Copyright: RenameMan v2.3, Copyright © 1998-2001 Mark Williams
Citation: RenameMan v2.3


File menu commands

The File menu offers the following commands:

Add Files	Brings up the Add Files panel.
Stored Commands	Brings up the Stored Commands panel.
Auto Select	Runs the auto-selector for the currently selected files.
Exclude	Excludes the currently selected files.
Rename Single File	Renames a single file.
Rename	Renames all the files in the file list.
Undo Rename	Undoes the last rename operation.
Recent Folders	This submenu contains the most recently selected folders.
Exit	Exits RenameMan.


Edit menu commands

The Edit menu offers the following commands:

Undo	Reverse previous editing operation.
Cut	Deletes data from the document and moves it to the clipboard.
Copy	Copies data from the document to the clipboard.
Paste	Pastes data from the clipboard into the document.


View menu commands

The View menu offers the following commands:

Show File Size	Adds/removes the File Size column from the file list.
Show Modified Time	Adds/removes the File Modified Time column from the file list.
Options	Brings up the Options panel.


Help menu commands

The Help menu offers the following commands, which provide you assistance with this application:

Help Topics	Offers you an index to topics on which you can get help.
What’s this?	Provides context sensitive help.
About	Displays the version number of this application.


Status Bar

The status bar is displayed at the bottom of the RenameMan window.

The status bar describes actions of menu items as you use the arrow keys to navigate through menus.  If after viewing the description of a menu command you wish not to execute the command, then release the mouse button while the pointer is off the menu.


Title Bar

The title bar is located along the top of a window.  It contains the name of the application.

To move the window, drag the title bar.  Note: You can also move dialog boxes by dragging their title bars.

The title bar may contains the following elements:

Application Control-menu button

Maximize button

Minimize button

Name of the application

Restore button


Scroll bars

Displayed at the right and bottom edges of the panels in the window when the contents become too large to view in their entirety.  The scroll boxes inside the scroll bars indicate your vertical and horizontal location in the document.  You can use the mouse to scroll to other parts of the view.


Size command (System menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can size the active window with the arrow keys.

After the pointer changes to the four-headed arrow:

1.	Press one of the DIRECTION keys (left, right, up, or down arrow key) to move the pointer to the border you want to move.

2.	Press a DIRECTION key to move the border.

3.	Press ENTER when the window is the size you want.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Drag the size bars at the corners or edges of the window.


Move command (Control menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can move the active window or dialog box with the arrow keys.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+F7


Minimize command (application Control menu)

Use this command to reduce the RenameMan window to an icon.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Click the minimize icon [image] on the title bar.

Keys:	ALT+F9


Maximize command (System menu)

Use this command to enlarge the active window to fill the available space.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Click the maximize icon [image] on the title bar; or double-click the title bar.

Keys:	CTRL+F10 enlarges a document window.


Next Window command (document Control menu)

Use this command to switch to the next open document window.  RenameMan determines which window is next according to the order in which you opened the windows.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+F6


Previous Window command (document Control menu)

Use this command to switch to the previous open document window.  RenameMan determines which window is previous according to the order in which you opened the windows.

Shortcut

Keys:	SHIFT+CTRL+F6


Close command (Control menus)

Use this command to close the active window or dialog box.

Double-clicking a Control-menu box is the same as choosing the Close command.

Shortcuts

Keys: 	ALT+F4 closes the RenameMan application or dialog box


Restore command (Control menu)

Use this command to return the active window to its size and position before you chose the Maximize or Minimize command.


Switch to command (application Control menu)

Use this command to display a list of all open applications.  Use this "Task List" to switch to or close an application on the list.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+ESC

Dialog Box Options

When you choose the Switch To command, you will be presented with a dialog box with the following options:

Task List

Select the application you want to switch to or close.

Switch To

Makes the selected application active.

End Task

Closes the selected application.

Cancel

Closes the Task List box.

Cascade

Arranges open applications so they overlap and you can see each title bar.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Tile

Arranges open applications into windows that do not overlap.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Arrange Icons

Arranges the icons of all minimized applications across the bottom of the screen.


No Help Available

No help is available for this area of the window.


No Help Available

No help is available for this message box.


What does RenameMan do?

RenameMan is a tool that allows you quickly and easily to rename lots of files at once.  It is an extremely flexible tool, and in particular has special support for handling files with a number embedded in the name.

Features

  Extremely flexible and easy to use

  Shows how all the files will be renamed before any are changed on disk

  Fail safe, any problems (such as trying to rename two files to the same name) are prevented

  Special support for filenames with embedded numbers

  Automatically finds wild card pattern to match filenames

  Auto number facility makes it easy to create numbered sequences

  Command store for your most common rename operations

  Undo last rename command

For a quick introduction to RenameMan, take a look at this quick tour.


System requirements

RenameMan requires:

Windows 95/98/Me, or

Windows NT 4.0, or

Windows 2000, or later.

