Renaming multiple files at once

[Sarah S.24]

I've  imported 100 files and would like to highlight them all and rename them all Ashland Vacation 1, Ashland Vacation 2, Ashland Vacation 3, etc. Is there a way to automatically do this? I don't want to click and rename 100 individual files. Thanks. 

[Rich · Accepted solution]

Not using Dropbox, no. If the files are synced to your computer then you can probably find a third-party utility that can do a bulk rename on your files.

[Moderator Note: This might be easier to accomplish now with the help of our naming conventions feature and the Dropbox Automations too]

[Sarah S.24]

Thanks Rich. That's a bummer. Appreciate the quick reply. 

[Andrew R.29]

Definitely a bummer!!! I've got 6,500 photos and 2,000 videos that I want to rename in batches!!

any suggestions for the best 3rd party app for the job??

😩

[Kenneth_l]

Hey, Andrew.

I'm afraid I'm not much help if you're using Windows. The best I can do on that front is typical, which is searching the net for apps along the lines of "batch file renamer", "file renamer", etc. I'm sure many are free or have limited use trial demos. I'm sorry if that's not much help. 

There's a different story if you're using a Mac. 

For a Mac I humbly suggest what I recently discovered: Name Mangler 3. Their main page has a 3 minute video that gives a good overview. The trial demo allows 5 unlimited uses (processes), with any number of files to be renamed. After those 5 it limits each use to something like 10 or less files to be renamed at a time unless/until you buy the app.

The retail price of $19 is well worth it to me. It paid for itself before my third trial use. It should have no problem renaming thousands of your photos and videos in record time, exactly as you want. 

The best part about why I chose Name Mangler 3 is because it allows me to get meta-data from the files and use it in any part of the name. So you can have it rename your thousands of photos and videos along with the make and model of the camera that took the photo, along with any of the 150 or so other meta-data. (Obviously, if that info is in the file itself, which most digital cameras and apps have done since 2002 or so).

That's on top of it being well priced, quick and easy to use, definitely works fast, and above all else is highly flexible because it allows multi step renaming and save presets for a renaming convention. In short, the app does far more than what I was looking for lol.

I wish you well and hope you find the right app that suits you.

[Kenneth_l]

UPDATE: 

It goes without saying that common sense (and the Name Mangler 3 built in manual) demand that you don't try to batch rename files within your Dropbox folder while it is syncing or it is actively connected to the internet.

Or for that matter using NM3 while any other file updating or tracking software is running. So it's not a good idea to try batch renaming files while your Mac's Time Machine is backing up your drive lol. In either case, Dropbox, Time Machine, etc., that opens the door to potential conflicts, duplicated files, corrupted data, etc.

For renaming files within your Dropbox folder it's best to quit the Dropbox desktop app. That way Dropbox doesn't try to detect and upload changes before NM3 finishes the batch file renaming.

When the renaming is done, which in my case only takes seconds, you can start the Dropbox desktop app up again. It will quickly detect the changes and react accordingly, reflected by the changes when you next view your files using the Dropbox website, etc. This also only takes a few seconds.

[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Dropbox Community here.]