How to Arrange Digital Photo Files

You have an assortment of digital photos in a folder, and you want to arrange them so they'll show in a particular order in a slideshow or other presentation. You also want to keep them in the same order in the future. You know that renaming each file manually will work, but it's time consuming and prone to errors. Here's how to organize and rename your photo files quickly and easily in Windows XP or Vista -- no other software required.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Windows XP or Vista
• Digital photos in a folder on your computer
• Basic skills working with files and folders in Windows Explorer

1. 
   Unsorted digital photos

   Open the folder containing your un-sorted photos in Windows Explorer. Select a thumbnail view so you can see the photos.

2. 
   Sorted digital photos

   Drag the thumbnails around so they are in the order you wish them to be, left to right, top to bottom.

3. 
   All photos selected

   Select all the photos. In Vista, click Organize > Select All. In XP, click Edit > Select All. A shortcut for both is Control+A.

4. 
   Renamed digital photos

   Right-click the first thumbnail and select Rename, or press the F2 key on your keyboard. The name of the first photo will be highlighted. Rename that photo with a short descriptive name plus '(1)', such as 'MyPhotos(1).jpg'. The number inside of parentheses is important. Press the Enter key.

5. 
   Start the slideshow

   Windows will now automatically rename all the selected photos in series -- MyPhotos(1).jpg, MyPhotos(2).jpg, MyPhotos(3).jpg and so on -- in the order you arranged them. From now on, or until you re-arrange and rename them again, they will always show in this order when sorted by name. Double-click the first photo to start your slideshow.

Tips & Warnings

• I haven't tested this with Windows 2000 or 98, but it might work in them as well.
• This will work for any type of file you want to keep in a certain order.
• You can add files to the folder later, place them where you want them to be, then simply rename them again to preserve the order.
• Make sure your folder contains fewer than 1000 photos. Too many photos can take too long to rename, and might choke your computer.

[apalmer]

on 6/18/2009 This is a great article on organizing digital photos. I'm giving you a recommendation.

[ruf1950]

on 5/20/2009 Thank you, thank you, thank you! learning how to arrange digital photo files is important for me, and you just made it easy. 5***** and a recommend :-)

[writedesign]

on 5/19/2009 You just saved me a ton of time with this article. I've got tons of photos to organize! 5*rec

[b9onrg]

on 12/23/2008 You saved me a world of frustration with this tip.......thanks a million!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[grouch]

on 3/29/2008 Wonderful snapshots. Thanks for the tips.