Then, right-click (or Control-click) on the selected files and choose Rename 20 Items (the number of items in the context menu will obviously change depending on how many files you’re working with).Ī new window will appear offering some basic options for batch renaming your files.

First, we’ll select all of the files we want to rename, which in this case is all of them. Instead, let’s try the new Batch Rename feature in OS X Yosemite. Now, we could always go through and rename each one individually, but that would take a good bit of time, especially for lists of files much larger than the 20 we’re dealing with here. That’s not very helpful, and we’d like to rename them with a file name that includes the date they were shot and a brief description. Here’s an example to illustrate this process.Ībove, we have a Finder folder with 20 image files, all named with the original camera naming scheme (IMG_4087, IMG_4088, etc.). To use it, simply highlight or select multiple files in a Finder window, right-click (or Control-click) on the selected items, and choose Rename. With OS X Yosemite, however, Apple has integrated basic batch renaming capabilities directly into Finder. Renaming single files was simple enough, but if you had to rename multiple files, you’d need apps like Renamer or NameChanger.

Prior to OS X Yosemite, Mac users looking to batch rename files in the OS X Finder would have to turn to third party tools. Thankfully, Apple has recently introduced a new feature in OS X that makes this process much easier. But if you haven’t been applying such a file naming strategy from the get-go, you’ll likely find yourself faced with the daunting task of renaming large numbers of existing files. A consistent file name structure, including information such as the date, project, and description, can often be the best way to properly organize and locate digital data.

Sometimes, however, nothing beats a good file naming scheme. To this end, Apple has introduced several features in OS X to help users corral their pictures, documents, and other files, such as Spotlight metadata and Finder Tags. How to Batch Rename Multiple Files in OS X YosemiteĪs our digital libraries continue to grow, so too has the importance of efficiently managing our data.

Macos batch rename files