Renamer: Change case of file extension?

lenmerkel · July 31, 2014, 01:27:51 AM

Is there any way of using the Renamer to change the case of a file's extension (e.g. DSC1234.JPG to DSC1234.jpg)? If there is, I can't see it.

I can understand why the file extension value is protected from being changed in the Renamer (after all, changing .NEF to .JPG doesn't make sense). But, being able to use something like to_upper or to_lower on the extension should be possible.

jch2103 · July 31, 2014, 01:58:16 AM

Not an answer to your question re IMatch, but If you don't mind using a separate program, Bulk Rename Utility handles things like this very well.

Actually, should this be a feature request (depending on the answer you get to your question)?

lenmerkel · July 31, 2014, 02:02:36 AM

Thanks for the response. I've been using RegexRenamer for quite a while - sounds similar to your Bulk Renamer Utility. I'd just like to be able to do this as part of a Renamer profile. It probably will end up as a feature request.

Ger · July 31, 2014, 08:09:04 AM

Isn't it possible to use the Processing Instruction "To lower-case" for the extension?

Ger

Mario · July 31, 2014, 09:05:49 AM

Neither IMatch nor Windows care for the case of the file extension. Windows Explorer even always shows file extensions in lower case.

The Renamer does not allow you to change the file extension for safety reasons. Why would you need to change the case of the file extension?

Ger · July 31, 2014, 09:13:40 AM

Usage on a case-sensitive web server (unix)?

Carlo Didier · July 31, 2014, 11:03:48 AM

Quote from: Ger on July 31, 2014, 09:13:40 AM
Usage on a case-sensitive web server (unix)?

Brrrr, I hate even the word "case-sensitive". What's sensitive about that? Whoever came up with case-sensitivity should be jailed and have to pay for all the problems this has caused since computers exist

Mario · July 31, 2014, 11:10:14 AM

Quote from: Ger on July 31, 2014, 09:13:40 AM
Usage on a case-sensitive web server (unix)?

I upload images to UNIX servers often. I never had to change the case of file names. Your mileage may vary. The Renamer has no feature to change the case of file extensuions so you might need to write a small script that allows you to do that.

Ger · July 31, 2014, 12:09:03 PM

Quote...so you might need to write a small script...

I never had the problem myself with file extensions (always lower case).

Lucky Ger

lenmerkel · July 31, 2014, 06:02:51 PM

Wow, I just asked a simple question - I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition

Quote from: Ger on July 31, 2014, 08:09:04 AM
Isn't it possible to use the Processing Instruction "To lower-case" for the extension?

No. As Mario points out, as does the IMatch Help, the filename extension is protected in the Renamer.

Quote from: Mario on July 31, 2014, 09:05:49 AM
Windows Explorer even always shows file extensions in lower case.

Not true I'm afraid. See the two screenshots from Windows Explorer (Win7 SP1 64-bit). The 1st folder contains files I renamed to lower-case with RegexRenamer http://regexrenamer.sourceforge.net/. The 2nd folder contains un-renamed original files.

Quote from: Mario on July 31, 2014, 09:05:49 AM
Why would you need to change the case of the file extension?

Purely personal preference, for aesthetic reasons, and because that's what I want to do.

No big deal if it can't be done in the Renamer.

Quote from: Carlo Didier on July 31, 2014, 11:03:48 AM
Brrrr, I hate even the word "case-sensitive". What's sensitive about that? Whoever came up with case-sensitivity should be jailed and have to pay for all the problems this has caused since computers exist

Ha! The Roman/Latin alphabet we use is case-sensitive, OTHERWISE WE'D ALL BE WRITING LIKE THIS, and who wants that?

Exercise: Here are 4 words - abyssinia, Aardvark, Ballistics, balloon. If you sort them (i.e. arrange them alphabetically), what do you expect to get?
Answer: It depends (on the collating sequence you choose). Case-sensitivity is with us today, and it's here to stay.

[attachment deleted by admin]

Mario · July 31, 2014, 07:18:02 PM

Sorry about the Windows Explorer info. I was mistaken.
Still, the Renamer does not allow you to change the case of file extensions.
If you need something like this and you think other users will also need this, add a feature request.

Erik · July 31, 2014, 11:14:28 PM

While one can't change the case of the file specifically, we can utilize many of the formatting features to change the appearance of the extension case when we are displaying file names in various locations. If it's merely for aesthetics, that could be one way of dealing with it.

Carlo Didier · August 01, 2014, 07:53:03 AM

Quote from: lenmerkel on July 31, 2014, 06:02:51 PMHa! The Roman/Latin alphabet we use is case-sensitive, OTHERWISE WE'D ALL BE WRITING LIKE THIS, and who wants that?

Exercise: Here are 4 words - abyssinia, Aardvark, Ballistics, balloon. If you sort them (i.e. arrange them alphabetically), what do you expect to get?
Answer: It depends (on the collating sequence you choose). Case-sensitivity is with us today, and it's here to stay.

You're right, case is important in grammar, though in a sorting context, I can't see any sense in being case sensitive (I've fallen upon case sensitively sorted lists and they always threw me off because I couldn't find what I was looking for, so they were essentially useless for me).
In a computing environment, when searching or listing something, case sensitivity, in 99.999% of the cases, doesn't make any sense at all. If I search for "Ballistics" or "ballistics" or "bAlliSTics", I sure expect the same results to show up. Only in passwords, case-sensitivity makes real sense.
There are exceptions of course.

And I agree with your argument about estethics. I also prefer to have all file extensions the same case

lenmerkel · August 15, 2014, 10:54:17 PM

A quick update on a get-around solution: I had been using a free utility called RegexRenamer. While useful, it didn't allow the saving of settings. I now switched to another free utility, Advanced Renamer. Very powerful and handy utility, allows saving/reusing of profiles. Of course, I'm still doing the vast bulk of renaming image files in IMatch's Renamer. This utility is a useful pre-ingestion step to quickly change the file extension to lower-case before IMatch 'sees' the files. (Also useful for systems where you don't have IMatch installed - heaven forbid.)

Ferdinand · August 16, 2014, 11:23:42 AM

Downloader Pro has an option to force lower case, which is fine for files from the camera. I think I've had problems with some RAW converters not maintaining the lower case in converted files.

Mario · August 16, 2014, 12:00:26 PM

I have added two new steps to the Renamer: Extension to upper-case and Extension to lower-case.
Build 5.1.14.

lenmerkel · August 17, 2014, 12:25:06 AM

Quote from: Mario on August 16, 2014, 12:00:26 PM
I have added two new steps to the Renamer: Extension to upper-case and Extension to lower-case.
Build 5.1.14.

Thank you! That will avoid an external pre-Renamer step in my workflow.

Ferdinand · August 17, 2014, 08:57:14 AM

Agreed. While it's only a small thing, adding small things like this helps IMatch become an (even more) impressive program.