Batch rename / renumber images in folder..problem :(

Question

I am trying to rename/renumber a folder of 100 pictures, so they are all in 3 digits, but remain in the order & have the same number associated with the same file.  Right now the folder is numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, etc..  I attempted to do the batch rename through Photoshop to make the folder 001, 002, 003.etc, BUT when I did this, the first picture 1 turned into 001..which is great...but the old 2 turns into 002, but is actually what 10 used to be. 
19 turns into 011 instead of 019
40 turns into 035 instead of 040
Why is Photoshop changing the original number to a 3 digit, but changing the number it should have been.  I just want it to be 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011, 012... 
Seems so simple..but I'm missing something!
I would greatly appreciate any help! 

Answer 1

You seem to be asking "why?" rather than seeking a better alternative...
Isn't it clear that the Adobe software is accessing the files purely alphabetically, rather than numerically?
Take this sequence of text lines and alphabetically sort it with any program:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
You'll get this:
1
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
2
20
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Windows Explorer, on the other hand, has a more sophisticated sorting algorithm that marries alphabetic and numeric sorting of filenames, because Microsoft realized that people like you often want to see things in numeric sequence - so you will see the files on disk appearing in the order you expect, even though it's not alphabetic.
I believe you've already been given the answer:  Use an application other than the ancient Adobe software to do the file renaming.  Several alternatives have already been named.
-Noel