Manually sort files in a folder

Is there anyway to sort files in a folder manually?
Say I have 4 files. The would be arranged..
File A
File B
File C
File D
I want them to be
File B
File D
File A
File C
Is there ANYWAY to do this?
I can't sort them by size or anything like that cause it is going to be more then 100 files in this folder but I need them in a specific order.
Thank you

I could but it's folders of pictures I'm going to export to iPhone and I already have the year before the name (2009 Fall). Since it's going to show when it's on my iPad and iPhone it will be too many numbers before the actual name.
I refuse to use iPhoto. I tried it twice and there is just too much extra in there that I don't need that takes up too much storage (like faces and previews).
There has to be a way around it somehow... Getting Lightroom pictures on iPhone shouldn't be this hard..
Thanks for your help!

Similar Messages

How can I sort files in a folder by name?

How can I sort files in a folder by name? iFS first sort files that starts with upper-case letter and then files with lower-case letter.
Like:
A_file
B_file
a_file
b_file
I want:
A-file
a_file
B_file
b_file
This doesn't help:
String[] sort_attributes = {"NAME"};
boolean [] sort_orders = {true};
SortSpecification sort = new SortSpecification(sort_attributes, sort_orders);
currentFolder.setSortSpecification(sort);
Do I have to get all items in a folder and then sort them?
/Elin

I do not think there is a way to do that without add-ons
There are a couple of workarounds I am aware of
* Add the bookmarks manually in the bookmarks library and choose the position. That is using Show all bookmarks -> open required folder -> select a position and right click -> add new bookmark <br />Rather a slow and clumsy process
* Sort a folder and copy it. If you sort the folder contents then copy and paste them they remain in that order when pasted.
There are add-ons but I have not tried them. For example
* https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/simplesort-bookmarks/
* https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/auto-sort-bookmarks/
There will be others available and take note of the advice to backup bookmarks manaully.
* [[Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer#w_manual-backup]]_manual-backup

Can you manually move files within a folder to put them in a specific order?

I am new to mac, I was wondering if there is an app maybe that you could move files within a folder (ie photos) to make them in a specific order and then rename them, I used to be able to do this with my windows xp..... cant seem to make it happen with my new macbook pro and from what i can gather it cant be done? can it? Thanx in advance.........

Thomas, I have set the view to maunally but when i move the icons they return to where they were sitting..?
In the Finder? You probably have a sort selected in the Sort By submenu in the View menu. However, the order of icons in icon view won't have any influence on the order of the images in the slideshow, I think. Use iPhoto, this is one of the things it's made for, the Finder is not.

Is there a way to sort files in a folder by file name in elements 11?

When I want to print a contact sheet, I need the files pictures in the file name order. Elements 9 had this feature.

I have different needs, but I agree the lack of alphanumeric sort should be fixed. In my situation, it would be enough to have an option to automatically sort an album in alphabetical order. I would also like a sort by caption for albums.
In your case, that is with too many files in folders, the nearest workaround I have found would be:
- Select the images you need to sort (a folder for instance) and export them without changing names in a new folder.
- Import the result into the organizer.
- Select all files in the import batch and assign them a common date stamp.
Your copies should be shown in file name order, in thumbnail, folder or batch import view. But the date taken will be lost...
A solution could be to select both the original images and the edited ones, use the 'automatically suggest stacks' based on visual similarity. You won't lose the date information, but at the cost of twice the disk space.

Trying to sort files in a folder

I have a folder full of lots of files that I want to arrange logically by date such as:
1-10-14_Third_Ultrasound
1-10-14_Second_Ultrasound
1-10-14_First_Ultrasound
1. How can I get 1-10-14_First_Ultrasound to display at the top of these files?
2. I have one file displaying in the middle of all my files that should appear at the very top since it is dates the earliest, 11-13-13 though it is not displaying at the top. When I click on the "Name" sort field, it does not help. What might be causing this?
Thanks!

anyone on this?
Thanks.

Sorting FIles in a Folder?

Hi All,
I want to sort all the files ( FIFO )which are available on a Folder and return them back as a List.
Can anyone help me in this , I have serch in the forums but no solution to this problem, I know abt Comparator but some how its not helping me out.
Thanks.

