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Pariah Burke
Pariah Burke
Community Expert
March 28, 2017
Question

Best File Renaming Utilities?

  • March 28, 2017
  • 10 replies
  • 12562 views

A question came up in another forum about renaming files. That sparked a discussion on file renaming utilities. I thought I'd move that discussion here.

What is your favorite utility for renaming files, on which operating system, and why is it your favorite? Let's help each other find our next best tools.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    10 replies

    melissapiccone
    melissapiccone
    Community Expert
    June 4, 2017

    Bridge... duh...

    Melissa Piccone | Adobe Trainer | Online Courses Author | Fine Artist
    Luke Jennings
    Luke Jennings
    Inspiring
    June 2, 2017

    I use Path Finder from Cocoa Tech on my Mac (not to be confused with the InDesign tool or Illustrator effect). It's an alternative to the Finder. It's not free, but you can try it for 30 days. I originally started using it because I found it made working from a server faster. I also use the dual pane feature constantly. Batch re-naming is very easy and instant.

    JR Boulay
    JR Boulay
    Community Expert
    April 25, 2017

    Name Mangler.app for MacOS X

    It support GREP regex in its Find feature.

    Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
    Rob_Cullen
    Rob_Cullen
    Community Expert
    April 21, 2017

    I have for a long time used  "Lupas Rename"

    Lupas Rename 2000

    It is 'old' but still works.

    BUT- If you are a Lightroom user -Never rename your image files with anything but Lightroom itself, or you will corrupt the Lightroom Catalog.

    Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.0, Photoshop 27.0, ACR 18.0, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0 .
    A
    Anonymous
    April 19, 2017

    Are you looking how to batch rename files easily. Try "KrojamSoft BatchRename program"..It is a great tool.

    jane-e
    jane-e
    Community Expert
    April 20, 2017

    I also use Adobe Bridge to batch rename files. I love it!

      Ussnorway7605025
      Ussnorway7605025
      Brainiac
      April 1, 2017

      I use bridge as well... fast and easy when I'm pumping out internet images 20 at a time

        Trevor.Dennis
        Trevor.Dennis
        Community Expert
        April 19, 2017

        Another positive about Bridge is that it is so easy to organise your files as you rename them.  Being able to filter just the JPG files and folders, and the ease of making new folders.  You can also rearrange images by dragging before renaming.   My other option, Irfanview, is nowhere near as intuitive to use, but is a lot more flexible and powerful.  Thankfully, I have reduced my large event gigs to three a year now, as I don't get the same buzz from trawling through hundreds of images, and people are asking for more video nowadays.  Actually, video is an even bigger PITA to deal with.  I took 100Gb of files from the last event I covered, and I still haven't given them a finished product yet.

          A
          Anonymous
          March 29, 2017

          The absolute best tool I have found for this is Bulk Rename Utility.

          Nancy OShea
          Nancy OShea
          Community Expert
          March 28, 2017

          Bulk Rename Utility

          I have used this for years and years on Windows platform.

          It's free, lightweight, has lots of options & very easy to use.  

          It's one my most used, "must have" tools.   A++

          http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Shots/mainscr.png

          Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
            Karl Heinz Kremer
            Karl Heinz Kremer
            Community Expert
            March 28, 2017

            On the Mac, I like "A Better Finder Rename" - http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename/version10.html  - it supports a whole bunch of standard naming rules, but also offers regular expressions. And with that, there really is no renaming job that is too complex. Having said that, I have to admit that every now and then I still write a Perl or Python script to handle really complex jobs that don't fit will with regular expressions.

              S
              SJRiegel
              Community Expert
              March 28, 2017

              I like A Better File Rename, but often the renaming options in Bridge are enough. Bridge renaming supports Regular Expressions, and will handle my simpler renaming jobs,

              Barb Binder
              Barb Binder
              Community Expert
              March 28, 2017

              I second Bridge. We all already have it, and it's easy.

              ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
                Pariah Burke
                Pariah BurkeAuthor
                Community Expert
                March 28, 2017

                On macOS I like...

                • Finder's built-in file renaming for quick and simple replacement, prefix, suffix, and serialization.
                • Rename form Pathos Software for more advanced file renaming operations (look in the macOS App Store).
                • Noodlesoft Hazel for automatic file renaming, such as replacing spaces in filenames with underscores automatically when a file is placed in a particular folder (like my Upload to Website folder) or adding dates (such as with PDFs of receipts).

                On Windows I like...

                • File Renamer Deluxe from Sherrod Computers which offers an amazing array of file renaming features including GREP regular expressions.
                • Hazel, running on my Mac, renaming across the network.
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