1 Mbyte disk space.


Quick tour of RenameMan

The application window is divided into two halves.  The left-hand pane contains the folder browser, which is where you select the folder that contains the files to be renamed.  The right-hand pane contains the file list, plus all the controls to rename the files.

You can adjust the size of the two halves by dragging the bar that separates them.

The selector allows you to select which files in the current folder are to be renamed.  These are shown in the file list, which also shows the new name for each file.

Finally, the bottom of the right-hand pane is where the rename command is set.  The rename boxes allow you to set how each part of the name is changed.  All changes to the rename commands are immediately reflected in the file list.  Once the rename commands have been set, the files can all be renamed by hitting the rename button.


Contact ExtraBit Software

If you have any further questions regarding RenameMan, or if you have any suggestions or bug reports, please send email to support@extrabit.com.


Selecting the files to rename

When you click on a folder in the folder browser, all the files from that folder are added to the file list.  However, only those files that match the pattern in the selector are shown.  As the selector is changed, the files shown in the file list are updated.  To show all the files that have been added to the file list, press the reset button, which resets the selector to *.

For more control over the way files are added to the file list, including being able to add files from subfolders of the selected folder, use the add files command.

Files can also be excluded from the file list using the exclude command.  Once a file has been excluded from the file list, the only way to bring it back is to select the folder in the folder browser again.


The folder browser

The folder browser is where the folder containing the files to be renamed is selected.  It works the same way as the folder browser in Windows Explorer.  Select a folder by clicking on its name.  This will automatically add all the files in the selected folder to the file list.  To expand a folder to see the subfolders it contains, either click on the + next to the name, or double click the name.

If the file list does not show all the files that are in the current folder, this may be due to either the selector being set to something other than *, or it could be that some files in the file list have been excluded.

You can also right click on a folder to bring up the folder context menu.  This menu just has the add files command on it.  This command allows you to choose the files to add to the file list rather than simply adding all the files in the selected folder.

If the files in a folder are changed outside of RenameMan, you must select the folder again in the folder browser to update the file list.  This is the only time that the folder is read to get a list of the files it contains.  Selecting a folder also brings back any files that have been excluded.  This is the only way to bring a file back into the file list once it has been excluded.


The file list

The file list shows all the files that have been selected for renaming.  It shows the existing name in the column titled "Old Name", and the new name in the column titled "New Name".

If files have been added from subfolders by using the add files panel, then there will also be a "Folder" column.  This shows the folder path of each file, relative to the currently selected folder in the folder browser.

The column options panel allows extra columns showing the file size and file last modified time to be added.  These columns are useful since they allow you to sort the file list based on the file size or file last modified time, which can be used to auto-number the files based on these attributes.  Another way to show or hide these columns is to right click in the column header and using the file list column context menu.

To sort the file list on any column, click in the column header.  To reverse the sort order, click a second time in the sort column header.  The sort column can be identified since it contains a small triangle in the header.  This points up if the sort order is ascending, or down if the sort order is descending.

To resize the width of the columns, drag the right edge of the header at the top of each column.

Each name may have one of the following symbols next to it, to indicate that there is a problem with the current rename command.  You will not be able to rename the files until all these problems are fixed.

  Indicates that the new name is the same name as an existing file.  This can happen either because the existing file is not selected to be renamed, or if two or more files are being renamed in such a way that a cyclic dependency exists between them.

  Indicates that the new name is the same as the new name of one of the other files being renamed.

  Indicates that the new name is empty.  All filenames must have at least one character in them.

Right click in the file list to bring up the file list context menu.  This menu provides commands to allow you to auto-select based on the selected files, exclude one or more files from the file list, or to quickly rename a single file.


File selector
The selector

The selector serves two purposes:

1.  Selecting files for renaming

The selector can be used to select a subset of the files in the current folder for renaming.  This is done by entering a pattern that is matched against all filenames in the current folder.

Each filename in the current folder is tested against the pattern, and if it matches it is added to the file list.  Note: the case (upper or lower) of letters is ignored when comparing filenames with the pattern.  This is because Windows itself ignores the case when searching for files.

For example, *abc* will match any filename that contains abc somewhere in the name.  *.??? will match any filename that has a 3 character extension.  *#* will match any filename that contains an embedded number, provided the treat numbers as text switch is off.

2.  Setting the parts breakdown

The second use of the selector is to set how the filenames are broken down into parts for renaming.  The parts are generated by combining adjacent * and ? wild cards into a single wild part, and adjacent text characters into a text part.  Any # wild cards are turned into a number part.  Finally, if any wild or number parts are not followed by a text part, then a blank text part is added so that text can be added at those points in the names.

For example *abc* will be turned into the parts: [empty text], [wild card], ["abc"], [wild card], [empty text].

