Ancestry Quick Tip 4/30/2002 Archive- Jamboree : Organizing and Naming Digital Photos http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/tip/5676.asp -------- I have recently begun to add all my documents into CLOOZ. Not wanting to have to re-do the numbering sequence, I tried to find a system that would be flexible. My final version is: Type Code + 4digit Year+4digit sequential number. (example: birth19870003). This same idea could also be used for photos.(Surname+4digit Year+4digit sequential number) If the year is unknown, I have been entering 'unkn' in its place. When the year is determined, the document or photo can be re-coded to the next number in the given year. Most families won't have more then 9,999 photos in a given year. I keep an Excel spreadsheet to track the sequential numbers. By using the workbook feature, I have created a spreadsheet for every ten years. Each year is broken down into the type code, year (auto filled), sequential number (calculated by formula) and Person/persons involved. I need only to enter in the type code and person(s) name. This makes it easier to locate the year and printout manageable copies. Jill D Green Bay, WI -------- I use "Clooz" to organize my photos. Although a simple database would do the trick, I number my photographs, rather than name them. Then, I enter the data into the Clooz database. It sounds like double work, but it's worth it in the long run. For instance: I have a photo of my grandmother riding a bicycle. The photo is named: P00312.jpg. In the Clooz database, under my grandmother's entry, I add photo P00312.jpg and put "bicycle" somewhere in the description. I have another photo of my grandmother with all her brothers and sisters. This one is called P00313.jpg. In the Clooz database, I make an entry under EACH of her brothers' and sisters' entries (as well as her entry) for this photo. The beauty of Clooz is that now I can do a search on my grandmother, and I'll find not only the picture of her with the bicycle, but I'll find the group shot of her and all her siblings. I keep a hard copy of all the photos in an album in numerical order. (I use a program, which came with my HP Photosmart Printer that allows me to print several photos to an 8 1/2 x 11 page - and will also add captions. For the captions, I put the picture ID, e.g., P00312.jpg.) If I ever need to find a hard-copy photo quickly to show someone, I can simply run a query in Clooz, then turn to the appropriate page in the album. Kelly Harmon -------- The naming scheme for my scanned photos is a combination: * consecutive number * followed by surname * followed by first name * followed by year the photo was taken * followed by whether it was a snapshot or portrait. This gives me the flexibility to quickly search my files by subject name or year as well as make modifications in the scan and save it by its scan number. Having the year the photo was taken in the file name makes it easier to locate images. I keep track of the image number and description in a notebook (a spread sheet would work just as well). I started my numbering system at 001. A typical image name would appear as: 001SmithJoeMary.b66s.tif or 001SmithJM.b66s.tif a = years 1800's; b = 1900's; c = 2000's s = snapshot; p = formal portrait If I make any modifications to the original scan, I just add an "x" to the file name before the file extension as: 001SmithJM.b66s.X.tif Or I could just save it by the scan number. After collecting nine to twelve images, I use PowerPoint to insert the images on a single page, leaving enough space to write the image number and any other necessary comments. The page goes into my scanning record notebook. E. Lippman -------- I am the manager of a Computer Aided Drafting department, so I spend a lot of time archiving and backing up data. If, as stated in the initial question about filing digital photos, your back-up system is truncating the file names, you are probably using an older (DOS, not Windows Based) back-up system. Personally, I archive data to CDs, with no changes to the file name. To the question at hand, though: Using an Excel spreadsheet, you can create a hyperlink between the text in the spreadsheet and the photo file. This way, you can create as descriptive a name as you wish. Click on the text in the spreadsheet and your file opens. I used this same technique for images of standard details. You can also keep notes associated with the photo in the spreadsheet, and create links to other document files. Mitch Mermel Orlando, Fl -------- Since my genealogy program has a unique number for every individual (the Record Identification number or RIN), I use a derivative of that number for my digital photo. The program also has a unique number for each family (the Marriage Record Identification number or MRIN). If I have a photo of a person, I look up the RIN or that person; for me, my RIN is 1, and so the photo of me would be labeled R00001.jpg If I have a photo of a married couple, I use the designation like: M0001.jpg If I have a photo of a family with many