NON-DESTRUCTIVE RENAMING
Rename copies by date—not your only originals.
A useful date-based filename should be explainable and reversible. Preview the evidence first, keep the source files intact, and export a manifest alongside the new copies.
Last updated: August 16, 2026
The output
Readable names with collision handling
TrueTaken proposes names in this form:
YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_original-name.ext
If more than one selected item would receive the same destination name, current v1 adds a suffix such as _02. The original filename and the basis for the proposed date remain visible in the audit report.
Evidence before naming
The date in a filename is a proposal, not a fact
| Source | Current priority | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Supported embedded capture or creation date | First | Was the file edited, scanned, or exported by software that may have changed tags? |
| Matched Google Takeout JSON | Second | Does the sidecar clearly belong to this exact media item? |
| Date pattern in the existing filename | Fallback | Is it a capture date, an edit date, or merely part of a generated name? |
| File modified time | Last resort | Was the file copied, downloaded, restored, or edited recently? |
When embedded and matched Takeout dates differ by more than one day, current v1 shows the conflict and excludes the row from copy export. Items without a usable date are also left unselected.
A safer sequence
Rename in a way you can audit later
- 01
Make or verify a separate backup
Do not make any reorganization tool the only place where your archive exists.
- 02
Scan a representative sample
Include older cameras, phone photos, scans, edits, messaging-app downloads, and Takeout items if those exist in your collection.
- 03
Inspect weak and conflicting rows
Filename and modified-time fallbacks deserve more scrutiny than a supported embedded date. Strong-source disagreement deserves manual review.
- 04
Download the audit manifest
Keep the CSV or JSON report so each proposed name can be traced back to its source filename and evidence.
- 05
Export copies to a new destination
Open a sample from the result, compare counts, and confirm the folder and filename order before relying on it.
Know the boundary
A filename does not control every photo app
Some photo libraries sort by embedded metadata or their own database rather than by filename. Because current v1 does not rewrite EXIF, a TrueTaken copy can appear in a different order inside those apps even though its filename and folder reflect the audited date.