In order to have full control over the way the selector is broken down into the different parts, the / character can also be used to force a break.  This is used between wild cards that would normally be combined into a single part, which would mean only a single command could be applied to that part.  For example, the selector ?* will match any filename that has one or more characters.  However, only one wild part will be generated.  If you wanted to apply a command to the first character only, it would not be possible.  If instead you use the selector ?/* this will still match any filename that has one or more characters, but two wild text boxes will be generated.  The first will be for the first character matched by the ? wild card, and the second will be for the rest of the filename matched by the * wild card.  This would allow, for example, an operation to capitalize the first letter of a filename to be defined.

Automatically setting the selector

The auto-select function can be used to automatically set the selector to the best pattern for renaming the auto-selected files.


The rename boxes

This area of the window is where the rename information is entered.  The filenames are broken into parts, each of which has a pair of boxes showing how that part of the filename will be changed.  The way the filename is broken down into parts is controlled by the selector.

  Literal text changes

  Wild text changes

  Number changes

Right clicking in any of the rename boxes brings up the context menu for that rename part.

  Clear command - sets the rename part so that any text in that part of the filename is cleared.

  Reset command - sets the rename part so that it leaves the text in that part of the filename unchanged.


Stored commands
Storing commands

RenameMan allows you to store any rename command for re-use later.  You can add or remove commands at any time by using the stored commands panel.  Stored commands are automatically saved so that they are available the next time you run RenameMan.

To use a stored command, simply select it in the stored commands list.  This sets the rename options (allow file extension changes and treat numbers as text), the selector, and the rename commands to the state they were in when the selected command was stored.  You can then either simply press the rename button to rename the currently selected files, or modify the rename command before renaming the files.


Changing common part of the names
Changing part of the name all files have in common

This section describes how to rename a set of files that all have a part of their name in common, and how to insert text into the filenames.

First select the files you want to rename.  You then need to enter the pattern in the selector that will select all the files that have the common part you want to change. If all the files in the file list have the common part you want to change, then you can use the auto-selector to save having to type the pattern.

At this stage, you will have several pairs of boxes at the bottom of the right hand pane.  One of these pairs of boxes will have the common part of the name that you want to change.  Click in the lower of the pair of boxes that contains this, and you will get the text change panel.  Enter the new text you want for this part of the file names, and press "OK".

If you want to insert text into the name, this can be done by using the text change panel for any of the empty boxes.  Empty boxes are automatically added to allow text to be inserted at any point in the filenames.

You will now see in the "New Name" column of the file list, the new names for all the files.  If these are the names you want, press the rename button to rename all the files.


Changing wild part of names
Changing part of the name that is not the same for all files

This section describes how you can make changes to part of the filenames that is not the same for all files.  These parts of the filename are those matched by the * wildcard pattern.  The changes that can be made to this part of the filename are:

  changing the case of letters to upper or lower case

  removing spaces

  shortening (truncating)

First select the files you want to rename. For example, if you want to make all filenames upper case, then enter * in the selector.  This will mean you will only get one wild card rename box.  Also note that if the allow file extension changes box is not checked, then no changes can be made to the filenames’ extensions.

Click in the lower of the pair of boxes with the wild card symbol * in it, and you will get the wild card panel.  Select the options you required, and press "OK".

You may find at this point that some files have a [image] symbol next to them in the file list.  For example, this can happen if you have used the "truncate" option to shorten parts of the filenames.  This indicates that two or more files have been renamed to the same name.  You will need to correct this before you can rename all the files, by either excluding or individually renaming one or more files.

You will now see in the "New Name" column of the file list, the new names for all the files.  If these are the names you want, press the rename button to rename all the files.


Changing numbers in filenames

This section describes how to make changes to numbers in filenames.  The changes that can be made to a number are:

  Adding or removing leading zeros

  Adding or subtracting a constant value

Adding leading zeros to numbers in filenames can be extremely useful, since it means that when the files are listed in a browser, they will be listed in numerical order.  For example, without leading zeros, files named 1 to 12 would be listed in the following order: 1, 10, 11, 12, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.  Adding leading zeros means that they will be listed in numerical order: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12.

To change numbers in the filenames, first make sure the treat numbers as text box is not checked. Next, select the files you want to rename.  If all the files in the current folder contain numbers, then you can use the auto-selector to set the selector. Otherwise, you can use *#* in the selector, which will match any filename containing a number.

Click in the lower of the number rename pair of boxes, and you will get the number panel.  Select the options you require, and press "OK".

You will now see in the "New Name" column of the file list, the new names for all the files.  If these are the names you want, press the rename button to rename all the files.


Stored Commands list

The Stored Commands list allows stored commands to be selected.  Selecting inside the list box will pop up the list of stored commands.  Select the one you want, and it will be made the current command.

The commands listed in the Stored Commands list are controlled from the stored commands panel.


Store button

The Store button brings up the stored commands panel.  This panel can also be brought up by using the stored commands command.


