How to rename files in a folder in order. Batch renaming files in Windows

To quickly find files and quickly navigate through them, it is not enough to organize everything to the correct folders. It is equally important to give files names that are easy to read and meaningful. Fiddling with each of them separately is counterproductive. Therefore, there are methods for group renaming.

To work with a group of files, it is better to copy them to a separate folder. This will greatly simplify the process.

Using standard Windows tools

Changing file names

Let's consider the simplest case: we have the nth number of images with meaningless names.

Let's bring the names of these files to a visual form Picture (n), Where Picture will be the name, and n- serial number. This can be easily done directly in Explorer.

Select all the pictures that we want to rename. To do this quickly, use the key combination Ctrl + A. Then simply press F2 or right-click on the first file and select “Rename”. Enter the word as the name for the selected image Picture and press Enter.

Windows will automatically assign the same name to all subsequent files and assign all serial numbers.

If necessary, you can cancel mass renaming with the Ctrl + Z key combination.

If you want to rename a group of folders in Explorer, you can do it in the same way.

Changing file extensions

Let's say we have several text documents, which after double clicking open with a notepad. But we need them to be opened by the browser by default. To do this, you will have to change their extension from .txt to .html. These types of operations can be quickly performed using the command line.

Click Windows keys+ R, enter in the field that appears cmd and click OK - we see the command line window. Now we insert into it the path to the folder in which our files are located, immediately after the command CD: cd C:\Users\Max Volotsky\Desktop\Docs , and press Enter. Then we use a special command that will change their extensions: rename *.txt *.html , and press Enter again.

The original extension is indicated first in the command, the new one is indicated second. After entering the command, the system instantly makes changes.

To return everything as it was, you need to use the rename command again, swapping the extensions.

Using third party utilities

No built-in tools can match the functionality of special programs, designed specifically for batch renaming. You can find many of these on the Internet. free utilities, just enter bulk file rename in the search.

We will look at renaming using the example of the Bulk Rename Utility program. With its help it is very convenient to change the names of folders and files, as well as the extensions of the latter.

When you first launch it, it may seem that the utility’s interface came straight from hell and, perhaps, there is some truth in this. But the user does not need to navigate through numerous tabs and menus: he gets access to all functions from one window.

So, let's say we have a group of audio files that we want to make look pleasing to the eye. IN in this case The numbers and the lack of artist name are annoying.

We launch the application through the built-in file manager go to the folder we need. Next, use the already familiar Ctrl + A key combination to select all files. We need to remove the first 3 characters at the beginning of each file name and add the artist name at the very beginning. To do this, specify the necessary parameters in the Remove and Add panels, and then click Rename.

Now we’ll make sure that all extensions consist of lowercase characters: in the Extension panel, select the Lower option and click Rename.

As you can see, other panels are available in the program window. For example, Numbering allows you to number documents in various ways, and with Case you can change the case of characters in file names. Thanks to the New Name column in the built-in explorer, which shows the result of the rename before it is applied, you can easily understand the rest of the Bulk Rename Utility.

The last operation with files and folders performed in the program can be easily undone using the Ctrl + Z key combination.

Hello, dear friends. Today I will tell you about group renaming of files and show 2 methods. Perhaps you have thought about this, and perhaps you have encountered such a task when you need to rename several files, where the name must be assigned the same, but the difference is only in the serial number.

For example, to download graphic files This approach is often used on the site. Anyone who downloaded screenshots from websites probably paid attention to the names and numbering of the files. Especially on sites with a huge amount of content.

Batch renaming files in Windows

In the Windows operating system, you can rename a selected group of files at once.

By the way: this scheme also works on Mac OS, but it is a little more thoughtful, and the output is exactly the file names that you intended.

Just don't think that Windows does everything badly. But, I don't like its automatic numbering in brackets.

In order to rename several files at once, you must first select these files (Ctrl+A – select all; Ctrl+ left button mouse – selecting individual files).

Enter the desired name and press the key « Enter".

As a result, all files from the selected list will be renamed, and each will be assigned serial number for distinction.

Tip: If you are creating files for the Internet, assign names in Latin letters and not too long.

Windows has another option for renaming files, via command line, but this is inconvenient and the method is completely outdated.

Group renaming of files in Total Commander

I like this method better, and it is the one I use all the time. The principle here is the same, you need to select the files and rename them with the specified parameters.

