Q: Where are photo file names?

"I think learning Applescript without a Mac would be extremely difficult. Perhaps it is time to break down & buy a Mac to see why so many people like them? "

I know that Macs are great in many ways, but still too pricy for me.

However I do have access to one of my client's MacBook Airs (she has 3 Macs) on occasion for limited use.

I recently updated her OS's from Mavericks and Lion to Yosemite mainly to allow easy syncing of all her photos across various devices.

But she was very disappointed when the names that used to show up in iPhoto didn't appear in Photos.

(The Info window that comes up with Command-I doesn't do it for her.)

I said I'd look for another solution and I'm glad I found this discussion, which is very relevant.

So I'm looking over some of the scripts listed here and will try them out when I get a chance.

Appreciate all the contributions.

- J

If she has entered titles in iPhoto they should show up in Photos below the thumbnails.  If they don't, go to View > Metadata and add a check mark by Titles.  If the "Name" is the file name,  there is a script earlier in this thread to make the title equal to the filename.

Jay

Here's a use case for why filenames to titles are important.

It may also shed light on why Apple's current version did not implement it. For context, Photoshop released around 1990, iPhoto was available in 2002, USB 2.0 scanners in 2002-2004,  the first digital SLR (under $1000) in 2003, Aperture in 2005, the first iPhone (including camera) in 2007.  [I owned Macs from 1985 to 1993. PCs from 1993 to 2006. Macs from 2006 to present. When I moved back to Macs in 2006, the photos came over as files, mostly TIF.]

So therefore, the photos in my Photos library are of two main kinds: (1) scanned photos from prints or negatives in the era before digital photography. (2) Photos taken with digital cameras.

The scanned photos came from a flatbed digital scanner. They were scanned one by one. And the consumer level scanning software of the day did not allow entry of EXIF or IPTC data. The metadata was the file name and the file date. And the file date was fragile. File operation like copying or restoring from backup often changed it.  So one carefully labeled the name of each file.

When I moved to the Mac, they were loaded into iPhoto and the file names showed up and they were useful because I had named each of the scanned photos carefully by hand. It’s this information that I’d like to automatically copy as the initial value of titles.  These names are absolutely valuable. And being able to quickly copy them to titles would be wonderful. Applescript seems possible but quirky. I’m hoping Apple addresses this more directly

I agree with Apple that the file names associated with digital photography are much less useful.  And also realize than many of their customers have few photos that came from scans. In fact all of this generation photos may be coming only for iPhones.  But….....

It is still useful to do this, and I am keeping it up with my digital photos taken with the cameras. I always batch change the filenames on import in aperture to amore descriptive filename.

I agree with Apple that the file names associated with digital photography are much less useful.

It depends on how you are using your photos.  The filename with a number is at least a reference to identify the file.  A common use of the filenames might be to show the recent Photos in the moments and have the family, friends,  or customers pick the ones they want copies from. Now the moments do not even show "IMG 111" or similar below the thumbnails, so that it can be referenced in a list. We have to directly create albums while the photos are selected. I would not want my friends to drag photos to albums while selecting photos  from my library. I prefer them to say "Please send me photo 100, 200, 250" and "please delete number 50 immediately".

I have had some interesting discussion on the subject of picture Title and filename.  I have a wonderful filename system that has served me well over the years.  The pictures are easy to find and when someone wants me to do something on a particular picture all they need to do is give me the number. 

BUT, that filename is not embedded in the picture file itself.  However, the Title is embedded into the picture file and has a formal space in the IPTC world.  The structure of the filename or what is allowed to be the structure of the filename may be different across different operating systems and may also change over time even within one operating system.  Given this, the long term stability of a filename may not be as good as one would desire; however, the embedded IPTC Title 'should be more stable long term.'

Since it seems Photos is heavily focused on the iPhone, iPad with integration with the Mac and their different operating systems through the cloud, I can readily understand why Apple is pushing for the use/focus on picture titles. 

To facilitate this process, I believe Apple should provide for a tool that takes the filename and inserts it into the IPTC Title field.  There are a couple of Applescripts, one of which I can get to work and the other I can not get it to work.

Hello Léonie,

I'm trying to use the script you wrote here Script: Batch Changing the Titles to the Filename w/Extension

But I get an error message...

I'm using a French MacOS. Maybe is there something to change in the script due to localization?

