Then, it changes to Rename Items (identifying the number of selected items). So, the Rename command has no reason to exist-until you’ve selected multiple items. After all, you can rename a file by clicking and typing. You didn’t know the Finder has a batch-rename capability? That’s because the option is disguised as a seemingly useless Rename command in the File menu. A brief mental facepalm moment was followed by the relieved realization that the Finder could do it for me with its batch-rename capability. When I was preparing inline graphics-the little images embedded in a line of text-for my Take Control of Numbers book, I was almost finished when I remembered that the filenames needed to adhere to a naming convention: they must end with _inline. 1678: macOS 14 Sonoma available, two portable laptop stands, iPhone Always-On display poll results, which Web browsers do you use?.#1679: iOS 17’s Check In, iOS 17.03 addresses overheating, Mac browser popularity, Arc adds AI features, do you use Finder tags?.1680: iPhone recommendations for seniors, unsticking iCloud Drive sync, iOS bug turns off devices at night, iOS 16 security fixes.#1681: Take Control Books 20th anniversary, USB-C Apple Pencil, Kini motion detector monitors access, topical social spaces.#1682: Apple’s “Scary Fast” announcement, X.1 updates to 2023 OS versions, Microsoft Word’s 40th anniversary, 5G wireless Internet.The sourceMask must match the original long name.Every bugged case I saw had the following conditions, but not all cases that met the following conditions were bugged. I believe all of the following must be true to induce the bug. I was concerned that it might be possible to create a never ending recursive RENAME, but I was never able to induce one. I haven't fully worked out all of the trigger conditions that must exist to induce this odd behavior. If I disable 8.3 name generation then the RENAME gives the expected result. The file is then renamed again giving the final result of. RENAME then continues to look for more files to process and finds the newly named file via the new short name of 223456~1.X. I believe the sourceMask *1* first matches the long file name, and the file is renamed to the expected result of. Substitute a character in the 1st and 3rd positions prior to any extension (adds a 2nd or 3rd character if it doesn't exist yet)Ĭode: Select all C:\test>copy nul 123456789.123 (Note - a valid Windows name cannot end with. Matches itself or it can match the end of name (nothing) if no more characters remain. It will match as little or as much as is needed to enable subsequent characters to match.Īll non-wildcard characters must match themselves, with a few special case exceptions. * - Matches any 0 or more characters including. However it will match nothing without failure if at name end or if the next character is a. This wildcard is greedy - it always consumes the next character if it is not a. The wildcards work here the same as with any other command that filters file names. The sourceMask works as a filter to determine which files are renamed. The behavior of the wildcards changes slightly between source and target masks. Both the sourceMask and targetMask can contain * and/or ? wildcards. RENAME requires 2 parameters - a sourceMask, followed by a targetMask. No tests were done with unicode in file names. These rules were discovered after extensive testing on a Vista machine. I figure many others may be interested in what I discovered) I got tired of not knowing the rules and decided to experiment on my own. (Yes - this is a case where I am posting a paired question and answer. Of course knowing the rules would also benefit batch development. If I knew the rules for how wildcards are processed then I figure I could use the RENAME command more effectively without having to resort to batch as often. Frequently I've had to resort to writing a small batch script with a FOR loop that parses each name so that I can build each new name as needed. I haven't been able to anticipate what works and what doesn't. I've managed to successfully use wildcards in the filename2 parameter on some occasions, but it has always been trial and error. Not much help - there are many ways that statement can be interpretted. If you use wildcards in filename2, the characters represented by the wildcards will be identical to the corresponding characters in filename1." "You can use wildcards ( * and ?) in either file name parameter. Here is all it has to say regarding wildcards: The Microsoft technet XP online help isn't much better. The built in HELP facility is of no help - it doesn't address wildcards at all. How does the Windows RENAME (REN) command interpret wildcards? I originally posted this question and answer on StackExchange
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