Batch Renaming loses Spotlight Comments, Os X to blame?

I posted this over at the Adobe forum for Bridge, however, I'm going to post it here too because part of me feels like this issue I'm experiencing is tied to a recent Os update: from Leopard to Snow Leopard.
I'm a photo editor for a wedding photographer and have been implementing some of my own personal workflows into his pipeline. I tend NOT to rename camera-generated files, at all, unless there's an important reason to do so. Sorting an entire wedding by "Date" works perfectly for building the proper timeline for a shoot. So camera-generated file names are perfectly okay for our needs.
When an edit is complete I'll generate JPEGs from Aperture. The resulting files will continue to carry the original RAW files names, unless there is a duplicate file name, then Aperture will add a number: "(1)" to the file, if necessary. Typically, after export, I run an Automator action that stores the file name in the Spotlight Comments. Because prior to shipping and archiving, I AM going to rename the final JPEGs sequentially: 0001_wedding, 0002_wedding, etc.
The beauty was that with the original name stored in the Spotlight comments for the JPEG, I would easily look at 0148_wedding.jpg, see that it's spotlight comments said, "Original Name: IMG_3471" and obviously know exactly what RAW image this new JPEG started as. Worked perfectly.
So process was: Export, Store Original Name in Spotlight Comments of JPEGs, Batch Rename (sequentially) based on date modified in Bridge CS4.
Well now everthing's changed. We had a system drive go down. We were running 10.5.8. When the system came back from the shop, with a new drive installed, it was/is running Snow Leopard. 10.6.3? I think. Snow Leopard, no doubt.
And now my prior workflow has been wrecked because the act of renaming, in Bridge CS4, erases all those handy Spotlight comments. However, part of me is wondering though if this issue is rooted more deeply, at the OS level? Because R-Name (Batch renaming utility) is now eradicating Spotlight comments as is an Automator action built for the same purposes. This all used to work perfectly. And the one major change that has occurred was this "upgrade" from Leopard to Snow Leopard.
So, question is: is there something I can alter in Bridge Preferences to maintain my Spotlight Comments, when batch renaming? Is this all tied to the Snow Leopard? Is there ANY renaming utility that's not going to fall victim to whatever the hang up here is?? How can I batch rename and not destroy my lovely Spotlight Comments in the process?
Thanks for your time!!

Yes, this works. However, this was already part of my workflow.... and not where the trouble lies.
After exporting jpeg images from Aperture, they carry the same name of the original RAW files, from which they came. (So, IMG_8342.jpg would have started it's life as IMG_8342.CR2.) But we dont' send them out like that. We sequentially name them 0001_image.jpg, 0002_image.jpg, etc... So after renaming, how do you find the original file again, right?
BEFORE the renaming phase, I would run the "Store Original Names in Spotlight Comments" action. That way, I could look at the comments for a derivative .jpg—whose name has now changed—and determine the name of the ORIGINAL file.
After renaming, the derivative file might end up being named 0361_image.jpg, but it's Spotlight comments would say, for example, Original Name:<<IMG_8485.jpg>>. Then I would know that this particular file started off as IMG_8485.CR2.
As such, I could quickly/easily backtrack, knowing that the original RAW file was named IMG_8485.CR2
The issue is that once you've gone thru the effort to ADD these spotlight comments, if you THEN go through a re-naming step, this erases all those Spotlight Comments. That was my problem... Getting the Spotlight Comments in place was never the issue. KEEPING them there was the problem.

Similar Messages

Batch rename through bridge ... loses xmp?

okay - I blew it. Some of my files were imported into LR4 with an incorrect filename ... per my naming habits.
I edited everything ... (without renaming) and then went into Brdige to do a batch rename. I presume that Bridge did not rename the .xmp files and I have to edit them all over again ... right?
Please tell me there's a work around
thanks

