Name Dropper is very easy to use, but like most new software, it may take some time to get used to it. To help get started, we will go through a brief introduction:
Start by running Name Dropper. If this is your first time running Name Dropper, it will be set to the Name Dropper folder (Thereafter, each time you start Name Dropper, it will start in the same folder you used last). Browse to the folder that contains the pictures or other files that you wish to rename. A list of files in that folder will appear in the File List. Note that if the File Filter option is set to ‘Supported Files’, then only supported filetypes will be shown. Click on a file to edit the name. A preview of the image will appear, and you can now begin to edit the filename.
How to browse for a folder: Name Dropper provides two ways in which to browse for a folder containing files you wish to work with. The default method is “Simple Browsing”. In this mode, a Drive List is shown along with a Folder List. In “Advanced Browsing”, a [Choose Folder…] button is displayed. To switch between modes, click the small button with a folder icon on it. This button is located at the upper-right side of the left pane.
Simple Browsing Mode: To choose a drive, choose one from the Drive List in the upper-left corner. To choose a folder from the chosen drive, double-click on a folder to choose it. To choose a file from within a folder, single click on it from the file list. If no files appear in the list, then there are no valid image files or no files at all in the folder chosen, depending on the File Filter option.
Advanced Browsing Mode: Click the [Choose Folder…] button to open the Choose Folder dialog window. From this window, you can choose which folder to work with. Simply choose a folder containing the files you wish to rename. This mode of browsing allows you to easily choose folders across networks, as well as special Windows folders, such as your “Desktop”. To choose a file from within a folder, single click on it from the file list. If no files appear in the list, then there are no valid image files or no files at all in the folder chosen, depending on the File Filter option. Note that when switching to Simple Browsing Mode after choosing certain network folders in Advanced Browsing Mode, the selected drive in the Drive List may appear empty. This is normal behavior.
To make things quicker for you, you may want to edit the Custom Buttons so that you can use them to create the filenames faster. After all, that is what Name Dropper is for! For more information on how to edit the Custom Buttons, see Editing the Custom Buttons.
When a file is first selected, Name Dropper will automatically highlight the main portion of the filename (besides the extension- i.e.: ‘.jpg’). This makes it quicker to just dive in and start renaming the file. When a portion of the new filename is highlighted, that portion of the filename is replaced with the text inserted by the button clicked. After you initially either click a button or type into the filename text box for a ‘freshly’ selected file, clicking more buttons simply adds to the filename, which is how you build longer and more descriptive filenames. If you need to go back and change something, such as a person’s name, simply highlight the word or name you want to replace, and click the appropriate button to change the word. If you decide to ‘clear’ the filename after you’ve already started renaming it, simply click the ‘Clear’ button. If you decide that you don’t want to rename it at all, you can click the ‘Revert’ button to change the filename back to it’s original name, or simply choose a different file from the list. Note though, that this will not work once you have clicked the ‘Rename/ Done’ button after making a change to the filename.
Now let’s walk through an example of renaming some digital photos. Let’s say that you have many pictures of you and your loved one that you want to rename. You might program Button 1 to be your name, and Button 2 to be your loved one’s name. If the pictures were taken in Las Vegas, you may want to program Button 3 to say “Las Vegas” (without the quotes). Tip: To program the buttons, right-click on them!
Once this is done, you simply start clicking on the buttons to rename the file. Perhaps the first 5 pictures are of you and your loved one together. Click the following buttons: [Button 1], [ Insert+], [ & ], [Button 2], [Insert+], [ at ], [Button 3]. Assuming you and your loved one’s names are Kevin and Kris, your filename should now look something like this: Kevin & Kris at Las Vegas.JPG. If this is picture one of a series of you and her, you may want to then click the [(Series #)] button. This will add a “1” to the end of the filename. The ‘Next Series #’ text box will then display a ‘2’. When you get to the next picture that is part of the same series, click the [(Series #)] button again to place a ‘2’ at the end. If you start a new series, you can change it back to start at “1” by double-clicking the ‘Next Series #’ text box. If you would like to continue a series you previously started, you can manually type the number to start at into the box. Tip: You can adjust the number of leading zeros (0) in the series # by going to the Tools|Program Options menu, and changing the Series # Placeholders setting. This will allow you to create a series containing a high number of images without losing the numerical order. See Options for more information.
Once you are done editing the new filename, click the ‘Rename/ Done’ button. This replaces the original filename with the new one. Although the file is not moved to a different folder, it may look like it disappeared. In fact, the File List is refreshed after you rename a file, so odds are the file is in a different position in the list, due to the name change. If there are more files after the one you just edited, the next file is automatically chosen for you. Note: Windows does not allow the following characters in filenames: \ / : * ? ” < > |. If you try to use these characters, Name Dropper will warn you and you must remove the invalid character(s) before proceeding.
Eventually, you might get to a picture of just yourself. Therefore, you will not want to include your loved one’s name. Since you programmed different buttons for each person’s name, this is no problem! To name a picture of just yourself, following the example above, you would click the following buttons: [Button 1], [Insert+], [ at ], [Button 3]. The file would then be called: Kevin at Las Vegas.JPG.
If you find you have a long series of similar pictures, you may not want to have to click 4 or 5 buttons just to create the new filename. In that case, you could click the ‘Filename as Temp’ button to store the entire filename as a button. Once you click the ‘Filename as Temp’ button, a small menu will pop up. Choose which Temp button to store the filename in (Temp1, Temp2, or Temp3). Now, when you click on the Temp button that you programmed, the file will be automatically changed to it. If you are doing a series, be sure to store the filename into a Temp button BEFORE you add a Series #. This way, for all of the following files, you would then click: [Temp1], [(Series #)], [Rename/ Done]. Easy! An even quicker option for renaming many files in the same series is “Batch Mode“, which allows you to rename multiple files, including series #s, in just a few simple steps!
For more information on what the buttons do, see Interface.
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