Allow File Extension Changes switch

This switch sets whether changes to file extensions are allowed.  The file extension is all characters after the ‘.’ in the filename.  This is usually used to determine what type of data the file contains, so you should not normally change this.  One consequence of changing a file’s extension is that it will no longer be automatically associated with the application that can open it.

If this switch is off, then RenameMan will not allow the file extension to be changed.  You can still use an extension in the selector, but this will only be used to select files with a particular extension.  The rename boxes will not include the extension.

If this switch is on, then you will be able to change the extensions of the files.  This does not necessarily mean the extension will be changed, since the rename command may not affect that part of the filenames.  You should only change the extensions of files if you know what you are doing.


Treat Numbers As Text switch

This switch turns on or off the special support for numbers in filenames.  When this switch is on, numbers are treated no differently to any other text.  When it is turned off, then numbers in filenames can be changed using the number panel.  Numbers in the filenames can be found by using the symbol # to match any number in the selector.

Note: numbers embedded in filenames are assumed to be decimal integers.  Also, negative numbers are not supported.


Reset Selector button

The Reset Selector button resets the selector pattern back to *, and removes any rename commands that may have been entered in the rename boxes.

However, it does not bring excluded files back into the file list.  The only way to do that is to select the current folder again in the folder browser.


Auto Select All button

The Auto Select All button runs the auto-select function on all the files in the file list.  This operation is automatically run if the option to auto-select all when folder selected is enabled.


Rename button

The Rename button renames the physical files on the disk.  Until this button is pressed, no files on the disk will be altered in any way.

The files are renamed to the new names shown in the file list.

After the all the files have been renamed, the file list is refreshed to show the new names.  Note, however, that the selector is not changed by this command, so if the new names no longer match the pattern in the selector, they will disappear from the file list.  Press the reset button to set the selector back to *, which will match all files.


Auto selecting files

A very common case when renaming lots of files is that you want to change a certain text string that all the filenames have in common.  For example, all files may start with abc, and you may want to change this to xyz.  In order to do this, you would need to enter abc* in the selector, which would set up a text box in the rename boxes which would allow you to change the abc prefix.

However, it is possible to set the selector automatically using the auto-select function.  This automatically finds all parts of the filenames that all the files in the file list have in common.  For example, if all files do start with abc, then the selector will be set to abc*.

There are two ways to use the auto-select function.  The simplest way is to press the auto select all button.  This is useful if all the files in the file list have the common parts you want to match.  Note that if the option to auto-select all when folder selected is enabled, then the auto-selector will automatically be run for all files when the files are added to the file list.

If only some of the files in the file list have the common parts you want to match, then it is best to select some of the files that have the common parts, and then right click the selection and use the auto-select command on the context menu.  This can be especially useful if you want to select files that have the same name except for a changing number, since you only need to select one of the files and use the auto-select command (providing the treat numbers as text switch is off).


Pattern matching

A pattern consists of a combination of text and special "wild" characters.  The wild characters can match a range of characters in the filenames, and so allow several filenames to be matched at once.  The wild characters supported are:

*  Matches any character, and any number of characters.

?  Matches any single character.

#  If the treat numbers as text option is off, matches any decimal integer, i.e. any string of adjacent characters which are all in the range '0' to '9'.


Cyclic dependency rename problem

This occurs when two or more files are being renamed to the same name as each other in a loop.  For example, suppose you start with two files called 000.txt and 001.txt, and set up a rename command such that 000.txt is renamed to 001.txt, and 001.txt is renamed to 000.txt. Both of these files will be flagged with the [image] warning in the file list, since neither can be renamed without overwriting the other.  The same problem can occur with more than two files if they are renamed to each other in a loop.

The solution is to break the loop by renaming one of the files to a name that is different to all the other files.  This will allow all the files to be renamed.


How to buy

To buy RenameMan costs just $15.  To order, simply go to our website at http://www.extrabit.com/renameman and click on "Order RenameMan".

From there, you will be able to enter your credit card details and order online.

It is also possible to order by phone, fax, purchase order, or mail.  You still need to go to the website and click on "Order RenameMan", but instead of selecting the option to enter your credit card, pick the option you would prefer.

When you order RenameMan, you will receive a registration code that you will need to enter into the registration panel.

If you have any questions about ordering RenameMan, send an email message to "info@extrabit.com".

Quantity discounts

If you order more than 1 license at the same time, you qualify for the following quantity discounts:

1st license	$15

2nd - 9th licenses	$10 each

10th and above license	$5 each

The following table shows how this works:

No. of licenses	Total cost
1	$15
2	$25
3	$35
4	$45
5	$55
6	$65
7	$75
8	$85
9	$95
10	$100
More than 10	Add $5 for each additional license


End user license
END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR RENAMEMAN

License Agreement

You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using this software.  Your use of this software indicates your acceptance of this license agreement and warranty.

