[darkmark]

I've had to go thru and correct two scanned comics tonight and am looking at a third, which is going to require a complete renumbering.  Not my files, someone else's.  So, folks, I may as well put in a request right now.

Don't use the words or letters "cover", "fc", "bc", "ibc", or "ifc" anymore.

NUMBER PAGES.

Why?  Well, like it or not, the .cbr reader you have is going to put "bc" before "cover" or "fc".  It will put "ibc" before "ifc".  And ALL of those will go before your "01".

And if you (shudder) designate your story pages by the name of the character..."Joe Shazam_01", for example...that's going to get the pages even worse out of order.  So don't do it, okay?

It's a simple thing to start with "01" for the front cover, and progress down to "52" or "68" or however many pages there are.  Also remember to make the single-digit pages "01" thru "09", or you're gonna get "2" stuck between "19" and "20". 

So, just for my sake, folks...let's start out on the same page. ;-)

[rez]

I set my info indica so it begins at the opening of the folder and label 00fc and 00ifc before starting the 01, 02...consectutive order

and place the book's full title only on the folder title with the titles intials following the page numbers in the event a problem ensues somewhere in the sequences as it will help ease the recovery. A point to note the publisher and the year of publication placed in the folder title helps the moderators more easily ok and locate the resting place for the title.

It would be a positive thing to get all the scanners to use the same formula for sure as uniformity in this diminsion would help the operation of filing and presenting mass quanities

but the scans seem to come from all over and from a myriad of individuals and it seems as if it has developed into an art form of it's own

so one has to conclude that just being able to be a recipient of the works in the first place is a great thing and maybe proper application of the page titles into each scan will take on the role of part of the form also and scanners will be attentive to that arena of the presentation

and till then many thanks continue to the behind the scenes folk that labor diligently to see that the show keeps going on.
You know who you are...

[srca1941]

I used to do the cov, ifc, ibc, and bc, but with the last round of scans I've been posting, I've been trying to correct that. At least with my scans, I usually leave other people's stuff alone. (For some reason, it never even occured to me to do it before...) Personally, I like to make 01 page one of the book, and not the cover. It's less confusing to me, especially when I have a coverless book. I also make the cover 00cov, and 00ifc, or something like that. It keeps everything in the proper order without messing up the page numbering.

I also like when people indicate where different stories start, but that's something I haven't been doing myself. I should try to start.

-Eric

[bbbrown]

Besides the numbering inside the archive, it would be nice to see a standard numbering in the file name with it being 3 digits including leading 0's where necessary and to also include the year in the file name.  I know that I have spent a lot of time looking up comics to find the year published when I am doing remote sorting and can't just open up the archive to find the indica and there are some cases where the year isn't even in the indica.

[JonTheScanner]

Of course all the information anyone wants to put in a file name can pretty much be accommodated.  Sorting only looks as far in as need be.  So if I number Action #1 as

Act_1_01_fc.jpg
Act_1_02_ifc.jpg
Act_1_03_Superman_p1.jpg
etc.

it will sort right.

I tend to number from page 1 as the front cover unless the pages of the comic or book are themselves numbered consecutively.  In that case, I try to number so my numbers match the actual numbering.  Sometimes (with books usually not comics) this requires their be pages 000a 000b, etc.

Also note if you're going to use 00 numbers at the beginning it's best to make sure that all pages have the same number of digits.  Depending on the program, pages might be sorted either as

00a
00b
00c
001
002
...
010
etc

or
001
002
...
00a
00b
...
010

etc.

[bbbrown]

You called it right there Jon.

What I don't like to see is the complaints that some one totally messed up in thier numbering just because it doesn't read perfect on a PC. There are some mac guys out there and the numbering of
series 1
series 2
series 3
series 4
series 5
series 6
series 7
series 8
series 9
series 10

does sort correctly on their computers.  Or at least I am told so as I don't have a mac to test it.

Asking them to add the leading 0's is ok, but I have seen people (not on here) fly off the handle and start screaming how the scan is ruined when all that needs done is adding those extra 0's

I wish that there was some standard for naming both jpgs and issues that is followed.  For the issues I would only worry about the leading 0's and leave the rest to the scanners option in how  detailed they get ranging from just calling it scan 000.jpg or scan 001.jpg for the cover to having series name before the number and the story page afterwards.

