Type dir once more to review and confirm the changes.You can go over to match the longest filename, so ten question marks keeps any characters that fall under ten in every filename.Įxample: ren *.docx ?-Windows-Notes.* renames all “.docx” files, keeping the first six characters and adding “-Windows-Notes” to the end. Using “ ?” keeps the first three original characters, “ ?” keeps first four, etc.Īdd as many “ ?” as you like. ?.* but replace the bracketed sections and choose how many “ ?” to add. Type dir to list all files in the specified location so that you can verify what you want to rename.Replace the brackets with the correct names, such as cd c: ester. Type cd :\ or whatever number of folders the path requires. In the Command Prompt, navigate to the desired folder that contains the files that you want to rename.You can also press “ (Windows Key) + R” and type it in. Launch “Command Prompt,” then type “cmd” in the Cortana Search Bar.It also uses “*” as a wildcard for the filename so that it includes all of them that have the specified file extension (.jpg or whatever you select).

This process uses “?” to determine how many characters you want to keep in the original part of the name. Bulk Renaming Files: Add More Text and Less Characters using Command Prompt

Batch rename files in folder