Batch Renaming Your Files


The Adobe Bridge has a feature that will automatically rename an entire folder full of images, so your digital camera photo names are no longer the cryptic DSC_0486.JPG, DSC_0487.JPG, and DSC_0488.JPG variety, but are names that will be more recognizable (which you choose), such as NY Street Scenes01, NY Street Scenes02, NY Street Scenes03, etc.and best of all, the whole process is automated. Here's a step-by-step:

Step One

First, you have to tell the Bridge which photos you want to rename. If it's just a certain number of images within your main window, you can hold the Command key (PC: Control key) and click on only the photos you want to rename. But a more likely scenario is that you'll want to rename all the photos open in your thumbnail window, so go under the Bridge's Edit menu and choose Select All, or press Command-A (PC: Control-A). All the photos in your main window will be highlighted. Now, go under the Bridge's Tools menu and choose Batch Rename.

Step Two

When the Batch Rename dialog appears, you need to select a destination for these renamed photos by choosing an option. Will they just be renamed in the folder they're in now? Do you want them renamed and moved to a different folder, or do you want to copy them into a different folder? If you want to either move or copy them, you'll need to click on the Browse button. In the resulting dialog, navigate to the folder you want your photos moved (or copied) into after they're renamed. (This ability to copy files to another folder is new in CS2, which was met with considerable high-fiving in our office.)

Step Three

Under the New Filenames section of the dialog, the first pop-up menu shows Current Filename by default. You want to click on this menu and instead choose Text. A text field will appear to the right of the menu, so just click within that field and type in your own custom file name (I entered "Buildings in Midtown"). At the bottom of the dialog, there's a live before-and-after preview of your custom file name so you can see how it will look. Don't click Rename yet.

Step Four

So far, so good, but there's a problem: In your folder you can only have one photo exactly named "Buildings in Midtown," so you'll need to add something to the end of the file name (like a number). To use the built-in auto-numbering, click once on the small plus sign (+) to the right of the text field to add another customized set just below your original naming options. From the pop-up menu, choose Sequence Number (to have the Bridge automatically add a sequential number after the name); in the center text field, enter the number you want to start with (I typed the number one); then, from the pop-up menu on the far right, choose how many digits you want for your sequence (I chose Two Digits). Look at the preview at the bottom of the dialog to see how the name looks now: "Buildings in Midtown01.JPG."

Tip

If you want to take this a step further (this is totally optional by the way), you can click on that little plus sign again to add another set of naming options. In the first field choose Current Filename, which adds the original file name at the end of your new file name. Under the Options category, it's a smart idea to turn on the checkbox for Preserve Current Filename in XMP Metadata, just in case you have to go searching for the original file one day.


Step Five

When you click on the Rename button, Batch Rename does its thing. If you choose to rename your files in the same folder, you can just take a peek at the Bridge, and you'll see that your selected thumbnails are now updated with their new names. If you choose to move all your files to a different folder and then click on the Rename button, the main window will be empty (that makes sense because you moved the images to a new folder and the main window is displaying the current folder, which is now empty). So, you'll need to go to the Folders palette in the Bridge and navigate your way to the folder in which you moved (or copied) all your photos (and best of all, they'll be sporting their new, more descriptive names).

Step Six

Batch Renaming doesn't just change the thumbnails' namesit applies this name change to the actual image file. To check it out, leave the Bridge and go to the folder on your hard disk where these photos are stored. Open that folder and you'll see the new file names have been assigned there as well.



    The Photoshop CS2 Book(c) for Digital Photographers
    The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)
    ISBN: B002DMJUBS
    EAN: N/A
    Year: 2006
    Pages: 187
    Authors: Scott Kelby

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