Would it be possible for the text and variable field in the File Renamer to have a drop down list of, say, the last 6 entries?
The reason is that I often jump between different groups of files, for export. I rename one batch XYZ, then go on to other batches, and a day or two later I have another batch to rename XYZ. It would be convenient to have the recently used names easily available, rather than having to type them out again (particularly if the names are longer or more complex than XYZ 😀).
Thank you for considering.
Graham
The Renamer allows you to create any number of presets and recall them. See Saving Presets (https://www.photools.com/help/imatch/#ren_basics.htm?dl=h-76)
Create one preset for each of your Rename jobs.
This even allows you to run them from Favorites (https://www.photools.com/help/imatch/#fav_basics.htm?dl=h-2) with a single click or keyboard shortcut. Very convenient.
Thank you for the reply, Mario. That was not quite what I meant. I already use a number of presets.
I like to rename my files with their subjects. I know, it is not necessary, and metadata can take care of finding files far better than file naming, but that is what I do.
My example of XYZ as a file name was not a good one. Suppose I am going through a lot of plant images and renaming them with their botanical names. Having done one batch, I move on, then find I have more of the first ones to name. They will not be easy to type without risk of error. It would be great to have a drop down list of recently entered file names, so that I can choose a previous entry from that, rather than (as I currently do) copy and paste the name from the metadata panel to fill in the new name field.
I would not want to create a new preset for every new file name I use. That would take longer to create and retrieve than typing out the name again or copying and pasting from a keyword.
It's not terribly important, just a nice-to-have as a bit of a time saver if this is easy to implement.
Graham
Is the file name really the proper location for this kind of information?
Why not use keywords for the classification, like most scientists do? Much easier and faster to process.
If you really need the classification in the file name, you can setup a Renamer preset which uses the botanical name keyword to produce the file name...
But you would also have the other benefits you get from proper keywords: sorting, searching, automatic hierarchical organization in the Category View, ...
And if the botanical names are in your thesaurus, there will be no problem with spelling. I have some 10,000 species, grouped by families under head keyword "Flowering Plants" in my thesaurus: "Flowering Plants"|family name|species. For example "Flowering Plants|Asteraceae|Bellis perennis".