        Comparator<File> comparator = new Comparator<File>()
            public int compare(File left, File right)
                return -1, 0 or +1 depending on how you want to order the files;
        File folder = ... ;
        File[] containedFiles = folder.listFiles();
        Arrays.sort(containedFiles, comparator);

How to list sorted files in a folder?

I am in need of creating a java program which should perform the following.
1. Read ALL the files located under c:\main dir
2. Append the read files into a Email.log file in the order in which the files are created.
For example: main directory has three files. A.txt(created on Aug1st2009,10:00AM), B.txt(created on Aug1st2009,10:01AM),C.txt(created on Aug1st2009,10:02AM)
Email.log file should contain the contents of A.txt then B.txt then C.txt. The contents of old file should appear in the top and the content of latest file(C.txt) shouled appeared in the bottom of Email.log file.
Hope you understand my requirements. could you help me out in starting with sample code?

Pannar wrote:
starting with sample code?No!
It is your job to write the code not ours. When you have done that and have encountered a problem then come back and ask a specific question including all the relevant information.
As far as I know there isn't anyway to determine the creation date of a File in core Java. There maybe a third party lib that can do it.

Manually arranging files in finder for slideshow order?

I have a folder full of photo files from a recent vacation. Half of them are from my camera, half from my boyfriend's camera, and they all are named as the original file name the cameras gave them. I want to arrange them in chronological order, blending the two sets of photos together, to view as a slide show (ideally right from the finder window itself).
I turned off sorting and arranging so that I can manually move the icons around, but when I go into slide show mode it reverts to showing them in order of the names.
Besides renaming all 300 files in numerical order, do I have a way to drag these into an order that will stick?
Thanks!

I found a way to kind of manually sort files in a folder...
I’m doing this on Maverick.
This doesn't work when you are in "View as Icons" mode.
Click on file.
Command + i (for “Get Info” in the File menu).
An Info window of that file will pop up.
Click on the arrow to expand the "Comments:" tab.
Type a number ("1" for if you want the file to be first in the list, "5" if you want it to be the fifth, etc.). Or you could use letters.
Exit out of the Info window.
Command + J (for "Show View Options" in View menu).
Click the box next to "Comments." Make sure a checkmark appears.
Click Use As Defaults so Comments will show up every time. It will show up for every folder you open (as long as the folder has at least one file showing). So, hopefully that doesn't annoy you.
Now there is a new column called "Comments" in your Finder window.
You can drag the "Comments" column to any position (like right after the "Name" column) if you want.
When you click the Comments column, it will sort the files in numerical order (based on what you put for your comments). Or alphabetical order if you chose to use letters instead of numbers.
Still haven't figured out how to make this sorting option default since Comments isn't one of the options to Sort By in the View Options window. So, you'd have to click the Comments column to sort the numbers each time you open that folder.

Any way to Restore Last Manual Sort Order or Prevent from being Overwritten accidentally?

