Custom Filenames in CSV Export: They Survive Re-Import

Spend an afternoon mapping exact names to a few hundred images and the last thing you want is for that work to vanish when you back up or move the task. Good news: custom filenames in csv export are preserved. They travel with the task and come back intact when you re-import, so naming is a one-time investment, not something you redo after every transfer.

Where custom filenames come from

Beyond the token-and-sequence patterns of the Filename Constructor, you can supply explicit names from a list. Load a .csv or .txt file of custom names and the tool maps them to your downloads. Those names are stored in the task data, specifically under customFilename.filenames, which is the detail that matters for what comes next: because they live in the task, they can be saved and restored along with everything else.

How custom filenames in csv export are preserved

The extension’s Export Tasks feature writes your tasks out to a UTF-8 CSV with a header row, and that schema deliberately includes your custom filenames. So when you export, the explicit names are written into the file rather than dropped. Re-import that CSV later and the names are read back in, reattached to the right task. The round trip, export then import, does not strip them. That is what “survives” means here: the data is part of the backup, not an afterthought.

Why this matters for real work

Persistence across the CSV boundary unlocks a few practical habits.

Backups stay complete. Export Tasks is your snapshot, and it carries the naming you set, not just the URLs.
Transfers keep their names. Move a task to another machine and the custom filenames come along.
Templates stay reusable. Export Tasks doubles as your template; a named task re-imports ready to run.
Recovery is painless. Restore from CSV and you are back to the exact named batch, no re-mapping.

Working with the CSV schema

The exported CSV uses a header row and packs multi-value cells using semicolons, and the schema also tracks things like the watermark-enabled flag alongside the custom filenames. Treat the file the tool produces as the canonical format: edit it carefully in a UTF-8 aware editor if you must, but the safest path is to let Bulk Image Downloader From URL List generate and re-read it so the structure stays valid.

A simple backup habit

The cleanest way to protect naming work is to make Export Tasks a routine, not an emergency move. After you finish mapping names to a task, export it. That single CSV is now a complete snapshot: URLs, settings, the watermark-enabled flag, and your custom filenames, all in one file you can store anywhere. If a task gets deleted, a machine dies, or you simply want to hand the project to a colleague, the re-import rebuilds the named batch exactly. Because the export is a backup snapshot by design, you are not relying on the browser’s local storage to remember everything forever; you hold a portable copy that travels with the project.

Make naming a durable asset

Because custom filenames in csv export persist, the names you assign become a durable part of the project rather than a fragile in-session detail. Set them once, export for safekeeping, and re-import whenever you need that exact batch again, on this machine or another. Your careful naming outlives the session, the backup, and the move, which is exactly what you want from work you only meant to do once.