File Renamer 1.2.5.6

Overview

There have been many times that I needed to rename multiple files in batches (such as photos), in order to keep them organized in my own, custom way. This led me to search for apps that would help me achieve this, and I found some good ones along the way. One of them was File Renamer by Jose Falcao. This nifty app allowed me to perform several renaming operations in multiple files, consequently helping me rename them in many ways as well as create scripts with predefined operations that could be run whenever I needed them.

Installation

It’s a big advantage that File Renamer requires no installation. You only have to extract the downloadable archive (file_renamer.zip) to a suitable directory, and run the executable file (Rename.exe) from there each time you want to open the application. The archive also includes a readme file (Rename.txt), a Help file (Rename.chm – seems to load data from broken links), an image with simple instructions of the program’s interface (Help.jpg) and 2 DLL (Dynamic –link library) files (Rename32.dll and Rename64.dll). And since there’s no installation, then there’s no uninstall procedure either; just delete the directory to remove the program.

No harmful programs are distributed along with the main program (i.e. viruses, trojans, spyware, adware, etc.).

Supported operating systems are all versions of Windows (32/64-bit).

Interface

The program’s interface is old-fashioned, but it tries to keep all features organized in a way that is easy to use by everyone.

The main window is divided into the following components: the toolbar at the top, which has 4 menu items (Files, Rename options, Tools and Help), two fields below for adding files to the program and renaming them, a pane with several renaming options below them, a window in the middle for displaying all files to be renamed, and the script editor commands at the bottom.

Pros

You have the power to manipulate the renaming scheme in many ways:

You can simply batch rename files/folders, add a string in the beginning or end of filenames, remove a specific string from filenames, change file extensions, numerate files (e.g. ## + name + extension), convert filenames to uppercase/lowercase, trim the first/last ‘x’ characters from beginning/end of filenames, replace spaces in filenames with strings or completely remove them, and perform many, many other actions.

Also, you can change file/folder creation and last modified dates as well.

The file list allows you to remove/add files/folders that you want to replace via drag and drop.

Can be used from the command-line, with the following format:

renamer.exe <path_to.files/oldname1> <newname1> <oldname2> <newname2>

You can undo all of your actions, as opposed to other applications, in which you can undo only your last ‘x’ actions.

Another feature that can prove to be very useful in many occasions is the script tool, which you can use to save many renaming options at once as profiles, save them, and run them every time you want to apply those renaming options.

You can also create a “Send to…” extension for adding files to File Renamer quickly from the context menu. Note that if you have enabled this option then you will have to disable it, before removing the program.

Supported languages are English and Portuguese.

Cons

Other than the fact that the GUI is outdated there aren’t any cons really.

Alternatives

Some alternative applications for batch renaming files based on multiple criteria are Bult Rename Utility (free), ReNamer (paid), Ant Renamer (free), Advanced Renamer (free) and Flexible Renamer (free).

Conclusion

File Renamer, even though has a great set of features that make it an undeniably great tool for batch renaming operations, does not have the user-friendliness users nowadays are expecting, which does deduct half a star from its otherwise perfect 5-star rating.