Bulk rename files on mac how to#
Bulk rename files on mac mac#

YouвЂ™ll now find that all of your files have the new name and sequence, saving you the time and hassle of renaming them by one-by-one. When youвЂ™re all set with your desired batch rename, just click Rename to apply the changes. As you fiddle with your naming scheme, Finder will helpfully show you an example preview of what the files will look like at the bottom of the window. Without it, the number would be appended directly after вЂњBeach.вЂќ You can also use spaces in the same way by simply including an extra space at the end of your custom name. Note that we include the extra dash after вЂњBeachвЂќ in our custom name so that the index number is separated from the description.

That means that weвЂ™ll enter вЂњ20140710-Beach-вЂќ in the Custom Format box, and tell Finder to append the index number after the file name. So weвЂ™ll choose Name and Index, which lets us put the date in manually in the exact desired format. In our case, weвЂ™d like the date, but donвЂ™t want the timestamp that accompanies the automatic date application in the Name and Date option. In each case, you can choose to place the counter, sequence, or date before or after the custom name. Options include creating a custom name with a numbered sequence (Name and Index), a custom name with a counter (Name and Counter), and a custom name with the date (Name and Date). This option lets you get rid of the original file name entirely and replace it with your own. WeвЂ™d therefore enter 20140710 in the text filed and select after name from the drop-down menu.ДЇormat:В this is what most people envision when they think about batch file renaming.

Again returning to our example, we could keep the existing camera file name, but just add the date at end. WeвЂ™d therefore enter вЂњIMGвЂќ into the Find box, and вЂњBeachвЂќ into the Replace with box.ДЄdd Text: allows you to add text to the beginning or end of the existing file name. In our example, letвЂ™s say we wanted to keep the cameraвЂ™s numbering scheme, but replace the вЂњIMGвЂќ prefix with a description of where the images were shot. Replace Text : allows you to find and replace only certain parts of an existing filename. HereвЂ™s a brief explanation of each option. Then, right-click (or Control-click) on the selected files and choose Rename 20 Items (the number of items in the context menu will obviously change depending on how many files youвЂ™re working with).ДЄ new window will appear offering some basic options for batch renaming your files. First, weвЂ™ll select all of the files we want to rename, which in this case is all of them. Instead, letвЂ™s try the new Batch Rename feature in OS X Yosemite. Now, we could always go through and rename each one individually, but that would take a good bit of time, especially for lists of files much larger than the 20 weвЂ™re dealing with here.

ThatвЂ™s not very helpful, and weвЂ™d like to rename them with a file name that includes the date they were shot and a brief description. HereвЂ™s an example to illustrate this process.ДЄbove, we have a Finder folder with 20 image files, all named with the original camera naming scheme (IMG_4087, IMG_4088, etc.). To use it, simply highlight or select multiple files in a Finder window, right-click (or Control-click) on the selected items, and choose Rename. With OS X Yosemite, however, Apple has integrated basic batch renaming capabilities directly into Finder. Renaming single files was simple enough, but if you had to rename multiple files, youвЂ™d need apps like Renamer or NameChanger.

Bulk rename files on mac mac#

Prior to OS X Yosemite, Mac users looking to batch rename files in the OS X Finder would have to turn to third party tools. Thankfully, Apple has recently introduced a new feature in OS X that makes this process much easier. But if you havenвЂ™t been applying such a file naming strategy from the get-go, youвЂ™ll likely find yourself faced with the daunting task of renaming large numbers of existing files. A consistent file name structure, including information such as the date, project, and description, can often be the best way to properly organize and locate digital data. Sometimes, however, nothing beats a good file naming scheme. To this end, Apple has introduced several features in OS X to help users corral their pictures, documents, and other files, such as Spotlight metadata and Finder Tags.

Bulk rename files on mac how to#

How to Batch Rename Multiple Files in OS X YosemiteДЄs our digital libraries continue to grow, so too has the importance of efficiently managing our data.