bgshap wrote:
please forgive me being dense, but I want to get it right. I appreciate your patience.
No problem.
bgshap wrote:
Right now, I have the missing files (paths) in LR. I also have the files reimported into LR with a new name.
Remove (from the catalog) the files re-imported with the new name.
bgshap wrote:
So, I'm going to go back to Bridge and rename the files (that currently have new names) back to what they were.
Yes - good.
bgshap wrote:
Then ... I'm not going to reimport them again (that'll defeat the purpose)
Right again.
bgshap wrote:
But, when I go into LR and click on a file that LR thinks is offline or missing, what then?
If you rename the back to what they were they won't be missing anymore in Lightroom.
THEN what you'll want to do is rename them IN Lightroom, i.e. using Lightroom's renaming capability instead of Bridge. Or, some would suggest not bothering to rename and use metadata exclusively for organization - I personally think disk folder and file names are also important, but as I said - some could care less since they only use Lr to deal with them anyway and always by way of their metadata instead of folder/filenames.
(if Lr's renaming capability is not strong enough, there is some plugin-assisted renaming possibilities, but now we're getting too far ahead).
Rob

Molt: batch renaming utility

Hi all,
Recently I was looking for a batch renaming utility, and while I did find a few, none of them would really fill all the checkboxes of my requirements list. Either because they didn’t provide the "rules" I was looking for, or because they would rename files after each rule has been applied, or because they couldn’t be used from scripts (that way I wanted), or whatever the reason. So I made myself one: molt.
You use it by specifying a set of rules to use, which will all be processed to determine the new name. molt will make sure those new names are "free," as in not already in use; and handles "avoidable conflicts" - when a file's new name is taken by another file to be renamed (performing two-steps renaming with a temporary name if needed).
Usage: molt [OPTION]... RULE... [FILE]...
Options :
-D, --exclude-directories Ignore directories from specified files
-F, --exclude-files Ignore files from specified files
-S, --exclude-symlinks Ignore symlinks from specified files
-i, --from-stdin Get list of files from stdin
-P, --process-fullname Send the full path/name to the rules
(Imply --output-fullname)
-p, --allow-path Allow (relative/absolute) paths in new filenames
(Imply --output-fullname)
-m, --make-parents Create parents if needed
-O, --output-fullname Output full path/names
-B, --output-both-names Output the old then the new filename for each file
-N, --output-new-names Output the new filename for each file
-R, --only-rules Only apply the rules and output results,
without any conflict detection
(Imply --dry-run)
-n, --dry-run Do not rename anything
-C, --continue-on-error Process as much as possible, even on errors
or when conflicts are detected
-d, --debug Enable debug mode - Specify twice for verbose
output
-h, --help Show this help screen and exit - Specify twice for
verbose output
-V, --version Show version information and exit
Rules :
Rules are the part of molt that process filenames. Rules will be applied
in the order specified, you can use the same rule as may times as you want.
Some rules require a parameter, what it can be depend of the rule. Usually,
it will be a string where you can specify multiple parameter using slash ( / )
as separator.
--upper Convert to uppercase
--lower Convert to lowercase
--vars Resolve variables
--tpl PARAM Apply specified template (resolve variables)
--sr PARAM Search & replace a string
PARAM = search[/replacement[/option]]
If no replacement is specified, the string will be removed.
Search is case-sensitive, unless option i was specified.
--camel Convert to Camel Case
--list Use list of new names from stdin
--regex PARAM Search & replace using regular expression
PARAM = pattern[/replacement[/option]]
If no replacement is specified, the string will be removed.
Search is case-sensitive, unless option i was specified.
Variables :
You can use variables in the new filenames. The syntax is to put the
variable's name in between dollar signs, e.g: $FOOBAR$
You can also (if supported) specify one (or more) parameters, using colon
as separator, e.g: $FOOBAR:PARAM1:PARAM2$
Variables are not automatically resolved, you need to use the rule --vars
in order to have them resolved, which gives you the ability to determine
when resolving happens, and continue processing with more rules afterwards.
Note that rule --tpl also resolves variables.
NB[:PARAM...] Counter, incremented for each file using it
You can specify up to 3 parameters:
- the minimum number number of digits (padding with 0's)
- the starting value of the counter
- the increment (can be negative)
E.g: $NB:3:42:-2$ will resolve as 042, 040, 038, etc
_[:PARAM...] Magic variable: specify "variable" as parameter
The first parameter is the name of the "variable" to resolve.
Resolving is done running the corresponding command line, using output
as value (removing trailing newline (\n) if present)
Links:
- Slightly more verbose description
- Source code
- PKGBUILD in the AUR
Hopefully someone may find it useful.
Cheers,
-jacky

