You can watch this YouTube video to know how to use Smart Bulk Renamer.
Smart Bulk Renamer fetches files from APIs and lists them in the browser. You apply the rules and preview the changes. Once you confirm, the tool calls the appropriate APIs to rename your files.
Smart Bulk Renamer is also available as a Google Drive add-on. Once installed, you can open it directly from your Google Drive.
Renaming has the following 3 steps in Smart Bulk Renamer.
Smart Bulk renamer supports both cloud and local file renaming. Both the types let you pick multiple files or folders for renaming.
When you pick folders, you will rename the files inside those folders. Smart Bulk Renamer doesn't support renaming folders yet.
For now, Google Drive, Dropbox & OneDrive file renaming is supported.
When you select one of the cloud options, first your need to authenticate & authorize access to your files by clicking on the Pick from button. Then, a file picker opens where you can pick multiple folders or files for renaming.
It is recommended to pick folders instead of multiple files as it reduces the number of API calls required to fetch files which speeds up the process.
When the picked folder has more than 500 files, the tool stops fetching all the files and lists approximately 500 files. But, when it starts renaming it will apply the renaming rules to all the files inside that folder. You will also see an alert regarding this.
You can rename local files only on Chromium-based browsers like Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Opera on a PC or Mac due to the unavailability of certain APIs on other browsers. Mobile & iPad or not supported.
Select Local Disk at the top of this page. Now, select one of Pick a folder or Pick files and select a folder/files to continue with the renaming.
After picking, appropriate files are fetched. Once the files are fetched, you should see a table like the one shown below. Files are listed under a folder path. You can collapse the files under a folder simply by clicking on it.
You will see a form similar to the one below to the right of the file list. This is where you set the rules for file renaming.
There are 9 types of renaming you can perform with Smart Bulk Renaming,
Before we know about these types in detail, there are 3 concepts you should know beforehand. You will find at least one or all available to all of the renaming types.
Whenever you see a + icon inside the right end of any field, you can use it to insert metadata into the file name. Refer to the image below.
You can find some or all of the metadata grouped under the following titles.
* Formatting of value is possible
When this is checked, the extension of the file is left intact. The renaming rule is only applied on the file name. When this is unchecked, the extension is forgotten.
Let's consider the file dino.png
when you add suffix saur
,
Preserve extension rule | Result |
---|---|
Enabled | dinosaur.png |
Disabled | dinosaur |
When this is checked, only the files directly inside the picked folder(s) are considered for renaming.
Consider the example below, here, the folder selected is My Wedding
and the files are renamed to have their sizes. When we check Ignore files inside nested folders
, only the files directly inside My Wedding
folder are considered for renaming. Other files are ignored.
You can query for a particular text in the file name and replace with someother text you want. When quering for text, you can choose to ignore the case of your query text and/or use regular expressions.
When using regular expressions to target files based on their extensions, remember to uncheck Preserve extension to get the desired results.
Renames your files in a numbered sequence. You can set the starting number of the sequence, sequence incrementor and the number of digits a number in sequence should have.
Sequence renaming has a 3 valid Group by options: No grouping, Parent folder, Content type.
All files are renamed in one sequence.
Every folder has its own sequence or the sequence is restarted whenever a new folder is found.
Every unique file type has its own sequence. For example, regardless of the parent folder all png
files are renamed in one sequence. pdf
files will have a separate sequence and so on.
You can compose a new file name from scratch using this option. You should choose metadata to keep the names of files unique.
Helps to add prefixes to the file names.
Adds a suffix to the file names.
You can insert a piece of text at a set position in your file name. You can count the position from the start or end of the file name with a config.
You can remove a set number of characters from a set position in your file name.
You can change the case of your file name and/or its extension. Supported cases: lower, upper, title & capitalized.
Sets extension for the file names. You can enable a config to only set extensions for the files that already have an extension.
After you set the rules and verify the file name changes in the preview, select Rename files. You will see a modal with a warning stating, This action is irreversible. Once you are sure, select Yes, rename files to rename your files.
Sometimes, when duplicate names are in the same folder or file names start with a dot, you might see more alerts before renaming. How such cases are handled is based on the source of the files.
You will see the renaming progress after it starts.