So, select the files ( Ctrl+A) and call the tool « Bulk renaming» (Ctrl+M)

A new window will open where you can configure the renaming parameters, that is, assign a new name, add a counter, date, time. You can also change the file type and create templates.

For regular group renaming, it will be enough to assign a new name and add a counter:

Newname-[C]

Having selected the parameters, press the button "Run" and look at the result.

Your files have been renamed.

This method has many more possibilities, but even the simplest application will go quickly and smoothly. You can also use TC for . I'm sure you will find this feature useful too.

Video tutorial on the topic

Friends, these methods will allow you to quickly rename as many files as you like. And do not waste time on each file, but do it in batches.

I wish you good luck!

Best regards, Maxim Zaitsev

Renaming files is a fairly widely used operation along with copying, moving, creating and deleting files. Most often there is a need to rename single files and in this case no problems arise. But if you need to rename a group of files at once, then in this case difficulties may arise even for experienced users computers.

1. Launch Explorer.
   
2. Select a group of files to rename. You can do this by holding down the key Ctrl on the keyboard and left-clicking on each file.
   
3. After selecting the files, press F2, enter a new name and press Enter on your keyboard.
   

Renaming multiple files at once on Mac OS
To rename a group of files in Mac OS, you can use the Automator utility according to the following sequence of actions.

1. Run the program Automator, which is located in the folder Programs. You can open it with a keyboard shortcut ⇧shift + ⌘ + A.

   

   
   
2. In the window that appears, select the type Program.

   

   
   
3. Search to find the action Rename Finder Items and drag it to the taskbar.

   

   
   
4. In the window that appears, when asked if you want to keep copies of the files after renaming, select Don't add.

   

   
   
5. Select Add text as a method to rename a file. Using the program's prompts, you can understand what the file names will look like after applying the action.

   

   
   
6. Save the program via the menu File having previously given it a name.

File Manager Total Commander is very popular among users of screen readers because, along with rich functionality for working with files and directories, it has good accessibility for assistive technologies. In this article we will explain and specific examples We'll show you how to use Total Commander to perform various options for bulk file renaming.

To rename a group of files, select them, or press Spacebar on the necessary files, or by selecting all the files in the folder using Control+A and pressing Control+M. The "Batch file renaming" dialog will open. To rename files in the "Group renaming" dialog, use special characters and teams. All such symbols are contained in square brackets.

Attention! All service characters must be entered case-sensitive. For example, the [N] and [n] commands perform different actions.

description of dialogue and commands

There are many elements in the "Group Renaming" dialog, but we will only need those that are directly involved in the renaming.

1. The "Name" field indicates a template for the new file name without extension.
2. Field "Extension", here the extension of the new name is indicated.
3. The "Find" field, here you can enter text in the file name that you want to replace with another.
4. The "Replace" field, here you can enter the text with which you want to replace the text from the "Find" field.

The "Run" button starts the renaming process. In front of this button there is a list in which, even before renaming begins, the results of renaming are displayed in the format old file name -> new file name. To check if you entered the renaming conditions correctly, review this list before clicking Run. If you entered everything correctly, then after the -> symbol the exact file names that you want to receive should be displayed.

In the "Name" field you can enter special characters and commands to form a new file name. Let's look at the main ones of these commands.

[N] - indicates the name of the old file. If you enter only [N] in the "Name" field, the new file name will be the same as the old one. That is, the [N] command replaces the entire file name without extension.

The first character of the old file name. Similarly, the commands or represent the second or fifth character in the old file name.

Four characters from the old file name from the second to the fifth.

All characters of the file name, starting from the second.

Five characters of the file name, starting with the second.

The fifth character from the end in the file name.

Characters of the file name, starting from the second to the fifth character from the end.

[E] - file extension. fits only in the "Extension" field, or in the "Name" field if you need to insert the extension of the source file into the name.

A counter that starts with the number 01, changes by one when moving to the next file, and always has a number consisting of two digits. Similarly, the command assigns a counter of three digits and in increments of two to the new file name. That is, 001, 003, 005 and so on. The counter is written into the new file name where you put this command in the "Name" field. For example, if you write a track or just a track, then all the files selected in the folder will be renamed to track 01, track 02, and so on.

[F] - all words after the position of this command in the new name will begin with a capital letter. For example, we want all track names in a folder after the number to have words with the first in capital letters. then in the “Name” field we write [f][N] and in the “Extension” field we enter [E]. then the new files will be named the same as the old ones, but each word in their names will begin with a capital letter.