     Help!
     I'm constantly accidentally overwriting painstakingly created manual sort ordering (sometimes hours but more often months of accumulated work) in folders with files numbering up to 1,000, when i, however breifly, switch to another sort ordering (size, date modified etc) to check something, immediately forget that i'm in another sort order, and, unthinkingly (actually i guess i'm thinking of a lot of other things) drag a file to another position, this immediately destroys any past manual sorting i've established, overwriting it with this new inadvertent manual ordering.
     I've tried CommandZ (edit undo) but that only undoes my last rating or labeling, i've rushed to force quit Bridge through the activity montior hoping i will catch it before its overwritten, but obviously i am not as fast as a computer, and i don't think this has ever worked.
Is there any way or any script someone has written to formally save a manual sort order? Is there anything i've missed to attempt restoring it? Has anyone, repeatedly foiled by this, written something that would give a warning and require confirmation say for instance, if i tried to drag or move a file while in another sort ordering (this seems like something that should have existed the minute the opportunity was given to create manual organization). Would anyone be willing to?
     Seriously, me forgetting almost every time isn't going to change and, more vexingly, it's even happened when i didn't mean to move anything but fumbled momentarily while in another sort order. I think most people might forget because (in the context of computing) we are conditioned to expect a warning if something we have just created is about to be written over or discarded, and since there is no option to formally save a manual ordering we have just created.
     Also, if this was in the real world, moving a single file would not reshuffle everything on your desk. If i had the option to formally save a manual organization i would NOT forget to do this and would use it, as i've wished for one every time spent a while rearranging files. Knowing how easily all the hours (much less months and years of cumulative work) of organizational work can be accidentally lost makes working within Bridge unpleasantly anxious.
      I'm literally willing to do anything including installing some sketchy 3rd-part scripts (though honestly i have no idea what that means or how to do it). I extentively use and rely heavily upon this function so this is a fairly serious Achille's heel. It's like watching your incredibly important meticulously constructed house of cards collapse with a careless but innocent sigh, or like having the equivelent of a not even charming cat dance across your keyboard during a live concert, etc etc....
     Also it is not usually appropriate, given the context, to batch rename everything to preserve a manual ordering w sequence numbers, etc. Often the filenames are considerably (but necessarily, to connote important differences) long already, and when i have to rearrange things in the future would have to do that each time, etc, etc, making for even more unwieldly filenames that didn't have any substantive information at the beginning. I'm looking for a way to make this function (manual sort ordering), well, more functional, secure and stable, the workarounds i've considered cause too many additonal problems.
     Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer, and as this is my first attempt to use the forums as i live on a boat with no regular net access, would appreciate any forum etiquette corrections, and advance apologies for any misspellings, dyslexic and spellcheck does not seem to work in this interface. next time will edit in external wordprocessing program beforehand,
          li'l mc szpf
     PS i'm on a 27" mac w CS4 Design Premium, w up to the minute OS (10.6.8) and Adobe software updates installed recently (i do not often move the monster but this week was housesitting w net access, so she has had all recommended shots and vaccinations....)
     PPS I know most of y'all might be running the newest and the latest of everything, but, i'm fairly certain this is still a problem in recent versions as this has happened to me at school where all the macs are running cs5. Though if it's been addressed somehow in cs6 would update entire suite just to fix this one problem in Bridge. I've tried many searches and found nothing relevant or wouldn't bother the considerable expertise and resources of an official forum, was extremely hesitant to ask (feared getting snapped at for unwittingly broaching forum etiquette) but it is truly the bane of my considerable Bridge existence, so was willing to risk the imaginary censure and opprobrium....
Message was edited by: PECourtejoie

That is a good question, to do this requires two functions and a restart of Bridge all done automagically
Copy and paste the script into ExtendScript Toolkit
This gets installed with Photoshop and can be found:-
PC: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Utilities
MAC: <hard drive>/Applications/Utilities/Adobe Utilities
Start Bridge
PC: Edit - Preferences - Startup Scripts
Mac: Adobe Bridge menu - Preferences - Startup Scripts
At the bottom click the "Reveal Button" this will open the folder where the script should be saved.
Close and restart Bridge.
Accept the new script.
To use:
Tools - Backup Manual Sort
This will backup the hidden manual sort file .BridgeSort to .BridgeSortSave
Tools - Restore Manual Sort
This will copy the .BridgeSortSave back to .BridgeSort and will close and restart Bridge so that the manual sort is restored.
if( BridgeTalk.appName == "bridge" ) {
var backUpManSort = new MenuElement( "command","Backup Manual Sort", "at the end of Tools" , "backupms" );
var RestoreManSort = new MenuElement( "command","Restore Manual Sort", "at the end of Tools" , "restorems" );
backUpManSort.onSelect = function () {
var fileSort = new File(app.document.presentationPath +"/.BridgeSort");
var fileSave = new File(app.document.presentationPath +"/.BridgeSortSave");
if(fileSave.exists) fileSave.remove();
fileSort.copy(fileSave);
fileSave.hidden=true;
RestoreManSort.onSelect = function () {
var fileSort = new File(app.document.presentationPath +"/.BridgeSort");
var fileSave = new File(app.document.presentationPath +"/.BridgeSortSave");
if(!fileSave.exists){
alert("No backup file exists");
return;
app.document.sorts = [{ type:"string",name:"document-kind", reverse:false }];
if(fileSort.exists) fileSort.remove();
fileSave.copy(fileSort);
fileSort.hidden=true;
app.document.chooseMenuItem("mondo/command/new");
app.documents[0].close();
app.document.sorts = [{ name:"user",type:"date", reverse:false }];
Hope this works for you.

