Guide · File naming
Naming your files
Name a radiograph this way and SpineContour fills in the study fields as the film loads, whether from a Workspace folder, the Choose radiograph button, or a drag and drop. Every field stays editable afterwards in the study drawer.
The pattern
- Underscores separate the fields. Spaces and hyphens inside a field belong to that field.
- The subject comes first: everything before the first field SpineContour recognises, exactly as you typed it.
- Timepoint, date and view can come in any order. Each is recognised by its shape, not its position.
- Whatever is left over becomes the note. The file extension and letter case are ignored.
Examples
| File name | Subject | Timepoint | Film date | View | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
sub225_pre-op_10-23-2023.jpg | sub225 | Pre-op | 2023-10-23 | Standing lateral | |
sub225_pre-op_10-23-2023_femoral heads.jpg | sub225 | Pre-op | 2023-10-23 | Standing lateral | femoral heads |
sub225_1yr_flexion_2025-01-10.png | sub225 | 1 yr | 2025-01-10 | Flexion lateral | |
sub225_3-22-2024_post-op.jpg | sub225 | Post-op | 2024-03-22 | Standing lateral | |
John Doe_pre-op_10-23-2023.jpg | John Doe | Pre-op | 2023-10-23 | Standing lateral | |
IMG_0001.jpg | IMG_0001 |
The last row has nothing SpineContour recognises, so the whole name becomes the subject. That film will not pair with anything until you set its timepoint by hand.
What SpineContour recognises
Timepoint
pre-op, preop, pre | Pre-op |
intra-op, intraop | Intra-op |
post-op, postop, post | Post-op |
6wk, 6 wk, 6 weeks | 6 wk |
3mo, 3 months | 3 mo |
1yr, 2 years | 1 yr, 2 yr |
Hyphens or spaces inside these make no difference, and the long forms work too.
Film date
3-22-2024 | Month-day-year |
03-22-2024 | Month-day-year |
2024-03-22 | Year first |
The year needs all four digits and the date has to exist on the calendar. Slashes cannot be used in a file name. Anything that only looks like a date lands in the note, where you can see it and fix it.
View
standing, upright, erect | Standing lateral |
supine | Supine |
prone | Prone |
flexion, flex | Flexion lateral |
extension, ext | Extension lateral |
A film with no view field is treated as a standing lateral.
What will not work
| File name | What happens |
|---|---|
sub225 post-op 3-22-2024.jpg | Spaces do not separate fields. The whole name becomes the subject. |
sub225-post-op-3-22-2024.jpg | Hyphens do not separate fields. The whole name becomes the subject. |
sub225_post-op_3-22-24.jpg | Two-digit year. 3-22-24 becomes the note instead of the date. |
sub225_post-op_3/22/2024.jpg | Slashes are not allowed in file names, and are never read as a date. |
Two films on the same day
When one subject has two films with the same timepoint and date, name the main film plainly and give the second one a note:
sub225_pre-op_10-23-2023.jpg
sub225_pre-op_10-23-2023_femoral heads.jpgThe plain film leads and the noted film fills in only what the first one is missing. If both films have a note, or neither does, SpineContour cannot tell them apart and leaves that subject out of the paired export.
Good to know
- Keep the subject spelling identical across films.
Pairing is done by subject:
sub225andSub225match,sub225andsub 225do not. - Follow-ups can all be
post-opwith their own dates. The paired export orders them Post-op 1, Post-op 2 and so on. Interval labels like6 wkwork too. - Renaming a file after it has loaded changes nothing. Loading fills blank fields and never overwrites what the app already holds. Edit the fields in the study drawer, or delete the study on the Find tab and load the folder again.