![]() For example, if you had files that are named smitha.doc, smithb.doc, and smithc.doc, you could use the ren smith*.doc smythe*.doc command. The Rename function in Windows Explorer does not match the behavior of the REN command you may use at a command prompt. ![]() If you make a mistake when you try to rename multiple files, you can press CTRL+Z, or click Undo Rename on the Edit menu to undo file rename action you just completed, and you can repeat this process as needed. All of the remaining selected files are named BUDGET(x), where x is a unique number, starting with (1). For example, if you type BUDGET as the new name, the first file is named BUDGET. When you rename multiple files, all of the renamed files have the same name with a number in parentheses appended to the name to make the new file name unique. However, after you press ENTER, all of the files are renamed. NOTE: When you complete the preceding steps, the highlighted state of all files except one disappears, so it may appear as if you are only renaming one file. To do so, press and hold down the CTRL key while you are clicking files. To do so, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer. This step-by-step article describes how to use Windows Explorer to rename multiple files in Windows XP. If you need a powerful way to rename multiple files at once and you’re just not up for mastering the Command Prompt or PowerShell commands, you can always turn to a third-party utility.How to Rename Multiple Files with Windows Explorer Rename Multiple Files Using a Third Party App You can learn more about PowerShell in general from our Geek School guide, and learn more about the rename-item commandlet from Microsoft’s TechNet Library. And, of course, you can also build more complicated commandlet structures that even include IF/THEN logic. For example, the rename-item commandlet also offers features like a -recurse switch that can apply the commandlet to files in a folder and all folders nested inside that folder, a -force switch that can force renaming for files that are locked or otherwise unavailable, and even a -whatif switch that describes what would happen if the commandlet was executed (without actually executing it). RELATED: Geek School: Learn How to Automate Windows with PowerShellĪs you might expect, PowerShell offers tremendous power when it comes to naming your files and we’re only scratching the surface here. The rest of the commandlet just signifies that any space ( " " ) should be replaced by an underscore ( "_" ). The -replace switch indicates that a replacement is going to happen. The $_.name part stands in for each of the files getting piped. The dir part of that commandlet lists all the files in the folder and pipes them (that’s the | symbol) to the rename-item commandlet. From the “File” menu, point to “Open Windows PowerShell,” and then select “Open Windows Powershell.”ĭir | rename-item -NewName ![]() The quickest way to open a PowerShell window at your desired location is to first open the folder in File Explorer. Pipe the output of Dir to Rename-Item and you’re in business. Using PowerShell, you can pipe the output of one command-known as a “commandlet” in PowerShell terms-to another command, just like you can on Linux and other UNIX-like systems. The two important commands you’ll need are Dir, which lists the files in the current directory, and Rename-Item, which renames an item (a file, in this case). PowerShell offers even more flexibility for renaming files in a command-line environment. If you’re interested, the folks over at the Lagmonster forums have an excellent writeup on the subject. RELATED: How to Write a Batch Script on WindowsĪnd this only begins to address the kinds of command line wizardy you can get into if you want to build more complicated commands-or even batch scripts-by weaving other commands and conditionals into things. html extension to use the same file name and same first three letters only of the file extension, which ends up cutting the “l” off of all the extensions in the folder. This tells Windows to rename all files with the.
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