5 Ways to Rename Multiple Files at Once on Windows 11

Why Rename Multiple Files on Windows?

There are many situations where you may need to rename multiple files in a folder on Windows:

Organizing photos from your camera
Versioning documents for better organization
Changing the file name structure for consistency
Correcting typos or replacing terms across many filenames

While you can rename files individually, this gets tedious if you have dozens or hundreds to modify. Luckily, Windows provides ways to bulk rename files so you can rename files in batches.

How to use Built-in Windows Techniques for Batch Renaming

Using File Explorer to Bulk Rename Files

The simplest way to rename multiple files on Windows is using File Explorer’s built-in bulk rename feature:

Open File Explorer Win + E.
Navigate to the folder with the files you want to rename.
Select the files to be renamed. To select all files, use Ctrl + A. For multiple selections, hold Ctrl and click on the desired files.
Press F2 or right-click on a selected file and choose “Rename” from the context menu.
Type in the new name for the group of files.
Press Enter to apply the name change.

File-Explorer

This method works great when you want to assign the same base name to a group of files. An added benefit is the ability to undo changes with Ctrl + Z. Many articles I found only mention this procedure. However, this is a basic method and may not suffice for more complex renaming needs.

Renaming Files using the Command Prompt

For more control, turn to the command prompt:

Open the command prompt via the Start menu or with Win + R, then type “cmd”.
Navigate to your folder using cd. You can change the directory with cd followed by the directory name. Use cd .. to move up a level. If you are in your personal user folder, you can change to the desktop directory with cd Desktop. Folders with spaces need to be enclosed in quotes. Verify your files are present with dir.
Utilize ren to rename files.

For instance:

ren old-file.txt new-file.txt

To rename multiple files, chain commands together:

ren old-file.txt new-file.txt & ren old-file2.txt new-file2.txt

Placeholders like * for any string and ? for a single character can help with broader changes:

ren *.txt *.md

CMD

However, this method has limitations when renaming multiple files with different names.

It is possible to save ren commands in a batch file and execute them.

For example, I create a text file named rename.txt and insert the following content.

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

for %%F in (*.txt) do (
  set "filename=%%~nF"
  ren "%%F" "new_!filename!.txt"
)

endlocal

After the file and its contents have been saved, I change the file extension from .txt to .bat. Now I can execute the file, and all files with the extension .txt are renamed new_*.txt.

Renaming Files in PowerShell

PowerShell, a powerful scripting language within Windows, elevates file renaming capabilities, offering enhanced flexibility and control. Here’s how to leverage it:

Open the desired folder in File Explorer.
Open PowerShell in your target folder by holding Shift and right-clicking, then choosing “Open PowerShell window here.” You can also navigate using cd.

Open PowerShell

Use the command Get-ChildItem to list all files in the current directory. With Get-ChildItem *.txt all files with the extension .txt are listed. Get-ChildItem -File lists all files.
Rename using Rename-Item.

PowerShell can accomplish a variety of tasks:

Add Prefixes

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { "hallo_" + $_.Name }

This adds the prefix “hallo_” to all files.

Add Suffixes

Get-ChildItem *.txt | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name + "_hallo" }

This adds the suffix “_hallo” to all files with the extension .txt. This means the file file.txt is renamed file.txt_hallo. However, this is probably not the desired result. The file name must be broken down into components to achieve this.

Get-ChildItem *.txt | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.BaseName + "_hallo" + $_.Extension }

Delete characters

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name.Remove(0, 5) }

This removes the first 5 characters from all files (regardless of the extension).

Add characters

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name.Insert(2, "test_") }

This inserts the string “test_” after the second position in the name of all files.

Replacing part of the name

Get-ChildItem *.txt | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name -replace 'file', 'new-file' }

This command renames all files with the extension .txt by replacing the string “file” with “new-file”. This means that the file file.txt is renamed to new-file.txt and the file textfile.txt is renamed to textnew-file.txt. The files nocheine.txt and exceldatei.xlsx remain unchanged.

Add random characters

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name.Insert(0, [System.IO.Path]::GetRandomFileName()) }

This inserts a random string as a prefix for all files.

Random Naming

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name -replace $_.BaseName, [System.IO.Path]::GetRandomFileName() }

This randomly renames all files. The file extension is retained.

File names in capital letters

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.BaseName.ToUpper() + $_.Extension }

This renames all files to upper case.

File names in lowercase letters

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.BaseName.ToLower() + $_.Extension }

This renames all files to lowercase.

Remove spaces

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name -replace ' ', '' }

This removes all spaces from the file names.

Last modified date as a prefix

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.LastWriteTime.ToString("yyyyMMdd") + "_" + $_.Name }

This adds the last write access date as a prefix to all files.

File size as prefix

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { "Size_" + $_.Length + "_" + $_.Name }

This adds the file size in bytes as a prefix to all files.

