Why cant I keep my original image filenames?

scotlawrence

Why does smugmug change my filename?
I tried searching this forum, and just spent my lunch hour reading about filenames and keywords..
which I didnt fully understand.. :scratch
but found nothing that specifically answers my question.

If my original image file name is:
tioga03-full.jpg
why cant I have the full URL be:
http://scotlawrence.smugmug.com/photos/tioga03-full.jpg


instead I get:
http://scotlawrence.smugmug.com/photos/672206624_Ba8fJ-O.jpg

which is no good..because I already have some webpages made..
I want to ditch photobucket, (photobucket is sucking) and come over here to smugmug, and I would like to just do a quick "find and replace" and edit all the photo links in my HTML code, replacing the photobucket URL with the smugmug URL, but I cant do that easily if smugmug changes ALL my image filenames..it would take forever to find and edit each link individually..

I also want to use smugmug to create nice albums!
and the albums here look great..
but being able to embed photos into my genealogy page is also a reason for switching..

Is there any way to upload images and keep the original filename?
so far im really liking the look of smugmug! :wink
but I would really like to keep my filenames..
it woul;d make life much easier..

(if it *cant* be done, could someone explain the rationale for changing the filenames?
im not understanding the reasoning..)

thanks,
Scot

mbrady

When you upload a photo, Smugmug automatically generates several other copies of that photo, each a different size (thumbnail, small, medium, large, etc.) and so each of those has to have a unique filename.

Smugmug does know the original filename of your photo, but I'm not sure if there's a URL that you can use that uses the original filename.

jfriend

There is no way to do what you want. URLs on Smugmug have nothing to do with your filename. They give every image a unique image ID and key and that is what is used in direct image URLs. It's just the way Smugmug works.

Your find replace to switch over to Smugmug will have to change each image URL individually.

Carl314

jfriend wrote:

There is no way to do what you want. URLs on Smugmug have nothing to do with your filename. They give every image a unique image ID and key and that is what is used in direct image URLs. It's just the way Smugmug works.

Your find replace to switch over to Smugmug will have to change each image URL individually.

I too have meaningful photo names, and wonder why Smugmug insists on changing them. Other galleries allow preservation of filenames.

At a minimum, how about using the original filename when someone downloads it? Or the original name, with a size appended to it?

Cheers, Carl.

Andy

We have something in the works for this, stay tuned

Carl314

Andy wrote:

We have something in the works for this, stay tuned

Awesome - this, and virtual albums are on top of my personal wish list!

Cheers, Carl.