Renaming multiple files can be a tedious process when doing so manually, but the Finder in OS X can make it easier to rename a batch of files at once on your Mac. Instead of relying on a third party app, use this handy tip to quickly rename a batch of files without breaking a sweat.
Step 1: Select the files that you wish to rename.
Step 2: Right click, and select Rename Items. This will open the Rename Finder Items box.
Step 3: You can use any of the dropdown boxes to establish renaming rules however you would like, but I personally like using Format instead of Add Text or Replace Text for the renaming style. This allows you to give the batch of files an entire new base name. Use the Custom Format box to insert the base name of the files.
The Name and Format dropdown box lets you choose how you wish to differentiate the files. You can do so by adding an index number, counter or date.
The Where dropdown box lets you choose where to add the differentiator. You can choose to do so after the name, or before the name. If you choose one of the numerical values, you can also apply a starting number. I recommend starting with 10 since the rename utility doesn’t let you pad a leading zero for single digit numbers.
Step 4: Once you are satisfied with your naming decision, click the Rename button to enact the changes. If you don’t like how it turns out, you can always use Command+Z and try it again.
Video walkthrough
Yes, it’s possible to use third-party apps like Name Mangler 3 or Better Rename 9 to do the same thing, but unless you need advanced renaming capabilities, Finder’s built in renaming utility can usually get the job done well.
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Nice. But the date option uses the current date and time. I’d have expected them to have given a choice of the current date and the last modified date (and time). I usually do not want to rename a batch of files created over time with today’s date. But then, I can imaging there are people who would want to do so. Guess I’ll just have to continue to use a third party app.
I did not know that. Good info. Useful and quick.
Great article. I used it immediately. Thanks so much.
This option is only for Yosemite and El Cap. Mavericks doesn’t have this feature.
You can essentially add the feature to any mac that has Automator. You can create a finder service that takes files and renames them. Just make sure you can the show options check box is checked and it works well. I’ve been using it since 10.4.
Wow I had no idea OS X had this! Neat!! Re: the modification date & time…I have to agree they should have made that an option.
Me personally I could care less about that, but I could see why you would want that if you are using that parameter to do some kind of other sorting or database stuff.
Useful thing that a lot of people didn’t know about….not sure if inevitable consequence of worthwhile features sometimes ending up a little hidden away or if neglectful “less discoverability” is the sole culprit. In any case, now I’d sure love to be able to more effectively edit date and time in Photos…….
ForkLift 2 has a great batch rename tool, too.
http://binarynights.com/forklift/
Cmd + Z doesn’t work.
It did for me, don’t know if it’s always possible (maybe if it’s not a local file or something)
A simple but great tip!
Thanks for this one. I’ve been using A Better Finder Rename for years, which is great, but often overkill for basic renaming needs. Friends using Windows always laughed at me because MacOS X couldn’t perform such a basic function.
Indeed A Better Finder Rename works wonders for all the more advanced renaming options which could get a bit tedious using one of the possible terminal utils. A tool I would recommend to everyone for it’s ease of use (the ability for droplets is awesome), it’s speed (it tackled a rename of 200k + files with ease etc. Just awesome :)
Me, as a photographer this does not work for me, although for some this is useful, the best one for me is, https://mrrsoftware.com/namechanger/ best one to change hundreds of files hands down
This is awesome! After switching from Windows to Mac about a year ago. The hardest part was leaving behind Flash Renamer on my Windows computer. I ended up jumping back and forth between both or just doing it all manual on the Mac. Didn’t know I could do batches!!! Thanks!
I found a Visual basic script on net , and liked it , helped me to batch rename multiple files (without parentheses) , here is the download link and youtube video
youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEpnGCjBL6I
Rename vbs Download Link :http://www.teknohaber.tc/download/download.php?file=Rename_en.zip
OMG! YES! just spent half an hour before this trying to remember how to do this in Adobe Photoshop and its help menu. Did this in 5 minutes. THANKS!!!