people, I use the designation like F0001.jpg where the number is the MRIN of the parents. I put the leading zeros in so that a listing of files would be in standard numerical order. For multiple pictures of the same person, I add a letter such as R00001A.jpg This system does not work for photos of people who are not in your genealogy program. I have created a directory on the hard drive labeled "My Genealogy Photos" which contains the photos mentioned above. For others, one can create other directories and use a different naming scheme. Merlin Kitchen -------- My method of filing old family photos may sound complicated, but is quite simple. On my hard drive I have a folder called "Genealogy." In this folder is my genealogy software and all of my genealogy files. Within it is a folder called "Photos" and in this folder are folders for each of the main families I am researching -- Smith, Jones, etc. I have one family name that is found on my side as well as my husband's side, but to the best of my knowledge they have not intersected yet. I call those folders "KWilliams" and "GWilliams" -- my initial and my husband's initial. Within each family folder I save my pictures by first name and year taken for individuals -- "Ruby1921" and "Ruby1931" -- trying to limit the name to eight letters. For groups I list the year first with a description or the name of the primary person. For a photo of my great-grandfather and his brothers taken in 1886, I list in the Underwood folder "1886Bros." For a picture of my grandmother and seven cousins taken in 1921, I list "1921Ruby" -- easily differentiated from the single picture of her taken at the same family picnic. Hope this helps someone else! Kay -------- Several freeware or shareware programs allow you to create thumbnail views and otherwise organize digital images, even view them as slide shows. These include Irfan and PolyView. Look for them or others at the usual suspects: CNet.com, ZD.com, Tucows.com, and other sites. Thanks, Richard A. Danca Newton, Mass. -------- We have many antique photos and other early 20th century photos of extended families and felt that we would like to share them with our other families. So as I was scanning the old photos and importing the current digital photos, I had to come up with a system of keeping track of what we had. In our families of Morgan, Crawford, Cox, and Carson, there were usually eight or nine children and each of those children named their children for some parent or grandparent in the family, so there are numerous duplicate names. How could we ever keep them straight? Our son, who is also a photographer, suggested that I handle them the same way I would the family tree. That sounded logical, so I made a folder for each family surname and sub-folders for each child of that family, etc. on my hard drive. I imported each family's photos into their folder. Under each family, I also have a Family Groups folder to hold their group pictures. One might also have a Reunion folder or special birthday or anniversary folder under the Surname. The photo program I use sorts by number first, then alphabetically. So, in naming my pictures, I use the year the photo was taken first; then the last name, first name, middle initial then a number (01) indicating the number of photos of that person or group for that particular year. For example: 1905 Morgan, Charles O_01.jpg or 1905 C H Morgan Siblings_01.jpg. For the original picture I would use the number (01) and an edited or enhanced version would be the number +e (01e). This method helps me to keep the photos in chronological order for that person, or that family group. I then print the photo index sheet and place it the surname notebook. I like the idea of also using Excel to keep more information about each photo, as to where it was taken, comments on the back of the photo, etc. and filing it in the notebook with the photo index sheet. Joyce Cox Village Mills, TX -------- One of your readers wanted to know how the rest of us file our photos on disk. This works for me. I start with a folder under "My Pictures." The first folder is the surname, ex: Quinton. Under Quinton, I make a folder for the parents, John and Cora. I put all photos of John and Cora in their folder. I make another folder for each of John and Cora's children, putting the photos in the corresponding folder. Inside each of John and Cora's children's folders, I put THEIR children's folders, putting each child's photos in the corresponding folder. You can put a folder inside a folder inside a folder for each succeeding generation. This keeps all the Johns and Toms separated in different folders, and lets me know what parents they belong to. For family groups, I make a file labeled Quinton Family Groups. Evelyn Rard Copyright 2000, MyFamily.com. This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes provided that proper attribution (including author name) and copyright notices are included. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! 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