Commercial photo books - creating with images in the right sequence.

[slast]

This may be well known but I have just found a solution to a problem with commercial photo book printers such as Photobox which has driven me nuts for some time.

These generally work with the customer uploading an album of images. The system can then often create very acceptable results by automatically filling the pages (far more effcetively in my opinion than the "Create photo book" offered here for home printing).   HOWEVER the big frustration is that while many (if not all) such services allow whatever files you want to be added, they will subsequently display them only in sequence by alphabetical filename or date of file creation.  Anything automatically created using hteir software must then have the images in that order. Although they may be individually moved subsequently, this can be very time consuming to correct if date or filename order is not what you want. 

The work-around I have just realised is: 

1) In the PSElements organiser, create a specific album for printing with the images in the sequence you want, i.e. sorted by ALBUM order.  

2) Select all the files and Export as new files to a separate folder with a common base name. 

3) Upload those files to the commercial printer. 

4) Its own auto-create functions will put create the book with the files in the order you want, whatever their original file name or date or creation.

[freekOO]

Hi. I have #1 but how do I do #2??

I have PSE 2021.

[slast]

In the organiser:

1) open the album

2) select all (ctrl A)

3) very top menu "File"

4) 9th item "Export as new files"  (Ctrl E)

5) In the new window Select all again (Ctrl A) 

6) File type - choose (usually JPG)

7) Location - browse and specify export directory

8) make new folder and name it (e.g "Holiday pics)

9) specify common base name (e.g. "Holiday)  

10 You should now have a folder "Holiday pics" filled with with "Holiday 01, Holiday 02...... etc."   

If you upload that entire folder to your book printing service, it should show them in the order you want when asked to sort alphabetically, regardless of what the original actual filenames are.   

[freekOO]

Worked like a Charm!! Thank U. Thank U.

[HELP ME]

I have been using Adobe Element for many years! In the past when I exported the photos to load in a website photo gallery the uploaded in numerical order 1,2, etc. Now they are loading backwards starting with the last number to the 1st? What can I do? 

[MichelBParis]

I have been using Adobe Element for many years! In the past when I exported the photos to load in a website photo gallery the uploaded in numerical order 1,2, etc. Now they are loading backwards starting with the last number to the 1st? What can I do? 

By @HELP ME

The order for 'loading' has nothing to do with the order for 'displaying', which you choose from the software used to display the files. You choose the ascending or descending order. Anyway, the files are stored in random order on the disk.