Auto-grouping helps Adtool auto-group creatives that belong to the same ad but are made for different placements. In short, Adtool groups creatives when they share the same base name and use different supported placement sizes.
For example, these files can be grouped together because the ad name is the same and each file is made for a different placement:
| File name | Placement |
|---|
Summer Sale 1x1.jpg | Square |
Summer Sale 9x16.jpg | Story / Reel |
Summer Sale 16x9.jpg | Horizontal |
What must match
Adtool checks four things before grouping creatives:
- The creative names match after the placement tag is removed.
- The placement sizes are different.
- The files use the same file type.
- The placement size is supported.
If Adtool is unsure whether creatives belong together, they will not be grouped automatically.
Your file name should include a placement tag, such as 1x1, 9x16, or 16x9. Adtool uses this tag to understand which placement the creative belongs to. If the file name does not include a placement tag, Adtool can only group it through the backup rule.
| Placement | Accepted tags |
|---|
| Feed placement | Square:1x1, 1:1, 1_1, 1-1, 1.1, (11), 1080x1080, 1200x1200, square, feed, post, ig, or a clear square pixel size like 1440x1440.
Portrait:4x5, 4:5, 4_5, 4-5, 4.5, (45), 1080x1350, or a clear 4:5 pixel size like 1080x1350. |
| Story / Reel | 9x16, 9:16, 9_16, 9-16, 9.16, (916), 1080x1920, story, stories, reel, reels, vertical, or a clear 9:16 pixel size like 1440x2560. |
| Horizontal | Landscape:16x9, 16:9, 16_9, 16-9, 16.9, (169), 1920x1080, landscape, or a clear 16:9 pixel size like 1920x1080.
Wide:1.91:1, 1.91, 1:91, 1_91_1, 1-91-1, (1911), 191x100, 1200x628, horizontal, wide, or a clear 1.91:1 pixel size like 1200x628. |
x, X, or ×. For example, 1440x2560, 1440X2560, and 1440×2560 can all be read as pixel sizes.
The placement tag must stand on its own in the file name. It can be separated with a space, underscore, hyphen, or brackets.
Examples that work:
Summer Sale 9x16.jpgSummer Sale_9x16.jpgSummer Sale-9x16.jpgSummer Sale (916).jpg
campaign1.1test.jpg will not be treated as a square creative because the 1.1 tag is part of a longer word.
How names are matched
When Adtool checks whether creatives belong together, it first removes the placement tag from the file name. Then it compares what is left.
| File name | Name Adtool compares |
|---|
PA26-9.16-Benilda.jpg | pa26_benilda |
PA26-1.1-Benilda.jpg | pa26_benilda |
Examples that do not work
| File name | Why it does not work |
|---|
campaign1.1test.jpg | The placement tag is hidden inside another word. |
case-9.16test.jpg | The placement tag is not separated from the rest of the name. |
DSCO1945.jpg | There is no placement tag. |
creative-1024x768.jpg | The size is not a supported placement. |
Summer Sale.jpg | There is no placement tag. |
Backup rule
If the file names are exactly the same, Adtool can still group the creatives by checking the actual creative dimensions.
| File name | Actual size |
|---|
Summer Sale.jpg | 1:1 |
Summer Sale.jpg | 9:16 |
Summer Sale.jpg and Summer Sale.png look similar, but they use different file types, so the full file names are different.
When creatives are not grouped
Adtool will not auto-group creatives when:
- The creative sizes are the same.
- The files use different file types.
- The actual size is not supported.
- The placement tag is hidden inside another word.
- Adtool is unsure which files belong together.
Group size
This limit applies to single image and single video ads only. A placement group for a single image or single video ad can contain 2 or 3 creatives — one for each placement — and cannot contain more than 3. Carousel ads work differently: a carousel can hold up to 10 cards, as covered in Carousel cards.
Carousel cards
Adtool can also build carousel ads automatically from your file names. A carousel is a single ad made of several cards that people swipe through. When your file names include a card marker, Adtool works out which creatives are cards, which carousel they belong to, and what order they appear in — so naming files well removes almost all manual grouping.
Card markers
A card marker is the word card (or Danish kort) followed by a number, such as card 1, card 2, card 3. Adtool uses it to recognize a creative as a carousel card and to set the card order.
- The marker must stand on its own, separated by a space, underscore, or hyphen:
card 1, card_2, card-3.
- A marker hidden inside another word is ignored, so
scorecard2, cardigan, and discard_3 are not treated as cards.
- Card numbers do not have to be in sequence.
card 2 and card 5 still form a two-card carousel, ordered by number.
Carousel rules
| Rule | Detail |
|---|
| Card count | A carousel needs at least 2 cards and supports up to 10. Cards beyond the 10th are left ungrouped. |
| Placements per card | Each card can hold a story (9x16) and a feed (1x1, 4x5) version. Add the placement tag after the card marker, like card_1_9x16. Horizontal formats are not used in carousel cards. |
| One media type | A carousel is all images or all videos. A file of the other type is left out instead of breaking the carousel. |
| Priority | Carousel grouping runs before placement grouping, so a creative that lands in a carousel is not also grouped by placement. |
How files are matched to a carousel
Adtool decides which cards belong to the same carousel from the base name — the file name with the card marker and placement tag removed. Files that share a base name and span two or more card numbers form one carousel.
| File name | Base name | Card | Placement |
|---|
summer_sale_card_1_9x16.jpg | summer_sale | 1 | Story / Reel |
summer_sale_card_1_1x1.jpg | summer_sale | 1 | Feed |
summer_sale_card_2_9x16.jpg | summer_sale | 2 | Story / Reel |
Naming scenarios
Use the base name to control how many carousels you get: give one carousel a single consistent base name, and give separate carousels different base names.
| What you want | How to name the files | Result |
|---|
| One carousel, one creative per card | promo_card_1, promo_card_2, promo_card_3 | A single 3-card carousel. |
| One carousel, multiple placements per card | promo_card_1_9x16, promo_card_1_1x1, promo_card_2_9x16, promo_card_2_1x1 | A single 2-card carousel, each card with a story and feed version. |
| Multiple carousels in one batch | summer_card_1, summer_card_2 and winter_card_1, winter_card_2 | Two separate carousels, one per base name. |
| One carousel from per-card names | card 1 summer, card 2 winter | One carousel grouped by card number. Use this only when you want a single carousel. |
summer_card_1, summer_card_2). If you instead give every card a different descriptive name with no shared base, Adtool pools those single cards into one carousel — which is only what you want for a single carousel.
For the full carousel workflow, including manual grouping, see Carousel grouping. 
