lisalisabol

Q: Why SO many random DCIM Folders?  I want ONE!

I have an ipone 4s.  I have had an iPhone for over 5 years now.  Before the DCIM folder would hold 1000 pictures.  As soon as I would take another picture (ei 1001) then it would start another folder for those thousand pictures.  So by time I got into the 5000+ I had over 5 folders.  They are random (ei 851PKYZB, 851XTGOR, 914ELZYG, etc.) Last month or so when I plugged my phone into the computer to copy my photos onto my desktop I had ONE folder.  It was glorious not to have to open every folder to figure out where the newest pictures were.

 

Then today I plug my phone into my computer to copy pictures over and I now have a folder for every 100 pictures.  YES TONS and TONS of folders (55 folders to be exact) and no rhythm or reason to the numbering system.  Some with only 1 picture in them, as I delete a lot of pictures after transferring to my computer.  So when I wanted to find todays pictures I had to open over half of them to find my pictures.

 

HOW do I get it back to ONE folder?  I understand the reason there is a DCIM folder to begin with, but I really think I should be able to have 1 folder or at least have them numbered 100APPLE, 101APPLE, or something that is numeric and I know that the very last folder are the new pictures.  Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  (I have the newest iOS 8.1.2) Thanks in advance.

iOS 7.1

Posted on Dec 13, 2014 6:24 AM

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Q: Why SO many random DCIM Folders?  I want ONE!

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  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 7, 2015 7:00 AM in response to punimitsu
    Level 9 (50,245 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 7, 2015 7:00 AM in response to punimitsu

    punimitsu wrote:

     

    hmmmmmmmmmmmm TJBUSMC1973 don't like your tone, or your unhelpful comments

    So?

     

    What is your tech support question, or are you just wasting our time by ranting on about other posters?

  • by punimitsu,

    punimitsu punimitsu Jul 7, 2015 7:38 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 7, 2015 7:38 AM in response to Csound1

    My question is the same as the title of this thread...

     

    So.... do you have an answer, or are you just wasting our time ranting on about other posters?

     

    oh the sweet irony

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 7, 2015 7:40 AM in response to punimitsu
    Level 9 (50,245 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 7, 2015 7:40 AM in response to punimitsu

    Sorry, I don't like your tone, or your unhelpful replies.

     

    Good luck.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Jul 7, 2015 8:10 AM in response to punimitsu
    Level 8 (37,864 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 7, 2015 8:10 AM in response to punimitsu

    The answer has been posted many times in this thread. To summarize it:

     

    Note that NONE of these require you to know anything about DCIM folders.

     

    If you have a Mac, don't use Finder. Instead use one of the following apps: Image Transfer, iPhoto or Aperture to view and import your pictures.

     

    If you have Windows, don't use Windows Explorer. For XP use the Camera and Scanner Wizard, for Windows 7 and later, use Import pictures and videos. Here are the full instructions from Windows Help:

     

    How do I get pictures from my camera to my computer?

    Here's one common way to copy pictures and video clips from your digital camera to your computer:

    1. Connect the camera to your computer by using the camera's USB cable.
    2. Turn on the camera.
    3. In the AutoPlay dialog box that appears, click Import pictures and videos using Windows.
    4. (Optional) To tag the pictures, type a tag name in the Tag these pictures (optional) box.
    5. By default, the folder name includes the date the pictures and videos are imported and the tag name.
    6. Click Import.
    7. A new window opens and shows the imported pictures and videos.

     

    For either Mac or Windows, use a 3rd party photo manager, such as Google Picasa or Nikon ViewNX. Both are free. There are also tools that are not free but work well.

     

    If you have iOS 8.3 or later, go to Settings/iCloud and turn on iCloud photos. Pictures will be transferred to iCloud as soon as they are taken. The can be viewed and managed by logging in to https://icloud.com. If you have a Mac you can also see them in Yosemite's Photos app.

     

    For yet another option, you can use apps from Google and Shutterfly to upload them to Picasa or Shutterfly.

