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 Mshmaster,

    Mshmaster Mshmaster Mar 11, 2015 12:50 PM in response to lisalisabol
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 11, 2015 12:50 PM in response to lisalisabol

    I have the answer you are looking for.

     

    When you're in DCIM do a search on the top right for "*.*" (star period star) When you do this, the folders will still be on top, however if you scroll down the pictures will all be in order of date. so you can scroll down to your most recent pictures (just like on your phone) and you can drag those onto your PC, then afterwards sort and delete.

     

    All of those DCIM folders drove me nuts too, but this works.

  • by tab1075,

    tab1075 tab1075 Mar 11, 2015 1:07 PM in response to Mshmaster
    Level 1 (54 points)
    Mar 11, 2015 1:07 PM in response to Mshmaster

    Mshmaster, we've already determined that there are workarounds to help bypass this problem, but workarounds are not solutions. As already been said, you can search using just an asterisk (star) and it will give you the same results that you describe. Just use Windows Explorer to sort them by date. But as many of us have said, there's still no excuse for Apple to handle viewing photos in Windows Explorer this way. I've determined that the sub-folders within the main DCIM folder are created based on the month the photos were taken, but are given completely random names, all with the same creation date. At the very least, Apple needs to somehow name them in sequential order and make their creation dates reflect the month the photos were taken. Even if they did that, it's still uncalled for that new folders are continually created for every month, giving us a DCIM folder full of dozens of sub-folders.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Mar 11, 2015 1:11 PM in response to tab1075
    Level 9 (50,786 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 11, 2015 1:11 PM in response to tab1075

    Now that you have identified what it is that Apple should do have you considered telling them? We are just users, like you (most of us without the Windows baggage) and can not do anything about it.



    Tell Apple About It Here

  • by tab1075,

    tab1075 tab1075 Mar 11, 2015 2:05 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (54 points)
    Mar 11, 2015 2:05 PM in response to Csound1

    I'm aware of Apple's feedback system and also the fact that this forum is populated by fellow users, not Apple Support itself. But thanks for your concern. Let's hope most everyone in this thread who has a problem with this submits feedback. When you say, "most of us without the Windows baggage," I assume what you mean is that you yourself are not working on a Windows PC, correct? If that's the case, I can't help but wonder why you feel compelled to respond to users who have a problem that only other Windows PC users would understand.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Mar 11, 2015 2:23 PM in response to tab1075
    Level 9 (50,786 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 11, 2015 2:23 PM in response to tab1075

    You appeared to have a need to complain, which will of course achieve nothing, we are not in a position to change anything. And as most of us do not have an issue caused by mixing systems (as you do) we also have little experience of your issue. I thought that you might be able to (if not vent) complain to those who can do something to change it.

     

    The simplest way to make it work properly is by using a Mac, an option that is always open to you.

  • by tab1075,

    tab1075 tab1075 Mar 11, 2015 3:16 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (54 points)
    Mar 11, 2015 3:16 PM in response to Csound1

    Call it complaining, call it venting, call it what you want. We all have a need to be here and it's usually because we're experiencing some sort of problem or have an issue requiring assistance. That is what these forums are for so I'm not sure what your problem is with users using them for their intended purpose. So while you sit there looking down on PC users, again I wonder why someone who, by their own admission, doesn't have experience with this issue feels the need to continually address it. Then to top it off, your solution is for PC users to buy a Mac instead, which proves your only true intentions here are to troll users who aren't doing it the way you are. But by all means, continue to waste the time of everyone in this thread with your posts that help no one with this issue. And before you accuse me of the same, feel free to go back a page to read where I offered information about this particular issue that had yet to be brought up.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Mar 11, 2015 3:20 PM in response to tab1075
    Level 9 (50,786 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 11, 2015 3:20 PM in response to tab1075

    I'll call it venting then, and thank you for allowing me to do so.

     

    And as you don't actually seem to be "looking for assistance"  I will sit back and watch the venting go on.

  • by 124spiderman,

    124spiderman 124spiderman Mar 20, 2015 1:09 AM in response to lisalisabol
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 20, 2015 1:09 AM in response to lisalisabol

    Anyone found a solution to this idiot "hundred thousand" DCIM folder business yet?

