Renamewell™ User Guide

What Renamewell is

Renamewell renames a group of files or folders in one step. It does two things, together or on their own:

Remove characters from the start or the end of each name, for example the "IMG_" of a camera's file names.
Add text: a prefix before each name, a suffix after it, or both.

Remove 4 from the start, prefix "Smith_"
  IMG_0412.jpg    ->  Smith_0412.jpg
  IMG_0413.CR2    ->  Smith_0413.CR2

It comes two ways, with one license for both: a Lightroom Classic plug-in (Library > Plug-in Extras > Rename photos and Rename folders), and an app for Windows and Mac for files and folders that aren't in a Lightroom catalog.

Nothing is renamed until you have seen every new name, and every run can be undone.

Quick start

Install Renamewell: see Install.

In Lightroom Classic

Select the photos to rename in the Library.
Library > Plug-in Extras > Rename photos.
Set how many characters to remove from the start or the end, and the text to add before or after. Click Preview all names.
Check every new name, then click Rename.

Lightroom shows the photos at their new names, with their flags, keywords, edits and collections.

In the app

Start Renamewell (Windows: Start menu; Mac: Applications > ThePictureOrg).
Choose Files or Folders, then Choose a folder or Choose files.
Set what to remove and what to add. The list shows every new name as you type.
Click Rename.

To put the old names back: Undo this run in the app, or Library > Plug-in Extras > Undo a Renamewell run in Lightroom (see Undo).

Next: Rename photos in Lightroom Classic, Rename folders in Lightroom Classic, Rename files and folders with the app.

Rename photos in Lightroom Classic

Use this for photos in your catalog, so Lightroom keeps track of them under their new names.

Select the photos to rename in the Library.
Library > Plug-in Extras > Rename photos.
Choose the number of characters to remove from the start or the end, and the text to add before or after. The example line shows what the first names become as you type. Click Preview all names.
The next window lists every old and new name. A name that can't be used is listed first, in red, with the reason (see Names that can't be used); those photos keep their names. Click Rename to go ahead, or Change the settings to go back.

Renamewell renames each file on disk, with its sidecars: the .xmp beside it, and the JPEG of a raw + JPEG pair. Then it adds each photo back to the catalog at its new name and puts back what the catalog knew about it: its pick or reject flag, stars, color label, keywords, title, caption and the other IPTC fields, GPS location, its Develop settings (edits, crop and rotation) and the collections it is in. Then it removes the old entries, so the Library shows the new names straight away, and the renamed photos are selected.

A virtual copy stands for its master photo: the master photo's file is renamed.

Rename folders in Lightroom Classic

Use this to rename folders in the Folders panel, for example to take a batch number off a group of folders.

In the Folders panel, click the folder to rename (Ctrl-click on Windows or Cmd-click on a Mac to choose more than one).
Library > Plug-in Extras > Rename folders.
Choose what to change and click Preview all names, then Rename as for photos.
Choose how Lightroom catches up:
- Complete, Lightroom restarts (trial): Lightroom closes, Renamewell renames the folders and changes their paths in the catalog to match, then opens Lightroom again on the same catalog. It takes under a minute however many photos there are, with nothing to click, and Lightroom keeps everything, even History, snapshots, virtual copies and stacks. Finish any export or import first. If Lightroom asks about backing up the catalog as it closes, either answer is fine: Renamewell makes its own backup first, in "Renamewell catalog backups" beside the catalog (the last three are kept). When Lightroom opens again, a message says how it went. If Lightroom doesn't close within 2 minutes (you clicked Cancel, or an export is still running), nothing is renamed, the catalog isn't touched, and a message says so. If anything about the catalog isn't as Renamewell expects, it renames nothing and says why. On a Mac, the first time, macOS asks whether Renamewell may control Lightroom: click OK.
- Fast: Renamewell renames the folders on disk in a second. A small window then lists each folder with its new name and path, and stays open while you work. For each one, right-click the folder with the old name (it has a question mark) in the Folders panel and choose Find Missing Folder..., then choose the folder at its new name. To get there quickly, copy the path from the small window; on a Mac press Cmd-Shift-G and paste it, on Windows paste it into the Folder box. Each folder is ticked off as Lightroom finds it, and the window closes when all are found. This way Lightroom keeps everything, even History, snapshots, virtual copies and stacks.
- Automatic: Renamewell adds every photo back at its new place itself, with nothing to click, in the same way as for photos. Lightroom takes about a second for each photo, so the window says how long it will take, and the things listed under What can't be carried over don't come along.

Folders inside the chosen ones keep their own names; their photos move with them. With the fast way, find the outer folder first; a folder inside it that was renamed too is then found the same way. After the automatic way, if the Folders panel still shows an old name (with a question mark), right-click it > Remove: it is empty.

