Forum Discussion
Renaming multiple files at the same time
A folder contains about 100 images from my camera. They are named in succession IMG 001 - IMG 098. I want to move them to another folder but most of the names are in use in the To folder. So I need to change the names and I don't want to do it one at a time. All I need to do is put something at the beginning {at the end would change the extension} say a ^. Can I do this? If so, how?
Appreciate any help.
9 Replies
- Allen
Community Manager
You can do this natively within windows using Microsoft PowerToys, you can read more about it here: Microsoft PowerToys - Windows Utilities for Power Users | Microsoft Learn.
This is a 1st party utility and can be downloaded directly from Microsoft. I've been wondering forever why Windows does not make batch file renaming a standard feature without requiring third-party software. It's a common process, and sometimes downloading software to work PC isn't an option. For example, the Bulk Rename Utility is great, but only works if I have files saved locally on my PC -- I cannot use it for files saved in a network drive.
Let’s get into this renaming conundrum. You want to avoid that painstaking “one at a time” manual editing – which, by the way, feels like watching paint dry on a rainy day. Luckily, there’s a much better way! You can bulk rename your files without losing your mind or patience.
Select all the files you want to rename by clicking the first one, holding down the Shift key, and then clicking the last one, or by pressing Ctrl and clicking each file individually.
Try Wildcard Batch File Renamer available in the Microsoft Store. This tool will rename your files and move to new location at the same time.
