I need to rename image files sequentially as they are added to a folder. ie. image-0001.jpg and image-0002.jpg are in a folder I add test.jpg and it is renamed image-0003.jpg. I have tried automators rename function but it will start over with image-0001.jpg each time a new file is added instead of continuing the sequence.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
You could make this easy on yourself by using a handy application built into the OS called "Folder Actions". Folder Actions contains one or more special handlers, formally known as folder action event handlers, that run when they are triggered by a change in the target folder. I know I'm confusing but I'll do my best.
What you are trying to accomplish requires an adding folder items to event handler. It requires one direct parameter, which can be anything you wish i.e. target_folder. The handler requires an additional parameter as well; after receiving, which should also be a variable name, i.e. these_items. I have composed a script for you that should do the trick. I have added comments that show you what I'm doing when I do it. Here it is:
on adding folder items to the target_folder after receiving these_items
tell application "Finder"
set all_images to every item of the target_folder as list
repeat with i from 1 to the count of these_items --iterates through all the items you dropped in the folder
set this_image to item i of these_items --the current image
set the name of this_image to "image" & (i + the count of all_images) as string --renames the image based on the number of images already in the folder
end repeat
end tell
end adding folder items to
YAY! The script is done! But are WE done? Not quite. We still need to attach the script to a folder (the script won't run if you try to execute it in script editor).
To do this, first save the script as a Script File in the Folder Action Scripts folder in the Scripts folder in either the local Library folder or the current user's Library folder. Create the folder yourself if it doesn't already exist. Next, launch the Folder Actions Setup application by double-clicking it in the AppleScript folder in the Applications folder. In the window that comes up, click the + button under the table on the left (click the "Enable Folder Actions" checkbox if it isn't already checked) to open a standard file browser sheet, navigate to your desired folder, and click "Open". The Choose a Script to Attach sheet automatically opens, listing all the scripts in all of the Folder Action Script folders. Choose the newly-created script, click "Attach", and BAM you are done!
To see the script in action, drag an image onto the folder. The image is instantly renamed, regardless of if the folder window is open. If you have any questions, or if the script doesn't work, just ask me. :)
