3 Replies Latest reply: Jun 8, 2007 5:50 PM by (DW_Harrison) RSS

    Renaming files questions...

    hrh gracie Community Member
      I've got images named "cormorant dsc0104.nef" through dsc0109.nef... Except they aren't cormorant, they're anhinga... So, I need to rename them "anhinga dsc0104.nef" through "anhinga dsc0109.nef". I expect to have to do this one image at a time, but I can't figure out how to do it in Lightroom... In Bridge I just select the filename and change it. In LR I found a "rename photos" but its really non-intuitive, and doesn't seem to have a good way to take text off the front of the filename and replace it with other text of my choosing... Am I missing something?
      For this situation I can just go back to Bridge and do the rename 'cause there are only a half dozen images, but is there a way to do this more
      efficiently in LR?
        • 1. Re: Renaming files questions...
          (Andrew_Rodney) Community Member
          Select the images, hit the F2 key, setup the naming template as you wish. Done.

          Just consider you'll have to rename the entire name, you can't just alter the first part of an existing name.

          I place my images in folders based on their content. Then I use the template to set the folder name, then the date, the a number. So I have a folder of dog images. When I click F2 and use the template I made, all images come out:

          Dog_year_month_day_000.extention. I know what the image is by the name and when I shot it, LR keeps them unique by number. Since I sort by date captured, the numbering works well from low to high.

          I'm sure others have techniques that work well for them, this one works well for me. You just have to figure how you want to identify images solely by name.
          • 2. Re: Renaming files questions...
            hrh gracie Community Member
            So, just to make sure I understand... If I make an error and name a file incorrectly, I cannot correct it without te-entering the entire name? So, "cormorant dsc0304.nef" could be renamed "anhinga dsc0304.nef" but ONLY if I know its dsc0304 and want to retype the whole name? I can't just edit the portion that's incorrect. Right?
            • 3. Re: Renaming files questions...
              Community Member
              dkperez, if you go to the metadata panel, you can rename any existing file without reentering the entire name. The F2 feature is for BULK renaming, not renaming individual files based on the existing name.