Sort file based on Creation Time in Windows XP/2003

Hi All,
I want ot sort files in a folder based on the Creation time, not the modified time.
We can get the creation time with dir /tc DOS command.
Now i want to capture the output and sort it based on creation time. How i do it.Please explain with code.
Thanks.

Hi Aaron,
Based on my research, these Events could be caused by the fact that you haven’t
configured the
security access control list (SACL) on the object that you are auditing or you have configured the SACL, but not for all the listed accesses.
Here is a KB article below that I suggest you refer to:
Event IDs 560 and 562 appear many times in the security event log
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841001/en-us
I hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Amy Wang

Manual sort of images

How do I manually sort images in the grid mode?

You grab the image part of the thumbnail, not the grey surround, then drag to new position. Also, note that you can only manually sort from within the folder containing the images or Collection.

How do I export my "manual sorting" of files to my new Adobe Bridge CC installation?

Hi all,
I'll try to explain my situation:
I have Adobe Bridge CC installed on my computer. I use the "manual sorting" to view and manage my files (mostly .eps/.psd).
I'm moving to Win8.1 and I don't want to loose my manual sorting. How do I save/export my manual sorting in order to import it on a new Bridge installation?
Thank you all in advance,
Francesco

I'm moving to Win8.1 and I don't want to loose my manual sorting.
Manual sorting is not meant for a permanent sort order nor is it designed to do so, when switching to a new window or other sort order you will loose the previous sort order. However there is a way to retrieve the last sort order used with a script Paul Riggott once wrote. But I'm not sure you can transport this sorting to a new system version because when you install a system from scratch you also need to recache the files for the Bridge Cache library. It might be possible to also copy the hidden file with the last sort order but that would mean a trial and error procedure.
Check this post, at the bottom is also a link for the site where you can get the script and how to install and use it:
http://forums.adobe.com/message/4748987#4748987
Personal I would use batch rename to keep the sort order safe. You can select all files in the content window and add a sequence number in front (with enough digits to match your number of files) of your existing filename. In this way you can easily resort your collection when your manual sorting is lost for whatever reason and also the files will have the correct sort order on your system folder also.

Batch of files manually sorted in Bridge - Can I run a PS Action in that manual order?

For some jobs my workflow ideally involves manually sorting the order of a batch of RAW files in Bridge (the RAW file names are as assigned by the camera) and then using a PS Action from Bridge to convert, save, and rename the batch of files. I want to end up with my image files sequentially numbered in the manually sorted order.
However, my PS Action automatically processes the files in ascending order of their RAW file names and therefore my manually assigned file order in Bridge is lost.
Is there a script (or other method) which will allow me to run a PS action from Bridge on a batch of files while keeping the manually sorted order for the purposes of the numbering sequence of the renamed output files?
My current workaround is to Batch Rename in Bridge a copied set of RAW files as an intermediate step to running my PS Action on the renamed RAW file copies. It's not a bad workaround but if there is an easier way, I would much appreciate knowing about it!
Geoff

