The Random Wok Aperture export plugin gives the names of the images it exports random file names. Random file names are useful if you want to hide the sequence or meaning of the file names or if a random ordering is needed for a program that displays them in alphabetical order. The length and type of random name are selectable and you can also provide a prefix and a postfix strings that are applied to the ends of the random part of the name. Download Random Wok from the download page.



These settings produce file names like those below.



Random Wok works with Aperture 2.0 and Leopard. Aperture 2.0 no longer displays a sheet to show progress. Instead, it exports in the background and progress is shown in Aperture's tasks window. See Known Issues below for a warning about new behavior with Aperture 2.0.

I have extensively blogged the development of Random Wok and posted all the articles together on the Random Wok Aperture Plugin page. If you are interested in writing your own plugin, this will give you a good idea of the level of skill and experience needed.

Controls

Kind: Case: Length: The style of the random part of the name is selectable among numeric, hex, alpha, and alphanumeric. All except the numeric style allow the selection of character case: upper, lower, or both. The length can be varied.

Freeze with: tells Random Wok to use the characters in the text field to generate the random names. The same characters value will always create the same set of random file names for the same images if the other settings are the same. This can be useful if you want to create links to random images and be able to repeatably export and upload them without breaking the links. With the freeze with checkbox unchecked names are completely random.

Prefix and Postfix are added to the beginning and end of the random part.

Random Wok displays thumbnails for versions (but not masters) and shows the version name, the caption, and an example random file name. If Freeze with is checked, then the new names shown will be used for the export.

Download

Random Wok is a universal binary for Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later and requires Aperture 1.5 or later. Random Wok is available as freeware on the download page.

Installation

To install Random Wok, copy it to the folder ~/Library/Application Support/Aperture/Plug-Ins/Export.

Open your home folder and navigate to the Application Support folder inside the Library folder. Open the Aperture folder. If there is a Plug-Ins folder then open it. If not, then create a new one. If there is an Export folder inside that then open it. If not, then create a new one. Install the Random Wok plugin in by dragging it into the Export folder:



Quit Aperture if it is running, then relaunch it.

To remove Random Wok, quit Aperture, then drag the plugin to the Trash.

Use

Access Random Wok via the File menu in Aperture. Select some images, then go to File > Export > Random Wok... The Random Wok dialog will open and the images can be exported.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't I see any thumbnails if I select Masters?
Master images do not have thumbnails. Aperture only provides thumbnails for versions of master images. When you browse in Aperture you are always looking at versions of the masters.

Why does the number of images become smaller when I select Masters?
If your Aperture selection includes multiple versions of a master then the number of masters available in the selection will be less than the number of versions.

Why do the random filenames keep changing?
They change to show that they are random. If the Freeze with checkbox is checked, then they don't change as long as the settings remain the same.

Why can't I use ~ and some other characters in the prefix and postfix?
Tilde and some other characters have special meaning for the disk filing system and so are prohibited from being entered.

I put the same word into the Freeze with field today as I did yesterday. Why is random Wok not exporting with the same random names?
You must now be using different settings for the Kind, case, or Length. Set them the same way as before and the same random names will be used.

Why is the display of thumbnails and image information completely blank?
You are using Aperture 1.5. Upgrade your copy to 1.5.1 or later and the information will be displayed normally.

Known Issues

If Masters is selected and used or cancelled, then it is possible that the next time Random Wok is run, the count of images will be incorrect and the thumbnails will not be displayed. To correct this, select Versions, cancel Random Wok, and then start it again. This issue results from Aperture passing incorrect data to the plugin.

If used with Aperture 2.0 the behavior with respect to clashes with existing files has changed. With Aperture 1.5 Aperture would never supply an existing file name. However with 2.0 it does not check, and so plug-in exports will overwrite existing files with the same version name. Export to empty folders to work around.

If used with Aperture 2.0 the behavior with respect to clashes with existing random files has changed. Random Wok 1.0 will issue a warning if random files are exported that have a name clash, as before. However with 2.0, Aperture does not think that the export has finished and will show the export continuing forever in the background. This is usually on an issue if Freeze is used and repeated exports to the same place are performed. Quit Aperture and relaunch to fix.