Evaluation and Registration

This is not free software.  Subject to the terms below, you are hereby licensed to use this software for evaluation purposes without charge for a period of 30 days.  If you use this software after the 30 day evaluation period a registration fee of $15 is required.  The software can be ordered as described in the section "How to buy".  When payment has been received you will be given a registration code that can be used to register your copy of RenameMan.

Distribution

You may make as many copies of this software and documentation as you wish.  You may freely distribute this software by any means provided that you include all files in the original distribution.

You are expressly forbidden from distributing by any means the registration code.

Registered Version

One registered copy of RenameMan may either be used by a single person who uses the software personally on one or more computers, or installed on a single workstation used non-simultaneously by multiple people, but not both.

You may access the registered version of RenameMan through a network provided that you have obtained individual licenses for the software covering all workstations that will access the software through the network.  For instance, if ten different workstations will access RenameMan on the network, each workstation must have its own RenameMan license regardless of whether they use RenameMan at different times or concurrently.

Governing Law

This agreement shall be governed by the laws of England.

Disclaimer of Warranty

THIS SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OR MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. ANY LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.

RenameMan Copyright © 1998-2001 by Mark Williams. All rights reserved.


Add Files command
Add Files command (File menu)

This command brings up the add files panel.  This command is available in the File menu, or by right clicking a folder in the folder browser, which brings up the following pop-up menu:

The add files panel gives you full control over the files to be added to the file list for renaming.  Whenever a folder is selected in the folder browser, any files in the file list are replaced by the files in the selected folder.  The Add Files command is only needed if you want more control over the files that are added, such as adding files from subfolders as well as the selected folder, or only adding only a subset of the files in the selected folder.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, F, A


Stored Commands command
Stored Commands command (File menu)

This command brings up the stored commands panel.  This is used to manage the stored commands.  Stored commands can be added, removed, renamed and reordered.

This command is the same as pressing the store button.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, F, C


Auto Select command
Auto Select command (File menu)

This command runs the auto-selector for the selected files. This command is available in the File menu, or by right clicking on a file in the file list which brings up the following pop-up menu:

If no files are selected, the selector is not changed.


Excluding files from the file list
Exclude command (File menu)

Use this command to exclude the selected files from the file list.  This command is available in the File menu, or by right clicking on a file in the file list which brings up the following pop-up menu:

The exclude command provides a way of modifying the list of files that will be renamed.  This can be used to exclude files that are still matched by the selector, but which you do not want included in the rename operation.

To exclude several files in one go, first select several files in the file list.   This is done by holding down the SHIFT key while clicking on a file to select a range, or holding down the CONTROL key while clicking on another file to add files to the selection one by one.  Right click on the selection and you will get a pop-up menu with only the exclude command in it, which you can use to exclude all the selected files.

Once files have been excluded from the file list, the only way to bring them back is to re-select the current folder in the folder browser.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, F, E


Renaming Single File command
Rename Single File command (File menu)

This command brings up the rename file panel, which is used to rename a single file.  This command is available in the File menu, or by right clicking on a file in the file list, which brings up the following pop-up menu:

This command can be used to quickly rename just the selected file.  This can be useful if you find you want to rename just one or two files in a folder in a different way to all the others.  In this case, it is quickest to simply right click the file in the file list and choose the Rename Single File command.

If more than one file is selected, then this command will rename just the last selected file.

Once a file is successfully renamed using this command, it will then be automatically excluded from the file list, so don't worry that the file disappears from the file list after it has been renamed.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, F, R


Rename commands
Rename command (File menu)

This command renames all the files in the file list to the new names shown.  This is the same as pressing the rename button.

You can use the undo rename command to restore the files to their original names.

Shortcut

Keys:	F5


Undo Rename command
Undo Rename command (File menu)

This command renames the files that were renamed by the most recent rename command back to their original names.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, F, U


Recent Folders
Recent Folders (File menu)

The Recent Folders submenu contains the most recently selected folders.  Each time a folder is selected, it is added to the top of the Recent Folders submenu.  The number of folders kept in the Recent Folders submenu can be controlled using the options panel.

Selecting a folder from the Recent Folders submenu selects that folder in the folder browser.


File Exit command
Exit command (File menu)

Use this command to end your RenameMan session.  You can also use the Close command on the application Control menu.

Shortcuts

Mouse:	Double-click the application's Control menu button.

Keys:	ALT+F4


Undo commands
Undo command (Edit menu)

Use this command to reverse the last editing action, if possible.  This undo command is only for undoing changes made to text in text boxes.  If you want to undo the last rename command, use the undo rename command instead.

Shortcuts

Keys:	CTRL+Z or

ALT-BACKSPACE


Cut command
Cut command (Edit menu)

Use this command to remove the currently selected text from a text box and put it on the clipboard.  This command is unavailable if there is no text currently selected.

Cutting text to the clipboard replaces the contents previously stored there.