For file names I really would a standard somthing like this:

ComicName XXX (Year) (c2c or ctc or page count) (publisher optional) (scanner name)

Having the correct name and year according to the indica really help searching out some comics.  The publisher helps for those comics which have had the same character done by 2 or more publishers and of course page counts help in finding out if every story page and ad page is there or if those still need to be scanned by some other kind hearted soul (obligatory sucking up there : )

[John C]

The page number issue, just to be clear, isn't an operating system thing.  It's a software thing.  Modern Windowses know (despite it bothering me a bit) to sort numbers numerically.

However, I suspect that very few readers actually unzip the file.  Rather, we use reader applications that let us view the pages.  Those viewers are where the sorting is important.  And since not all of them understand numbers as numbers, the books are "wrong" if they require a numerical sort, just like you're wrong for using the wrong kind of pencil on one of those standardized tests.

However, I'd say only zero-pad "enough," and I don't think a world of volunteers needs a standard.  If you don't like someone's naming, you're perfectly entitled to rearrange the entire thing to suit your personal tastes.  That includes zero-padding page numbers, naming the covers, inserting the story titles, and annotating the title of the whole book with stuff you care about but I don't (and likewise removing bits you don't care about).

Personally, I'd rather have people scanning than worrying if their book will meet with approval.

Heh.  Also, standards need to change.  Is there going to be a movement in a few years to demand FOUR-digit file numbers?  The "D1K Bug" (when we all panic because Detective Comics hits its thousandth issue, of course) is right around the corner, after all...

[JonTheScanner]

Heh.  Also, standards need to change.  Is there going to be a movement in a few years to demand FOUR-digit file numbers?  The "D1K Bug" (when we all panic because Detective Comics hits its thousandth issue, of course) is right around the corner, after all...

Actually Action will probably get there first.  The December release Action is #872 while Detective is only up to #851.  If Action continues monthly it will hit #1000 with the April 2011 release.

[John C]

Actually Action will probably get there first.

That's right; I forgot about the (nearly) year that Action went weekly.  I redub the issue, then, the A1K Bug, barring new developments...at which point it'll be the I1K bug, because "issue" is more generic.

[OtherEric]

All this would be more worrisome- if we didn't already have the 4C1K bug from day 1 of scanning.   At least here, working with PD books, it will never be an issue with any other titles for close to a century.  (I think corporate copyright is 95 years right now.)

[JonTheScanner]

I'll have to hang my head in embarrassment as one of the key scanners on the Four Color Project.  As I was typing about Action, I knew something had hit #1000, but I kept thinking it must be one of those British weeklies so told the little voice in my head to shut up.

[bbbrown]

The reason I ask for a standard as that some of us are working on projects to make sure people will have access to these scans for a long time to come.  Some of the programs used in this project make a hash mark of the file to help reduce duplicates.  If any change is made to the inside of the archive the hash mark will change.  Make changes to just the title and the hash will stay the same

We are doing this because there are comics that have been scanned that people are having problems finding copies and the scanning of comics has only been going on for around 10 years or so now.

The reason I ask for the year in the filename is because it is not always easy to find the year of the comic for various reasons including some one not scanning the indica to the date not actually being in the indica. I figure if some one actually has the comic in their hand they have a better chance of knowing the year the comic was released.

Just yesterday I was looking online at some comics and because the series had two different runs, one in the 40s-50's and one sometime in the 60's.  Just by the filename I didn't know what one it was.  It ended up it was not the 1950's comic I was looking for, but instead was the later series.  The simple adding of a year to the file name could have helped me to no waste time finding out it wasn't the issue I wanted.

Regarding 4 digits, the comic 2000AD has also gone over 4 digits.  The latest issue I know of is 1615.  I have also seen people store comics using 4 digits even if the series only ran a few issues,

[brian]

Like a few others I usually start with 00fc, 00ifc and then go to the 01, 02. However, like srca, I really like to have the number on the image match the number of the scanned page. So 01 matches 01. This has been beneficial when checking pages. I actually "missed" a few pages and noticed because the number on the image didn't match the external number. LOL I actually like this so much that I have created 00ifc1, 00ifc2, 00ifc3, etc. just to match the internal pages.

Anyway, I think as long as the pages are in the correct sequence and the convention is easy to follow I would think scanners won't have a problem with it. 

