Samuel H
Major Contributor
Hi
I have created an excel macro (I know, but it was the easiest way) that makes up to five copies of the contents of the DCIM folder on your SD or CF card, on several locations of your computer (say, on the internal drive and on two external backup drives), and at the same time renames all the files so that they make a bit more sense to you (very useful for a shot>takes structured workflow), and runs a binary check to see if everything was copied ok.
You can download it here:
edit: nobody seemed interested, so I've taken the link down, send me a private message if you want the file
Knowing that I can't be responsible for any losses of data that this software may create (I very much doubt it will, but if it does you take the heat), feel free to use it as you wish, or to modify it to fit your needs (for a start, I think it only works in windows, but somebody could modify it so it runs on macs too; also, it may not work for cameras different than mine, which is a canon 550D, and someone could modify it to work on nikons or panasonics too; finally, I think it won't work if you use folder names with spaces in them, and I don't have plans to solve that, but somebody could).
Unless you specifically tell it to do so, this tool doesn't alter the contents of the card in any way. On the other hand, it doesn't preserve the canon file structure on the target folders, so it may not be suitable for you depending on the software you use (it's not my case, and I'm not sure which software that is, but I think there are some plugins or something that require a special way of copying the files to the computer; this tool may not work for you if you're on that camp).
It is just as fast as it can be, given what it does: the copying process takes exactly the same time as it would if you copied and pasted the files using the windows explorer. But the whole process is much slower, because the binary check takes time, and if an error is found the file is copied again, and a new check is performed, etc., until every file passes the test. As I've discovered, this checking step is very important: one of my card readers seems to create lots of errors, and the other one is much better but still won't copy a full card without at least a cople of bits going the wrong direction.
The renaming part is also very useful, I think it will definitely improve my workflow. In the notes below (just copied from the "instructions" sheet on the file) you can see how I use it.
WHEN SHOOTING:
On your camera, go to the wrench1 menu and set "file numbering = continuous"
Before the first take of each shot, go to that same menu and hit "file numbering : manual reset"
This will create a new CANONXXX folder on your flash card, and all new files will be stored there, starting on 0001
Doing this, you just have to keep track of which shot is sitting on each folder; all its takes will be there
WHEN MOVING STUFF TO THE PC:
STEP 1: ANALYZE
Set the drive letter corresponding to your flash card on C11 (just the letter, without the ":\")
Hit step1_analyze
the macro looks into your "sourcedrive:\DCIM\" folder for any subfolders, and saves their names below C20 and E20
STEP 2: COPY+RENAME+CHECK
Set your target folders under C12 (I usually copy them from the windows explorer) (don't include the final "\")
(you can make up to five copies of the contents of the card, on, say, one internal drive and several external drives)
(the only one that is really needed is the first one; if the other ones are empty, it's just fine)
Leave the contents below C20 as they are, and change the names you want under E20 (e.g. "Scene1A")
(those names will be applied both to the subfolders and, as prefixes, to the files themselves)
Hit step2_copy
The macro copies the contents of the subfolders under C20 to all your target folders, renaming them on the fly
After copying each file, it performs a file comparison (fc) to check that everything is ok, without any binary errors
(if it finds an error, it copies the file again, and checks again, etc., until the files pass the fc test)
To speed things up, target folders 2 to 5 are copied from, and compared with, target folder 1, instead
of the flash card itself; this also means you can take the card off once the first folder is complete
I have created an excel macro (I know, but it was the easiest way) that makes up to five copies of the contents of the DCIM folder on your SD or CF card, on several locations of your computer (say, on the internal drive and on two external backup drives), and at the same time renames all the files so that they make a bit more sense to you (very useful for a shot>takes structured workflow), and runs a binary check to see if everything was copied ok.
You can download it here:
edit: nobody seemed interested, so I've taken the link down, send me a private message if you want the file
Knowing that I can't be responsible for any losses of data that this software may create (I very much doubt it will, but if it does you take the heat), feel free to use it as you wish, or to modify it to fit your needs (for a start, I think it only works in windows, but somebody could modify it so it runs on macs too; also, it may not work for cameras different than mine, which is a canon 550D, and someone could modify it to work on nikons or panasonics too; finally, I think it won't work if you use folder names with spaces in them, and I don't have plans to solve that, but somebody could).
Unless you specifically tell it to do so, this tool doesn't alter the contents of the card in any way. On the other hand, it doesn't preserve the canon file structure on the target folders, so it may not be suitable for you depending on the software you use (it's not my case, and I'm not sure which software that is, but I think there are some plugins or something that require a special way of copying the files to the computer; this tool may not work for you if you're on that camp).
It is just as fast as it can be, given what it does: the copying process takes exactly the same time as it would if you copied and pasted the files using the windows explorer. But the whole process is much slower, because the binary check takes time, and if an error is found the file is copied again, and a new check is performed, etc., until every file passes the test. As I've discovered, this checking step is very important: one of my card readers seems to create lots of errors, and the other one is much better but still won't copy a full card without at least a cople of bits going the wrong direction.
The renaming part is also very useful, I think it will definitely improve my workflow. In the notes below (just copied from the "instructions" sheet on the file) you can see how I use it.
WHEN SHOOTING:
On your camera, go to the wrench1 menu and set "file numbering = continuous"
Before the first take of each shot, go to that same menu and hit "file numbering : manual reset"
This will create a new CANONXXX folder on your flash card, and all new files will be stored there, starting on 0001
Doing this, you just have to keep track of which shot is sitting on each folder; all its takes will be there
WHEN MOVING STUFF TO THE PC:
STEP 1: ANALYZE
Set the drive letter corresponding to your flash card on C11 (just the letter, without the ":\")
Hit step1_analyze
the macro looks into your "sourcedrive:\DCIM\" folder for any subfolders, and saves their names below C20 and E20
STEP 2: COPY+RENAME+CHECK
Set your target folders under C12 (I usually copy them from the windows explorer) (don't include the final "\")
(you can make up to five copies of the contents of the card, on, say, one internal drive and several external drives)
(the only one that is really needed is the first one; if the other ones are empty, it's just fine)
Leave the contents below C20 as they are, and change the names you want under E20 (e.g. "Scene1A")
(those names will be applied both to the subfolders and, as prefixes, to the files themselves)
Hit step2_copy
The macro copies the contents of the subfolders under C20 to all your target folders, renaming them on the fly
After copying each file, it performs a file comparison (fc) to check that everything is ok, without any binary errors
(if it finds an error, it copies the file again, and checks again, etc., until the files pass the fc test)
To speed things up, target folders 2 to 5 are copied from, and compared with, target folder 1, instead
of the flash card itself; this also means you can take the card off once the first folder is complete
Last edited: