How to revert renamed files to their original names on Mac?

Pianoann2 wrote:

I've renamed so files from my camera and they now won't open in a report they need to be on. How do I restore the original name?

There is no way to "revert" to a previous filename. When you change a filename it overwrites the previous name and it cannot be "restored."

But you said the images now won't open, so it would appear that you changed the file type (aka extension), not the file name. A full filename consists of two sets of characters separated by a "." The characters that follow the "." are called the extension and they determine the file type.

• The common image file types are JPG (JPEG), PNG, TIFF, GIF and now on iPhones HEIC.
• For example, if you change the extension of a JPG file to PNG, it probably won't open because the extension doesn't match what the image file really is.

Do you know what type of files your camera produces?

First step should be to make sure you can see the file types in the Finder. In Finder > Preferences > Advanced make sure that you have checked "Show all filename extensions." Then navigate to your files and inspect the filename & extension. If your camera produces JPG/JPEG files but your files have a different extension try changing one of them back to the original extension and see if it opens.

a file do not keep info about what name it had when it was first created, maybe if you changed the extension as in .jpg to something the operating system do not know which app can open it is the cause of the problem you experience

MartinR wrote:

Pianoann2 wrote:

I've renamed so files from my camera and they now won't open in a report they need to be on. How do I restore the original name?

There is no way to "revert" to a previous filename. When you change a filename it overwrites the previous name and it cannot be "restored."

But you said the images now won't open, so it would appear that you changed the file type (aka extension), not the file name. A full filename consists of two sets of characters separated by a "." The characters that follow the "." are called the extension and they determine the file type• .

The common image file types are JPG (JPEG), PNG, TIFF, GIF and now on iPhones HEIC.

• For example, if you change the extension of a JPG file to PNG, it probably won't open because the extension doesn't match what the image file really is.

Do you know what type of files your camera produces?

First step should be to make sure you can see the file types in the Finder. In Finder > Preferences > Advanced make sure that you have checked "Show all filename extensions." Then navigate to your files and inspect the filename & extension. If your camera produces JPG/JPEG files but your files have a different extension try changing one of them back to the original extension and see if it opens.

Do you remember exactly what the original file extensions were before the change? If not, did you transfer the files from your camera recently? You might be able to check the originals there to confirm.

Restore from TM backup?