Images: iPad to Classicpress

For sensible historical reasons my photo diary on this site requires the photographs named with the date they refer to using a standard 2021-05-28.jpg format. I know I could just title them in WordPress but, for human readability if nothing else, I want the files themselves named in this way.

This has never proved as easy as it should. More accurately, it has never proved easy. WordPress itself (and thus Classicpress) does not allow you to change filenames, only the “nice name” that WordPress might display if you ask it to.

I have always wanted a workflow that allows me to take a photo and upload it straight to my site.

Until recently I have got round this by using an app on the iPad called BIRU-WP to upload the images from the iPad in jpg format and a plugin called File Renamer to change the file names once they have uploaded. Then I switched my hosting and took this as an opportunity to rethink a few things.

I now have a new workflow that uses neither the app nor the plugin and takes advantage of the new Files app in iPadOS.

New Workflow

1. I take a photo on my Android phone or iPad (usually the phone – it has a better camera).
2. I upload it to a folder in Dropbox, kept for this purpose.
3. I have that folder favorited in Pixelmator and I open it on my iPad and do whatever processing it needs in Pixelmator.
4. I save the processed image to a second folder in Dropbox and during this process I rename it to today’s date.
5. I open the admin panel of Classicpress in Firefox on the iPad and import the (now correctly named) image.

This has proved easier and quicker, and has far less moving parts.