Yes, this works. However, this was already part of my workflow.... and not where the trouble lies.
After exporting jpeg images from Aperture, they carry the same name of the original RAW files, from which they came. (So, IMG_8342.jpg would have started it's life as IMG_8342.CR2.) But we dont' send them out like that. We sequentially name them 0001_image.jpg, 0002_image.jpg, etc... So after renaming, how do you find the original file again, right?
BEFORE the renaming phase, I would run the "Store Original Names in Spotlight Comments" action. That way, I could look at the comments for a derivative .jpg—whose name has now changed—and determine the name of the ORIGINAL file.
After renaming, the derivative file might end up being named 0361_image.jpg, but it's Spotlight comments would say, for example, Original Name:<<IMG_8485.jpg>>. Then I would know that this particular file started off as IMG_8485.CR2.
As such, I could quickly/easily backtrack, knowing that the original RAW file was named IMG_8485.CR2
The issue is that once you've gone thru the effort to ADD these spotlight comments, if you THEN go through a re-naming step, this erases all those Spotlight Comments. That was my problem... Getting the Spotlight Comments in place was never the issue. KEEPING them there was the problem.

Spotlight/Finder only searching "new" spotlight comments not old ones

I have a bunch of files on my external hard drive that I had taken several hours to "tag" with spotlight comments a few months back. I tagged them so I could quickly find them in Finder or Spotlight by different key words and not just file names or their contents (folders wouldn't work because the keywords overlapped many of the files. Plus folders are slow). It worked beautifully. Until I stopped adding tags for those 4 months until now.
I hadn't been using my comments at all in the past couple of months, but i had some files that I hadn't tagged so I decided to take the time to tag all the new ones. While testing to see if the comments worked, I noticed an extreme shortage of results, compared to the results i had for the same key words 4 months ago. I noticed that only the newly tagged files were showing up. I immediately checked the old files to see if the comments were still there and there they were. I restarted my MacBook Pro, thinking that maybe it was because I hadn't done so in the past few days. I noticed the little dot in the lens of they eyeglass and thought "oh boy! it'll reindex everything!" but it only indexed "new" files of course.
So my question is: "*How did this happen?*" But more importantly: "*+How can I fix it?+*"
I've thought that forcing spotlight to reindex my entire external hard drive would do the trick, but I cannot find any means to achieve that goal. Plus, I would rather just be able to index the files within one folder as I wouldn't have to wait an entire day of sluggish performance for that. Any ideas?

Let me start with the "easy" question first: the .DS_Store files are where "Finder information" is stored. Windows users find these things a pain in neck, and usually insist they be deleted. Most of time this isn't a problem, the Mac users just get annoyed when their folder doesn't open the way it was when last closed--the principle information stored there is the view the folder was told to keep, the size of the icons and their arrangement, and so on. Every time you open a folder a .DS_Store file created if one does not already exist, and if one does the file will be updated if you change your settings for the folder, for instance switch it to List view, tell it to always open in List view, with columns for Date Modified, Size, but not Kind or Date Created. And it also keeps the information entered in Spotlight Comments. Just how Finder preserves this information if a file is moved, in Mac OS, to another folder, I don't know. But it does.
What we REALLY need is a nice little program to write to the metadata of the file. For instance, Spotlight will index keywords, which are stored in the file itself, as part of the file's metadata. I mainly work with graphics, and Photoshop allows you to add keywords to the file's metadata. Apple's iPhoto and Aperture will also add keywords, but they are not written to a file's metadata until you export them. PDFs can also have keywords assigned, you can even do it with Preview. Text documents can also have keywords added using some (most?) text editors, including TextEdit (provided the file is in RTF format). The nice thing about keyword metadata is that it goes with the file, and be accessed in any OS that allows a metadata search.
Unfortunately I don't know of any program that would allow you to select a batch of miscellaneous files and add the same keyword to all of them. It would certainly be handy though.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Batch file rename. I have multiple files I want to rename, that have a date in their name in the mm/dd/yy format. The slashes seem to freak out the batch rename function. Any workarounds that would help me avoid manually changing each name?

