About File Naming Patterns

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Several export dialogs in Storyboard Pro allow you to export several files at a time. By default, these dialogs will name each file they export with the necessary information to identify them: Scene number, panel number if the export is broken down into panels, and frame number when exporting an image sequence. However, these dialogs all have a File Pattern field. If you prefer, you can fill this field with a file pattern to determine how your exported files will be identified.

Variables

A file naming pattern are composed of variables. The following variables can be used, depending on the type of export, and on how the export is broken down:

For example, when exporting an image sequence in Jpeg (.jpg) with a file pattern such as MyProject - scene %s - panel %p - frame %f, frame 44 in panel 3 of scene 2 would be exported as MyProject - scene 2 - panel 3 - frame 44.jpg.

If you put a variable in the file naming pattern that is not relevent for your export, for example the %p panel number variable when exporting one file per scene, the variable name will appear in the file name.

Padding

Storyboard Pro will automatically pad the numbers with zeros as needed. For example, if you're exporting a sequence of 10 scenes, the scenes will be numbered 01, 02, ... until 10. This way, all the scenes have the same amount of digits, making it easier to sort them in alphanumeric order.

If you prefer, you can decide the minimum amount of padding you want for each variable. To do this, simply add the amount of digits you want a variable to have between the % sign and the variable letter. For example, instead of %s, put %4s, and scene numbers in the file name will all have four digits. Scene numbers that would require less than four digits will be padded with zeros at their left. For example, scene 1 will be indicated with the number 0001.

Fallback

If you prefer a more simple approach, you can always type a name in plain text in the File Pattern field. This name will be used as a prefix: Your exported files will contain the name you typed, followed by the required information (i.e.: scene number, panel number, etc.) separated by dashes.

Likewise, if you type in a pattern that does not contain all the required variables, your exported files will have the missing variables added at the end, separated by dashes. For example, if you're exporting one image per panel, but type in a file naming pattern that only uses the %s scene number variable, the panel number will be added at the end of each file's name. This avoids exporting several files with the same name.

At any time, you can just delete the content of the File Pattern field to let Storyboard Pro use its default file naming pattern, which will contain all the necessary information.