File name limitation

[kirkmc]

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I have to say, the dumbest thing on these cameras is the fact that you can only specify one letter as a file name prefix. I'd love to be able to prefix file names with Q3- and Q2M-. Sigh. 

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[Driften]

I totally agree. Just one letter isn't enough when wanting to tell files apart by name. 

[hoppyman]

I can understand the limitation would annoy if you have more than one camera from a system
Working with just one from a system, I have liked R (I used for SL) in homage to the R10 we didn't get. S & C (for CL), when I had them and just leave SL2 as L since I have no other cameras now  until  I hope to be able to use Q when some stock turns up.
 

[Marc B-C]

Can you not start with "2" and "3" or "b" and "c" as the file names?

[kirkmc]

7 minutes ago, Marc B-C said:

Can you not start with "2" and "3" or "b" and "c" as the file names?

You can only use single capital letters. 

[Marc B-C]

Just now, kirkmc said:

You can only use single capital letters. 

In which case used "C" and "B"

[kirkmc]

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I have a Q2M that I am planning to sell. I used Q. Now with the Q3, I can’t use that. I’d like to be able to differentiate files by camera, which you can easily do with cameras from any other manufacturer.

[Marc B-C]

16 minutes ago, kirkmc said:

I have a Q2M that I am planning to sell. I used Q. Now with the Q3, I can’t use that. I’d like to be able to differentiate files by camera, which you can easily do with cameras from any other manufacturer.

So you cannot use "Q". Use any other letter. I suggested "C" as it is the 3rd letter in the alphabet. Not really an issue in my mind.

[dpitt]

I just found out that my TL2 does not even allow a prefix to be set at all. 😱
The only thing I could manipulate is to let it start with a number profix by renaming the main folder on the SD card.

Maybe this would help. I am not doing it systematically now, but in the future I will first copy any files from camera to a folder and then run the following script in terminal (Mac OS):

for f in * ; do mv -- "$f" "SL_$f" ; done

This will prefix any file in the folder with "SL_"

To modify the prefix you can change letters  SL_ to anything else. Also, you can automate the renaming action by making a hot folder on the Mac that executes this action anytime a file is dropped inside.

[dpitt]

I am not sure how helpful my terminal script was for most users. Also, for myself I wanted to automate it on my Mac. I set up a set of folders in my pictures folder, called ImportFolders. In that folder I have a set of sub folders named SL, TL2, M9, M8 etc...
Each of these import folders has a different action set up that prefixes all files dropped in them with the prefix I need. All I have to do is drop all files from the camera in the right folder.

The following solution ONLY WORKS for Mac OS X users, maybe someone can provide something similar for a Windows user, but it will need some tweaking to work.

To set this up, place the attached file in
/Users/<Your user name>/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts

You may need to make the folder "Folder Action Scripts" if it is not there.
Then right click on any import folder and choose Services/Folder Actions Setup... to bring up a dialog to manage your actions.
Make a variant by duplicating this script and altering the property "prefixString" if you want to use a different prefix.

add - RenameWithPrefixSL_.scpt

[kirkmc]

Of course, I don't know why I didn't think of renaming on import. I'll use Hazel (https://www.noodlesoft.com) to make the change automatically. 

Edited June 26, 2023 by kirkmc

[kobra]

On 6/26/2023 at 12:09 AM, dpitt said:

I am not sure how helpful my terminal script was for most users. Also, for myself I wanted to automate it on my Mac. I set up a set of folders in my pictures folder, called ImportFolders. In that folder I have a set of sub folders named SL, TL2, M9, M8 etc...
Each of these import folders has a different action set up that prefixes all files dropped in them with the prefix I need. All I have to do is drop all files from the camera in the right folder.

The following solution ONLY WORKS for Mac OS X users, maybe someone can provide something similar for a Windows user, but it will need some tweaking to work.

To set this up, place the attached file in
/Users/<Your user name>/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts

You may need to make the folder "Folder Action Scripts" if it is not there.
Then right click on any import folder and choose Services/Folder Actions Setup... to bring up a dialog to manage your actions.
Make a variant by duplicating this script and altering the property "prefixString" if you want to use a different prefix.

add - RenameWithPrefixSL_.scpt 10.31 kB · 1 download

I really like this idea! 

But, sorry for confusion, what do you mean "any import folder"? Not sure I understand the workflow here ... so if you don't mind can you walk me through a workflow? ... so I connect my SL3 by cable to my Mac and choose "mass storage" - what happens next using your script? 

Note, when I right click on a folder, the popup now asks permission to "Run Service" in "Folder Actions Setup...", which I do allow to Run Service. I do see your script there, so it may well be working, I'm just trying to understand the best workflow here. 

Really elegant solution, thanks for sharing! 

Brad