How to Easily Batch Rename Files on Windows 10 – How-To Geek

Need a quick but powerful way to rename large groups of files in Windows 10? Using Microsofts free PowerToys, all that power is only a right-click away thanks to the PowerRename module. Heres how to use it.

Before all this exciting renaming action can begin, youll first need to download PowerToys from Microsofts website. To get it, visit this link in your favorite browser and look for the latest release toward the top of the page, which will have a name similar to PowerToysSetup-0.27.1-x64.exe. Download that file and run it to install PowerToys.

After youve installed PowerToys, launch PowerToys Settings and click PowerRename in the sidebar. Make sure that the switch beside Enable PowerRename is turned on.

After that, close the PowerToys Settings window.

RELATED: All Microsoft's PowerToys for Windows 10, Explained

Now that you have PowerToys installed, renaming a bunch of files is as easy as a right-click menu choice. First, locate the files that you want to rename in File Explorer or on the desktop and select them.

Then right-click the files and select PowerRename from the menu that appears.

The PowerRename window will open. This is where the magic happens.

First, enter the criteria that will determine what gets renamed. By default, PowerRename works with simple search-and-replace functionality. In the first text box, type a search term. On the next line, enter what you want to replace it with. PowerRename will replace the first occurrence (or every occurrence if you check a box) of that term in all of the file names youve selected with the replacement text.

Heres an example where P4 in each file name has been replaced with photo_. The neat thing is that PowerRename provides a preview of what the renamed files will look like right there in the window. That way, you dont have to guess what the result might be.

Near the middle of the window, youll see other options that change how PowerRename works. Consider each one and place a checkmark beside those that you want to use. Heres what each option does:

When youre ready, click the Rename button, and PowerRename will perform the operation youve specified.

If you dont like the result, you can press Ctrl+Z in File Explorer to undo the rename process. Very handy!

What if you dont want to just replace a word in a file, but rather, youd like to replace the entire filename with something completely new? In that case, youd want a wildcard to match all of the files youve selected. To do that, youll need to use a very simple, regular expression, .*, which means everything.

In this example, well replace all file names selected with a base file name that gets progressively numbered. First, enter .* in the Search for box, then enter the name youd like to use in the Replace with box. Then check Use Regular Expressions, Enumerate Items, and Item Name Only.

With all that checked, youll end up with a series of similarly named files that are numbered in sequential order. When youre done setting it up, click Rename, and the operation will complete. Have fun renaming things!

RELATED: How To Use Basic Regular Expressions to Search Better and Save Time

Need more power and options? Try these other batch rename tools for Windows.

RELATED: How to Batch Rename Multiple Files in Windows

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How to Easily Batch Rename Files on Windows 10 - How-To Geek