How to Rename a Series of Files With the DOS Command Line
Renaming multiple files in Windows can be a very tedious job, especially if the standard method of clicking on each individual file to rename it is used. While many different programs can rename multiple files at once, you can save the time of a download, and perhaps a bit of money, by using the Windows version of the DOS command line. Batch renaming is especially helpful for digital photos that are numbered sequentially, because generic numbers are not very helpful when you are looking for a particular set of pictures in the future. This guide will show you how to rename a series of files with the DOS command line.
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Instructions
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Locate the files you wish to rename. Create a new directory, and put all of the files you wish to rename into it. Though it is not necessary to put the files into a new directory, it will make the job easier.
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Open a new command line window. This can be done by pressing the “Start” button on the task bar, and selecting “Run.” In the dialog box that opens, type “CMD” into the “Open” box, and press “OK.” A window with a black background will open. This is the DOS-style command prompt. A line of text will be displayed that indicates your current location in the directory tree. For instance, in Windows XP, the location will look something like “C:\Documents and Settings\UserName>,” where “UserName” is your Windows logon name.
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Change to the drive and directory where your files are located. If they are not on the C drive, for example, you could change to the D drive by typing “D:” and then pressing “Enter.” When you are on the correct drive, you can change directories with the “CD” command. To change to a directory named “Pictures,” type “CD pictures” and press “Enter.” You can also enter the full path after the “CD” command. To switch to the “My Documents” folder, you would type “CD c:\documents and settings\UserName\my documents” and press enter. To go up one directory, type “CD ..” and press “Enter.” To go back to the root directory, type “CD \” and press “Enter.”
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Type “DIR” and press “Enter” to see a list of files in the directory. Once you verify that you are in the correct directory, you can issue the commands to rename the file. For the example of digital photos, you can add several characters in the sequentially numbered file names. You can do this using the “*” wild card, which represents any number of characters. We will be using it to represent the last two characters in the filename, which are the sequential photo numbers. The hypothetical files will be named “DCN00001.JPG”, “DCN00002.JPG,” and “DCN00003.JPG”.
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Type “REN DCN000*.JPG BDAY08*.JPG” and press “Enter.” The new files will now be named “BDAY0801.JPG,” “BDAY0801.JPG,” and “BDAY0803.JPG.” This command replaces six characters that are common in the filenames, “DCN000,” with the characters “BDAY08.” The number of characters in your unique name must remain the same as the number of characters that are being replaced. Otherwise, the command will not work.
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Tips & Warnings
DOS can also make use of the "?" wild card, which represents a single character.
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Comments
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Note that the author replaced exactly 6 characters with 6 other characters - "DCN000" becomes "BDAY08". This technique can't be used to lengthen or shorten the file name.