Rename files and folders with the app

Use the app for files and folders that aren't in a Lightroom catalog. It opens in your web browser and works only on this computer.

Start Renamewell (Windows: Start menu > Renamewell; Mac: Applications > ThePictureOrg > Renamewell). It opens in your web browser and works only on this computer.
Choose Files or Folders at the top.
Files: click Choose a folder to rename the files in it (tick "Include the files in the folders inside it" to take those too), or Choose files to pick some. Folders: choose the folder that holds the folders to rename. You can also type or paste a path in the box and click Use.
Choose what to change on the left. The list on the right shows every new name as you type.
Untick any file or folder you want to leave as it is, then click Rename.

Undo this run puts the old names back straight away; Start over clears the list for the next group.

If the files you chose look like photos in a Lightroom catalog (there is a catalog in the folder or near it, or the photos have .xmp sidecars), the app says so. Renaming them in the app is safe for the files, but Lightroom would then show them as missing: for photos in a catalog, use the plug-in instead.

How new names are built

The characters are removed first, then the text is added. A file's extension (.jpg, .CR2, .tif and so on) always stays as it is, and "from the end" counts back from just before it. Folders have no extension, so the whole name counts. Names with accents are counted by letter, not by byte.

Names that can't be used

Renamewell checks every new name before anything changes, and leaves a file or folder as it is if its new name:

would be empty (all the characters removed and no text added);
has a character Windows or a Mac doesn't allow in a name: < > : " / \ | ? *;
ends with a space or a dot, or is a name Windows keeps for itself (CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1 and so on);
is the same as another new name in the group, or as a file or folder already there. Capitals don't count, since Windows and Mac drives see "Photo.jpg" and "photo.jpg" as the same name;
would be too long (more than 255 characters, or a Windows path of more than 259).

The preview says which rule applies. Names that only change their capitals (img_1.jpg to IMG_1.jpg) are fine.

What can't be carried over

Lightroom doesn't let plug-ins rename a photo or a folder in the catalog, so for photos (and for folders the automatic way) Renamewell does what Lightroom would do if you renamed the files yourself and then found them again, and carries everything it can across. A few things can't be set by a plug-in, so they don't come along:

Develop snapshots and the History list. The edits themselves are kept; the History list starts again.
Virtual copies (the copies are not renamed with the master photo) and stacks (the photos are unstacked).
Links to publish services (the photo is published again under its new name next time).
Fields that other plug-ins keep.

Renamewell tells you before anything is renamed if any of the photos have these, and you can still cancel.

On Lightroom Classic older than 14.3, Renamewell can't remove the old entries itself, and they show as missing photos. Right-click the folder > Synchronize Folder and tick "Remove missing photos from catalog" to clear them.

Undo

Lightroom Classic: Library > Plug-in Extras > Undo a Renamewell run. Choose the run from the list (newest first) and click Put the old names back. Each photo is carried back with its flags, keywords and edits, the same way as when it was renamed. For a folder run, the same choice is offered (Complete, Fast or Automatic); if Lightroom hadn't found the renamed folders yet, the folders are just renamed back and Lightroom finds them again by itself.
The app: Undo this run after a run, or menu > Undo an earlier run for earlier ones.

Runs made in the app are listed in Lightroom too, and the other way round. Each run keeps a small undo file in your PictureOrg folder, "Renamewell-undo". A file that was renamed or moved again after the run, or whose old name is now taken, is left as it is, and the undo says so.

Install

There are three downloads. The installers ask what to install: the Lightroom Classic plug-in, the standalone app (no Lightroom needed), or both. One license covers both, and you can run the installer again later to add the other.

Windows: the Setup program (ThePictureOrg-Renamewell-Setup-<version>.exe)

If you are installing the plug-in, close Lightroom Classic.
Double-click the Setup program. If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway.
Accept the license, tick what to install and click Install.
The app is in the Start menu as Renamewell. For the plug-in, start Lightroom Classic. Select the photos (or a folder in the Folders panel), then Library > Plug-in Extras > Rename photos (or Rename folders).

Mac: the Install Renamewell app (ThePictureOrg-Renamewell-Mac-<version>.zip)

Double-click the zip to unzip it. If you are installing the plug-in, quit Lightroom Classic.
Double-click Install Renamewell, and click Open when macOS asks. It is signed and checked by Apple.
Choose what to install and click Install.
The app is in Applications > ThePictureOrg. For the plug-in, start Lightroom Classic. Select the photos (or a folder in the Folders panel), then Library > Plug-in Extras > Rename photos (or Rename folders).

On a Mac with an Intel processor, Renamewell uses the Mac's own Python 3. If the Mac has none, the installer says so: install Python 3 from python.org.

