Axis-5

Q: Is it possible to sort images by file name?

I've imported a folder of 200 images into Photos for OS X (El Capitain). The image files were named in sequence - as I want them to appear in a slideshow: photo_01, photo_02 etc...

Once I imported the images - I found them all out of order - and the only options I can find under the view menu are sort by "oldest first", "newest first" or "by title". Please, someone tell me that I'm missing something obvious - and not that Apple chose to omit the ability to sort images by name? If that is the case - I'm speechless - how f-ing stupid is that!!!

OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), 4 - 2TB WD CaviarBlack internal HDs

Posted on Sep 20, 2016 10:56 PM

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Q: Is it possible to sort images by file name?

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  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Sep 20, 2016 11:26 PM in response to Axis-5
    Level 10 (107,185 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 20, 2016 11:26 PM in response to Axis-5

    Sort by filename is not an option in Photos. Albums and smart albums you defined yourself can be sorted by the tittle, the capture date, or manually.

     

    The sorting in the predefined albums is automatic:

    • The "Photos" view with moments and collections is sorted by capture date and the location.
    • The "All Photos" view is sorted by the date of the import session.
    • Other predefined  smart albums are sorted by the capture date.

    You can see the current, predefined  sort order, if it is greyed out in the "View >Sort" menu.

     

    As a work-around: 

    1. If you need to want the photos to be sorted by the filename, copy the filename to the title field. Then create a  smart album of the items and sort them by the title. we posted a user tip to copy the filename to the title field for selected photos:  Script: Changing the Title to the Filename without Extension

      or:  Script: Batch Changing the Titles to the Filename w/Extension
    2. Or view your Photos Library in Power Photos.  This versatile tool lets you browse photos as a list or thumbnail while viewing more metadata below the thumbnails or shown as list with selected columns and sorted by the columns.

     

    You can do a lot with the free trial: Download PowerPhotos here:  Fat Cat Software – PowerPhotos

  • by Axis-5,

    Axis-5 Axis-5 Sep 20, 2016 11:36 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 20, 2016 11:36 PM in response to léonie

    Léonie - thanks for the quick response!

     

    What an oversight by Apple - this omission goes against a basic tenant of the OS - "Sort By Name". I never use Photos because I find it incredibly un-inuitive and thus limiting - but I thought it would be the easiest way to make and export a quick slide show - silly me! Thanks for nothing Apple!!!

  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Sep 20, 2016 11:52 PM in response to Axis-5
    Level 10 (107,185 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 20, 2016 11:52 PM in response to Axis-5

    The developers are trying to suppress the filenames - they try to omit them wherever possible.  Probably because they contain numbers and are looking like unnecessary technical details. As long as the filename has not been assigned to the title field it will not even be shown below the thumbnails. We have to make the developers understand that filenames are an essential unique identifier for a photo and carry important information that even an amateur wants to be able to access easily, not only the professional users.

     

    You may want to send feedback to Apple with a feature request and report a usability problem:

    Feedback - Photos - Apple

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Sep 21, 2016 6:29 AM in response to Axis-5
    Level 10 (84,752 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 21, 2016 6:29 AM in response to Axis-5

    it is not an oversigt - it is intentional since when using Photos it totally replaces the finder for your photos and file names anr not needed

     

    in the user tips there are user scripts to set the title to the file name - Photos for Mac - and you can sort albums by title

     

    LN

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Sep 21, 2016 6:41 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 10 (107,185 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 21, 2016 6:41 AM in response to LarryHN

    You are right, that Photos replaces the Finder and we do not need the Finder to access the image files, but the filenames can also carry metadata about the photos. They are the unique tag assigned by the camera to keep them apart. People are adding text to the filename as a caption, before importing the photos. Aperture and iPhoto used to add the filename as a default title, if no other title had been assigned, so we could refer to the photo by some name.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Sep 21, 2016 6:45 AM in response to léonie
    Level 10 (84,752 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 21, 2016 6:45 AM in response to léonie

    Yes it used to - it no longer does  --  I used to be able to wear a 32" waist but that has nothing to do with today either

     

    LN

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Sep 21, 2016 7:01 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 10 (107,185 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 21, 2016 7:01 AM in response to LarryHN

      I still want to see the filenames, because the information in the filename is important for me for my projects. I want to be able to see if I am looking at the JPEG or the TIFF version, when I browse the photos, if it is the red channel or the blue channel of a multisensor image, and other interesting data in the filename. That is why I went to the trouble to write a script to copy the filenames to the titles.