[wlefeavers]

When I scan a book, I generally just leave the individial page titles the way the software wrote 'em, with the exception of placing zeroes in the early pages so that they sort right.

This is how I title the archives.

     Amazing Spider-man_v1_441_11-1998_Marvel.cbz

It can be a little cumbersome with longer titles...

     Sergio Aragones Groo the Wanderer_039_5-1988_Marvel.cbz

...but all the information is there and it serves me well for my own organizational purposes.

[narfstar]

I favored c, ifc etc as long as they sorted correctly. But I would end up missing some pages and went to starting the cover as 01.  Please remember that with scans of books we take what we get and appreciate it but some things can be made easier for all. File naming should match the name on the site. We can change the name on the site but not the file name. The importance of this is not for the site but for the personal collections of the user. I like for my scans to sort together. If someone use Captain Marvel Adventures for the tile and someone else abbreviates CMA the Captain Carrot will come between them. Just a thought if you are willing to put in the extra effort before uploading. If not please keep uploading as you are everyone.

[John C]

I suppose that it's not really my business and not particularly interesting, but this exchange made me curious:  Am I atypical in that I sort my downloads into separate folders?  Because inconsistent titles and numbers in filenames don't bother me nearly so much as it does some, apparently, and including the company name always seems pointless, seeing as how I had to navigate to the company's folder to get to the title's folder.

(Then, on days when I'm feeling bored anyway, I run through some bulk renames to rectify a handful of folders where I expect to be reading in the near future, which shakes out the inconsistencies.)

The page numbers are another issue, but as I think about it...maybe it's better to find the people who produce the comic viewers and ask them to change their sorts.  Surely, they didn't intend to force scanners to name things so precisely.  I believe CBReader is an abandoned project, but there's hope for the others, especially if they're Open Source.

[brian]

I suppose that it's not really my business and not particularly interesting, but this exchange made me curious:  Am I atypical in that I sort my downloads into separate folders?  Because inconsistent titles and numbers in filenames don't bother me nearly so much as it does some, apparently, and including the company name always seems pointless, seeing as how I had to navigate to the company's folder to get to the title's folder.

(Then, on days when I'm feeling bored anyway, I run through some bulk renames to rectify a handful of folders where I expect to be reading in the near future, which shakes out the inconsistencies.)

The page numbers are another issue, but as I think about it...maybe it's better to find the people who produce the comic viewers and ask them to change their sorts.  Surely, they didn't intend to force scanners to name things so precisely.  I believe CBReader is an abandoned project, but there's hope for the others, especially if they're Open Source.

Folder sorting or grouping as you indicate is personal preference. I know people who strongly prefer grouping by company and titles under that. And some that think that the chonology or time is extremely relevant because issues or story lines for titles can be linked or have characters cross over.

I think it's whatever you want or need. As you indicate, you might feel that one arrangement is logical one day and a different one the next. It's the beauty of renaming and choice in life. 

[John C]

Folder sorting or grouping as you indicate is personal preference.

Oh, of course it is, and I didn't mean to imply that I had somehow discovered the one true organizational method that will set us free (or imply anything, for that matter).  I was just suddenly very curious as to why so many people feel a need to include in their filenames the book's title, the issue number, the company, the cover date, if it's cover to cover, if it's paper, who scanned it, and in some cases when it was scanned and other bits.

Again, I don't see a problem with it (other than that it makes it difficult to find anything at a quick glance), but it seems a lot like wanting to put up a sign in front of every house with its full address.  Or always referring to everybody you know (including family) by full name, known aliases and nicknames, and occupation.  It might be useful in some cases, but it's a lot to carry around for casual use.

(I get around the story arrangements, in cases where I know about the continuity, with links/shortcuts to the "foreign" book, by the way.)

[Yoc]

Hi JC,
I mainly want to know the following in my file names -
Title of comic, date of pub, publisher IF it's not a common one, is the book C2C or page count, what is missing if not, and Who scanned it in case another version is later scanned.

-Yoc

[rez]

I like to know everything I can about the scan(if it's a quality scan and not something someone just shoved on a scanner to copy)

Scanners spend allot of time doing their work and I'm appreciative of it enough to want to know who, what , where, when, why, and whatever involving their work.
Hey! Was it the dead of winter and you had some extra time?