OS X Yosemite 10.10.2, Macbook Air,
Finder batch file rename function. I have multiple files I want to rename, that have a date in their name in the mm/dd/yy format. The slashes seem to freak out the batch rename function and it won't work. I took out the slashes and worked fine. Any workarounds that would help me avoid manually changing each name? I should point out that I want to leave most of the name intact just change the first word in each name. Also the files I'm working with are in PDF format.

That's a comment in the file. It has no effect at all.

Need help modifying Applescript to copy "Spotlight Comments" into file

Hello all,
I have a very large batch of images of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks. I used the "Spotlight Comments" field of each file to save information about the notebook page depicted in each image:
Well, I had to modify each image in Photoshop and when I saved the files, Photoshop of course didn't retain the Spotlight Comments. Now, before I modified the images, I duplicated the directory, so I have a copy of all of the images that retain their Spotlight Comments field with each image's information. What I want to do is copy the text from the Spotlight Comments field of the original files and either paste this text into the Spotlight Comments field of the modified files (which are in a different directory, but retain the same filenames as the originals), or at least copy the text from the Spotlight Comments field of the original files and paste each block of text into a txt file with a couple of blank lines in between each entry, so that I can manually copy/paste the citations into the modified image's Spotlight Comments fields.
I successfully used this Applescript: https://discussions.apple.com/message/6741062#6741062
to get the Spotlight Comments from the original files, but it displays them one by one in pop-up dialog boxes and because I have almost a thousand images it is extraordinarily wearisome to copy the text from each pop-up, paste it into a text file, make two blank lines, click "OK" in the pop-up to get the next one...
Can anyone suggest how I can modify the code I have to tell the Finder to copy the contents of each pop-up and paste them into a single text file with a couple of blank lines between each entry?
I have the barest, most rudimentary knowledge of Applescript, which is why I'm asking if one of the wizards here can help me modify or write an Applescript to do what I need to do.
Thank you so much!
BTW, here is the code from the aforementioned discussion that gets the Spotlight Comments from files. I made into an Applescript application using Automator:
tell application "Finder"
repeat with tItem in input
set (comment of tItem) to (text returned) of (display dialog "Spotlight Comment: " default answer (comment of tItem as string))
end repeat
end tell

Hi,
Evan Izer wrote:
Now, before I modified the images, I duplicated the directory, so I have a copy of all of the images that retain their Spotlight Comments field with each image's information. What I want to do is copy the text from the Spotlight Comments field of the original files and either paste this text into the Spotlight Comments field of the modified files (which are in a different directory, but retain the same filenames as the originals)
This script does exactly that:
set sFolder to (choose folder "Select folder wich contains original images.") as string
set dFolder to choose folder "Select folder wich contains modified images."
tell application "Finder"
      repeat with tItem in (get document files of dFolder)
            set origFile to sFolder & (get name of tItem)
            if file origFile exists then
                  set origComment to comment of file origFile
                  set comment of tItem to origComment
            end if
      end repeat
end tell

Browser batch rename command question.

PS7 - OS 10.4.11 - 1.33 Ghz PowerPC G4
I was looking at a folder of images using the browser and selected a number of them - some of these images had previously had changes made to them and then saved as JPEGs, some had not been worked at all since downloading from the camera to the HD.
Wanting to group them by title, I used the batch rename command, by Control-clicking on the selected images, to rename them in the same folder with Mac OS9 compatibility (I couldnt find a Mac OSX compatibility even though that is my system). This was the first time I have used the batch rename command, and assumed it would merely change the file name.
I then tried to open the files after this process. Those images that had previously been worked and saved as JPEGs are referred to as Document in the Finder, rather than as Adobe Photoshop JPEG. When trying to open them, I got a message:-
The document Louvre1 could not be opened. ColorSync cannot open files of this sort.
The only way I have found to view them is to use Open with Safari command.
Those images that had not been worked are referred to as Unix Executable File in the Finder. I cannot view these at all, not even with the Open with Safari command.
Any comments, please? What am I missing? I did not expect the process to so radically change the files. I can use Grab to get an image of those files that can be opened in Safari, although presumably they will not be so detailed as the originals.
And those images that cannot be opened at all, even in Safari:- Can I get them back as PS JPEGs, or in any viewable form?
Any help gratefully received.
Thanks,
Graham

When you renamed the files, did you remember to include the ".jpg" extension at the end of each file name? If not, add it now.
And make sure you are running Ps 7.0.1. It's a free and mandatory update (numerous bug fixes).