Note: this command is only for cutting text that is selected in a text edit box, it can not be used to cut files or folders.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+X


Copy command
Copy command (Edit menu)

Use this command to copy selected text onto the clipboard.  This command is unavailable if there is no text currently selected.

Copying text to the clipboard replaces the contents previously stored there.

Note: this command is only for copying text that is selected in a text edit box, it can not be used to copy files or folders.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+C


Paste command
Paste command (Edit menu)

Use this command to insert a copy of the clipboard contents at the insertion point in the currently selected text edit box.  This command is unavailable if the clipboard is empty.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+V


Show file size command
Show File Size command (View menu)

This command is used to show or hide the File Size column in the file list.  If the File Size column is shown, this menu item will have a check mark next to it.  The main reason for wanting the File Size column to be shown in the file list is that it allows you to sort the files in the files list by size.  This is done by clicking on the File Size column header.  When the files are sorted by file size, this allows the files to be auto numbered based on the file size.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, V, S


Show modified time command
Show Modified Time command (View menu)

This command is used to show or hide the Modified column in the file list.  If the Modified column is shown, this menu item will have a check mark next to it.  The main reason for wanting the Modified column to be shown in the file list is that it allows you to sort the files in the files list by modification time.  This is done by clicking on the Modified column header.  When the files are sorted by file modification time, this allows the files to be auto numbered based on the file modification time.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, V, T


View options command
View Options command (View menu)

This command brings up the options panel.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, V, O


Help command
Help command (Help menu)

Opens the help window, showing the contents.

To get context sensitive help on the currently selected object, press F1.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, H, H


Help Using Help Command
Context Help command

Use the Context Help command to obtain help on some portion of RenameMan.  When you choose the "What's This?" menu command, the mouse pointer will change to an arrow and question mark.  Then click somewhere in the RenameMan window, such as another menu.  The Help topic will be shown for the item you clicked.

Shortcut

Keys:	SHIFT+F1


About command
About command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the copyright notice and version number of your copy of RenameMan.

Shortcut

Keys:	ALT, H, A


Clear command
Clear command (Rename box pop-up menu)

The Clear command sets the part of the filename controlled by the selected rename box to be clear.  For the different types of rename boxes, the Clear command does the following:

  For a text rename box, sets the “To” name to be empty text.

  For a number rename box, checks the “Clear number” option.

  For a wild rename box, checks the “Truncate” option, and sets the length to zero.


Reset command
Reset command (Rename box pop-up menu)

The Reset command sets the part of the filename controlled by the selected rename box so that it is unchanged.


Add Files panel

This panel is brought up by using the add files command.  It replaces files in the file list with files that are added from the folder currently selected in the folder browser.  This panel is provided to give greater control over the files that are added to the file list rather than simply adding all files in the selected folder, which is the default action when a folder is selected.

The panel allows the files added to be controlled in the following way:

Adding files from subfolders

If the "Add files from subfolders" checkbox is checked, then files will be added from the selected folder, and also from all subfolders in the selected folder.  If the "Limit depth" check box is also checked, then only subfolders up to the given depth are searched.  A depth of 0 means the selected folder only, a depth of 1 means the selected folder plus the files in its subfolders, and so on.

Only adding files that match a pattern

If the "Only include files that match" checkbox is checked, then only files that match the given pattern will be added to the file list.  For files that do not match, it will be exactly as if they had been excluded from the file list.  This option is useful to avoid adding too many files to the file list, which may make RenameMan run very slowly.  For example, if you wanted to rename all files on your hard disk that ended in ".tiff" to ".tif", rather than adding all files on the hard disk to the file list and then using the selector to select just the ones ending in ".tiff", it would be much quicker to only add the files that match "*.tiff" in the first place.

Only adding files that do not match a pattern

If the "Exclude files that match" checkbox is checked, then only files that do not match the given pattern will be added to the file list.

If both the "Only include files that match" and the "Exclude files that match" options are selected, then a file must both match the include pattern, and not match the exclude pattern to be added to the file list.


Check this box if you want to add files from subfolders of the selected folder.


Check this box if you want to limit how far down to go in the subfolder hierarchy when adding files.  For example, if the depth is limited to 1, then only files in the selected folder and the immediate subfolders of the selected folder will be added.  This box is only enabled if the "Add files from subfolders box" is checked.


Enter the limit in this box of how far to go in the subfolder hierarchy when adding files.  This box is only enabled if the "Limit depth" box is checked.


Click on these up and down buttons to increase or decrease the value in the depth limit box.  These buttons are only enabled if the "Limit depth" box is checked.


Check this box if you want to only add files that match the given pattern.  Any files that do not match this pattern will be excluded.


Enter the pattern to check files with before they are added.  Any file not matching the pattern will be excluded.


Check this box if you want to exclude files that match the given pattern.  Any files that match this pattern will be excluded.