[d] - adds the current date to the new name.

[t] - adds the current time to the new name.

Instead of the full date, you can add only the year (command [Y]), day (command [D]) or month (command [M]). The [y] command inserts the year not as four digits, but only as the last two digits of the year.

On this with main teams You can finish and move on to specific examples.

Example 1

Suppose we have files in a folder with the extension .html and we want to change the extension of all these files to .txt in order to edit them in text editor. Then, select all the files, press Control+M, enter [N] in the “Name” field, and enter txt in the “Extension” field. check the result in the list next to the “Run” button and click this button.

Example 2

Let's say we downloaded an audiobook in the form of a folder with mp3 files, but the name of each file is signed "", and we want to remove this fragment from all files. then, in the group renaming dialog, enter [N] in the “Name” field, enter [E] in the “Extension” field, write in the “Find” field, and leave the “Replace” field empty. Note that the left and right bracket characters must be enclosed in square brackets so that they are not interpreted as the start and end of a service command. We check the result in the list in front of the “Run” button and click this button. The "Substitution" checkbox must be unchecked, otherwise the entire file name will be replaced with an empty name, and not just the piece we need.

Example 3

Let us have a folder with music tracks whose names look like 01 - Song1.mp3, 02 - song2.mp3 and so on. We want to remove the - followed by a space from all file names, so that only 01 Song1.mp3, 02 Song2.mp3, and so on remain. Then in the “Name” field we write [N], in the “Extension” field we write [E], in the “Find” field we enter “-” without quotes, and leave the “Replace” field empty. You can leave the “Find” and “Replace” fields empty, and in the “Name” field enter the counter and part of the old file name without the first five characters, which includes the track number with a dash and a space after it. That is, we write like this: . the sixth character, that is, the track name itself.

Example 4

Let's say we have a folder with music tracks whose names consist of words separated by the _ symbol without spaces, and we want to remove the _ symbol from all the names and replace it with a space. Then fill in the “Name” and “Extension” fields as in the first two examples, write _ in the “Find” field, and enter one space in the “Replace” field. In this case, the numbers at the beginning of the tracks will remain unchanged. That is, files like 01_song_about_love.mp3 will be renamed to 01 song about love.mp3.

Example 5

Let's say that in a folder with music tracks from an album, after the number of each composition, before the name of the song, we also want to add the name of the album to each file. Let's say our album is called "Best of". Then in the “Name” field we enter: Best of. Here we remove the first 2 characters from the old name of each file, which contain the track number, and assign the numbering ourselves. if there are more than 100 tracks in a folder, then instead we write , and instead we write already .

Example 6

Let's say that we are writing a coursework and we want the year to be added to the name of each file in the folder with the coursework at the end of the name, so that after many years we know in what year we wrote it. then in the “Name” field we write [N] [Y] Then, for example, the goal and methods.doc file will be renamed to Goals and Methods 2012.doc, and the Conclusion.doc file to Conclusion 2012.doc.

Example 7

And here, good example to the counters. Suppose we have two folders, the “even” folder contains only all the scanned even pages of the book, and the “odd” folder contains only the scanned odd pages. Moreover, in both folders the files are numbered the same Page001.jpg and so on. we want to combine scanned pages from two folders into one so that all pages are strictly one after another, even after odd. Then, in the “Odd” folder, select all the files and enter . Here we cut off the last three characters with the file number at the end of the name of each file, but add our own counter, which assigns only odd numbers. we get the files Page001.jpg, Page003.jpg and so on.

In the “Even” folder we also select all the files, but since the first even page is page number 2, we enter already in the “Name” field. After renaming, we will get the files Page002.jpg, Page004.jpg, and so on in this folder. Now, copy all the files from both folders into one shared folder, and we get correctly sorted scanned pages.

Example 8

Finally, one last example. Let them be in our folder sound files named 01-song1.mp3, 02-song2.mp3 and so on. We want each file name to have a space before and after the dash. if there are no more than 100 tracks in the folder, then enter - or in the "Name" field and get the required result. Since the dash is always in the third place in the name of each file, the command will always give the dash in the new name.

Article chapters:

Photo files come to us for storage from different sources, so their names differ in spelling. In addition, the initial file names do not contain information that can be used for any purpose. Convert photo file names to general appearance and can be made more informative using batch renaming.