Batch Rename with String Replacement?

Is there a convenient way to batch rename files after they've been imported? The template mechanism seems to work well for creating new names, but not for renaming. For example, I originally imported and renamed my images to look like this:
Zemke_YYMMDD_NNN-O1.CR2
I decided I would rather have DRZ (My initials) instead of "Zemke" as the prefix. I was able to get it done with some contortions:
Metadata/XMP/Export
Remove all files from Lightroom
Rename all the external files to start with DRZ
Reimport all the files
Delete the XMP files
I think what is needed is for Rename to include string replacement (and string deletion) functionality. Is it already there?
Dan

Stefano, nonadjacent selection can be done by holding down Control and manually selecting the additional image. If you want to select a lot of separate ranges, the way to do it is to add each range to the quick collection (press the B key), then go to the quick collection and select all. It's exactly for those kinds of scenarios that quick collection exists. Once you get used to doing it, it's easier working with a "sticky" selection like the quick collection rather than the contortions required to extend standard selections.
To slightly add to Rory's comments: two-digit year plus spelled out month names and day of the week names are also available. Combine into any order you want, with any additional supporting text anywhere you want it, and you've got huge flexibility there. And no matter how complex it is, you can save it as a preset so it's readily accessible later.

On CS5, how can I recover jpeg images that were Batch Renamed prior to removal from my flashcard?

On CS5, how can you recover JPEG images that were accidentally Batch Renamed prior to removal from a flash card? Is it a total lose or can they be saved somehow?

If they were renamed on the flash card that is a poor practice. If renamed in Bridge the old names can be recovered it you have checked "preserve original name in XMP". If not you are out of luck. But you still have the images correct?

Collections in finder, quick add to spotlight comments

I'm wanting to optimize the way I'm using spotlight, and know that there's a field for spotlight comments when you select and item in finder and command-i... I'm wondering if there's a keyboard shortcut that can let me add spotlight comments directly, or is there a Quicksilver plug-in that might let me do that?
Also, within spotlight is there a way to configure it so that the first (or only) items to come up are the ones that I've added the relevant spotlight comments to?
Basically what I'm wanting to do is to add the metadata that would effectively make collections like in Yojimbo or Notemind... I love Yojimbo's idea, but I don't want a separate database for all my yojimbo collections... I don't want to be bound to Yojimbo and don't want it always running in the background... the finder is already a fabulous database, and between QS and spotlight you can do a million more things than Yojimbo can let me do... so I would love to get this "collections" effect inside finder without making a million aliases for my files...
Any suggestions?

Let me start with the "easy" question first: the .DS_Store files are where "Finder information" is stored. Windows users find these things a pain in neck, and usually insist they be deleted. Most of time this isn't a problem, the Mac users just get annoyed when their folder doesn't open the way it was when last closed--the principle information stored there is the view the folder was told to keep, the size of the icons and their arrangement, and so on. Every time you open a folder a .DS_Store file created if one does not already exist, and if one does the file will be updated if you change your settings for the folder, for instance switch it to List view, tell it to always open in List view, with columns for Date Modified, Size, but not Kind or Date Created. And it also keeps the information entered in Spotlight Comments. Just how Finder preserves this information if a file is moved, in Mac OS, to another folder, I don't know. But it does.
What we REALLY need is a nice little program to write to the metadata of the file. For instance, Spotlight will index keywords, which are stored in the file itself, as part of the file's metadata. I mainly work with graphics, and Photoshop allows you to add keywords to the file's metadata. Apple's iPhoto and Aperture will also add keywords, but they are not written to a file's metadata until you export them. PDFs can also have keywords assigned, you can even do it with Preview. Text documents can also have keywords added using some (most?) text editors, including TextEdit (provided the file is in RTF format). The nice thing about keyword metadata is that it goes with the file, and be accessed in any OS that allows a metadata search.
Unfortunately I don't know of any program that would allow you to select a batch of miscellaneous files and add the same keyword to all of them. It would certainly be handy though.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Spotlight comments and zip archives

There have been a few posts in this forum that point out the difficulties of using Spotlight with zip files but it is only now that I have discovered (the hard way) that zipping files into an archive actually removes (or loses) my Spotlight comments.
The Spotlight comments I lost were all on jpg and gif files. Should I therefore be considering storing metadata actually within each graphic file rather than using Spotlight?

