Posted on

Automation on an Apple – Batch renaming files on a Mac

The subtitle of this page could be “how to carefully rename 1,000 files.”

In my work with the Center for Railroad Photography and Art I handled a range of digitization and file management project. Each has required it’s own approach and I’ve learned a lot about Apple automation technologies working in a recent aspect of the project. It’s using the Apple tool “Automator” in two different ways. While I have some experience using other automation programs like MacroExpress and other File Renaming tools on a PC this was my first attempt on a Mac. And I think it went pretty well! Here was the problem and the solution I developed to solve this problem.

The Problem

Springer file names

The digital files were named using the actual photographic metadata. While this might seem great, it created two fundamental problems: (1) the digital files were out of order (relative to the original order of the collection) and (2) it did not match the file naming conventions I had established for this collection. So my task was to remedy this problem and (1) put the digital files in the same order as the physical collection and (2) extend the current file naming conventions to this part of the collection.

Organizing the Files

The first step was to organize the files. To do this, I decided to rename each file in some sort of alpha-numeric system. This seemed both easy and tedious. To make it slightly easier, I using the Automator service on the Mac to create a service. On a macro level, I could click a button and make a copy of the file that would then be organized in box order in a separate folder.

Here is this workflow in detail:

Screenshot of Apple Automator

  1. Copy Finder Item to a new folder – This created a second copy of the file that allowed me to explore and experiment without trouble.
  2. Rename the folder by adding the date/time function “seconds from midnight” to the front of the file name- The “seconds from midnight” function was totally arbitrary but provided a nice, easy way to sort the files.
  3. Save this as a “service” – Saving this as a service gave me easy access to trigger this automated workflow from anywhere in the finder.

After I established this workflow, I started going though the box. Once I found the digital file that corresponded to my first negative I would trigger this service. Thus, as I progressed through the box of negatives I would create a new folder of digital images in the correct order. Huzzah!

Renaming the Files

The end result of the first automated process was a folder of files in the correct order. However, the file names were terrible. For example:

Screenshot of organized files.

The leading numbers allow this list to be sorted into the correct order but this file naming convention was a huge mess. However, another automated workflow quickly solved this problem. The steps of this process were:

  1. Find Finder Items – This step ingested the files I created through the rename service
  2. Sort Finder Items – Although this step might seem redundant it provided to be critical to get the sorting correct. I simply sorted by name in ascending order to make this workflow work.
  3. Copy Finder Items – Again, because this was my first time using the Automator I wanted to create back-up copies of my work. I copied the items to yet another folder so that I could sort them.
  4. Make Sequential – This is the important step! I made them sequential by adding a new name (in this case I replaced the existing name with “Springer_01”) and then by placing a number after the name. I separated this number with an underscore and asked the program to make all numbers three digits long.
Apple's Automator - my new best friend.
Apple’s Automator – my new best friend.

The End Result

The result of these two processes created a perfectly organized folder of items that was named according to our established conventions. Doing this renaming work manually (without the Automated workflows) would have been possible but extremely labor intensive and prone to many different errors. This workflow saved hours of work and streamlined the process to prevent errors.

Additionally, this workflow is very general and could easily be applied to other file renaming projects.

Relative to other automation tools, Apple’s Automator is a strong contender. Because it is part of the Mac OS it integrates perfectly and natively with many Apple services and systems and offers a wide range of options. I would definitely seek to use the Automator on all future digital projects in a Mac environment.

Posted on

Springer Collection Procedures

I’m back for the second day of my internship with the Center for Railroad Photography and Art and wanted to record some of the technical parts of our process.

ScanningScanner Settings

While most of this collection has already been scanned, some needs to be scanned for the first time. Here is the process I’m using for the scanning process.

I’m scanning using Lake Forest College’s “Epson Perfection V750 Pro” scanner with the frame for negatives. I am scanning at 600 dpi in 16-bit grayscale and saving as jpg. The purpose of these scans is to create decent access copies for the Center with the option to add them to online databases (Flickr or the Center’s website) in the future so that this level of scanning is appropriate.

File Naming

Most of the files are named using the following convention: Collection Name/Box/Envelope. For example

  • Springer_02_123 = Springer Collection, Box 2, Envelope 123
  • Springer_04_067 = Springer Collection, Box 4, Envelope 67

I’m proposing that we standardize this practice across the entire collection. Additionally – to account for instances where one envelope contains multiple photos, I’m proposing that we extend this convention to be: Collection Name/Box/Envelope/Image. For example,

  • Springer_01_049_A = Springer Collection, Box 1, Envelope 49, First Image
  • Springer_01_049_B = Springer Collection, Box 1, Envelope 49, Second Image
  • Springer_01_050 = Springer Collection, Box 1, Envelope 50 (the only image).

I think it makes sense to supply the alphabetical distinction only when needed and to use letters instead of numbers because (1) it will improve computer sorting and (2) the original order (within the individual envelopes) is difficult to preserve.

Metadata

This is the core metadata for the collection

  • File Name (see above!) – This will serve as the unique identifier for each image in the collection.
  • Railroad – This collection is organized by railroad so that information will be preserved. I would imagine that acronyms and abbreviations will be replaced by the standard form of the name
  • Railroad Number – Because I lack the context, I’m transcribing as I find on the object. Again, I think standardizing to a formal, controlled vocabulary will be important at some point.
    • QUESTION – what should I do when multiple trains are listed. Should I create two fields for this data or combine them in one field?
  • Description – A few images have short (2-3 word) annotations. I wanted to preserve these notes and couldn’t think of a better field.
  • Location – I’ve seperated city from state in the spreadsheet on the basis that (1) it would be easy to combine these fields in the future and (2) this separation is easier to manipulate.
    • QUESTION – some cards contain information like “MP 60” which I’m interpreting as “Mile Post 60.” This seems like valuable metadata but data that doesn’t fit squarely in the “Location” field. Is this information worth preserving and – if so – how should I record it.
  • Date – So far, all photos have a clearly marked date. I’m recording that using the YYYY-MM-DD standard recommended by the Center.
  • Collection – This is all the Springer Collection.
  • Original Format – This collection is black and white negatives in several standard sizes.
  • Digital Format – I am creating jpegs.
  • Date Scanned – This technical metadata is recorded in the system.

As an aside, I thought it would be fun to mention two pieces of train-specific metadata I’ve encountered so far. I’ve mentioned one already – “MP 60.” Again, I think that means “mile post” but I’m really not sure. I think it would be great to record this and could be very useful to certain people in a certain context. However, it doesn’t fit with other standard vocabularies (city/state) and requires additional context to be useful.

The second train-specific information I encountered is this (2-8-4). A quick google search took me to Wikipedia where I learned that is the Whyte Notation for a particular wheel arrangement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-8-4).