Help with shared file names.

Question

I want to move photos from a few folders into one folder in Lightroom but some photos share the same file name. Can Lightroom rename for me or am I out of luck?

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Bob Somrak · Accepted Answer

Lightroom will not automatically rename files during a MOVE when source/destination files have the same name. You will have to rename before the move. To avoid duplicate filename from multiple Canon cameras I rename them immediately after import. For instance, a file from my 5D2 gets renamed from IMG_1234 to 5D2A-1234 with the A changing to a B with a number rollover.

ManiacJoe · Answer

Lightroom will not rename the conflicting files for you during the move into a single folder.

I get around this problem by renaming the files as yyyymmdd_hhmmss_nnnn.xxx where the timestamp is the capture date from the EXIF data and nnnn is the original file number. Thus, I never have any duplicate file names whether shooting 1 or multiple cameras. I also reset the file number back to 1 in the camera at the start of every even/shoot.

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