iPad photo sort order changed with iOS 5

Hi Petr80.

Interesting fact, which I can agree with. When I sync my iPad 2 from files on a network drive the all get scrumbled on my iPad. When they are on the local disk on the machine where iTunes is installed they are 99% fine (I only found one picture not in order). So the problem does not seem to be only iOS5 related. Most likely it's the new async way of synchronizing iTunes with the iOS which scrambled things up...

Does have anybody more experience with this? Is there anybody who also has the random sorting problem with pictures on the local drive?

Cheers.

Hi Petr80,

good point. I too have this problem since IOS5. My files are on a Samba-Share on a QNAP-NAS. This was no problem under IOS4. Now the sort-order seems to be completly random. I use symbolic links to point to the folders I want to sync.

I wondered why there were not much more complaints about this issue - if this is limited to people storing their files on network share this could be a explanation.

So to me this makes it a bug - the sort order should not be affected by the storage location. It worked under IOS4.

Cheers

A good workaround is using the FileBrowser App.

While its main function is accessing files on remote computers, it has got a very nice Photo Library function.

This allows sorting and viewing pictures in a folder ordered alphabetically and 4 other sorts. Problem solved.

It also can show the name of a (photo) file.

If not so much annoyance for all of us, it would be funny that a secondary function of an app outperforms the native iOS5 Photo Viewer.

Wel, I got 2 of those 3rd party apps, they both allow different sorting types, alphabetical, date of photo taken etc. Photo manager Pro allows alos simply dragging around of photos to the place you want it to have. Seems that everybody else seems to get it right, except Apple. The only thing that goes for the iOS photo app is its elegant Gui.

It is long overdue that they leave it to the user how to sort photos and finally add that to this app.

Bernie

Hi i have a similar configuration: my Photos are stored on a thecus nas and access from iTunes is via SAMBA. I found out that the actual sort order of the photos equals the order the files are listet by the DIR-command in the directory respectivley. Unfortunately the DIRCMD Option /ON does not work as a workaround.

I tried a lot differnent worarounds:

- change the EXIF-dates

- change the filenames

- rewrite the whole folder

...nothing worked for me.

So it seems to me, that iOS 5 ignores the EXIF-Tags, and ignores the Date and Times-settings of the files and it ignores the filenames.

I would call this definetly a bug.

And of course it is not possible to sort the Potos manually on the iPad in an extra folder.

So are there any new insights?

I tried to rename photos in a folder after my custom sort, but after sync via iTunes they still have the same chaotic and wrong ordering.

Where can one write to directly contact Apple about that problem?

thanks

Bernie

I switched to non-native FileBrowser. This app is not free but offers all flexibility on pictures and more. You easily connect to other computers around the house. Too bad that Apple is not fixing this bug. Maybe in a next IOS version?

Me too, photomanager pro, works quite well, allows custom sort, shows EXIFs (another essential shortcoming of the iOS photo viewer). UNfortunately those alternatives are not as sleak as the native viewer, opening/ closing of albums etc.

The really annoying part about this is that they had a working app, and they made it worse. People who built up a big collection of photos cannot use it anymore properly. I have a growing album of my little daughter. The chronologic order is the most natural, showing her growing up gradually. Now with the messed up order this gallery has lost it's charme.

Apple - wake up! And integrate user selectable ordering modes.

Bernhard

I contacted them, but did not receive an answer - but when sending the message, they immediately said that they are unable to answer inquiries individually.

I guess hundreds should complain about this, before Applejudges this a relevant issue...

Cheers

Bernie

I also contacted the apple support, and they called me back.

After explaining the problem they told me, that this is not known to apple support.

They checked another database, nothing.

So the problem I have, nobody else has it - according to apple. I mentioned that

the problem could be found at several forums in the internet, but I was not allowed to

send the a mail, because this is not possible. They told me.

I had the same problem that the sort order was messed up after an update to iOS5.

I also just found out that iOS 5 seems to have a problem with network shares. I used to store my photos to be synced on a SAMBA share on a linux box. I am working with Windows 7 and NTFS on my local computer. I tried to change the exif dates (DateTimeOriginal, DateTimeDigitized, CreateDate), the file modification or creation date and the file name to define the sort order. Nothing helped.

Then I moved the files to my local hard drive. Still all exif dates and file modification or creation dates are ignored. The files are sorted by filename only (0001.jpg, 0002.jpg...).

My solution: move the files to your local drive.

Hi,

Same problem here but SOLVED :-) (for now?)

At the moment I have only one album on my ipad, imported via iTunes, with JPG pics only (no raw)

I have the random order problem both while the pics were imported from an external HD as well as when imported from internal Laptop drive.

What resolved the problem for me was just deleting the "ipod photo cashe" folder from my laptop. (hmm strange that it is called IPOD photo cashe folder). (make a backup first, just in case)

then resync with iTunes (took only seconds)

iTunes then builds a new cashe folder

pics are now in the order I want them.

My photos are named by date (i allways name by date + number when I import pics from camera to Laptop) so if it ist true that iPad does not use EXIF info then it must have reorganized by name.

I hope this also works after i have imported more albums via iTunes to iPad.

good luck.

This solution doesn't seem to apply to Windows systems, at least I did not find the described "iPOD (or iPAD) photo cashe" - This remains a huge bug in the iOS photo app that makes the app which was already weak in the beginning even worse. A photo app that doesn't let you control how to order the pics is below acceptable.

Apple seems to prefer to imlement modern fashionable stuff like "photo stream" (that doesn't let you control anything either), but does not fix the basic functions.

Bernie

clausfromhamburg: yes, your solution is working for me as well (I wrote about this solution on the previous page). But this is a little bit uncomfortable :-(

Applebginnr: I tried your instruction many times but this is not working for me. My iPod photo cache is stored on network drive and its deleting is useless.