Bowerbird wrote:
the overarching rule is to make the system as complex as it needs to be, and no more.
The system I propose for scan file naming is *simpler* than yours and more flexible -- it will handle *any* publisher page numbering/naming convention one throws at it (even backwards page numbering or where the same number is used twice) without the use of special prefix letters to describe which major structure of the book the page numbers are used. It also integrates better into the QC system. Here's your two part (really three-part) system as I best understand it: BookID : PublisherPageID(withalphabetprefixes) Here's my system: BookID : ScanSeq# : PublisherPageID(asis) In your system, you are asking the person who is naming the files to not only read the PublisherPageID, but to then append some letter (as needed) to handle the different numbering schemes used in the book (typically two: Roman and Arabic). In my system, the person only needs to read the PublisherPageID and enter that without having to figure out any letter prefixes -- this is easier and more reliable. It will also handle cases your (and Marcello's) system won't handle, such as backward-numbered pages and where page numbers are repeated (this example was actually brought up.) My system also integrates well (not saying yours doesn't) into the natural work flow of the scanning and QC process: 1) Scans are sequentially made from the front to back, including all blank pages. Each scan is given a simple ScanSeq#. 2) During the next stage where a human being is looking at each scan, they append the *actual* publisher supplied page number (or string) to the filename from (1). No need to add any letter prefixes or anything -- they use the *actual* string "as it is". 3) Then, if needed, the BookID (whether it is a DP database record ID or a PG text number) is then prepended to the whole set. This is trivially done with a script. In Windows, I can run a command line *.bat file to do this, if I wanted. Let's not forget the fact that during post-processing (deskewing, cropping, color reduction, etc.) we are generating derivative scan sets whose names must differentiate from other derivative (and the master) scanset. This was a problem I had. By adding a fourth field to the filename, we can differentiate between scan sets of the same project, which we may wish to preserve (at least in the working data base.) This is not complicated at all, and provides a lot of flexibility. Jon