Renaming files after downloading a bunch of them from the internet or your Mail account is very common. While Mac OS X lets you quickly rename a file when you select and hit enter, renaming multiple files is not that straightforward. In this post, I will share how to rename multiple files in Mac OS X.
Just before you start, I would strongly suggest you copy all your files into a separate folder. This will reduce the clutter, and also the confusion. The download folder or desktop has a lot of files, and you would not want to accidentally rename files which you had accidentally selected.
How to rename multiple files in Mac OS X in one go
- Select the files you want by using command or use the cursor.
- Press control and click any of the files. This will open the shortcut menu. You can also click on File on the menu bar and reveal the Rename xx items. XX will be the count of files you have selected.
- This will open a pop-up menu which gives a plethora of options to rename the files. Its great to actually have such advanced file renamer built into the OS.
- You can choose to rename
- You have options to choose Format, Add Text, and Replace text.
Format: When you want to completely rename the files, add a number in the front, and have similar names, you should choose it. You can have filenames ending or starting with a counter (0001) or date or just a simple 1,2,3 format.
Replace text: This is handy if you want to remove part of the name in the file with something else. When using replace text, you can use special characters for accurate searches. So if you want to replace thegeek*** with thegeekclub that’s possible.
Add text: If you want to append a name before or after a file, this is the best choice.
Click on rename, and you are done.
What I didn’t like about renaming multiple files on Mac OS X is letting me do it one by one. I would like to select multiple files but rename them individually after selecting them. This works in Windows where you can use tabs to rename files as you like.
