prevent them from being categorized alphanumerically (for example, 10, 20, 20, 40, 50, instead of 1, 2, 3, 4). AND, even if I select batch rename after they are in order, it FREAKING BATCHES AND RENAMES THEM ALPHANUMERICALLY, which again totally jacks up the order. I am going crazy trying to figure this out!!!!!!!!

Can't you batch re-name using 001, 002 etc? That's what I do in Lightroom. When I've done my selection of shots I want, I batch rename so that each file will have 3 digits, starting with 001. Works every time. In Lightroom: Library = Rename Photos = I have a Custom Name - 001 Etc made up which allows me to do just that.

What programs are you using to edit and batch rename?

I use Lightroom for everything - here's my process:
1. Cull through all images to narrow it down to my final cut.
2. Do exp, color, contrast adjustments in LR.
3. Batch rename using 001, 002, etc
4. Batch export using a droplet to perform an action on each image through photoshop.

Amy,

What do you use to batch rename?

I use bridge. It gives me the option of what I want to rename the file to, & I always start with 100. It works for me.

okay, when I try 3 digits to rename in PS, it does it backward, starting at 001, which does me no good. I don't have LR.

Why wouldn't 001 work? Basically you want each image to have 3 digits - 001 will always be followed by 002 etc, whereas if you named with 1, 2, 3 etc then - as you have said - they will come out as 1, 11, 111, 2, 22, etc, which is NOT what you want.

Do it 001 etc and they will start in order. Get Lightroom. It will change your workflow life!

The problem is not that it won't work, it's just that when I start the batch process, it renames them alphanumerically based on the names they already have have, make sense? I will probably give light room a try, but as it stands I can proof an entire wedding in a few hours, it's just this renaming crap.

This started off so simply! I apologize, but naming procedures are hard! I've had a lot of extra work and heartache over naming procedures. There is a simple procedure explained in the beginning of this MANUAL (doh!) which can start once you've made your RAW edit in either Bridge or Lightroom. The rest are just things to do if you are trying it after an export to JPG and/or Photoshop work.

1. Instructions for basic Batch Rename:

Use Adobe Bridge's Batch Rename. As mentioned above, always start with the number "1" and then use as many digits as you need to encompass your edit.

So a 99 image wedding has two digits (start with 01) - and 100 has three (001) - whereas a thousand has 4 digits (0001) and onward.

The crappy thing sometimes I screw this up and all the files are already numbered (let's say 001 to 876) and I remember that photo 545 is not in the right place. So, I move the file manually in Bridge to where I want it...now what? I can't just rename all of the files using the same number of digits because there are already files with those names. Grrr...so just increase the number of digits in the batch renaming (0001 to 0876) and batch rename them again when they are in the properly fixed order.

2. The Simplest Way Done Earliest:

When dealing with names, I like to sure that my RAW files are the ones that are numbered before I export working files or final. That way, I maintain my naming standard if I have to refer back to the RAW images based on the JPG or PSD name.
(Client calls and asks if I could remove her Mother in Law from Photo #35 because she's drunk and will be embarrassed...) All I have to do is search for whatever file(s) I want in the wedding with that number and will be able to use all three if I need the information, plus I can rename the NEW working PSD and JPG to "35b" if she ends up not liking it so I have the old one to refer to)

I normally use Lightroom, but were I to use Bridge, I would try changing "Sort" order in the View menu. I know in Lightroom, it allows you to sort the files by "capture time" and even for batch changing Capture Time if someone has been , but I don't see it in Bridge. You may be able to get away with "Date Created" in Bridge, but if the JPGs were created out of order, it won't help.

If this is the case, there are a couple of options:
If the JPGs are straight out or RAW files without any retouching, there is an easy fix. Just delete the JPGS you made, sort the RAW files into "Date Created", rename the RAW files in that User Order and re-export new JPGs without REnaming the files during the batch and VOILA it'll be done.

If you've done Photoshop work on them and saved them individually then you'll simply need to do the work of sorting the PSDs into "Manual" Order in Bridge and just drag and drop the images around in the order they should be in. Then batch rename the RAW files in that order and then batch export new JPGs without REnaming the files during the batch and VOILA it'll be done.

I know that's a LOT and I can't wait to hear if people have other things they do as well. This is simplest for me. Start the renaming after with the Raw Edit and you don't have to think about any of this other stuff!

Hope that helps!

That is odd, I just posted an extremely similar question.... I need to name mine 001, 002, etc but LR is placing a dash in the file. How on earth do I get it out?

thank you, ryan, yeah, you get my problem. My problem is actually in my method, well, sort of. I deviated a bit from my usually workflow with this wedding because I didn't batch as many as I normally do, due to some wonky WB from stained glass windows. Problem solved, and I know how to avoid the issue entirely in the future.

in Lightroom select the photos you want to rename, Hit F2 to bring up the batch rename options and click "Presets" and in the drop down box click "Edit". You can build your renaming schemes here, edit other ones (like removing the dash) and you can even save different presets for different things. I have one for Weddings, one for Headshots, One for general stuff...it's pretty awesome. It will also show you what the results look like as well.



Awesome! Glad it helped.

sorry for the hijack.... I am STILL doing something wrong.

I renamed and removed the - but it is ending up as 001, 0010, 0011, etc and I need it to be 001, 010, 011, RIGHT?

You probably have files which are already named those names. Change rhe number of digits to like 6 digits in the order you want it. Rename it and then do it again to all the files but with a 3-4 digit number as you like.

When I do stuff like this, I have this $10 program called Name Munger that I use and it lets you strip or add characters or add suffixes. basically you can batch rename stuff easily. I know you can do a lot in bridge, but just having this around for the occasions when I need it is $10 well-spent.

http://sonoragraphics.com/namemunger.html