Enter the pattern to check files with before they are added.  Any file matching the pattern will be excluded.


Stored Commands panel

This panel is brought up using the stored commands command, or by pressing the store button.  This panel provides control over the stored commands.  Commands can be re-ordered, added, deleted or renamed.  After the desired changes have been made, press the OK button.  If you change your mind about the changes you have made, pressing Cancel will close the panel and lose all the changes that were made.

The following actions can be performed using this panel:

Load stored commands list

The Load Stored Commands button allows a file containing a set of stored commands to be loaded.  These files can be created using the Save Stored Commands button.  Any stored commands already in the list are replaced by those loaded from the file.  Note that RenameMan automatically remembers the current stored commands list so it is not necessary to reload the list from a file every time RenameMan is run.

Save stored commands list

The Save Stored Commands button stores the current list of stored commands to a file.  Stored commands are stored in a file with a ".cmds" extension.

Move stored command up/down the list

These commands allow the list of stored commands to be re-ordered.  First, select a stored command in the list, then press the Move Up or Move Down buttons to move it up or down the list.

Delete stored command

This command allows a stored command to be deleted.  Select a stored command in the list, and press the Delete button.

Change stored command name

This command allows the name of a stored command to be changed.  The name of a stored command is what is shown in the stored commands list.  Select a stored command in the list, then press the Change Name button.  This brings up the change command name panel that allows you to change the name of the stored command.

Add stored command

This command allows a new rename command to be added to the stored commands list.  The rename command added is the one that is currently set up in the rename boxes.  The rename command must be set up before the Stored Commands panel is brought up, although you do not have to rename any files in order to add the current command.

When the Add Command button is pressed, the add command panel is brought up.  Enter the name that you want for the new command.  This is the name that will be used in the stored commands list.


Shows the current list of stored commands.  Select a command by clicking on it in this list.


Loads a set of stored commands from a ".cmds" file.


Saves the current set of stored commands to a file.


Moves the currently selected command up the list.


Moves the currently selected command down the list.


Deletes the currently selected command.


Brings up a panel that allows the name of the currently selected command to be changed.


Adds the current command to the list of stored commands.


Add Command panel

This panel is brought up by pressing the Add button on the stored commands panel.

Enter the name that you want for the new command, and press "OK".  The name will be the name shown in the stored commands list, so make sure it is descriptive enough that you will be able to remember what it does.


Change Command Name panel

This panel is brought up by pressing the Name button on the stored commands panel.

Enter the new name that you want for the selected command, and press "OK".


Rename Single File panel

This panel is brought up by using the rename single file command.

This allows a single file to be quickly renamed.  Enter the new name in the "To" field and press "OK".

After the file is renamed, it is excluded from the file list.  To bring it back into the file list, select the current folder again in the folder browser.


Shows the current filename for the file that is about to be renamed.  This field is read only.


Enter the new name for the file in this field.


Registration panel

To bring up the registration panel, go to the Help menu, then select About RenameMan.  This brings up the About box.  If you are running an unregistered version of RenameMan, then this panel will have a Register button on it to bring up the registration panel.

When you order RenameMan, you will be given a registration code.  Once you have entered this code into the registration panel, your copy of RenameMan will be registered.  This means that when you start RenameMan, you will no longer get the panel telling you how many evaluation days you have left, and RenameMan will never expire.


Change Text panel

Text that is common to all filenames is shown in the change text boxes like this:

It may also appear like this when empty text boxes are added to allow text to be inserted into filenames between wild cards:

The change text panel is brought up by clicking in the change text box.

This panel simply allows new text to be entered which will replace the old text.  If the "Leave Unchanged" switch is checked, then the original text is left unchanged.  If any new text is entered, the "Leave Unchanged" switch is automatically unchecked.  The reason for having the "Leave Unchanged" switch is that although the original text in this part of the name will always be equal to the text shown in the "From" field, different filenames may have letters differently in upper case or lower case.  If the "Leave Unchanged" switch is checked, the original case is preserved, but if it is not checked, files will be renamed to the exact case shown in the "To" field.

Pressing the "Auto-text Wizard" button brings up the auto-text wizard. The auto-text wizard allows you to control the settings for the automatically generated text that can be inserted into the filenames.


Auto-text

Auto-text is automatically generated text that can be inserted into the filenames.  This can be one of the following:

  Numbers

  File last-modified time

  File size

  Parent folder name

Auto-text can be inserted into filenames by using the change text panel.  Auto-text commands are added to the filename by inserting the auto-text command into the filename inside < and > characters.  For example, the auto-text command to insert a number starting at 0 and incrementing by 1 for each file is <0>.  Since filenames can not contain the characters < or >, there is no problem with using these characters to indicate auto-text commands.

However, you never have to enter auto-text commands directly, since there are four auto-text wizards that let you set the auto-text that you want.  To bring up these wizards, press the “Auto-text Wizard” button on the change text panel.

