iPhone naming convention with IMG_nnnn query

I have a free DropBox account and I have learned that you can install the app on your iPhone and then upload the files to a DropBox folder. When you do that you get a formatted name that includes a partial date, excluding the year. That works for my media and I just need to give family and friends DropBox access to upload to it also, which fixes the names.

I can also use a Powershell script on a directory, IF the Date Taken or Media Created date is still there. Those dates can be lost through file transfers, uploads and downloads. My kids load files to my OneDrive and I can download them and run the script on the photos. For some reason the videos lose their Date Taken when downloaded so they have to upload to DropBox through the app on their phones or I have to manually rename them using the date still available in OneDrive.

The Powershell script is the best because it can be done on my computer and there's no 2 GB size limit on the folder. It also includes the full timestamp and original name.

DropBox Rename

Powershell Script Rename

I have a couple of ancient digital cameras and I don't recall the naming convention, but you're probably right in that they have something similar. My brother has a Canon EOS and I get his IMG_ files. I guess they all still do it.

I cannot describe the frustration that comes with trying to coordinate iPhone pics and vids in a video editor from several people whose IMG_ lines up with each other. 8.3 naming went out in the 90s in computers. IMG_ is useless and could even be eliminated since it's not unique.

As far as Canon, Nikon, et al are concerned, well, yes, they have the same disease. I have only my brother with a digital camera, and I have to split those out to their own folder to avoid the duplicates issue. I do have some workarounds, including a Powershell script that will pull the timestamp out of the metadata and prefix the original name with a timestamp. I have had problems with some file transfers that strip out the Date Taken/Media Created fields, and they are the only reliable date fields.

If you deal with only your photos\videos I can see where it's not a problem. I have 3 kids, 10 fishing buddies and at least 2 neighbors with iPhones. That's a LOT of IMG_xxxx files. My son went to Spain for a 660 mile walk last year. He had almost 3,000 IMG_ files for me to put into a video of his adventures. Thankfully he found a way to convert them into a usable timestamp name.

At least Samsung has moved on to timestamps in the name. That's a little help, just a little.

I do thank you for listening and providing feedback :-)

-Don Quixote

Thanks, OT. I am assuming these Apple scripts require a MAC and I'm on Windows 11. I have script that I can run to change the name to include the date and original date. It's a bit clunky but it works for me if the Date Taken is in the metadata. Downloading pics from OneDrive have it but videos do not. I'm trying to get Microsoft to fix that.