Renaming
Personally, for digital camera files, I like to keep the files names assigned by my digital camera. Photoshop Elements Oganizer does such a good job of cataloging my photos, that I have little need to depend on file names for organization. Keeping the camera file name ensures that I never have duplicate file names, makes it easier to track different versions of the same file (as long as I keep the camera assigned file name as part of the name), and keeps a running tally of how many photos I've taken with my camera. But that's just my preference!If you have photos you'd like to rename, you can rename them one at a time, or in a batch with a common base name and an appended serial number.
To rename a single file, you can select it and go to File > Rename or simply open the properties palette and type a new file name in the Name field of the general pane.
To rename multiple files, first select the groups of files you want to rename, then go to File > Rename. You will be prompted for a common base name that will have a serial number appended to it. So if you have three files and you use the base name 'my pictures', the three files will become: my pictures-1, my pictures-2, and my pictures-3. Elements is smart enough to add leading zeros to the serial number when necessary, so if you have selected more than 9 but less than 100 files, you will get a two-digit serial number, and if you select hundreds of files, you'll get a three-digit serial number.
As best as I can tell, the numbering seems to go in order from oldest to newest. However, there is a way you can control the numbering of the files:
- Select the files you want to rename.
- Put the files into a collection. (I usually use a temporary collection for this sort of thing, and remove the photos from the collection when I'm done.)
- Double-click on the collection to restrict the photo browser to showing just those photos.
- Drag and drop the photos into the desired order.
- Select all and rename.
Next Page --> Moving Files
