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jakethiessen's avatar
jakethiessen
Explorer | Level 4
2 months ago
Status:
Gathering Support

Dropbox Replay: Editable naming conventions for file uploads and downloads

I would like to suggest an option to customize the naming conventions for file uploads and downloads on Dropbox Replay.

Currently, file uploads retain the name of the original file. Example: if I uploaded "coolvideo_v1" and added a new version named "coolvideo_v2," the Dropbox Replay file would retain the original "coolvideo_v1" name until I manually rename it.

On the flip side, file downloads that have a version history add on the version number to the end of the downloaded file. Example: if I had named a file "coolvideo_v2a" but it was listed as version 3 in the version history, the downloaded file would be named "coolvideo_v2a_v3" on my computer. This confuses the communication between our photographers/videographers and our DAM managers.

Could we add an option to edit the naming convention rules on Dropbox Replay? Custom naming conventions are already a part of Dropbox when it comes to File Request links. Let's get this added to Dropbox Replay!

5 Comments

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 months ago

    Hey jakethiessen - thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on this with us.

    Just to make sure we got this right, can you confirm that you're referring to projects and stacked versions in Dropbox Replay? 

    Also, when you mention an option to edit the naming conventions rules on Dropbox Replay, could you elaborate a tad on that too?

    Thank you so much! 

  • jakethiessen's avatar
    jakethiessen
    Explorer | Level 4
    2 months ago

    Yes, I am referring to projects and stacked versions in Dropbox Replay.

    For naming conventions, I want options in the settings or somewhere that essentially allow you to override the current default naming conventions with Dropbox Replay.

    For UPLOADS: CURRENTLY, a new version added to the stacked version while NOT change the name of the file. Example: if I upload a new version named "coolvideo_v2" to "coolvideo_v1," the video name in Dropbox Replay will remain "coolvideo_v1" unless I manually rename it. PROPOSAL: an option that allows the name to change to the latest new version uploaded to the version stack. Example: if I upload a new version named "coolvideo_v2," the file on Dropbox Replay would be renamed to "coolvideo_v2." This is how it works in frame.io

    For DOWNLOADS: CURRENTLY, if you download a file that is named "coolvideo_v2a" but it listed as version 3 in the stacked version, the downloaded version on my computer would be called "coolvideo_v2a_v3," adding "_v3" onto the end. That messes with the naming convention of what our creatives upload to Dropbox Replay and what our DAM managers download and upload to our DAM. That's incongruent. PROPOSAL: an option in settings to turn on and off that additional suffix (changing naming conventions is something already available in regular Dropbox). Example: If I download the 3rd version in a stacked version, it would NOT add "_v3" to the end of the file.

    Let me know if that helps!

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 months ago
    Status changed:
    New
    to
    Gathering Support

    Thanks for the clarification and the additional information jakethiessen​ - they definitely help paint a better picture of your feature enhancement request.

    That said, this idea is now open. 

    If you like this idea, please share how this would help you, and vote to show your support. 

    Our top-voted ideas are shared with our product teams to investigate in our regular reviews.

  • jpegweber's avatar
    jpegweber
    Helpful | Level 6
    2 months ago

    This has long been the one MAJOR sore point of Dropbox Replay. Your competitor, Frame.io does not have this issue. Jakethiessen laid this out very well when it comes to working with multiple people in a team and potential for miscommunication about version numbers.

    Please help with this, it would save so much time doing the incredibly redundant task of renaming files each time I have a new iteration of a file. Sometimes it gets 5 versions for one video, which can have 4 iterations (AV1, BV1, CV1, DV1, etc.). That's 20x I'm having to rename files to keep the project manager from getting confused.