     

    For yet another option, you can save them to dropbox or box.com.

     

    To help further, Apple provides the following tech tip: Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or Windows PC - Apple Support

  • by punimitsu,

    punimitsu punimitsu Jul 7, 2015 8:36 AM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 7, 2015 8:36 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

    Thanks Lawrence!

    Great to see someone actually being *helpful* in this so-called community

     

    I didn't manage to read the 15 pages of comments, so this is a really useful summary...

     

    I got to page 2, and was rather shocked by the nasty, unhelpful comments from TKBUSMC1973, Csound1 et al...

    not sure why these people even bother engaging in a Support community!!!

     

    Anyway - I use iCloud folder on my home PC - and backup via iTunes once in a while.... no problems with all that.

     

    It's more about when I've just taken a few pics and want to get *just those* onto a laptop (e.g. work laptop, or a friend's) quickly and easily.

    I think a few people were saying similar things...

     

    AirDrop does the trick beautifully for Macs, but there's a bit of a gap for PCs...

  • by w3dk,

    w3dk w3dk Jul 7, 2015 9:03 AM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 7, 2015 9:03 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

    Yes, great summary Lawrence!

     

    Now, if no-one else posts another word then Lawrence's post will be right there for everyone to easily see! (Ahem, this post will self-destruct and be deleted in a short period of time! We can delete posts, right?)

     

    (Just to add, you can also "search" the folders (for example, *.jpg) - in Windows Explorer - to get an ordered, flat list of files. - This has also been mentioned previously.)

  • by tab1075,

    tab1075 tab1075 Jul 8, 2015 1:56 PM in response to punimitsu
    Level 1 (50 points)
    Jul 8, 2015 1:56 PM in response to punimitsu

    punimitsu wrote:

     

    Thanks Lawrence!

    Great to see someone actually being *helpful* in this so-called community

     

    I didn't manage to read the 15 pages of comments, so this is a really useful summary...

     

    I got to page 2, and was rather shocked by the nasty, unhelpful comments from TKBUSMC1973, Csound1 et al...

    not sure why these people even bother engaging in a Support community!!!

     

    Since you only made it to page 2, you're unaware of who has actually caused more trouble in this thread. The one you're thanking is the same one who basically said, and I'm paraphrasing, he's glad the fools stick to this thread so we don't ruin the rest of the community forums. He and another user you mentioned keep returning here to insult everyone, then report our comments for deletion when we defend ourselves. I just had a second comment deleted that in no way contained "inappropriate statements or comments," as the deletion notice claimed. The things these forum trolls have said have been much worse. We simply do not have enough points to report them.

     

    I've commended the one you're thanking on multiple occasions for offering alternate methods to transfer photos, but usually his "help" is in addition to insulting everyone who uses Windows Explorer. Windows Explorer is still a good tool to view photos on our phones and, to a certain extent, transfer them. While it's good to learn of new ways to view/transfer photos to a computer, I think it's important to address the Windows Explorer issue because, for one, it worked flawlessly for years. And because MANY iPhone owners will continue to use it. That may be because it's what they are used to or because they're not very tech savvy, etc. Whatever the reason, we're not fools for using it, as some here imply. We'd just like to see it regain the usefulness it had before.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Jul 8, 2015 1:57 PM in response to punimitsu
    Level 8 (37,864 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 8, 2015 1:57 PM in response to punimitsu

    .

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 8, 2015 2:10 PM in response to punimitsu
    Level 9 (50,245 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 8, 2015 2:10 PM in response to punimitsu

    punimitsu wrote:

     

    Thanks Lawrence!

    Great to see someone actually being *helpful* in this so-called community

     

    I didn't manage to read the 15 pages of comments, so this is a really useful summary...

     

    I got to page 2, and was rather shocked by the nasty, unhelpful comments from TKBUSMC1973, Csound1 et al...

