Pick a simple structure
Pictures/2026/03 beats elaborate album names: it sorts correctly, never needs deciding, and works for every photo. Add an album folder alongside it only for the few events you want grouped by name.
Sorting existing photos by hand
For a one-off clear-up:
- 1Open the folder and switch to a list or details view.
- 2Sort by Date modified (or Date taken in Windows, if shown).
- 3Select a month's worth of photos and drag them into its folder.
Doing it automatically
Dragging thousands of photos month by month gets old fast. A TidyFile rule files every JPG, PNG and HEIC into a year/month folder: once for everything already there, with a preview, and then automatically for every new photo that arrives.
The TidyFile rule
Photos by month
- When a file
- type is jpg, jpeg, png, heic
- Then
- move to Pictures/{year}/{month}
Set it up once and TidyFile applies it in the background, to new files the moment they arrive. Preview what it'll do to the files already there, and undo anything from the activity log.
Questions
Which date does TidyFile use for a photo?+
The file's modified date (or created date if that's missing). For photos copied straight from a phone or camera, that's usually when the photo was taken.
Can I sort by year and month?+
Yes. Use {year} and {month} in the destination, for example Pictures/{year}/{month}, and TidyFile creates the folders as needed.
What about screenshots?+
Give them their own rule that matches names starting with “Screenshot”, so they don't end up mixed in with real photos.