Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

dannician · 2019-08-01 14:24

From the article on sorting...

Note: The initial list of items (files and folders) is processed in the supplied order, but if you are adding folders the content of folders will be added in order determined by the file system, because folders are automatically scanned for the contained items.

Does this mean that even though the sort order looks correct in the preview pane the order that the images process may be different based on how they are sorted in the file system?

dannician · 2019-08-01 20:39

I was able to get it to work. The solution was to synchronize the date modified, date created and date taken (Exif date on ReNamer) on the files with another program. This program sets the date modified, created and taken (EFIFX) to the current date and time adding one second to each timestamp.

Then I add them to Renamer. I can sort them by date created or by path. Then in the results folder I sort by date modified ascending. BAM! The images are renamed according the the same order as their parent folders and sub folders, as if all the folders were just pulled out of place and the files stayed in order.

Now then ....

Can ReNamer be a single solution for assigning the same date modified, date created and date taken (EXIF date) and adding one second for each file and then process the rename?

den4b · 2019-08-05 09:23

Does this mean that even though the sort order looks correct in the preview pane the order that the images process may be different based on how they are sorted in the file system?

That means that when you add folders to ReNamer, their content will be added in the order defined by the file system. Once your files are in ReNamer, they will be processed from top to bottom, as they appear in the list.

Can ReNamer be a single solution for assigning the same date modified, date created and date taken (EXIF date) and adding one second for each file and then process the rename?

ReNamer is not intended for changing the content or the meta data of the file, although this could be achieved via the Pascal Script rule.

When it comes to the order of your files - it is still not clear what exactly is the problem. Can you not achieve the desired order by sorting files in ReNamer by one of the columns, e.g. Path, EXIF Date, Modified Date, etc?

Can you demonstrate the desired order of files, and why you can't achieve the same in ReNamer?

dannician · 2019-08-05 21:53

When it comes to the order of your files - it is still not clear what exactly is the problem. Can you not achieve the desired order by sorting files in ReNamer by one of the columns, e.g. Path, EXIF Date, Modified Date, etc?

No that is the whole problem.

The problem is that no matter what sort order I choose in ReNamer they do not sort that way in the results folder. I have tried sorting them by Exif date, date created, date modified, path or folder. Regardless of what sort order I choose in ReNamer, the final outcome is that they do not follow that same sort order in the results.

Once your files are in ReNamer, they will be processed from top to bottom, as they appear in the list.

That is not what I am experiencing.

There is some sort of conflict with ReNamer sort order and, Date Created and EXIF date that makes the final pictures sort differently than they are processed through ReNamer. This only occurs when the pictures are being moved from their parent folders and sub folders.

This fact was proven true when the the sort order in ReNamer matched the sort order of the final results only after I synchronized the Date Created, EXIF Date outside of ReNamer, adding one second to the timestamp.

To state it another way, something in the timestamp of the original picture causes the files not to sort in the same order as they are listed in ReNamer when they are moved out of their parent folders and subfolders.

Can you demonstrate the desired order of files, and why you can't achieve the same in ReNamer?

I can try to post a few examples...

Last edited by dannician (2019-08-05 21:59)

dannician · 2019-08-05 22:17

Here is one example. In ReNamer the sort order is by DATE CREATED. The files show in the correct order that I would like to see them in after being processed. Then when I go to the results folder and sort by date created and ascending they do not follow the same order.

sort by date created results

Sort by date created results

Last edited by dannician (2019-08-05 22:48)

dannician · 2019-08-05 22:43

Here is another example with the sort order by PATH. Once again the results do not keep the same sort order. They dont even keep the same date created order as the example above.

Sort By Path

Sort By Path Results

dannician · 2019-08-05 23:42

Here is an example where I synchronize the date created, date modified and date taken (EXIF date) to be the same with one second added to each file. IT WORKS!

This photo shows the dates all synchronized before processing.

syncronized dates

I removed all sort columns but date created

sort by date created

Here are the results. The sort order is preserved. But I have to sort them by Date Modified Ascending.

results

den4b · 2019-08-13 17:55

If I understand it correctly, the ordering of files is different between ReNamer and Windows Explorer after sorting by (seemingly) same columns.

If that is indeed the problem, then the catch might be in the "seemingly" part. Windows Explorer can often source the value for any particular column from several different sources, including various meta tags and file properties. On top of that, the sorting algorithm can also differ, for example, see the "natural sorting order" option in ReNamer.

If you wish to ensure a consistent sorting order between applications, you should name your files sequentially, by prefixing them with an auto-incremented number, preferably padded with zeros to the same length. Then, you simply sort by the filename.

dannician · 2019-08-14 05:22

That is the same conclusion that I have come to. But right now I am using another app outside of ReNamer to accomplish this. Can ReNamer do this for me so I don't have to use two apps?

Wouldn't this be a flaw in your software that the files do not sort according to the order that they are shown to be processed?

Last edited by dannician (2019-08-14 05:23)

den4b · 2019-08-25 12:22

dannician wrote:

Wouldn't this be a flaw in your software that the files do not sort according to the order that they are shown to be processed?

You have to be more specific.

Here is what we have:

1. ReNamer sorts according to its columns, using standardized data sources and well defined sorting logic.
2. ReNamer processes all files from top to bottom, one by one.
3. Windows Explorer uses proprietary sorting logic based on its own proprietary columns.

So where exactly is the flaw?

Mimicking some proprietary/arbitrary sorting logic of other applications is not the goal of ReNamer.

den4b Forum

#11 2019-08-01 14:24

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#12 2019-08-01 20:39

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#13 2019-08-05 09:23

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#14 2019-08-05 21:53

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#15 2019-08-05 22:17

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#16 2019-08-05 22:43

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#17 2019-08-05 23:42

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#18 2019-08-13 17:55

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#19 2019-08-14 05:22

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

#20 2019-08-25 12:22

Re: Keep moved files in same order as in parent folders after moving.

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