The so-called "Spotlight Comments" in the GetInfo window are just the old Finder Comments, and are actually stored in the .DS_Store file of the folder containing the files. If you zip the folder with the files in it the comments will be preserved. However, it is just too easy to forget about this. You really want all your important metadata as part of the file itself, so if you have a graphics program that will add metadata information to the files that would be the best way to go.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Write Filename to Spotlight-Comments

hi!
i'm trying to batch-write the filename to the spotlight-comments (in automator or anywhere else). can someone help me on that?
regards tom

paste the following into Applescript Editor, select the files whose comments you want to change and press 'run' in script editor.
<pre style="
font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;
font-size: 10px;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #000000;
width: 720px;
color: #000000;
background-color: #ADD8E6;
overflow: auto;"
title="this text can be pasted into the Script Editor">
tell application "Finder"
set mlist to selection
repeat with thefile in mlist
set comment of thefile to comment of thefile & return&name of thefile
end repeat
end tell</pre>

Spotlight Comments are Disappearing

For some reason spotlight comments keep disappearing from files. I triple check the comments after I'm done adding them. The next day I check the files to see if they are there, and they are not.
I do not understand why this keeps happening.

Starnerg wrote:
I'm sure we could find the problem, but I can't afford to lose any of the comments that are working in the folders. It would take months to get them back.
When I type in mdls /path/to/file in terminal and drag the files in. The comment is still in kMDItemFinderComment, but not in the get info window. As long as the comment is in kMDItemFinderComment will comment still work the same?
I'm not sure what you mean by this.
When I tried to bring the comments back into Get Info yesterday by using the applescript below they came back, however when I checked today the went away again.
tell application "Finder"
set curfolder to choose folder
repeat with this_item in entire contents of curfolder
set ppath to quoted form of POSIX path of (this_item as alias)
set comment of this_item to (do shell script "mdls -name kMDItemFinderComment " & ppath & "| awk -F\\\" '{print $2}'")
end repeat
end tell
that looks like a script I made for somebody in a similar situation once. did you get it from one of my threads?
the fact that this keep happening does suggest that either the .DS_store file or the resource forks are corrupt. If you don't want to zap all .DS+Store files I really suggest you try it out on one folder of test files with the last terminal command I gave you. it will only affect that particular folder, nothing else. just copy a folder of files that have this issue and run the command on the copied folder. see what happens.

Spotlight search ignores spotlight comments

Using the Commenteer utility I've modified hundreds of spotlight comments for files. But spotlight search doesn't find them. Why? mdimport doesn't seem to be running. Why?

I figured out what is going on, but don't understand it. Commenteer lets me add spotlight comments in batch mode even when the files are locked. (All my photos are locked so I don't accidentally delete any.) The comments are really there--I checked. But if the files are locked when I change the comments, spotlight will not index the files. If I unlocked the files before using Commenteer to make a batch change to the comments, then spotlight will index the files. So my workaround for now is to unlock all the files before changing the comments. Spotlight doesn't "see" that a file has been updated, if it is locked. If I unlock it, change the comments, and then lock it again, Spotlight notices that and indexes the file. Kind of annoying.

Automator Folder Action: File Name = Spotlight Comment?

Hey guys,
I'm trying to have automator add the original filename of a file as spotlight comment when it is added to a certain folder. I can only use the "Set Spotlight Comments for Finder Items" in folder actions to add a specified comment, but nothing else. Is it possible to grab the file name via applescript?
The idea behind this is to preserve the original file names of all downloaded files before they get renamed.
Thanks,
V

Thanks for your reply, I now have your action installed and it does get the filenames, but I still can't add them to the spotlight comment text box. Looks like I didn't think this through properly.

Batch Renaming loses Spotlight Comments, Os X to blame?

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