    I thought the reason for all this techno stuff is to make life easier......don't remember having to do this with my Nikon digital camera.....

  • by dfbealer,

    dfbealer dfbealer Apr 1, 2015 8:34 AM in response to lisalisabol
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 1, 2015 8:34 AM in response to lisalisabol

    The explorer search function works great to find and view pictures fast, but I cannot copy them from the search list.  I get an "error 0x80030001" and the photo(s) or video(s) will not copy.  I have to leave the search list, navigate to the correct folder then select the photo(s)/video(s) wanted and then I can copy them to a new location on my W7 machine.

  • by tab1075,

    tab1075 tab1075 Apr 1, 2015 10:13 AM in response to dfbealer
    Level 1 (54 points)
    Apr 1, 2015 10:13 AM in response to dfbealer

    dfbealer wrote:

     

    The explorer search function works great to find and view pictures fast, but I cannot copy them from the search list.  I get an "error 0x80030001" and the photo(s) or video(s) will not copy. 

     

    Dfbealer, I've discovered that you cannot copy multiple photos at once from the search list. You either have to copy them one at a time from the search list, or do as you do and navigate to the proper folder where you can then copy multiples at once. The easiest way to navigate to the proper folder is to right-click on the photo and choose Open File Location from the menu.

  • by Ellie Astor,

    Ellie Astor Ellie Astor Apr 1, 2015 2:19 PM in response to crm911
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 1, 2015 2:19 PM in response to crm911

    Dear crm911 - your post did seem to make sense - after moving all my photos out of their individual folders and onto my desktop, I could not delete the folders, even if they were empty. I tried the fix to delete the iphone from the device manager, followed your instructions, rebooted, connected the iphone, but now my pc can't see the phone. Itunes can see it, but I cannot access the storage DCIM folder - could that be because it is empty? After reading through the entire stream of comments, I realize I am late to the party, but just could not be bothered with it until today.

  • by Ellie Astor,

    Ellie Astor Ellie Astor Apr 1, 2015 2:34 PM in response to Ellie Astor
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 1, 2015 2:34 PM in response to Ellie Astor

    Replying to my own post. When I took a new picture, the storage file became visible on my pc, along with a new little folder to hold my one photo. I will use the search method mentioned above to find the photos instead of opening every little folder. Thanks for everyone's help. I am glad to get rid of all those other folders anyway. Thanks crm911 for the solution!

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Apr 1, 2015 2:52 PM in response to Ellie Astor
    Level 8 (38,071 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 1, 2015 2:52 PM in response to Ellie Astor

    Or you could do it the RIGHT way, and not even try to view the folders on the iPhone. Apple never intended anyone to use the internal structure of the camera roll. If you just use a photo management app or Camera and Scanner Wizard on your computer you will get all of your photos and never see a DCIM folder.

  • by tab1075,

    tab1075 tab1075 Apr 1, 2015 4:59 PM in response to Ellie Astor
    Level 1 (54 points)
    Apr 1, 2015 4:59 PM in response to Ellie Astor

    Ellie, not sure if you read my post on page 4, but I discovered that each sub-folder inside the main DCIM folder seems to correspond with the month the pictures were taken. Even though you were able to clear out the sub-folders and are now only left with one, I suspect that as soon as you take a photo in the month of May, a new folder will be created. And so on. I think this is how it's going to have to be. Ever since Apple gave the option to view our photos sorted by month in the Photos App , it resulted in creating multiple folders within the DCIM folder.

  • by tab1075,

    tab1075 tab1075 Apr 1, 2015 5:07 PM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (54 points)
    Apr 1, 2015 5:07 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

    Lawrence, I'm not sure why you think we're not doing it the "right" way. Just because there are other ways to view our photos on a PC doesn't mean viewing them in Windows Explorer is the "wrong" way. I'm not sure how you know what Apple intended, or didn't intend. To put it bluntly, you don't know. That is, unless you work for Apple in this particular department.

     

    Using Windows Explorer, whether it be with our iPhones, a flash drive, etc., is one of the most common (if not THE most common) ways for PC users to view files. I assure you, we are not going about this the "wrong" way.

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