This is a question related to the interaction of the iOS iNat app (1.0.22) with my native camera on an iPhone (16 Pro). I’m dealing with something frustrating in the way my iNat image files are named in the metadata. When I take photos (for later upload via the app) with my native camera, the files get sequential numbers like “IMG_1802”, “IMG_1803”, etc. But when I take photos from within the iNat app, either via “Take Photos” or “ID in Camera”,
the files get a long randomized alphanumeric name like, “1BC9E403-0067-47E7-83A6-5E01ECCBD8BB.JPG”.
This becomes an issue on my computer (laptop) when trying to organize the photos. When sorted alphabetically, the native names like “IMG_xxxx” provide a true time sequential set in list view. However, unless I switch to a “Sort by Date Created” view in the Finder, the randomized alphanumeric names are completely out of time sequence and it becomes nearly impossible to track down and group sets of images taken via the app. And it is tedious and confusing to have to switch the Finder view back and forth between different Sort views.
So my question is this:
IF the iNat app is using the native iPhone camera and the photos get added to the Photos library, when and why do they receive the long alphanumeric names?
Update: The alphanumeric filenames are even more confusing when downloaded from iPhone to the laptop: They get a completely new alphanumeric file name in that transfer process, making the tracking of individual photos like a “whack-a-mole” game. For instance, this photo of a Coreopsis flower, when downloaded via AirDrop to my laptop, got a completely different filename in the Finder.
“6B6B1556-3571-4FAC-957C-5C268E80B860.jpg” versus
“EE48B0F0-A5FA-49B1-9013-AF19678B68E3.JPG”.