Thanks

This issue is #1 for me, and I have another thread started until I found this one.  I have 22,000+ scanned images, all organized by filename, which iPhoto used.  Apple then degraded iPhoto into Photos, without notice, and all my several years' work is negated.  I desperately need to sort by, organize and view filenames -- I don't care and don't use the "date and time the photo was taken", it doesn't exist.  Maybe moving the filename, or preferably the part to the left of the (.jpg) into the title, and then sorting by title is a good workaround to this bug.

Apple has never responded to any of the posts that I've followed over the years.  I don't know what they pay attention to and what they don't.  But, if Apple is reading this -- please, please, do not degrade capabilities for your software, especially with no notice.  I spent a lot of time getting iPhoto to do my job, now anything I do on iPhoto is not transferred to Photos, and the sorting and the organizing capability in Photos is non-existent.  This problem really needs help.  I really do not understand how such a degradation can happen.

To those who wrote scripts, I will review them, and contribute to the solution of this important problem.  Let's see if we can build a workaround together.

Thank you all!!!  - Andy

Are you using iCloud Photo Library?  Then the script will not work well with Photos. The problem is the line "get selection".

Photos selected this way may give timeout errors.

I just updated the user tip, so it uses the work-around for this problem proposed by NicFletcher:  Don't ask for the current selection, but add the photos you want to process to an album with a fixed name.

• Create an album with a fixed name - mycurrentselection or similar - and add all photos you want to process to this album.
• Instead of the "get current selection" process the photos in this album.

-- batch change the title of images to the filename

(* How to use this script:

Open this script in Script Editor. Launch Photos.

The photos can be passed to the script in two ways:

1. Either select photos while viewing the  "All Photos" album; this works better than Moments or smart albums

2. Or collect the Photos in a top level defined album with a fixed name.

If you want to select the photos without collecting them in an album, set the variable "ReadFromAlbum" to false

If you want to pass the photos in a toplevel album, set ReadFromAlbum to true and change the variable "theAlbumName" to the name of the album you are using.

When all all photo are selected or in the album and all parameters set, press the "Run" button in Scripteditor.

*)

set ReadFromAlbum to true

-- set this to true, if you want to pass the photos in a toplevel album

set theAlbumName to "PhotoDropBox" -- change this to the name of the album you will use

set imageSel to {}

tell application "Photos"

  activate

  if (ReadFromAlbum) then -- the photos will be passed in a toplevel album named "PhotoDropBox"

  try

  if exists container theAlbumName then

  set thePhotosBuffer to container theAlbumName

  set imageSel to every media item of thePhotosBuffer

  else

  error "Album " & theAlbumName & "does not exist"

  end if

  on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo

  display dialog "Cannot open album: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

  end try

  else -- process the selected photos from the All Photos album

  try

  set imageSel to (get selection)

  on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo

  display dialog "Cannot get the selection: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

  end try

  end if

  -- check, if the album or the selected photos do contain images

  if imageSel is {} then

  error "Please select some images."

  else

  repeat with im in imageSel

  try

  tell im

  set its name to its filename

  end tell

  on error errText number errNum

  display dialog "Error: " & errNum & return & errText & "Trying again"

  try

  delay 2

  tell im

  set its name to its filename

  end tell

  on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo

  display dialog "Skipping image due to repeated error: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

  end try

  end try

  end repeat

  end if

end tell

-- display dialog "Done"

return "Done"

Thanks for your answer.

No, I don't use iCloud Photo Library.

As I have difficulties to understand all of the explanations you wrote in your latest answer (no experience in script editing and language barrier...), could you just tell me what would be the correct (simpliest) applescript to use in this case?

Thanks

If you are continually getting error messages with the script you are using, either try if it will work better if you only select the photos in the "All Photos" album.

Or try the second version I posted above.  It will change the titles of all photos that are in an album named "PhotoDropBox".

This album needs to be a regular album, not a smart album, and at the top level of the library, not inside a folder.

