How do I change the naming conventions for every project?

This article outlines how to change the naming conventions for your current and future projects. To change the naming settings for the current project only, please check How do I change the naming conventions for a single project?

Step 1: Open the Preferences Window

1. In the top menu, do one of the following:
   • In Windows, click Edit > Preferences…
   • In macOS click Storyboard Pro > Preferences…
2. The Preferences dialog box opens: 

Step 2: Change the Scene and Sequence Naming Rules

1. In the Preferences window, select the Naming tab.

2. The Scene and Sequence Naming Rules are similar. Here is an overview on what each option does:
   • Automatically Add Leading Zeros to Names: Checking this box will fill any empty scene number names with zeroes based on the number of minimum characters as defined below. So scene/sequence 1 will be ‘001’ if the minimum number of name characters is three.
   • Min. Number of Characters: Defines the minimum amount of characters allowed in the name.
   • Increment name by: The scene numbering will increase by this number. If the number is one, your scenes/sequences will be named 1, 2, 3, etc. If the number is ten, your scenes/sequences will be named 10, 20, 30, etc.
   • Resolution Suffix: If a scene needs to be created between two sequential scenes, a suffix will be required as it will share the same name as one of the existing scenes. The first dropdown menu lets you choose the separator between the name and the following number. The second dropdown offers what character will be used for numbering. This can be numbers or letters.
   • Incremental Naming on Copy: Checking this box will name copied scenes/sequences in sequential order instead of with a suffix. For instance, a copied scene 10 will paste as scene 10_A by default, but this option renames it to scene 11 instead. 

3. In the Sequence Naming Rules, the option Reset Scene Name on New Sequence will restart the naming of scenes in a new sequence.

Step 4: Change the panel naming settings

1. At the bottom of the Naming tab window there are some panel naming options. Here’s what each option does:
   • Allow Custom Panel Names: Choosing this option will let you change panel names/numbers in the Panel field of the Storyboard view.
   • Panel Auto-Increment Rule: Allows you to choose a variation of letter sequences as panel names instead of numbers.
   • Display Total Number of Panels in Panel Name: Selecting this will show the total number of panels in a scene on every panel. For example: panel 7 of 9 will display as 7/9.
   • Resolution Suffix: This works the same as for scenes and sequences.
   • Enable Acts: If your storyboard needs to be separated into acts, check this box. This will activate the Acts options in various menus. 
      

2. Once you are satisfied with your choices, click OK to close the Preferences window. All projects will now follow the chosen naming conventions.