Folder name as prefix

Get-ChildItem -File | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Directory.Name + "_" + $\_.Name }

This adds the parent folder’s name as a prefix to all files.

Use Regular Expressions for Renaming

Regular expressions (regex) are powerful tools for pattern matching and manipulation. Here are a few examples for using regex in PowerShell:

. (dot): Matches any single character except newline. Example: file. matches “file1”, “fileA”, etc.
* (asterisk): Matches zero or more of the preceding character. Example: file.* matches “file”, “file.txt”, “file.docx”, etc.
+ (plus): Matches one or more of the preceding character. Example: file.+ matches “file1”, “file.txt”, but not “file”.
? (question mark): Matches zero or one of the preceding character. Example: files? matches “file” and “files”.
^ (caret): Matches the start of a string. Example: ^2024 matches filenames starting with “2024”.
$ (dollar): Matches the end of a string. Example: .txt$ matches filenames ending with “.txt”.
[] (square brackets): Matches any single character in the brackets. Example: file[123] matches “file1”, “file2”, “file3”.
[^] (caret in square brackets): Matches any single character not in the brackets. Example: file[^123] matches “fileA” but not “file1”.
(): Groups patterns together. Example: (file|doc) matches “file” or “doc”.
\d: Matches any digit (0-9). Example: \d{3} matches exactly three digits.
\w: Matches any word character (a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and _). Example: \w+ matches one or more word characters.
\s: Matches any whitespace character (space, tab, newline). Example: \s+ matches one or more whitespace characters.
{n}: Matches exactly n occurrences of the preceding character or group. Example: \d{4} matches exactly four digits.
{n,m}: Matches between n and m occurrences of the preceding character or group. Example: \d{2,4} matches between two and four digits.

Example:

Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.Name -match '^IMG_\d{4}\.jpg$' } |
ForEach-Object { Rename-Item $_ -NewName ('Photo_' + $_.Name) }

This renames all files matching the pattern “IMG*####.jpg” to “Photo_IMG*####.jpg”.

For a deep dive into Rename-Item, check out the Microsoft documentation.

Additional Tools and Techniques

In addition to the integrated methods, other software can be used to rename multiple files in Windows.

Excel for Batch Renaming

For extensive lists of file names, Excel can work in tandem with PowerShell to handle complex renaming:

Export file names to CSV using PowerShell:

Get-ChildItem -File | Select-Object Name | Export-Csv -Path .output.csv -NoTypeInformation

Open the CSV in Excel.

A table can now be created from which the file names can be changed. Formulas can also be used to change the file names.

In my case, I have the exported file names in column A (Name) and the new file names in column B (NewName). Column B can also remain empty if the file names are not to be changed. The file extension must be retained.

Create a third column with a formula that renames the files. To do this, use the function CHAR(34) to insert quotation marks into the formula. The formula in cell C2 then looks like this:

=SWITCH(TRUE, LEN(B2)>1, "Rename-Item -Path " & CHAR(34) & A2 & CHAR(34) & " -NewName " & CHAR(34) & B2 & CHAR(34),"")

The formula can then be copied down.

Excel formula

Copy the generated PowerShell command (without the heading) and execute them to rename files.
The files are renamed.

Third-party Software Solutions

For those seeking a more user-friendly interface or advanced features, consider third-party tools, such as (in alphabetical order):

A standout is Microsoft’s own PowerToys, which includes the “PowerRename” utility.

Bulk Renaming Files with PowerToys PowerRename

PowerToys offers a suite of utilities for Windows 10 and 11. You can download the latest version here.

Use the “PowerRename” feature directly from the context menu. The tool offers a very user-friendly interface and many useful functions.

In the PowerRename window, configure your bulk rename settings:

Search for: Text to find and replace in the filenames
Replace with: Replacement text for the search term
Use regular expressions: Allows using regex for complex renaming
Enumerate items: Sequentially numbers the renamed files
Item name format: Customize the format
Exclude files: Skip renaming certain files

PowerRename

The free tool displays the new name on the right. Click “Rename to rename all the selected files at once.

For a comprehensive guide on installing and optimizing Windows 11 check this out.

Renaming Safeguards

When renaming files in bulk, take these precautions:

Back up data to prevent loss.
Test renaming methods on a small group first.
Be cautious with wildcards or regex to avoid unintended changes.

Best Practices for File Naming Conventions

Use consistent naming conventions across projects or folders.
Avoid special characters (\ / : * ? ” < > |) which can cause issues in some systems.
Use underscores (_) or hyphens (-) instead of spaces for better compatibility.
Include dates in YYYYMMDD format for easy chronological sorting.
Use descriptive names that indicate the content of the file.
Keep filenames relatively short while still being descriptive.
Use leading zeros (001, 002, etc.) to ensure proper sorting.
Consider including project or client names in filenames for easy identification.

Final Thoughts

Renaming files in bulk doesn’t have to be a tedious task. With these strategies, you can quickly alter file names across Windows systems. Share other tips, questions, or suggestions in the comments!