PSPImageSequencer is designed to solve various problems associated with creating zip archives of jpg images for transfer to and display on the Sony PSP. Sony and PSP are trademarks of Sony, and PSPImageSequencer has nothing to do with Sony. We made it all by ourselves over at the 42Ninjas labs. If you are from Sony and think we are infringing on some kind of intellectual property, please email us at info at 42ninjas dot com.
Most PSP users are aware of the fact that when jpg images are transferred to the PSP, they are displayed in reverse chronological order (newest image first). To be more specific, the PSP looks at the "last modified" timestamp on each jpg, and displays them in reverse chronological order according to this timestamp. So when you flip through a folder of jpgs on your PSP, you are going to see the most recently modified file first, and so on down the line.
One problem for publishers of comics and other sequential image-based content for the PSP is that it makes sense for them to name their files in a machine- and human-readable sequential manner, such as 01.jpg, 02.jpg, 03.jpg, etc. However, if you name your images in this fashion, and then need to go back and make a change to 02.jpg, then 02.jpg will be the first image a user sees when she starts flipping through the images on her PSP. Unless, that is, you go back and save out all of the files again in the correct order from whatever application you are using to create your work. And that is a pain in the arse.
A second problem for publishers of sequential image-based content for the PSP is that not all archiving tools play nice with one another. We have seen numerous cases of jpg sequences that have been properly time stamped when they go into a zip archive, but come out the other end with incorrect timestamps. This has to do with lots of arcane stuff about how files are sorted within the archive itself, and how certain inflation (unzipping) tools (such as the Windows XP inflation tool) feel free to modify the timestamps on files as they are pulled out of the archive. So, for example, a zip archive created by WinZip, will, under certain circumstances, be inflated by the XP inflation tool in a manner that causes the files to have improper timestamps, thus causing them to appear in the wrong order when viewed on the PSP.
In summary, we thought it would be nice to have a tool that (a) looked at all of the jpg files in a directory and re-timestamped them according to their names and (b) zipped these files into an archive that could be reliably inflated by any inflation tool.
To install, download and run the installer.
This will place a shortcut to PSPImageSequencer on your desktop (OK, maybe that's annoying, but the recycle bin is right there...) and in your Programs menu.
Make sure that your images are in a single directory and named in a fashion that Windows recognizes as sequential. Some examples of this are:
There are some naming conventions that might seem sequential to humans but which Windows does not view as sequential. Just make sure that if you look at your files in Windows Explorer and sort by name, that the files are in the correct order.
Make sure your files have a "jpg" extension. Only jpg files are supported and files with a "jpeg" extension will be ignored.
Version 0.2 Alpha
Functionality for creating zip archive of re-stamped jpg files added.
Version 0.1 Alpha
Initial build. Supported automatic re-stamping of create and last modified timestamps for sequentially named jpg files in a Windows directory.
This software and source code are distributed under the GNU General Public License. For details, click here. Authorship should be attributed to 42Ninjas.com. If you fail to abide by the terms of this license, you take your chances with the ninjas.
Source code is downloadable as a Windows VB project here. This includes a DLL from the SharpZip Library, for which source code and license information can be found here.