Compare Folders with Renamed Image Files?

[jalperin]

I know this was not possible with BC2, but is it now possible to compare folders of (mostly) identical images which have different filenames? I had an original folder of images with names of the format DSC_502.nef, DSC_503.nef, etc. I've copied these to a new folder and renamed them using a date-based name: D90_20120110_0001.nef, D90_20120110_0002.nef, etc. Some of the files seem not to have been copied, so I'm trying to use BC to determine which ones.

Because the original name was arbitrary and the new name is based on the photo date with a sequence number appended, there's no way to create an alignment override rule (at least, I don't think so). Is it possible to align based on the file date/time or the exif file date/time or something similar?

Any other suggestions? thanks!

--Jeff

[Chris]

This is possible with Beyond Compare 3 Pro (not standard).

Open the folders in the Folder Compare with files named D90_20120110_0001.nef on the left and DSC_502.nef on the right.

Select "Session > Session Settings".
Go to the "Misc" tab.
Click "New".
For "Align left file": D90_\d{8}_00(\d+).nef
For "with right file": DSC_5$1.nef
Check "Regular Expression" and click OK until you're back to the main window.

See the "Regular Expression Reference" topic in BC3's help file if you're not familiar with them.

[jalperin]

I'm still having trouble with this as my filenames weren't exactly what I posted, and my attempts to edit the regex don't seem to work. (and when I rename the files to match what I had posted, the files still don't seem to align)

So, here is what I actually have:

left side: DSC_0074.NEF is identical to right side: D90_20120120_0001.NEF

and

left side: DSC_0075.NEF is identical to right side: D90_20120120_0002.NEF

I tried changing the lowercase .nef to .NEF in both regex expressions, but that didn't help. Right now I have: DSC_0$1.NEF = D90_\d{8}_00(\d+).NEF

thanks for any additional help/hints.

--Jeff

[Zoë]

The replacements feature can't currently handle that kind of rename.

The replacements mapping has to be one-to-one based on the regular expression substitution template. Basically, it works by matching the first filename against a regular expression and then using the substitution template to generate the second filename. If that second filename exists then it's aligned. Since your filenames both have incrementing but different numbers there's no way to create a template that will generate the opposite file's name.

Chris's replacement suggestion doesn't work because it was based on the assumption that the "0003" on the right side corresponded to "503" on the left, so he could use the last two digits to do the alignment.

[grandwale]

The replacements feature can't currently handle that kind of rename.

The replacements mapping has to be one-to-one based on the regular expression substitution template. Basically, it works by matching the first filename against a regular expression and then using the substitution template to generate the second filename. If that second filename exists then it's aligned. Since your filenames both have incrementing but different numbers there's no way to create a template that will generate the opposite file's name.

Chris's replacement suggestion doesn't work because it was based on the assumption that the "0003" on the right side corresponded to "503" on the left, so he could use the last two digits to do the alignment.

IMHO, your explanation and Chris's example should be added to BC's help file. I've tried using "alignment overrides" but I couldn't make it work (I'd read the help file carefully but "replacement-style regular expressions" is not clear). Fortunately, I found this thread. So I think other new users will find it easier to use this feature if the help has more detailed information about it.