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DocuPhoto ver 1.0 (Microsoft Windows / Excel version)
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REVISIONS:
20090101 initial release of version 1.0
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For your free, open source version of ‘DocuPhoto’ (the Excel version), download it here.
For questions, email us at: HelpDesk@coltsoft.com
“DocuPhoto” is a Windows utility that runs an Excel utility that allows users to do the following:
* rename files based on the date the photo was taken
* allow users to document photographs using the extended file fields
* compress photo files to a smaller size
* transfer the ‘Comments’ and other extended file fields from one file to another
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first time run
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Excel 2007
Upon opening the file ‘DocuPhoto.xls’:
* If you only see an empty spreadsheet grid, look in your upper ribbon and see if you have the message: “Security Warning – Macros have been disabled.”
> if so, select the ‘Option’ button next to the warning message.
> a dialog box labeled “Security Alert – Macro” will appear
> select the lower button labeled “Enable this content”
* You may get additional dialog box errors with the message: “Could not load an object because it is not available on this machine.”
> select “OK”. You may get several of these messages.
* You may get a new error message “Compile error: Can’t find project or library”.
> select “OK”.
* Select the macro stop button (the square under the command ‘Run’ and ‘Tools’)
* Select “Tools”
* uncheck those items with the word “MISSING:” next to them.
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Suggested processing steps:
* copy over your files from your camera to you computer hard drive.
* if you edit your photos (crop, modify brightness, etc…) do that first. Many photo editors will strip out the EXIF properties.
* start ‘DocuPhoto.xls’
* select the ‘Browse’ button for ‘Source:’
- hold down the Shift key to select multiple files
* ignore the ‘Target:’ field
* select the ‘Rename’ tab
* my favorite naming convention is to check all the renaming boxes except uncheck the first box (“use prefix field”) and the last box (“use new extension”)
* Change your suffix to something related to the photo. My default is my last name.
* The ‘File Extended Properties’ doesn’t populate the photo properties like it should but I fill it out anyway.
* The IPTC properties are saved with the photo but I’m not sure where. The IPTC properties are detected by Flickr when you upload photos.
* When you are finished on the ‘ReName’ tab, go back to the ‘Control Console’ tab and select ‘Start’.
See if the photo filenames match what you wanted. (If not, you can do it again.)=============================================
Examples #1:
A user took several photographs at his family reunion. He downloaded the pictures from his camera into a folder. The files have the following names:
IMG_5463.jpg
IMG_5464.jpg
…
IMG_5488.jpg
Using ‘DocuPhoto’, this user was quickly able to do the following in one process:
* changed the file names to a more logical format “Reunion_yyyymmdd_iii.jpg”
Reunion_20080715_001.jpg
Reunion_20080715_002.jpg
…
Reunion_20080715_109.jpg
* documented each photo with the following information in the extended file properties:
TITLE = “2008 Morgan Family Reunion”
SUBJECT = “Morgan Family Reunion in Shongaloo, LA”
AUTHOR = “Joe Smith (817)939-5671″
COMMENT = “2008-JUL-15; USA, LA, Webster Parish, Shongaloo; The Morgan family reunion was held at the community center. We had 135 people show up.”
* Reduced the size of the photos from +6,000 KB to about 900 KB with negligible loss of resolution, saving space on the hard drive.
Note:
Depending upon your operating system, you can right-click on many photography files, especially JPEG files, and edit extended property fields such as “Subject”, “Author”, “comments”, etc… These fields will remain with the file forever and is a method of documenting photographs (i.e. electronically “writing info on the back of the photo”)
1.0 RENAME FILES
The most common process for ‘DocuPhoto’ is to rename photo and video files to a more logical format. The author’s personal favorite method of renaming files is:
yyyymmdd_hhnn_iii_topic.EXT
where:
yyyymmdd = date the picture was taken in YEAR-MONTH-DATE format. This format allows the files to be sorted chronologically.
hhnn = hour and minutes the photo was taken, in 24 hour format (e.g. “_0935″, “_1533″, etc…)
iii = sequential numbering (e.g. “_001″, “_002″, “_003″, etc…)
topic = a short description of the event (e.g. “_Renunion”, “_Wedding”, “_Church”, etc…)
EXT = the file extension (usually unchanged): “JPG” for photos or “AVI” for videos
For almost all digital cameras, the date the photo was taken is stored with the file and is usable for this renaming process. Most video camera files do not have a “Date Picture Taken” field and therefore the “Create Date” is used. NOTE: For this reason, you should carefully set the date and time on your digital cameras and video cameras.
In the original example given “Reunion_20080715_002.jpg” was:
topic_yyyymmdd_iii.EXT
TO SELECT THE FILE NAMING FORMAT:
* Start the program ‘DocuPhoto’.
