Where Reel Names Like A001 Come From—and Why the Prefix Follows the Camera
A reel name such as A001 is not one free-form string. Its current display shape is built from a camera-letter prefix plus a three-digit zero-padded number: the prefix follows the camera identifier and the numeric part comes from the reel number. Because the displayed name is assembled by a rule, the user cannot turn this field into an arbitrary complete card-name string; the editable part is the number, not the entire naming format.
The displayed reel name is shown as “camera prefix + three-digit number,” rather than being a free-entry field for an arbitrary full card name.
The prefix follows the camera and the number is padded to three digits
The current display rule places the camera identifier first and formats the reel number to three digits. If the camera prefix is A and the value is 1, the result is A001. A different camera changes the prefix while the numeric value is still formatted through the same three-digit rule.
That is why the reel value described in What the App Fills In Before You Type keeps the same shape across views: the interface and handoff files show one consistent reel shape rather than different spellings in different places.
The two input paths treat 0 differently
The camera-parameter form on the create and edit take views allows the numeric part to be cleared. Clearing the field displays an empty string, but export treats it as 0, so once the take does have a camera, the exported value is a shape such as A000 (with no camera attached, the export falls back to a different value). The minimum reel number is therefore not always 1: this form path explicitly permits 0.
The camera-parameter toolbar uses the same input component and the same rule as the form: digits only, three at most, and clearing it stores 0. Both paths therefore hold the reel number to one ruler, and both allow 0. The lower bound of 1 belongs to a different cell — the roll-counter control in the bottom bar clamps its value between 1 and 999.
Input keeps digits only and stops at three digits
Both paths filter out non-digit characters and keep only the first three digits. Letters, spaces, and underscores therefore cannot enter the numeric part through either field. The camera letter is supplied by the camera identifier rather than typed together with the reel number.
The reel field is not an entry point for an arbitrary card name. The camera-card label is a separate field; the reel field carries only the camera prefix and digits, so an on-set card name belongs in that separate field rather than in the reel.
Hard boundary: the full card-name format is not customizable
The current display rule only combines a camera prefix with a zero-padded number. It does not support replacing the complete reel name with an unprefixed free-form string, nor does it support shapes such as B002_R1 with an additional suffix. The checkable statement is the display rule itself; arbitrary card naming is outside this capability.
Where Each ALE Column Comes From describes a different ruler: the ALE cells used to recognise a source — Tape, Reel #, Camroll — take the card number you transcribed and stay empty when nothing was transcribed, rather than falling back on this display rule; the counted display number only travels inside Name, as part of the file name. If a receiver needs to compare it against a media card or an import template, the actual exported value should be checked field by field instead of assuming that any on-set card name can be carried through unchanged.
The current reel name is limited to a camera prefix plus a three-digit number; free-form card names and additional suffix formats are outside this path.
FAQ
Is the A in A001 typed as part of the reel number?
Not as part of the numeric input. The prefix comes from the camera identifier, and the number is then zero-padded to three digits after it.
Can the reel number be 0?
The camera-parameter form can be cleared, which stores 0, so an exported row for a take that has a camera shows A000; the toolbar cell follows the same ruler and can be cleared to 0 as well.
Can I enter a complete card name such as B002_R1?
The current reel input keeps digits only and limits them to three positions before the camera prefix is added, so an extra-suffix free-form shape is outside this path.
Can the reel number be changed into an arbitrary card name?
No. The reel is assembled only from the camera prefix and a three-digit number; an on-set card name belongs in the separate camera-card field rather than in the reel.
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