Geoff, here is an example that works for me. When I test ran the sample script based on some stuff that I do the files are process in the order of the manual sort and only the files in my selection are processed folders etc are ignored… I have NO idea how much people charge for this sort of thing I only do it for the learning process. If you can let me know what the Photoshop process is and your OS I 'may' be able to help but I make NO promises as Im still very much the learner with this stuff…
You can give this a test if you like…
#target bridge
with (app.document) {
     if (sorts[0].type == 'user') {
          if (selections.length == 0) {
               selectAll();
               var userSel = selections;
               deselectAll();
          } else {
               var userSel = selections;
          for (var i = 0; i < userSel.length; i++) {
               if (userSel[i].type == 'file') psProcess(userSel[i].spec);
     } else {
           alert('This window is NOT a manual sort?')
function psProcess(filePath) {
     var psScript = 'while (app.documents.length) app.activeDocument.close(SaveOptions.PROMPTTOSAVECHANGES);' + '\n';
     psScript += 'var userDialogs = app.displayDialogs; \n';
     psScript += 'var userRulerUnits = app.preferences.rulerUnits; \n';
     psScript += 'app.diaplayDialogs = DialogModes.NO; \n';
     psScript += 'app.preferences.rulerUnits = Units.PIXELS; \n';
     psScript += 'app.bringToFront(); \n';
     // Pass File Object as toSource
     psScript += 'var thisFile = ' + filePath.toSource() + '; \n';
     psScript += 'var docRef = app.open(thisFile); \n';
     psScript += 'var baseName = docRef.name.slice(0, -4); \n';
     // Edit the document
     psScript += 'if (docRef.bitsPerChannel == BitsPerChannelType.SIXTEEN) docRef.bitsPerChannel = BitsPerChannelType.EIGHT; \n';
     psScript += 'if (docRef.mode != DocumentMode.RGB) docRef.changeMode(ChangeMode.RGB); \n';
     psScript += 'if (docRef.colorProfileName != "sRGB IEC61966-2.1") docRef.convertProfile("sRGB IEC61966-2.1", Intent.RELATIVECOLORIMETRIC); \n';
     psScript += 'docRef.flatten(); \n';
     // Call some functions
     psScript += 'processChannels(docRef); \n';
     psScript += 'processPaths(docRef); \n';
     psScript += 'if (docRef.pathItems.length >= 1) processSelection(docRef, 0); \n';
     psScript += 'fitImage(docRef, 880, 72); \n';
     psScript += 'docRef.resizeCanvas(900, 900, AnchorPosition.MIDDLECENTER); \n';
     // set up new file path to save document
     psScript += 'var newFilePath = new File("~/Desktop/" + baseName + ".jpg"); \n';
     psScript += 'saveFileasJPEG(newFilePath, 9); \n';
     //      Close doc & put back prefs
     psScript += 'app.activeDocument.close(SaveOptions.DONOTSAVECHANGES); \n';
     psScript += 'app.diaplayDialogs = userDialogs; \n';
     psScript += 'app.preferences.rulerUnits = userRulerUnits; \n';
     // Use eval & toSource for Photoshop functions
     psScript += 'eval' + processChannels.toSource(); + '; \n';
     psScript += 'eval' + processPaths.toSource(); + '; \n';
     psScript += 'eval' + processSelection.toSource(); + '; \n';
     psScript += 'eval' + fitImage.toSource(); + '; \n';
     //psScript += 'eval' + imageArea.toSource(); + '; \n';
     //psScript += 'eval' + saveFileasTIFF.toSource(); + '; \n';
     psScript += 'eval' + saveFileasJPEG.toSource(); + '; \n';
     // Send script to Photoshop
     btMessaging('photoshop', psScript);
General Functions
function btMessaging(targetApp, script) {
     var bt = new BridgeTalk();
     bt.target = targetApp;
     bt.body = script;
     bt.send();
function createFolder(folderPath) {
     var thisFolder = new Folder(folderPath);
     if (!thisFolder.exists) thisFolder.create();
Photoshop Functions
function processChannels(docRef) {
     for (var i = docRef.channels.length-1; i >= 0; i--) {
          if (docRef.channels[i].kind == ChannelType.MASKEDAREA) {
               docRef.channels[i].remove();
               continue;
          if (docRef.channels[i].kind == ChannelType.SELECTEDAREA) {
               docRef.channels[i].remove();
               continue;
          if (docRef.channels[i].kind == ChannelType.SPOTCOLOR) {
               docRef.channels[i].merge();
function processPaths(docRef) {
     if (docRef.pathItems.length >= 2) {
          for (var i = 0; i < docRef.pathItems.length; i++) {
               if (docRef.pathItems[i].kind == PathKind.CLIPPINGPATH) {
                    docRef.pathItems[i].makeClippingPath(0.5);
                    docRef.pathItems[i].makeSelection(0, true, SelectionType.REPLACE);
                    docRef.pathItems[i].deselect();
if (docRef.pathItems.length == 1) {
          if      (docRef.pathItems[0].kind == PathKind.WORKPATH) docRef.pathItems[0].name = 'Clipping Path'
          docRef.pathItems[0].makeClippingPath(0.5);
          docRef.pathItems[0].makeSelection(0, true, SelectionType.REPLACE);
          docRef.pathItems[0].deselect();
function processSelection(docRef, offSet) {
     if (docRef.layers[0].isBackgroundLayer) docRef.layers[0].isBackgroundLayer = false;
     docRef.selection.expand(offSet);
     docRef.selection.invert();
     docRef.activeLayer = docRef.layers[0];
     docRef.selection.clear();
     docRef.selection.deselect();
     docRef.trim(TrimType.TRANSPARENT, true, true, true, true);
     docRef.flatten();
function fitImage(docRef, newSize, newRes) {
if (docRef.width >= docRef.height) {
     docRef.resizeImage(newSize, undefined, newRes, ResampleMethod.BICUBICSMOOTHER);
else {
     docRef.resizeImage(undefined, newSize, newRes, ResampleMethod.BICUBICSMOOTHER);
function imageArea(docRef, newArea, newRes) {
var originalArea = docRef.width * docRef.height;
if (originalArea > newArea) {
     var newWidth = Math.sqrt(docRef.width * newArea / docRef.height);
     var newHeight = (docRef.height * newWidth / docRef.width);
     docRef.resizeImage(newWidth, newHeight, newRes, ResampleMethod.BICUBICSMOOTHER);
else {
     docRef.resizeImage(undefined, undefined, newRes, ResampleMethod.NONE);
function bitmapOptions(res) {
bitOptions = new BitmapConversionOptions();
     bitOptions.method = BitmapConversionType.HALFTHRESHOLD;
     bitOptions.resolution = res;
     bitOptions.shape = BitmapHalfToneType.SQUARE;
     return bitOptions;
Photoshop Save As Functions
function saveFileasTIFF(saveFile, aC, iC, la, sC, tr) {
     tiffSaveOptions = new TiffSaveOptions();
     tiffSaveOptions.alphaChannels = aC;
     tiffSaveOptions.byteOrder = ByteOrder.MACOS;
     tiffSaveOptions.embedColorProfile = true;
     tiffSaveOptions.imageCompression = iC;
     tiffSaveOptions.layers = la;
     tiffSaveOptions.spotColors = sC;
     tiffSaveOptions.transparency = tr;
     activeDocument.saveAs(saveFile, tiffSaveOptions, true, Extension.LOWERCASE);
function saveFileasJPEG(saveFile, qL) {
     jpgSaveOptions = new JPEGSaveOptions();
     jpgSaveOptions.embedColorProfile = true;
     jpgSaveOptions.formatOptions = FormatOptions.STANDARDBASELINE;
     jpgSaveOptions.matte = MatteType.NONE;
     jpgSaveOptions.quality = qL;
     activeDocument.saveAs(saveFile, jpgSaveOptions, true, Extension.LOWERCASE);