Updating and removing: run the installer from the new download the same way, or click Install now when Renamewell offers an update (see Updates). Your settings and license key are kept. To remove Renamewell, use Uninstall Renamewell in the Start menu on Windows, or the Uninstall Renamewell app in the Mac download.

Installing the plug-in by hand: on Windows, right-click ThePictureOrg-Renamewell-Win-<version>.zip, choose Properties, tick Unblock, and unzip it. On a Mac, right-click Install Renamewell, choose Show Package Contents and open Contents > Resources. Move the PictureOrgRenamer.lrplugin folder somewhere permanent, then in Lightroom Classic choose File > Plug-in Manager > Add and pick it. Use one way or the other, not both, or the menu appears twice.

Where it goes: the installers put the plug-in in Lightroom's own plug-in folder for your user account, where Lightroom finds it by itself (%APPDATA%\Adobe\Lightroom\Modules\PictureOrgRenamer.lrplugin on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom/Modules/PictureOrgRenamer.lrplugin on a Mac). No administrator password is needed. If the Mac installer has a problem, it keeps a log for support in ~/Library/Logs/PictureOrg/Renamewell-install.log.

License and free trial

Free trial: every feature works for 21 days on each computer. The Plug-in Manager panel and the app show how many days are left, for example "Free trial: 14 days left".
After the trial: for 7 more days Renamewell still works, with a reminder. After that, the preview of new names still works, and renaming needs a license key. When a license key is needed, Renamewell says "the free trial has ended" and offers Buy a license and Enter key....
Buying: click Buy a license in the License section of File > Plug-in Manager (select Renamewell), or on the license line at the top of the app, or go to thepictureorg.com/tools. One license is for one person on up to 2 computers, covers the app and the Lightroom plug-in, and includes complimentary updates within the major version (a version 1 key works for every 1.x release).
Entering your key: paste the whole key from your order email into the License key box in the Plug-in Manager and click Enter key, or click the license line at the top of the app. Spaces and line breaks don't matter. It then says "Licensed to" and your name. The key is checked on this computer: nothing is sent anywhere, and no internet connection is needed.
Plug-in and app: one license, one free trial. The plug-in and the app share the key and the 21-day count on each computer, so a key entered in either unlocks both.
New computer: click Remove license from this computer on the old one (it asks first), then enter the key on the new one.
Where the key is kept: in your user account, not in the program's folder, so it stays through updates and reinstalling: %LOCALAPPDATA%\PictureOrg on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/PictureOrg on a Mac.

Updates

Automatic check: once a day Renamewell looks up the current version number on thepictureorg.com's download service, in the background when Lightroom starts and when you run it. Only that small version list is fetched: nothing about your computer, your photos or your license key is sent.
When a new version is out: the next time you run Renamewell, a message says so once per Lightroom session: Install now (or Download), Not now (asks again next time you start Lightroom) and Skip this version (stays quiet until a later version comes out). Nothing is downloaded or installed until you click.
Install now: Renamewell downloads the update, checks that it arrived whole and unchanged, that it carries The Picture Org's release signature and that it is newer than the version you have, and installs it into its own folder, with a progress bar. Then quit and restart Lightroom Classic to start using it. If anything goes wrong, every file is put back as it was.
Download: opens the installer download in your browser; close Lightroom Classic and run the new Setup program (Windows) or Install Renamewell (Mac). Your settings and license key are kept either way.
Plug-in Manager > Updates: shows your version and whether a newer one is out, with Check now, Install update, Download installer and What's new. Untick Check for updates automatically to turn the daily check off; Check now still works. When an update can't be installed from inside your version, the panel says to use Download installer for that one.
The app checks once a day when it opens, and Check for updates checks at any time. When a new version is out, a bar lets you install it (the app installs it into its own folder, then restarts itself), download the installer, or see what's new. The plug-in and the app update separately: each installed copy has its own files.

Updates within the major version are complimentary.

Help

A photo shows as missing in Lightroom after using the app: the app renamed the file outside Lightroom. Undo the run in the app, then rename it with the plug-in instead; or right-click the photo in Lightroom > Locate and choose the file's new name.
The Folders panel still shows an old folder name: right-click it > Remove. It is empty; the photos are in the renamed folder.

Check my setup (in the app's menu, or in File > Plug-in Manager with Renamewell selected) checks that everything Renamewell needs works on this computer, and shows the result as text you can copy or save.
Create an error log (in the app's menu, or Library > Plug-in Extras > Renamewell: Create an error log) saves a text file on your Desktop with what Renamewell did. Email it to The Picture Org with a few words about what went wrong. File names are in it; your photos aren't, and nothing is sent by itself.