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iphone photos filenaming, numbering suggestions

  1. it would be great if one could change the starting number of the IMG_0001 photo naming numbering sequence, do that numbers/names are not duplicated whenever i upgrade to a new phone
  2. it would also be great if the numbers were increased to 5 digits, since these days many of us take so many photos and screen shots, once we hit 9,999, it starts over, therefore duplicating filenames/number. Let's at least increase to 99,999 until it starts over... or even 6 digits
  3. maybe even have ability to change the prefix from IMG to i4 or i6 or iXR or i16P so i could remember which phone originally took the photo.

MacBook Air, macOS 14.6

Posted on Nov 23, 2024 6:40 PM

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9 replies

Nov 23, 2024 11:07 PM in response to phoneguylms

phoneguylms wrote:

1. it would be great if one could change the starting number of the IMG_0001 photo naming numbering sequence, do that numbers/names are not duplicated whenever i upgrade to a new phone
2. it would also be great if the numbers were increased to 5 digits, since these days many of us take so many photos and screen shots, once we hit 9,999, it starts over, therefore duplicating filenames/number. Let's at least increase to 99,999 until it starts over... or even 6 digits


#1 You could use 3rd party apps to automatically rename the images. I personally rename them based on EXIF as 2024-1124-0902-48.jpg etc with GraphicConverter so the date is stored also there and images sort correctly in list views by date.


#2 DCIM directory and file structure does not allow that. Some DJI device did not and then users complained that apps did not recognize it as a camera when trying to import files.


The folder structure and file names should be along theses lines:


DCIM

100MEDIA

DJI_0628.DNG

DJI_0629.DNG

DJI_0630.MP4

DJI_0630.SRT

DJI_0631.MP4

DJI_0631.SRT

etc


The file system of an appropriately formatted devics -- for example, an SD card plugged into a digital camera -- must be FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, or exFAT. Media with 2 GB or larger of space should be formatted with FAT32 or exFAT.


The DCIM directory can -- and usually does -- contain multiple subdirectories. The subdirectories each consist of a unique three-digit number -- from 100 to 999 -- and five alphanumeric characters. The alphanumeric characters aren't important, and each camera maker is free to choose their own.


Inside each subdirectory are the image files themselves, which represent the photos you take. Each image file's name starts with a four-digit alphanumberic code -- which can be anything the camera maker wants -- followed by a four digit number. For example, you'll often see files named DSC_0001.jpg, DSC_0002.jpg, and so on. The code doesn't really matter, but it's consistent to ensure the photos you take are displayed in the order you took them.

Nov 24, 2024 12:07 AM in response to Matti Haveri

my discussion is about the photos native to an iPhone.

it looks like you are discussing files in an SD card from a DJI drone camera or some other digital camera


iphone photos are names IMG_0001, ING_0002, IMG_0003, etc

and they could be filetype .PNG, .JPG, .HEIC, .MOV, .HEVC



when you talk about renaming them based on EXIF, can that be done on the iPhone, or are you meaning to rename them after downloading them to a computer?

Nov 24, 2024 1:54 AM in response to phoneguylms

AFAIK all camera-like devices use that DCIM standard which image capture apps expect.


I use GraphicConverter or exiftool to rename the images and movies via their metadata dates, also apps like A Better Finder Rename etc can do that. I do that on the Mac and have not checked if there are similar apps for iOS/iPadOS.


https://www.howtogeek.com/204228/why-does-every-camera-put-photos-in-a-dcim-folder/

Nov 24, 2024 12:07 PM in response to Matti Haveri

even though the article says all cameras, including iPhone uses that DCIM folder standard. iPhone does NOT.

All photos and screenshots and downloads from social media are immediately placed in thre PHOTOS.app main folder. It used to be called the CAMERA ROLL folder, now it's just the LIBRARY.

and one can create ALBUMS under that library to reference a copy in those albums.

and now AI puts references in other folders automatically, like People & Pets folder, Trips folder, Selfies folder, Videos, portraits, Live Photos, Recently deleted, Duplicates, receipts, Memories,


iphone photos filenaming, numbering suggestions

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