- This automatic replacement their names according to some principle, for example by date, place or genre of photography. After the change, the file names must consist of a common part and an individual part. For example, the common part will be the name of the folder, and the individual part will be the serial number of the file in it.

Batch renaming photo files is the second important step in creating a convenient digital photo archive after. Files in the photo archive must be named in accordance with the chosen naming system. The system will then be built on its basis quick search photographs in the photo archive.

If you need to change the file names of several photos, you can do this without special problems. If you need to change the names of hundreds or even thousands of photo files, batch renaming is no longer necessary. Such work can be done quickly on a computer, but it must be done correctly right away, without disturbing the order of files (Fig. 1).

Fig.1 To batch rename photo files, it is important to maintain the correct order of their location.

Before renaming, photo files in a folder must be sorted according to some criteria. It is more convenient to do this by the time the file was created. The order of files by name may differ from their location in time, since the files may have been deleted. Batch renaming will add numbering to photo files and fix the order of names.

The type of photo file names depends on the information that they must carry and the more information there is, the more complex the file names. Such names can be created for a large number of files only with the help of special programs. We'll talk about them later, but for now let's look at quick way batch renaming of photo files.

How to quickly rename many files

Many special programs have a convenient function for batch renaming photo files, but using it is not always convenient. And, besides, there are situations when you need to quickly rename many photo files, but keep their names simple and clear. For example, the date of photography and the serial number of the file in the folder (Fig. 2).

Fig.2 Batch renaming will quickly change many files so that photo names become simpler and clearer.

In such cases, run some big program with the function of batch renaming photo files it is not rational. And not every computer can have it installed. To do this, it is more convenient to use the capabilities of the Windows operating system itself. It allows you to rename many files at once, quickly and easily.

In order to quickly rename many files, you first need to open their folder in Windows Explorer. Then select the files in a convenient way and press the “F2” button. Among the photo files selected for batch renaming, the name of the first file will be ready for this (Fig. 3). We change it to a new one, maintaining the resolution, and press “Enter”.

Fig.3 When quickly batch renaming files, the new name is entered only for the first photo.

Immediately after this, the batch function Windows renaming will quickly replace the names of the selected photos in the folder with the name of the first file and add numbering to them. In this case, the numbers will start only from the second file, but in different operating systems ah this is implemented in different ways. You should definitely pay attention to this (Fig. 4) and (Fig. 5).

Fig.4 After quick batch renaming of photos to Windows Vista the first file is not numbered. You have to add it manually.

Fig.5 After quick batch renaming in Windows XP, numbering starts from the second file, which is not convenient for analyzing photos.

Correcting this numbering is easy. In Windows Vista, you need to add a number (1) to the name of the first file, and in Windows XP, add and then delete a copy of the first file. But first it must be renamed so that it comes first (Fig. 6). After batch renaming, we delete a copy of the first photo, and the file numbering becomes correct.

Fig.6 Before batch renaming photos, you need to create a duplicate of the first file so that it is the first in the folder.

Undoing batch renaming for photo files is also very easy. To do this, press the key combination “Ctrl + Z”. It should be taken into account that not all operating rooms Windows systems you can quickly cancel the rename large quantity files. So XP cancels renaming only for one file and except for the first one.

Quick batch renaming of photo files is convenient only in some cases, since Windows features for these purposes are very limited. More often, file names have to be formed according to complex conditions, which only special programs can do, which we will talk about later.

Programs for renaming files

In addition to the ability to batch rename operating systems, there are two other types of programs for photo files that can do this. These include file managers and various image editors. Such programs have different capabilities, and therefore you need to choose them specifically for your purposes.

If your computer does not have special programs for working with graphics, you can use a file manager that has such a function to batch rename photo files. There are many such programs, but most of them have an English interface or weak functionality. But there is a program that suits us.

Total Commander is a popular file manager that has a Russian interface and great capabilities for working with files. This program can be used to batch rename photo files in most cases. Its peculiarity is that it has many masks for forming file names (Fig. 7).

Fig.7 Masks for batch renaming files in Total program Commander is convenient to use for photographs.

For cases where you often have to work with a large number photos, it is more convenient to use special programs such as Adobe Bridge or Lightroom. These programs are designed to work with a large number of photos and they also have masks for batch renaming files.

Programs with batch file renaming capabilities have convenient features for working with photographs. Each of them needs to be discussed separately and in detail. Description of functions for renaming photo files best programs, read the following articles.