Settings
Settings: Filename Templates
Create and manage template patterns for Metadata Renaming
Overview
Filename Templates are reusable naming patterns. Each template stores a pattern built from metadata variables, along with how sequence numbers are grouped and what happens when a value is missing. The Metadata Renaming and File Sort processes apply a template to turn camera-default names into a consistent convention.
This tab lists your templates — built-in presets plus any you create. Selecting a template shows its pattern and a live example of the output it produces.
When to Use
Come to Filename Templates when you want a naming convention you can apply again and again instead of deciding how to name files one batch at a time. A template captures a convention once — what the name is built from and how its sequence numbers run — so Metadata Renaming and File Sort can turn camera-default names into that same consistent form across an entire collection. It is worth defining a template whenever a kind of work has a naming standard behind it: event and wedding shoots, client deliverables a studio hands over the same way every time, archival sets organised by date and place, or multi-photographer projects where each contributor's files need to read consistently (for example {lastname}-{yyyy}-{seq:4}). Saving the convention here means everyone naming files follows it without having to remember it. The cards below cover building the pattern and tuning how numbers, missing values, and letter case are handled.
Requirements
- No special requirements - Filename Templates are configured before running Metadata Renaming
- Template patterns must contain at least one valid variable (e.g., {artist}, {yyyy}, {seq:4})
- Only seq, date, keyword, and filesize accept a :N modifier in a pattern; to shorten a name or text value, use a custom variable's source truncation length
- Template names must be 3-40 characters, unique (case-insensitive), and non-empty
- Template descriptions are optional but limited to 200 characters
- Built-in templates cannot be edited or deleted directly - duplicate them first
- Custom Variables must be defined in Custom Variables settings before using in templates
- Sequence variable {seq} or {seq:N} is recommended when renaming multiple files
Template Fields
Each field in the template editor, and how it shapes what the template produces.
The template's display name in the Templates list.
A short note describing what the template produces, shown beneath the name.
The naming formula. Variables in braces are replaced per file; anything else is kept as literal text. {seq:N} inserts a zero-padded sequence number N digits wide. The editor's Available Variables panel lists every variable you can use, with descriptions and examples.
Common variables: {yyyy} {mm} {dd} (capture date), {seq:N} (sequence), {lastname} (photographer), {filename} (original name), {city}, plus any custom variables you define.
An optional case transform applied to the finished name — either across the whole template, or set individually per variable.
Decides which files share a running sequence counter. Auto-detect groups by the variables that appear before {seq} in the pattern; Manual lets you name the grouping variables explicitly.
What happens to a file missing a value the pattern needs. Skip leaves the file unrenamed and reports it; Use Fallback substitutes a placeholder (UNKN by default, editable up to 10 characters); Prompt User asks you to supply the value.
Managing Templates
Select any template in the Templates list to see its pattern, sequence grouping, fallback mode, and a live Example Output showing the name it produces with and without metadata. A lock icon marks built-in templates, which are read-only.
Click New, then assemble the template. The example output updates as you type so you can confirm the result before saving.
- Click New above the Templates list.
- Enter a name and build the pattern from metadata variables.
- Set sequence grouping, fallback mode, and case.
- Check the live Example Output, then save.
Use the buttons beside the list. Edit changes a template you created. Built-in templates are locked — Duplicate one to get an editable copy you can adapt. Delete removes a template you no longer need; built-ins cannot be deleted.
Export writes the selected template to a file you can share or back up; Import adds templates from a file. Imported templates arrive as new, editable copies, so importing never overwrites or collides with your existing templates.
Tips & Important Notes
- Include {seq:N} in a pattern when renaming multiple files so names stay unique. {artist}-{yyyy}-{seq:4} numbers each photographer-year group in order.
- {seq:4} zero-pads the sequence (0001, 0002), and the date, keyword, and filesize variables take their own modifiers. Name and text variables do not take a :N modifier in a pattern - to shorten a name, make a custom variable with a source truncation length and use that.
- 'Auto-detect from pattern' groups by the variables before {seq}. For {code}-{yyyy}-{seq:4}, numbering restarts for each code-year group (DELE-2024-0001, SMIT-2024-0001).
- Among the Fallback Modes, Skip is safest for clean data; Use Fallback substitutes a placeholder term (default 'UNKN') so every file renames; and Prompt User gives manual control but interrupts automation.
- For Case Mode, Uppercase produces DELE-2024-0001, Mixed Case keeps SmithJohn from the metadata, and Lowercase produces dele-2024-0001.
- With Case Scope set to 'Per Variable', give individual variables their own case - useful for mixed patterns like {CITY}-{artist}.
- Live Preview shows example output from sample metadata. Check that your pattern produces what you expect before processing real files.
- Reference variables from Custom Variables settings (e.g., {photographer}, {projectcode}). Create them first, then use them in templates.
- The editor validates patterns as you type. An invalid variable shows a suggestion based on the closest match (e.g., 'artistt' suggests 'artist').