So what is this, exactly?

deviantAUTOSORTER is a Perl script that automatically scans a directory full of images you've saved from deviantART and categorises them into subdirectories according to the deviant who made them.
It was born out of a need when I had been clearing my 8,000-strong devWATCH and I had been saving a lot of images - over a thousand, in fact. I certainly didn't want to sort them manually (which I had been doing previously on a smaller scale), and so deviantAUTOSORTER was born.


So ... how do I use it?
First off, you'll have to download the script file using the "Download" link to the left. Save it to an easily-typable location (such as c:\scripts\deviant_sorter.pl).
Next, you'll need Perl if you don't have it already. If you're running Linux, there's a very good chance you've got it already - if not, consult your distribution's particular instructions to find out how to retrieve Perl and install it on your system. For Windows, the official Perl distribution is ActivePerl, available at [link] .
Once you've gotten Perl installed, open up a command line interpreter. There's no standard way to do this on Linux (hell, there's no standard way to do ANYTHING on Linux), but in Windows go to Start>Run, and then type "cmd" and press OK.
Navigate to the directory that all your pictures are in. In both Linux and Windows, the command "cd BLAH" changes to the directory BLAH, whilst "cd .." changes to the directory above the directory you're in. (A better option is to use the "Open Shell Here" option of your operating system if you have it. In Windows, this can be achieved by downloading the "Open Command Window Here" PowerToy, available at [link] .)
Once there, simply type "perl SCRIPTPATH" into your command shell and press ENTER. SCRIPTPATH is the exact path to where you saved deviantAUTOSORTER (such as "c:\scripts\deviant_sorter.pl").
The script should run (you may notice a large spike in hard-drive activity due to the massive amount of moving the script may perform), and you will be presented with messages on progress as well as any errors encountered.

An additional option I've not yet tested is copying the script to the directory that you want it to stuff around with, and then double-click it. No idea on your kilometreage with that one, really, but it may be worth a shot. (You won't see any errors, though...)

Warnings and Caveats
The trick that the script uses to sort the files in the directory relies on the way that deviantART automatically renames images sent to it. For example, if I submit a JPEG picture with a deviation title "Lizard Faerie", the image should be renamed to "Lizard_Faerie_by_kargath64.jpeg". The script pattern matches the filenames for this structure and finds the deviant name from it, and it is this information that is used in sorting.
Only files which have been properly renamed by deviantART and not renamed by you when saving it will work with this script. Some deviants such as =Neolucky's deviation file titles are just scrambled numbers and letters and will not work with this script. In addition, tutorial files, downloads, and almost all very old deviations are not under this filename system - so they won't be compatible with it either.

This script requires the existence of the Cwd, File:ath, File::Copy, File::Spec, and File::Spec::Functions packages (which should be included in pretty much any standard Perl distro, anyway.)
I have attempted to make this script reasonably platform-independent, but that being said, I have not tested it on any other platforms than Windows. In addition, the overall testing done on the whole package is to only a moderate standard. This code is provided in the hope that someone else will find it useful, but I make absolutely no warranties as to its effectiveness. Don't blame me if your /etc/passwords gets clobbered or your harddrive turns into a chicken.


Possibilities for the Future
Although this script is pretty decent as-is, I may improve it in the future if there is demand for it. Possibilities include:
Silent and verbose modes
Dangerous mode (clobbers target files instead of throwing an error)
Off-target directories
Anything else requested! (It will never do your grocery shopping for you, though.)

Version History
1.0 - Initial Release
1.1 - Added auxillary Filename Flattener script, and fixed a very minor regex error.