Preview Order and Sequence Numbers

The order of the files in the preview list is the order in which sequence numbers are assigned and in which numbered lists are produced. Unlike the Finder, A Better Finder Rename does not use the order in which you selected the files; it sorts them according to the settings of the action.

Sort orders

Actions that depend on the order of the files, such as Produce sequence number list or Add number to end, have Sort first: and Then: popup menus. The second order is used to break ties in the first one. The available orders are:

• By name (from A to Z or from Z to A)
• By name and sequence number, which sorts numbers in names by their value, so that file 2 comes before file 10
• By creation date and By modification date (from oldest to newest or from newest to oldest)
• By EXIF digital camera date, the shooting date stored in photos; see custom shooting date priority order
• By size (for files only)

Sort each folder separately restarts the numbering in every folder when you process subfolders.

Sorting by EXIF date requires Retrieve EXIF and shooting date sorting information to be ticked in the Settings window, which it is by default.

Manual order

The Auto / Manual switch at the bottom right of the preview list shows which order is in force. Drag the files in the preview list to put them into the order you want; the switch changes to Manual and the action’s sort settings are disabled. Click Auto to go back to the sorted order.

Numbers that run on across renames

Use auto-increment counters when the numbering must continue from where the previous rename stopped, for instance for photos that arrive in batches.

Conflict resolution order

When two files would end up with the same name, the numbers that make the names unique follow the order set in the Conflict Resolution tab of the Settings window, not the order of the preview list.