Batch Rename Files With Rules and Placeholders

Some folders are a wall of bad names: IMG_2231, IMG_2232, Untitled (3), download (7), Copy of Copy of report. Fixing them one at a time in Windows Explorer — click, F2, type, Enter, repeat — is the kind of chore that eats an afternoon. This guide shows how to batch rename files in one pass, with a live preview so you see every new name before anything changes, and how to add dates automatically with placeholders when you want renaming to run by rule.

Two ways to rename, one for each job#

There are really two renaming problems, and the app solves them with two different tools:

• A pile you want to fix right now — a folder of photos, a set of scans, exports for a client. For that, the interactive Batch rename dialog: you select the files, shape the names, and apply once.
• A stream you want fixed forever — every file that lands in a folder should get a tidy, dated name from now on. For that, the automation “Rename (pattern)” action, which understands placeholders like {year} and {name}.

We’ll cover both.

Batch rename, right now, with a preview#

Select the files (or folders) you want to fix, right-click, and choose Batch rename (it’s also in the Tools menu and the command palette). A window opens with your options on the left and a two-column list on the right: ORIGINAL and NEW NAME, plus a STATUS column. Every name updates live as you type — nothing on disk changes until you click Apply.

Here’s what you can stack together in a single pass:

1. Find and replace. Type the text to find and what to Replace with — turn Copy of report into report across the whole selection at once. Leave regular expressions off for a plain, literal swap.
2. Remove text. Drop a junk fragment like -final-FINAL from every name.
3. Add text. A Prefix (start) or a Suffix (end) — put 2026_ in front of everything, or -web before the extension.
4. Number sequentially. Turn on Number sequentially and set Start, Step, Digits (so you get 001, 002, 003), the Separator between name and number, and the Number position (start or end). Perfect for turning a chaotic photo dump into beach_001, beach_002.
5. Change case. Force everything to UPPERCASE, lowercase, or title case in one move.
6. Apply to. Decide where the changes land: Name only (keep extension) — the safe default — Extension only, or Full name (name + extension).

As you work, the STATUS column keeps you honest. It flags Invalid name for illegal characters, Duplicate when two files in your batch would end up identical, and Already exists when a new name would collide with a file already in the folder. The Apply button only lights up when there are zero problems — you can’t half-apply a broken batch by accident. That live preview is the whole safety net here: you approve every single new name before a single file moves.

Swap names between files without fear

Here’s a trick Windows Explorer chokes on: giving A.txt the name B.txt and B.txt the name A.txt in the same operation. Rename one and it collides with the other. The Batch rename dialog handles those swaps — and longer rename chains — safely in one apply. You don’t have to think about the order or invent temporary names; you just set the new names and click Apply. Names can trade places between files without a collision, and without you babysitting the sequence.

Renaming that runs by rule, with placeholders#

The interactive dialog is for a pile you fix on demand. When you want new files renamed automatically — and especially when you want a date baked into the name — that’s the automation side, and it’s where placeholders live.

Open Auto-organization, click + New rule, add the folder to watch, then add a “Rename (pattern)” action. In the pattern box you type placeholders — tokens in curly braces that the app swaps for each file’s real values:

• {name} — the file’s name without its extension.
• {year}, {month}, {day}, {month-name} — the file’s date, in parts.
• {capture-date} — for photos, the real day the picture was taken.
• {ext}, {size} — the extension and a readable size.

A pattern like {year}-{month}-{day}_{name} turns report.pdf into 2026-03-15_report.pdf, and the original extension is added back automatically so you never lose it. Because the app reads the real capture date inside photos, {capture-date}_{name} dates a picture by when it was shot, not when the file was copied.

There’s no “insert token” button — you type the tokens by hand — so always click “Simulate effect” first. The “Preview — nothing is actually changed” scene catches a mistyped token (like a stray space inside the braces) before it ever becomes a real file name. And unlike the interactive dialog, a rule-based rename can be reversed: the “Undo” button on the toast puts the old names back. For the full list of tokens and the traps to avoid, read the file placeholders guide.

Which one should you use?#

If it’s a folder you’re staring at and want fixed in the next minute, use Batch rename — the preview and the safe swaps make it fast and forgiving. If it’s an inbox you never want to think about again, build a rule with “Rename (pattern)” and let dates and names sort themselves out as files arrive. Many people use both: the dialog to clean up the backlog once, a rule to keep it clean forever.

A concrete example ties it together. Say you just imported a memory card full of DSC0001, DSC0002, DSC0003. Open Batch rename, turn on Find and replace to swap DSC for a trip name, and the preview instantly shows Lisbon0001, Lisbon0002, Lisbon0003 down the list. Happy with it, click Apply. Then, so next month’s card sorts itself, build a rule that renames incoming photos with {capture-date}_{name} — the backlog fixed by hand, the future handled on its own.

Everything happens on your PC. No account, no cloud, nothing uploaded.