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To rename part of the name on similar files on Windows 10, use these steps: Once you complete these steps, you will have shorter file names, depending on the question marks (?) available in the command. (If you want to make the file name longer, add extra question marks in the syntax.) Quick note: If the file name has fewer than five characters, the name will not change.For instance, this command trims the file names longer than five characters: ren *.* ?.* In the command, the asterisk (*) matches all the file names and extensions in the folder, and the question marks (?) indicate how many characters to use for the new file name.
Type the following command to make file names shorter and press Enter: r en *.* ?.*. This example opens the "files" folder inside "Documents": cd %USERPROFILE%\Pictures\rename To make file names shorter with Command Prompt on Windows 10, use these steps: This means that if you have files with a period as part of the name, the command may produce unexpected results.Īfter you complete the steps, the files will be renamed using the settings you specified. Quick tip: When renaming files, the ren command sees a period (.) as the end of the filename. For example, this command renames all ".jpg" files leaving the first three characters (which works as a unique identifier to avoid duplication) and appends "-hikingTrails" to the name: ren *.jpg ?-hikingTrip.* The question mark (?) is also a wildcard, but it represents a character of the original name you want to keep as part of the new name. The asterisk (*) is a wildcard that tells the ren command to rename everything with a specific extension. In the command, replace "FILE-EXTENSION" with the extension to change and "FILE-NAME" with part of the name to add to the files. Type the following command to rename the files in bulk and press Enter: ren *.FILE-EXTENSION ?-FILE-NAME.*. (Optional) Type the following command to view the files in the location and press Enter: dir.
Type the following command example to navigate to the folder with the files to rename, and press Enter: cd c:\PATH\TO\FILESįor example, this example opens the "files" folder inside "Documents": c d %USERPROFILE%\Pictures\rename.Search for Command Prompt and click the top result to open the app.To rename multiple files in bulk with the same name structure with Command Prompt, use these steps: Once you complete these steps, Command Prompt will rename the file with the new name available in the command. Repeat step 5 to change the name of the remaining files.