Why does renaming masters take so long?

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Level 1

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Why does renaming masters take so long?

I've used Aperture since version 1, and have mostly been happy. But I've always wondered why, when doing a batch rename with "Apply to master files" checked, does it take so long?

A few minutes ago, I started the process for a mere 256 photos and I'm still sitting here waiting as it renames originals. This behavior is across all libraries and it even happens on a brand new small library.

The Finder can rename files almost instantly. iView Media Pro could do it as well (in 2005). I hope somebody can come up with a logical reason why in 2013 a simple master filename rename is the slowest part of our workflow.

For anybody saying to just rename them on import, I would rather wait until all cards from all cameras from an event are imported, arrange them by date so the renamed file sequence number is in the order that they were shot. If I rename them on import, the sequence numbers won't be chronological and that is why I don't rename on import (unless I've only shot on one camera, which is rare).

Does anybody see this changing in the future? (I've been sending regular feedback suggesting more robust renaming tools since 2007. Can I do anything else to speed this up?).

The rename process is done. Took > 5 minutes to rename 256 files. Seems like an eternity. It's been slow on every computer I've ever had, current one is Mac Pro 2 x 2.26 quad-core Xeon with 24 GB RAM, Application and startup drive is SSD, media files are on HDD.

Mac Pro (Early 2009), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Apr 22, 2013 7:12 AM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

195,053 points

Apr 22, 2013 10:01 AM in response to hallerphoto

media files are on HDD.

Renaming needs some time, but not that much. I just renamed 50 files, and it took 2 seconds at most.

How is your HDD connected? Do you have a fast connection? FireWire, Thunderbolt, USB3? Or a slower connection?

How full is your HDD? Can it be, that you are running out of disk space?

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Answer 2

hallerphoto Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 22, 2013 10:14 AM in response to léonie

The HDD is in the computer (esata). Hard drive is < 30% full. Has occurred on different drives in different configurations.

This has been one constant of Aperture, though it sometimes is faster than it is other times. Occasionally, this will be quite a bit faster, but it's been occurring since we started using Aperture (in 2007).

Libraries are repaired regularly and copied to reformatted drives fairly regularly.

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Answer 3

heff_sf

Level 1

70 points

Apr 22, 2013 1:03 PM in response to hallerphoto

Hallerphoto, is the disk formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled)? I agree, 5 minutes seems really long for 250 files. Have you tried running Verify Disk Permissions and Verify Disk (via Disk Utility) on that drive (and any other connected drives)? If either verify pass reports problems run the corresponding Repair Disk Permissions or Repair Disk operation, and repeat until no more errors are found.

It's a good idea to backup your important data to another drive before running the Repair operations just to be safe.

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Answer 4

léonie

Level 10

195,053 points

Apr 22, 2013 1:18 PM in response to heff_sf

If either verify pass reports problems run the corresponding Repair Disk Permissions or Repair Disk operation, and repeat until no more errors are found.

heff_sf,

"Repair Disk" - that is a good idea, if you suspect a broken file system, but not "Repair Permissions" - I'd always prefer Aperture's built-in "Repair Permissions" to Disk Utilities's Permission repair. Disk Utility simply does not know the permissions required for an Aperture Library. The Aperture Library First Aid Tools have been specifically designed to deal with the database.

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Answer 5

Apr 22, 2013 4:18 PM in response to hallerphoto

Is there _anything_ else in your set-up that could be adding to the time it takes to write the names to disk? Disk-mirroring? Back-ups? Some kind of indexing (Launchbar, etc.)?

I rename tens of thousands of files, and while it is not instantaneous, I don't have to wait five minutes for a thousand files or more.

You might try something outside Aperture, such as the excellent NameMangler, just to see if batch renaming several hundred files is slow there. NameMangler was recently upgraded. It works astoundingly fast.

If you can't resolve this, you might be able to work around it by importing all files into a Finder folder, arranging by date, and then importing into Aperture and renaming on import. (I'm not positive this will work -- and I'm sorry, but I can't check it right now.)

HTH.

--Kirby.

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