hello,
i have 1900 files in a folder (xp home). i want to rename these files in groups, keeping the current file name and putting a number in front of it. For example, i 'choose' 200 files and put a 1 and a space in front of the the 200 file names; 'choose' 300 files and put a 2 and a space in front of the 300 file names; 'choose' 58 files and put a 3 and a space in front of the 58 file names....
i am a novice user. how can i do this ?
thanks for replies.
Renaming lots of files
Moderators: fgagnon, nikos, Site Mods
i'm sure(ly) this one is for narayan's manual 
from what you describe you don't want a unique name for each file, so you don't need counters. The only tricky thing is how to select exactly 200 or 300 files
there is an obsure selection mode in x2 that allows you to do just that, Mark | Select range. To select files 1-100, go to the top of the list and using this command select 100 items. Then use F2 (rename) and a template like
1_$N
hit preview in the mass rename dialog to see what this does!
after you rename the first batch the sorting of the items will probably change. If the newly renamed items (those with leading 1_) are still ahead you need to skip them, exactly 100 of them.
instead of pressing down arrow 100 times, you can use the select range command again to select the first 100 items, then use the special <Alt+up-arrow> command in x2 to cycle back to the last item selected, which will be item#100. Now you're next to your kill and a single arrow down will take you to item 101. From there you can use Mark | range again to select another 200 or whatever items and rename wirth F2 and a new template like 2_$N
a bit like treading on egg shells, but possible!
from what you describe you don't want a unique name for each file, so you don't need counters. The only tricky thing is how to select exactly 200 or 300 files
there is an obsure selection mode in x2 that allows you to do just that, Mark | Select range. To select files 1-100, go to the top of the list and using this command select 100 items. Then use F2 (rename) and a template like
1_$N
hit preview in the mass rename dialog to see what this does!
after you rename the first batch the sorting of the items will probably change. If the newly renamed items (those with leading 1_) are still ahead you need to skip them, exactly 100 of them.
instead of pressing down arrow 100 times, you can use the select range command again to select the first 100 items, then use the special <Alt+up-arrow> command in x2 to cycle back to the last item selected, which will be item#100. Now you're next to your kill and a single arrow down will take you to item 101. From there you can use Mark | range again to select another 200 or whatever items and rename wirth F2 and a new template like 2_$N
a bit like treading on egg shells, but possible!
with PRO, you can also do the same thing with following simpler methods:
Method-1: Use scrap containers to make groups first.
This method is useful if you want to make careful/complicated selection.
Open a few scrap panes beforehand. Select each group and drag-n-drop it in a new scrap pane. Then select each scrap pane and use the mass-rename.
This method also allows you to check what you renamed.
Method-2: After using mass-rename in the folder pane itself, hide the items
This method is a derivative of what Nikos described: After renaming, select the renamed items again. But then press the Gray* key. This selects all the items that were not renamed. Now press CTRL+ALT+J (view selected items only).
That will hide what ever items you have renamed.
Now select another batch and rename them using a different formula in the mass-renamer. After renaming, repeat the steps above to hide these items also.
Repeat these steps till you are done. Then use View | Show all menu option to unhide all items.
Method-1: Use scrap containers to make groups first.
This method is useful if you want to make careful/complicated selection.
Open a few scrap panes beforehand. Select each group and drag-n-drop it in a new scrap pane. Then select each scrap pane and use the mass-rename.
This method also allows you to check what you renamed.
Method-2: After using mass-rename in the folder pane itself, hide the items
This method is a derivative of what Nikos described: After renaming, select the renamed items again. But then press the Gray* key. This selects all the items that were not renamed. Now press CTRL+ALT+J (view selected items only).
That will hide what ever items you have renamed.
Now select another batch and rename them using a different formula in the mass-renamer. After renaming, repeat the steps above to hide these items also.
Repeat these steps till you are done. Then use View | Show all menu option to unhide all items.