Renaming Multiple Files

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 15, 2019)

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If you have quite a few files you need to rename, the quickest way to do it is to simply create a selection set that contains all of the files you want to change. One way to create the selection set (and there are other ways described in other WindowsTips) is by clicking on the first file you want to change and then holding down the Ctrl key as you click on others.

When you have all the files selected, right-click on any of the selected files and then choose Rename from the resulting Context menu. Type the new name and then press Enter. Windows then changes the names of all the files that you selected. The first has the name you specified and the others have that same name but with a "copy number" appended to the end, inside of parentheses.

For instance, if you choose to rename your files to "Budget," then the first will be named Budget, the second Budget (2), the third Budget (3), and so on.

If you want greater control over how the selected files are renamed, then you'll need to rely on a third-party file management utility that handles renaming. You can find many good candidates by searching the web for such utilities.

 This tip (13407) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is one more than 6?

2019-07-16 01:16:11

Bob Ama

I've used https://www.advancedrenamer.com/ to rename a slew of files.
It's not the most user-friendly, but it's not too difficult either.
It certainly got the job done & the price was right.


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