If you ever have to rename multiple files on your computer, you will undoubtedly agree that it is a tedious and completely uninteresting task.
So the next time you need to accomplish such a task, here's how to save a lot of time!
There are plenty of software programs that do nothing but rename files in bulk, but the solutions below don't require any installation and are relatively simple and effective for basic tasks.
Rename multiple files with the native Windows method
To begin with, the easiest way to rename multiple files is to group them together. in the same folder via Windows Explorer all the files you want to rename.
Then select all the files from the folder by pressing Ctrl + A . If you want to exclude some files from your selection, you can click on the files while holding the Ctrl to deselect them.
Once the files you want to rename are selected, right-click on your selection and choose “ reappoint » (alternatively you can press the F2 key).
Then type the generic name which will be common to all these files and press the key Enter. All file names will then change and since it is not possible to have two identical names in the same file, they will each have their own number.
For example, if you choose to rename them "Photo", the first file will be called "Photo (1)", the second "Photo (2)"... and this will of course not impact the extensions of these files.
And voila !
Rename Multiple Files with PowerShell
In case you want to change elements of the file name that have similar names, using PowerShell will make things much easier for you. So if you have a list of files named for example "image site byothe 1.jpg", "image site byothe 2.jpg", "image site byothe 3.jpg"... using PowerShell will allow you to make identical changes to these file names.
For example, you can add the prefix "2023-" to rename all files in the format "2023-image site byothe X.jpg", replace certain words or change all JPG extensions to PNG.
PowerShell is a task automation management framework in Windows. If you're not familiar, here are simple steps to rename files in bulk:
- Type “PowerShell” in the search bar Windows search and open the app.
- In the PowerShell window, enter the following command:
Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\VotreDossier' | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name -replace 'ancien','nouveau' }This command will replace a word or group of words ("old") with another ("new") for all files in the C:\YourFolder folder.
In the following example, I'll ask PowerShell to change the name of images I prepared for a post by renaming "image site byothe" to "clear-tiktok-viewing-history".
There are other commands possible with PowerShell, here are some that you might find useful.
Add filter on file format:
Here we will rename only the jpg files by adding the command -Filter '*.jpg'. JPG can be replaced with any file extension.
Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\VotreDossier' -Filter '*.jpg' | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name -replace 'ancien','nouveau' }
Rename by adding a prefix :
Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\VotreDossier' | Rename-Item -NewName { 'prefixe-' + $_.Name }Rename by adding a suffix :
Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\VotreDossier' | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.BaseName + '-suffixe' + $_.Extension }
Rename by changing the extension :
With this code, you will be able to replace the extension of JPG files with PNG… Be careful, this will only modify the extension, the files will not be converted.
Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\VotreDossier' -Filter '*.jpg' | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.BaseName + '.png' }
With these two simple yet effective methods, mass file renaming on Windows becomes a breeze. Try it for yourself and save valuable time in managing your files.