* Select the tab ‘ReName’
* Be sure to check the box “change filename” at the top of the form
COMMON EXAMPLES AND HOW TO SET THE FORMAT:
“20080715_1130_001_MorganReunion.jpg”
use prefix field (UNcheck this box)
use ‘Date Picture Taken’ (CHECK)
format: “yyyymmdd_”
use ‘Time Picture Taken’ (CHECK)
format: “hhmm_”
adjust: “+0″
24 hour time (CHECK)
use increment field (CHECK)
format: “000_”
start: “001″
use odd numbers (CHECK)
use suffix field (CHECK)
“MorganReunion”
use new extension (UNcheck this box)
= = = = = = = = = = =
“Reunion_15-JUL-2008_001.jpg” (prefix field with DAY-MONTH-YEAR format)
use prefix field (CHECK)
“Reunion_”
use ‘Date Picture Taken’ (CHECK)
format: “dd-mmm-yyyy_”
use ‘Time Picture Taken’ (UNcheck this box)
use increment field (CHECK)
format: “000_”
start: “001″
use odd numbers (UNcheck this box)
use suffix field (UNcheck this box)
use new extension (UNcheck this box)
= = = = = = = = = = = =
EXPLANATION OF THE FILENAME NOMENCLATURE PARAMETERS:
use prefix field
- allows an identical label at the start of each filename
use ‘Date Picture Taken’
- uses the ‘Date Picture Taken’ value as a filename parameter
The formatting options are vast:
yyyy = four digit year (i.e. “2008″ for 2008)
yy = two digit year (i.e. “08″ for 2008)
mm = two digit month (i.e. “01″ for January, “12″ for December)
mmm = three character month (i.e. “Jan” for January, “Dec” for December)
dd = two digit date (i.e. “09″ for the 9th)
ddd = three digit day of the week (i.e. “Wed” for Wednesday)
example #1 (suggested):
“yyyymmdd” gives you “20081107″ for Nov 7, 2008.
example #2:
“mmm dd, yyyy ddd” gives you “Nov 07, 2008 Fri”
(note: the author does not encourage users to use commas or spaces in their filenames)
use use prefix field (UNcheck this box)
use ‘Date Picture Taken’ (CHECK)
format: “yyyymmdd_”
use ‘Time Picture Taken’ (CHECK)
format: “hhmm_”
adjust: “+0″
24 hour time (CHECK)
use increment field (CHECK)
format: “000_”
start: “001″
use odd numbers (CHECK)
use suffix field (CHECK)
“MorganReunion”
use new extension (UNcheck this box)
format: “yyyymmdd_”
use ‘Time Picture Taken’ (CHECK)
format: “hhmm_”
adjust: “+0″
24 hour time (CHECK)
use increment field (CHECK)
format: “000_”
start: “001″
use odd numbers (CHECK)
use suffix field (CHECK)
“MorganReunion”
use new extension (UNcheck this box)
Other options are possible including using the original filename with additional parameters. If you have a favorite, please email it to us and we may add it to these examples.
HelpDesk@coltsoft.com
HINTS AND TIPS:
1.0 The first time DocuPhoto is run, you will need to browse to the folder with your photos. DocuPhoto will remember this location and make it easier to browse to new photos later.
SUGGESTED OPERATION:
* Learn to operate your camera. Use the menu settings and be sure every camera in your house has the date/time accurately set. Otherwise, when you mix the photos from different photographers (i.e. your kids or parents) they will be jumbled chronologically.
* Take many photos at events. Digital photography costs nothing to take extra photos – you can always delete them. Your chances of getting a good photo increases with more photos.
* Transfer the photos from your camera to your computer often. This will keep your SD card from filling up at an inopportune time and it will make you document events while they are fresh on your mind.
* The following method of organizing my digital photos and video has worked well:
* Using Windows Explorer, browse to “My Documents” then browse to “My Pictures”
* I created three folders under “My Pictures”: “Master”, “Compressed”, and “Collections”
The “Master” folder has the latest photos.
The “Compressed” folder has all my photos but compressed in size to reduce space on my hard drive.
The “Collections” has various groups of photos for picture frames and slide shows and other presentations.
* The “Master” folder has my raw JPEG photos from my camera. Due to lack of hard drive space, I eventually had to delete older raw photos. But before doing so, I copied the raw files to an external hard drive. I then compressed and moved them to my “Compressed” folder. This allows me access to all of my photos without using up all of my hard drive space.
* The “Master” folder is organized by months. Under “Master” I have:
“200712a_Bauer”, “200801a_Bauer”, “200802a_Bauer”, … “200812a_Bauer”
* Under each month, I have batches of photos taken the same day grouped together. Under “200712a_Bauer” I have:
“20071202a_StateFair”, “20071203a_StaffParty”, “20071210a_Church” …
* When I come home from an event, I create a new folder for that event (i.e. “20081031_HalloweenParty”) and dump all the photos from that event from my camera into this folder.
Note that I “cut-and-paste” from my camera to my folder. Cutting will remove the photos from your SD card.
* Be sure transfer other photos from other cameras if you have roommates or family members who also took photos.
* Edit the photos using your favorite photo editor (cropping, brightness adjustment, etc…)
* Run ‘DocuPhoto’ to rename and document the photo files.
* Backup these files to an external hard drive.
* Replace your SD card back into the camera if you removed it. Recharge the camera batteries to be sure it is ready to go again.
* Check the date on your camera!
If you have any questions concerning this application or if you have a need for an additional feature, please contact us at: HelpDesk@coltsoft.com