The Simple Rename dialog lets you batch rename files using a simple wildcard system. The * character (asterisk) is used to specify one or more parts of the existing filename that are to be retained in the new name. It is basically equivalent to the Standard Wildcard Rename mode in the Advanced Rename dialog. This wildcard system is also used in the Copy As and Move As functions - see the documentation on Using Wildcards when Copying for more examples.
The Simple Rename function isn't exposed in the default toolbars -
instead, we recommend the use of the Advanced Rename dialog, as it
can do everything the simple one can do plus much more. If you want to
use Simple Rename, however, you'll need to configure a button or hotkey to access
it. The command you need is Rename SIMPLE.
In this example, we want to rename any file that begins with
Img_ and ends with .jpg. The match is not case
sensitive, so this will match Img_2481.jpg,
img_2481.jpg, etc. The * indicates that any
text between the prefix and suffix is to be preserved, and the
* in the New name field indicates where that
text would be placed. Given the following input filenames, the resultant new
names would be:
Img_2481.jpg IMG2481.jpg
IMG_2483.JPG IMG2483.jpg
Img_2486.jpg IMG2486.jpg
The rename operation will operate on all files and folders that were selected when the command was invoked, however files within sub-folders will not be renamed (you need to use Advanced Rename for that).
If you don't enter a wildcard pattern, but instead just supply a literal new name, the function will rename each selected file in turn - the first file will be renamed, and the dialog will re-open showing the name for the second selected file, and so on.