Is there a way to separate raw files from jpegs that are in one folder after downloading from camera when you shoot both together. I tried arrange or sort by kind but that does not work. It arranges all folders but not the files in the folder., Is there

Is there a way to separate raw files from jpegs that are in one folder after downloading from camera when you shoot both together. I tried arrange or sort by kind but that does not work. It arranges all folders but not the files in the folder., Is there a way to separate raw files from jpegs that are in one folder after downloading from camera when you shoot both together. I tried arrange or sort by kind but that does not work. It arranges all folders but not the files in the folder.

Bridge will do the job. View > Sort > ByType. Then you can choose a group of one type and put the files in a separate folder.

Sort files in Finder column view for the current folder only?

Hi,
I don't really understand how finder sort settings work, even after using OS X since it first came out. Maybe someone can give me a hand.
I'm trying to sort files inside one specific folder according to their name decending. In general I have arranged them by label and sorted by file name ascending. Every time I try to use the settings in the "display options" (cmd+J), this applies also to several other folders. Even if I right-click on that particular folder to enter the settings.
Isn't it possible to apply different sort/arrange options to individual folders?
p.

For column view, there is only one arrange/sort, no matter where you are in the hierarchy. It is based on what the arrange/sort was set on the original folder opened.
In the View Options, the Brows by ??? view checkbox controls what happens when you open a folder from that view. If it is set, then the folder opens in the same view as the enclosing folder. If unchecked, and you have set a view on a folder, that folder will open in the desired view.
Again, this does not apply in column view. Column view has only one arrange/sort for the entire hierarchy.

Manually sort files in a folder

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