Sometimes we need to change the names of multiple files and when we need to do this, in most of the time we have to deal with some pictures. This method should work for other files too, although in this example I will use only some pictures. I will show you two examples of how I am renaming multiple files at once. The first example will be the classic way and it works fast if you have to deal with only one set of files or you`re doing this rare. The other example will involve a software, don`t worry it`s free, tiny and it`s installing quite fast. Before we start I would like to mention that all tests were performed on a Microsoft Windows 7 but it should work on others too. If you`re doing this for the first time, I would advise you to make a backup of your files, just create a new folder and copy/paste everything there just in case something goes wrong. Here it is the first example :
1. Open the folder with your files. Let`s say that I have one folder with my summer trip pictures and their names starts with DSC followed by a number. I would like to rename them all of them to SummerTrip instead of DSC and here is the classic way of renaming all of them. I will open the folder containing the files that I want to rename:
Now, click on any file ( a right click ), doesn`t matter which one and hit the ``CTRL+A`` keyboard combination and all of your files will be selected, exactly like I did :
Here it is, the easy part, I am going to select one file, let`s say the first one DSC01 and I am going to ``Rename`` the file from DSC01 to SummerTrip and take a look at my results, I`ve managed to rename all files from DSC to SummerTrip and Windows was smart enough to add the numbers at the end.
Let`s move forward, as I said at the beginning, I will use a free rename software for Windows which will allow me to rename multiple files at once. The name of this software is AntRenamer. You can download AntRenamer and install it. I will use the same folder for this example so that it can be easier to compare the results. If you installed this software, open it:
Depending on your choice, you can choose either to ``Add Files`` or to ``Add Folders`` and I choosed the second one ``Add Folders`` as it`s easier for me. A new window will appear: ``Select Folders to Add`` and I am going to navigate to my folder, I will use Desktop, it will expand I will choose the folder with the files that I want to rename: ``New Folder`` and hit the ``OK`` button
After I did this, I will see the content of that folder inside of this software, all of them arranged by filename. Don`t rush to hit the ``Go`` button, there is still one thing to do before doing this.
Click on the second button called ``Actions`` and from all these options choose the second one called ``String Replacement``. On the right side, you will need to replace whatever it writes there with the name of your files, for example if my files are starting with DSC I will write there DSC and I will choose to ``Replace by`` and I will write the new desired name, in this case: SummerTrip.
After I did this, all I need to do is to hit the ``Go`` button and this it, if I open the ``New Folder`` containing my files all of my files should be renamed.
If you are one of those readers that first will read an article then apply I would recommend once again to create a backup of your files just in case something might go wrong. As you can see, most of us will use the first method but if you need to work with more files and folders and need to apply advanced things, this software is quite useful and fast not to mention it`s free. If you know a better method to rename multiple files at once I would love to hear it, I will post it so others can read about it, thanks.