{"id":70094,"date":"2023-11-02T21:01:44","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T13:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=70094"},"modified":"2023-11-04T17:18:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T09:18:03","slug":"mass-rename-files-macos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/mass-rename-files-macos\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Mass Rename Files in macOS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renaming a single file in macOS is straightforward, but when it comes to bulk renaming multiple files, whether it\u2019s 10 or 100, you certainly don\u2019t want to do it one by one. Hidden within macOS is a feature that allows you to do just that, and it\u2019s quite simple.<\/p>\n

\"mass<\/figure>\n

In this article, I\u2019m going to demonstrate how this feature works and explore the extent of its capabilities in terms of bulk renaming files.<\/p>\n

First, navigate to the folder containing all the files you wish to rename. If they are scattered across different locations, it\u2019s best to consolidate them into one folder.<\/p>\n

Select all the files (Command<\/span> + A<\/span>), right-click, and then choose \u201cRename<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Selecting<\/span><\/figure>\n

This is where the real action begins.<\/p>\n

If you want to disregard their current filenames and sequentially number them, for example: image-1.png<\/code>, image-2.png<\/code>, image-3.png<\/code>, etc., adjust the following settings:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Custom Format:<\/strong> image-<\/code><\/li>\n
  • Start Numbers At<\/strong>: 1<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \"Sequential<\/span><\/figure>\n

    Here\u2019s the results:<\/p>\n

    \"Result<\/span><\/figure>\n

    If you wish to retain the existing filename but add the text \u201c(done)<\/code>\u201d in front of all the files, do the following:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Under the \u201cFormat<\/strong>\u201d dropdown, change it to \u201cAdd Text.<\/strong>\u201c<\/li>\n
    2. With \u201cAdd Text<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cBefore Name<\/strong>\u201d selected, type in \"(done)<\/code>.\"<\/li>\n
    3. Click \u201cRename<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \"Adding<\/span><\/figure>\n

      Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll get:<\/p>\n

      \"Result<\/span><\/figure>\n

      This feature also allows you to bulk find and replace certain text in all filenames. For instance, if we want to remove all instances of \u201ccopy<\/code>\u201d from the filenames, here\u2019s what we do:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Select \u201cReplace Text<\/strong>\u201d from the dropdown.<\/li>\n
      2. In \u201cFind<\/strong>,\u201d insert \u201ccopy<\/code>\u201c<\/li>\n
      3. In \u201cReplace with<\/strong>\u201d leave it blank.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \"Find<\/span><\/figure>\n

        And voil\u00e0, all instances of \u201ccopy<\/code>\u201d in the filenames are removed.<\/p>\n

        \"Result<\/span><\/figure>\n

        One important note: before you confirm the mass renaming of your files, take a look at the \u201cExample<\/strong>\u201d that shows you how the output will look. However, even if you make a mistake and realize it after the mass renaming, you can still hit Command<\/span> + Z<\/span> to mass undo all changes.<\/p>\n

        \"Preview<\/span><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Hidden within Mac is a feature for batch renaming or bulk find-and-replace in filenames.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3397],"tags":[3933],"topic":[],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Mass Rename Files in macOS - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hidden within Mac is a feature for batch renaming or bulk find-and-replace in filenames.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/mass-rename-files-macos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Mass Rename Files in macOS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hidden within Mac is a feature for batch renaming or bulk find-and-replace in filenames.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/mass-rename-files-macos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-02T13:01:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-04T09:18:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/mass-rename-files-macos\/hero.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hongkiat Lim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hongkiat Lim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/mass-rename-files-macos\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/mass-rename-files-macos\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hongkiat Lim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e3613a3bf757e4f67770f0b7a339edd0\"},\"headline\":\"How to Mass Rename Files in macOS\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-02T13:01:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-04T09:18:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/mass-rename-files-macos\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":435,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/mass-rename-files-macos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/mass-rename-files-macos\\\/hero.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"macOS\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Desktop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/mass-rename-files-macos\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/mass-rename-files-macos\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Mass Rename Files in macOS - 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