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Trying to organize files by date created - naming convention method not working?
In an effort to sort a folder that contains all of the photos I took on my phone in 2021 by date created (so I just want them displayed in chronological order) I tried the suggestion of using a naming convention that's supposed to insert the 'date captured' from the metadata into the filename (screenshot attached). But it doesn't seem to be working? I'm hitting 'set' then getting a dialogue at the bottom of the screen that says 'setting naming convention' for a few minutes but then... nothing happens, no filenames change.
So frustrating- I've spent years trying to figure out how to simply organize my files... by date? Isn't that part of what I'm paying for from a file storage service? Renaming all of my files is a workaround, and even THAT doesn't actually work. Why is this such an issue?
6 Replies
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- Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi there sunnie1ee, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
May I ask how large this folder is and approximately how many files you've stored there?
Also, could you clear your browser's cache or try another browser, preferably with no extensions or plugins running, and let us know if you get the same results?
If you do, I'd appreciate a screenshot of the error you get so that we can have a visual too.
Thanks!
Hi there,
Thanks for your response. I wasn't getting an error, I just wasn't seeing any result from initiating a naming convention.
Finally, after walking away for hours, a dialogue came up that says 'automatically renaming your files'. It's been over 24 hours and it's still there. This is just wild... all to sort files by the date they were created? I'm painfully curious as to why Dropbox is withholding this as a simple, standard feature?
I'm not sure how to see the file size, and since it's supposedly processing something I don't want to interrupt. But it's 1,800 iPhone 12 mini images- so it's not huge. I don't have any plugins or anything and clear my browser pretty frequently. And even if the resolve is that I can't use Chrome to manage my Dropbox? That would still be a significant inconvenience.
- Megan
Hi sunnie1ee, it sounds like this is getting longer than expected, and I'm going to take a guess, and tell you that it could be stuck.
You should be able to see the size using these steps. As for the browser, we need to check in order to make sure if this is a browser-related behavior or not.
If you wish, you can keep Chrome open, and try another browser too.
having this issue also. I’m new to using dropbox for my photos. Seems like a pretty standard thing to do, sort photos by date taken, not only standard but the most common think in the world. I’ve spend 2 days trying work arounds and reading, ONLY TO BE ABLE TO SORT MY PHOTOS BY THE DATE THEY WERE TAKEN.
Unbelievable. I was excited to finally consolidate all my photos in one place and pay for the storage capacity, but this messing around with files names and “automated formulas” to change names, only makes me scare of losing or ruining the dates of all my photos.
- Yeah I just don’t get it. Why can’t anyone at Dropbox explain to us why a ‘sort by date created’ option isn’t readily available?
this has happened to my like 5 times. Just when I thought I found a way to organize photos the way I need it (wich is the simplest way by the way) just when I thought I succeeded something else fails. See photo attached . Now it turns out the “automation” for naming files doesn’t work for videos LOL what am I supposed to do now, have all my photos in order and make a different folder for videos??? Man, dropbox is a joke.
