How to Quickly Rename Files One by One in Windows Explorer
May 17, 2008 – 12:51 pmThe obvious way to rename a file in Windows Explorer is to right click on it; select “Rename“, give a new name for the file and press “Enter” to save the changes. Repeat the mundane process over and over if you plan to rename a lot of files in the same directory. In this post, I will show you how to rename multiple files quickly with F2 and up/down arrow keys on your keyboard.
Step by Step Quick File Rename
1- First and foremost, you need to download Pitaschio from here. Pitaschio is a free tool for tweaking Windows settings so you can have extra cool functionalities like extra small desktop icons, configurable hotkeys, snap-in windows and more.
2- Unzip the file and run Pitaschio.exe. Pitaschio doesn’t require any installation whatsoever.
3- Right click on Pitaschio’s icon on the system tray and click “Settings“. Under the “Explorer” section, make sure “Allow Extended Rename” is selected.
4- Open the directory that contains all the files that you are going to rename. Make sure you select “Details” view to make the whole process easier.
5- To start renaming multiple files, select on a file and press F2. Edit the new file name.
6- Press the up or down button to select a new file to rename. The above file name changes will automatically be saved.
To summarize, there are two advantages of using this rename method:
- You don’t have to press Enter to confirm a file rename.
- You can rename files in the same directory without having to reach for your mouse to select for another one- you can just move the up and down arrow keys.
Not convinced yet? Try to rename a file using the old method and compare it with Pitaschio’s method. I bet that you can feel the difference!
Extra: Looking for a way resize image files in batch?
Tags: rename, rename file, rile rename, batch rename, windows rename
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6 Responses to “How to Quickly Rename Files One by One in Windows Explorer”
Quite a good find. This will specially be helpful when I want to rename each file with my own name but do not want to do it together
By Keith Dsouza on May 17, 2008
@Keith: Yeah, this one makes it easier to rename files with a different format.
By Syahid A. on May 18, 2008
why dont you select all the files you want to rename in one folder,
then right click on the top most file you want to rename,choose rename
then woops..all the files below it change similar to the top most file you rename, with the additional number behind it.
file(1)
file(2)
file(3) …
By Wisnu on May 18, 2008
@Wisnu: Tried this tip, not working for me. Additionally, your method made all changes to a similar name, which also can be accomplished by a batch renamer tool.
By Syahid A. on May 19, 2008
This is a good find, I had encountered a similar situation before.
By Nirmal on May 19, 2008
I tried following the steps that yo posted but it is quite difficult for me to use it at first due to some errors. Eventually I found out that it is very easy to use as long as steps are properly done.
By Zamora Lanz on Apr 19, 2011