     

    If you only read to page 2 you are lying now. I have exactly one post on those 2 pages, it's posted below for all to read. Tell me how it is nasty? Or are you just making things up as you have nothing truthful to post?

    Screen Shot 2015-07-08 at 16.07.29.png

  • by reefergeezer,

    reefergeezer reefergeezer Jul 13, 2015 8:53 AM in response to punimitsu
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 13, 2015 8:53 AM in response to punimitsu

    There will; always be people, like the users you quoted, who can't stand anything bad being said about Apple, no matter how true - strange, it's almost like they were employed by Apple. Classic example just above my post

     

    I appreciate the nice summary from Lawrence, but it still worked better previously

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Jul 13, 2015 8:56 AM in response to tab1075
    Level 9 (50,245 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 13, 2015 8:56 AM in response to tab1075

    tab1075 wrote:

     

    punimitsu wrote:

     

    Thanks Lawrence!

    Great to see someone actually being *helpful* in this so-called community

     

    I didn't manage to read the 15 pages of comments, so this is a really useful summary...

     

    I got to page 2, and was rather shocked by the nasty, unhelpful comments from TKBUSMC1973, Csound1 et al...

    not sure why these people even bother engaging in a Support community!!!

     

    Since you only made it to page 2, you're unaware of who has actually caused more trouble in this thread. The one you're thanking is the same one who basically said, and I'm paraphrasing, he's glad the fools stick to this thread so we don't ruin the rest of the community forums. He and another user you mentioned keep returning here to insult everyone, then report our comments for deletion when we defend ourselves. I just had a second comment deleted that in no way contained "inappropriate statements or comments," as the deletion notice claimed.

    Your opinion and the moderators opinion differ, are you saying the moderators are wrong about your (now excised) post?

     

    Either way, it is the moderators decision.

  • by drume,

    drume drume Jul 13, 2015 11:28 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Jul 13, 2015 11:28 AM in response to Csound1

    Criticism and differing opinions are fine as long as they actually contribute to the subject and have accurate information.  Some people need to vent their frustration with Apple on this issue, and that's okay too.  Further, telling them "it's not a bug, it's a feature" may be unhelpful in my opinion, but at least it's addressing the general topic.


    Can we just let the other stuff go?  Previous summaries like mine and Lawrence's are getting lost in the off-topic rants.

  • by Philly_Phan,

    Philly_Phan Philly_Phan Jul 13, 2015 11:39 AM in response to lisalisabol
    Level 6 (13,571 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 13, 2015 11:39 AM in response to lisalisabol

    I don't understand why you're even bothering with the folders.  I use PhotoStream as temporary storage for transfer to/from my Mac.  When I use my iPhone to take a photo, it's automatically duplicated in PhotoStream.  When convenient for me, I go to my computer and copy from PhotoStream to my hard drive (iPhoto).  Then I delete them from PhotoStream.  If I have photos on my computer that have been obtained elsewhere, I manually copy them to PhotoStream and then go to the iPhone and copy them.  Again, when finished I delete from PhotoStream.  Nu fuss, no bother.

  • by Philly_Phan,

    Philly_Phan Philly_Phan Jul 13, 2015 11:41 AM in response to w3dk
    Level 6 (13,571 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 13, 2015 11:41 AM in response to w3dk

    w3dk wrote:

     

    (Ahem, this post will self-destruct and be deleted in a short period of time! We can delete posts, right?)

    No.

  • by can128,

    can128 can128 Jul 13, 2015 11:57 AM in response to Philly_Phan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 13, 2015 11:57 AM in response to Philly_Phan

    See, in my situation, I use more than one computer.  My personal computer at my house is set up with PhotoStream, and it works half decently (sometimes takes a while for pictures to load).  On my computer at my office, I would much rather prefer to simply plug my phone in, extract whichever photos I have taken earlier that day, place them in the folders I need them in, delete them off my phone, and carry on with my day...

     

    I hope no one misinterprets my response as anything negative... Hesitant to reply to anything at this point.

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