Copy and paste the complete text below into a Script Editor window, save the script, and press the run button, after you created your album in Photos.

set ReadFromAlbum to true

-- set this to true, if you want to pass the photos in a toplevel album

set theAlbumName to "PhotoDropBox" -- change this to the name of the album you will use

set imageSel to {}

tell application "Photos"

  activate

  if (ReadFromAlbum) then -- the photos will be passed in a toplevel album named "PhotoDropBox"

  try

  if exists container theAlbumName then

  set thePhotosBuffer to container theAlbumName

  set imageSel to every media item of thePhotosBuffer

  else

  error "Album " & theAlbumName & "does not exist"

  end if

  on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo

  display dialog "Cannot open album: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

  end try

  else -- process the selected photos from the All Photos album

  try

  set imageSel to (get selection)

  on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo

  display dialog "Cannot get the selection: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

  end try

  end if

  -- check, if the album or the selected photos do contain images

  if imageSel is {} then

  error "Please select some images."

  else

  repeat with im in imageSel

  try

  tell im

  set its name to its filename

  end tell

  on error errText number errNum

  display dialog "Error: " & errNum & return & errText & "Trying again"

  try

  delay 2

  tell im

  set its name to its filename

  end tell

  on error errTexttwo number errNumtwo

  display dialog "Skipping image due to repeated error: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

  end try

  end try

  end repeat

  end if

end tell

-- display dialog "Done"

return "Done"

Leonie

I see the scripts in this thread.

Is there a recommended "final" version?

Thanks.

Thank you very much; the second script worked perfectly (for thousands of pics)!

Now that it's done, do you know if there is a mean in an album, to have pics sorted by title (alphabetical order)?

(I only see by import date or manually)

Not yet. The next version of Photos will have more sorting options. See the preview of of El Capitan:  Apple — OS X El Capitan

I appreciate this dialog....  No, I don't use ICloud for anything, I just want to manage and view my own photos on my own computer.

I did try the script (first one), and although it's a little manually intensive, I did assign my filenames to the title for each image.  Thank you!!!!  That helps me identify each image, but without the ability to sort on anything but "date taken" (which is completely useless for me), my albums remain a complete mess.  I clicked on a folder name, and chose "sort by name", but that sorted the menu, not the contents.  No help.

I tried to create a new smart album, see if I can figure out a way to bypass all these problems, but when I edit an image (e.g., delete), it deletes the image no only from my smart folder, but also from the library.  So, i clicked on help "delete photos in album", and related variants, but all I get is a list of instructions how I can share these images on line with my family and everyone else.....  No help.  I cannot figure out how to remove an image from an album only, and leave it in the library).

I looked at my iPhoto albums.  All my images are there -- but is that my library?  It acts like it's only an album.  If so, I can't find the library.  Also some of my albums that I used to have, now have no contents.  One printed album that I had was called "obsolete", and removed from my collection altogether -- and replaced with a random print album template -- with no content at all.

Waiting for El Capitan to get useful sort options, means waiting at least four months for the first release.  In my experience with Mac OS releases so far, every first release, and usually two, have significant bugs.  So I don't update my OS for at least three releases.  That means, I can't get image sorting for about 4-9 months from now.  That's interesting, as sorting algorithms are always included in the most basic programming courses -- this is not difficult.

Being a complainer is not in my character, but so far, with Photos, I can't sort, I can't organize my images, I can't find help on anything but how to share my images, or point me to the menu item with the same name -- neither is useful.

Can I get iPhoto back?  That did the job just fine, but most of it's features were simply deleted in Photos....

Finally, I tried other photo organizers: Adobe charges $10/month, but does not simply sell it.  Picassa is owned by Google, and I read its "Terms and Conditions", and Google reserves the right to take any an all my images and market or distribute them any way that they want.  Figures.

Does anyone have some advice on a good photo organizer, where I can just organize and view my photos? 

My apologies for the long list, but this problem is getting rather ridiculous.  I can't even help myself....

-  Andy

I just want to manage and view my own photos on my own computer.

Ok - that is what iPhoto does - actually quiet well

I can't sort,

You can sort - you just have extremely limited sort options

I can't organize my images

Sure you can - you have an automatic organization with Moments and you can organize with as much detail as you want using Keywords, albums and folders

I can't find help on anything

Photos has a decent Help section - have you used it?  What is missing form it that you need?

but how to share my images

Click on the Share icon - the rectangle with an up arrow in it - lots of share options there - if wha you want is not there check in the system references under extensions and enable the ones you want

point me to the menu item with the same name

No idea what you want there

Can I get iPhoto back?

No need - it is not gone - it is in your Applications folder - use it (you need version 9.6.1 - if you were not up to date see Can't Update iPhoto because it is not available in the App Store

As to an alternative - nothing else comes close in overall capability for the price - LightRoom is a much more powerful system at a much higher price - Media View is another people have posted

Most of your complaints are incorrect so Basically you need to calm down, learn Photos and ask specific questions giving details or you need to find and use a different package - and no one can do that for you - you have to do it

LN