Don’t mess with the dot

May 30, 2008 | Tips & Tech Support, Tim

Recently I had a call from a customer whom had a large number of RAW files disappear from his hard drive while renaming them. He was using a Phase One digital back, Capture One Pro and a Mac computer. My first thought was either the naming had taken place in the file browser or with another software package. However upon investigation, he had renamed the RAW file in Capture One. Turns out he had wanted to break up the order of the files… then he planned on sorting the thumbnails by name. Unfortunately when renaming the images, he added a “dot” or “period” in front of the existing name. When working with computers there is a old saying, “don’t mess with the dot”. “Periods” and “slashes” (/) as most of you know can relate to the lowest level of command, DOS or UNIX systems all use these symbols.

Since OSX is a UNIX based system, typing a period in front of the file name turns that file into a hidden file…. hidden from the OS itself. The file actually exist, without any data change, but finding it can be an adventure. In my tech support case, I happened to have maintenance program called Cocktail (http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/index.php) which will allow you to view all hidden files on your computer.

This allows you the opportunity to find and remove the “dot” from the name, returning your files from the dead. With this program my customer was able to retrieve all of his files and learn a valuable lesson without the loss of his photography.

Tim

Technical Services