File Renaming Macro (ReNam1)

Guidance worksheet

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'ReNam1' exists in the same Excel workbook ('FilNam1.xls') as 'FilNam1' macro.

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There are pieces of information about the macro on 'Guidance' worksheet: what the macro does, instructions for running the macro, and information about the contents of a worksheet created in a run.

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'Guidance' worksheet is protected with a password against accidental overwriting and deleting. The password is written in cell A16: 'suojaus'.

Results worksheets

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During each run a worksheet (results worksheet) will be added into 'FilNam1.xls'. Results of a run are shown and saved on it.

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You can delete a results worksheet; it does not harm running the macro.

Running the macro

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The easiest way to run the macro is pressing simultaneously Ctrl + Shift + 'r' or clicking 'Run ReNam' button.

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The macro will ask to select a folder where to rename files (Picture 2). Click 'Ok' to proceed.

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Brows to search a folder, and select it. In picture 3 folder 'Test' will be selected. Do not mind a message referring to file save in the browser window heading [1]: no file will be saved in the folder during this phase.

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Next the macro shows the renaming form (picture 4). If you do not submit any information, new file names will contain only a running number - e.g. '000.jpg', '001.jpg' etc. Prefix (here: '11 Apr Oslo_') will be added in front of it. Any space in a prefix will be replaced with '_' (here: '11_Apr_Oslo_').

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You have a possibility to change file extention. Need for this kind of change arises seldom [2]. Be careful when using the functionality: all the files will have same extention. You write the desired extention in the box after 'Same extention to all (leave empty if not)'.

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As a default the macro renames files according to the alphabetical order of original file names.

Should you want to rename the files in accordance of age of files in stead, please, check 'According to Age of Files' [after 'Assignment of running Numbers'].

Results

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There is a example of a results worksheet in picture 5. As we can see, spaces in the original file names have been replaced with '_'s.

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Explanations of the results table headings [of picture 5] can be read in picture 1.

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There were spaces in the first two file names. The spaces were replaced with '_'s, and file names were changed accordingly. Because of the change original file names are written in column 'OriNam' (cells 'D2:D3').

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Final renaming takes place when 'ZzDo.bat' is double-clicked. Note, that there are no spaces in the new file names (picture 6), although we had spaces in the desired prefix (picture 4).

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Double-clicking 'ZzRev.bat' reverses names back to those in column 'FilNam' in picture 5. Reverse will not be perfect, if there were spaces in original file names.

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Would we need to get back the exact original file names, we should remove '_'s [the spaces replaced by the macro] manually [using the information in 'OriNam' column of the results table]. Automatic replacement of '_'s with spaces would change the original '_'s to spaces,too.

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Double-clicking 'ZzRev.bat' reverses names back to those in column 'FilNam' in picture 5. Reverse will not be perfect, if there were spaces in original file names.

Download

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You can download a workwork ('FilNam1D2.xls') containing macro 'ReNam1' - as well as macro 'FilNam' - here.

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The demo version of the macro is valid till December 31, 2011. After that date the macro runs only to give a message: 'Macro not valid anymore. Get new one: http://www.f-fs.net'. However, a newer valid version of the macro available might be available here.

[1] 'Tallenna nimellä' in picture 3 is 'Save as' in English.
[2] I have used this functionality in a preliminary step, when making [with the help of self-made program] mass alteration of certan html code pieces on pages of this site (http://www.f-fs.net). Using the macro I created a 'bat' file for changing 'html' file names to short file names with extension 'txt'.