We've all been there. You've downloaded a pile of photographs, exported several documents or collected a folder full of screenshots, and every single file has a name that tells you absolutely nothing useful.
Perhaps they're called IMG_0001, IMG_0002 and IMG_0003, or something equally inspiring.
Renaming one file is straightforward. Select it in Finder, press Return, type something more sensible and carry on with your day.
Renaming fifty files individually, however, is nobody's idea of a good afternoon.
What you might not realise is that your Mac already includes a surprisingly capable batch-renaming tool, hiding in plain sight inside Finder.
Let Finder Do the Work
Open Finder and navigate to the folder containing the files you want to rename.
Select the files. You can use Command + A to select everything in the folder, or hold Command while clicking the particular files you want.
Now right-click one of the selected files and choose Rename.
A small window appears with three rather useful options: Replace Text, Add Text and Format.
Let's imagine you've got twenty holiday photographs with completely meaningless names.
Choose Format, enter something like Scotland Holiday as your custom name, choose the name-and-number format, and decide where the numbering should begin.
Finder previews the result before you commit the change.
Click Rename, and your collection of files suddenly looks much more organised.
There's More to It Than Numbers
The Replace Text option is useful when a group of files contains the same unwanted word or phrase. Perhaps your photographs all include the camera manufacturer's name, and you'd rather replace it with something meaningful. Add Text is equally handy. You can insert something like 2026- before existing filenames, keeping the original names while making the files easier to organise.
For ordinary jobs, this might be everything you need.
I'd still recommend trying it on a copy of any particularly important files first. Renaming can affect references from other applications, especially when files are linked into existing projects.
When You Need Something More Powerful
I've also been looking at applications such as NameQuick, which take file management beyond the fairly basic options built into Finder.
For complicated naming rules or repeated workflows, dedicated software can certainly be worthwhile. But if all you need is to rename a folder full of photographs or tidy up an afternoon's worth of exports, give Finder a chance first.
You might save yourself a fair bit of time, and another application installation.
