Batch Renaming

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Renaming Files

The 'Batch Rename' dialog allows all the images in a directory to be renamed using a number of different naming schemes. Seven predefined naming schemes are provided together with three custom settings for defining your own schemes. The predefined schemes are:

  1. Standard - follows Canon's naming scheme of CRW_ or IMG_ followed by four digits e.g. CRW_0002.crw and IMG_0001.jpg
  2. Enhanced - similar to 'Standard' but has five digits instead of four digits and allows numbers up to 99,999.
  3. Numbered - similar to 'Standard' but has the number first. This has the advantage of numeric order being the same as alphabetical order.
  4. Date - uses the date in the form YYMMDD followed by a three digit sequence number
  5. Date + Type - similar to 'Date' but adds the file type (CRW for raw or IMG for JPEG) to the end of the filename
  6. Date/Time - uses the date in the form YYMMDD followed by the time in the form HHMMSS and a one digit sequence number (to distinguish shots taken at 3fps)
  7. ZoomBrowser-style - uses the same naming scheme as ZoomBrowser: fff-nnnn_ttt.ext where fff=folder, nnnn=image number, ttt=type (CRW for raw, IMG for JPEGs, STx for stitch assist)

The 'Example Filenames' display at the bottom of the dialog shows the current names and new names of all the images in the directory. The 'Sort By' option defines the order in which the files are listed (using their current names):

By default sequence numbers start from 1, but you can specify any starting number you like. Select the "Continue numbering from last time" if you would like BreezeBrowser to continue numbering from the last sequence number next time you batch rename images.

Use the "Upper/lower case conversion:" drop down list to select whether the case of filenames is changed when they are renamed. This can be useful for images which are to be used in HTML pages. (Web pages are case-sensitive whereas the Windows filing system is not and this can lead to problems when publishing web pages). The options are:

Select the Custom style for more control over how files are renamed e.g.

  1. Prefix the filename with the subject: Jones Wedding %o
  2. Prefix the filename with the ISO (useful for sorting images by ISO when using noise reduction software): %i_%o
  3. Rename as the date and time the picture was taken plus the image number: %d%t_%r

The special characters below can be used for extracting information from the image. You may :

Character Meaning Example
%d Date in the form YYMMDD 010930 for 30 Sept 2001
%t Time in the form HHMMSS 223415 for 10:34:15pm
%f Image file type CRW for Canon raw files, IMG for JPEGs, STx for panaramic images
%x The file extension jpg for IMG_0123.jpg
%n Sequence number (incremented for each file) 0001, 0002, 0003 etc.
%N Canon sequence number in the form dddnnnn where ddd is the original image folder and nnnn is the image number (read from EXIF data in JPG or THM file) 4010123 for image 0123 in folder 401
%e Frame number when shooting in continuous drive mode 01, 02, 03 etc.
%q Canon folder number (not available with Canon EOS-1D or EOS-1DS) 401 for image 0123 in folder 401
%r Canon image number (this info is stored in the shooting data for all Canon cameras except the EOS 1D and 1DS. For the 1D and 1DS %r extracts the last 4 digits of the filename or reverts to %n if the filename doesn't end in 4 digits) 0123 for image 0123 in folder 401
%c Camera serial number (Canon EOS D30, D60, 10D, 1D and 1DS only) 0230200987
%C Canon EOS 1D/1DS style serial number - takes the last three hexadecimal digits of the serial number 4FA
%T Camera model name. This extracts the first word containing numbers from the camera model name 10D for "Canon EOS 10D",
EOS-1DS for "Canon EOS-1DS"
%v Similar to %T, but treats '-' characters as spaces when extracting the camera model 1DS for "Canon EOS-1DS"
%u Lowest number to give a unique name. Useful when using %t and camera takes shots at more than 1 fps 1, 2, 3 etc.
%U Lowest number prefixed with _ to give a unique name or empty string if there are no duplicates. <empty>, _1, _2, _3 etc.
%o Original filename CRW_0001
%F Focal length in mm 28
%A Aperture 5.6
%s Shutter speed 125 for 1/125 sec
%i ISO 100
%Y Year with century 2001
%y Year without century 01
%m Month (01 to 12) 09 for September
%W Week number (00-53) 38 for last week in Sept 2001
%D Day of month (01-31) 29
%a Abbreviated day name (note: may vary with locale) Sat for Saturday
%b Abbreviated month name (note: may vary with locale) Sep for September
%H Hour (00-23) 23 for 11pm
%I Hour (00-12) 11 for 11pm
%M Minute (00-59) 53
%S Second (00-59) 07
%[n] Extracts the n'th character from the original filename %[3] extracts W from CRW_1234
%[n-] Extracts characters from original filename starting with the n'th character to the end of the name %[2-] extracts RW_1234 from CRW_1234
%[n-m] Extracts characters from the n'th to the m'th characters from the original filename %[3-5] extracts W_1 from CRW_1234
%[-n] Extracts n characters from the right of the original filename %[-4] extracts 1234 from CRW_1234

NOTES:

  1. Dates and times are taken from the EXIF date time information in the image file. If the EXIF information is not present the file's timestamp is used instead.
  2. All images are renamed in the main view. You can rename selected images by switching to thumbnail view
  3. The following characters are not allowed in Windows filenames: \ / : * ? < > |

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