When you use an auto-text wizard, you have the choice of replacing the current part of the filename with the auto-text, or adding the auto-text to the start or end.  This is controlled by the pop-up menu at the bottom of the auto-text wizards.  This simply controls how the auto-text command is inserted into the "To" box on the change text panel.  Once you have used an auto-text wizard to add an auto-text command, you can then make further changes to the text in the "To" box, as long as you don’t edit the text between the < and > characters (which is the auto-text command itself).


Shows the text for the part of the filename being changed by this control.  This field is read-only.  If the case (upper or lower) of this part of all the filenames is the same, then this case will be shown in the "From field".  If the case is different for some filenames, then the case shown will be lower case.


Enter the text to rename this part of the filename to in the "To" field.  Entering text in this field automatically unchecks the "Leave unchanged" switch.


Check this box to leave this part of the filenames unchanged.  If it is not checked, then this part of the filenames is changed to the text shown in the "To" field.  Note that even if the text in the "To" field is the same as the text in the "From" field, then this may still result in a filename being changed, since the case of some of the characters may be different.


Press this button to bring up the auto-text panel.


Change Number panel

The Change Number rename control is used for numbers embedded in the filenames.  This control is only used if the treat numbers as text option is off.  It is shown like this:

The change number panel is brought up by clicking in the change number box:

This panel allows leading zeros to be added to or removed from the number, and an offset to be added to the number.

Adding leading zeros

If the "Add" switch is checked, then this part of the name will be changed so that the number has at least the number of digits entered in the "digits" field.  For example, to change 42 into a 4 digit number, it is renamed to 0042.  If the number already has more digits than that shown, it is left unchanged.

When leading zeros are being added to the number, this is shown in the change number box by adding a small "0" in the lower left corner, and the number of digits in the upper left corner like this:

Removing leading zeros

If the "Remove" switch is checked, then any leading zeros in the number will be removed.  This is shown in the change number box by adding a small "-0" in the lower corner like this:

Adding an offset

An offset can be added to the number by entering an offset into the "Add offset" field.  An offset of 0 leaves the number unchanged.  The offset can be positive or negative, but if the number generated for any filename falls below 0, it will be set to 0.  Negative numbers can not be generated for filenames.  The offset is shown in the change number box in the lower right corner like this:

Clear number

If the “Clear number” box is checked, then the number will be removed from the filename.  In this case, the other controls on the panel are disabled since they have no effect.


Select this option to leave the number of digits in this number unchanged (unless it needs to be increased due to a large offset being added).


Select this option to add leading zeros to this number to make its length equal to that shown in the "digits" field.  If the number already has this many digits or more, then it is left unchanged.


Select this option to remove any leading zeros on this number.


The "digits" field is only enabled if the "Leading zeros, Add" switch is selected.  This field specifies the minimum number of digits for this number, which is achieved by adding leading zeros if necessary.


Enter a number in this field that will be added to this number in each filename.  The value may be positive or negative, but if a negative value is entered and this makes the number for a particular filename less than 0, then 0 will be used instead.


Check this box to erase the number from the filenames.


Change Wild panel

The Change Wild rename control is used for parts of the name that are not the same in all filenames.  It is shown like this:

The change wild panel is brought up by clicking in the change wild text box:

This panel allows the case of this part of the name to be changed, or the name to be shortened.  By default, this part of the name is left unchanged.

Changing the case

The case of this part of the name can be made upper or lower case by selecting the appropriate switch.  If it is made upper case, the wild card rename control is shown with a small U like this:

If it is made lower case, the wild card rename control is shown with a small L like this:

Find & Replace

If any text is entered in the "Replace" box, then all occurrences of that text in this part of the name are replaced with the text in the "With" box.  If no text is entered in the "Replace" box, then the "With" box is disabled.

Although this Find and Replace operation offers similar functionality to simply entering the text to be replaced in the selector (surrounded by * wildcards), there are subtle differences.  Firstly, this Find & Replace operation replaces all occurrences of the text, whereas using the selector would only replace the first occurrence.  Secondly, this Find & Replace operation does a case-sensitive search for text to replace, whereas the selector is case insensitive.

This Find & Replace operation is particularly useful for single character operations, such as removing spaces from filenames, or replacing spaces by underscores.

Shortening the name

If the “Truncate“ switch is checked, then this part of the name will be truncated to the number of characters shown in the "Maximum Length" field.  If this part of the name is already shorter than this limit for any particular file, then it is left unchanged.  When the wild part of the name is being truncated, it is shown by adding the maximum length to the wild card rename control like this:


This "Leave unchanged" case option means that for the part of the filename matched with this wild card, the case will be left unchanged.


This "Make upper case" option means that the part of the filename matched with this wild card will be renamed to be all upper case.


This "Make lower case" option means that the part of the filename matched with this wild card will be renamed to be all lower case.


All occurrences of the text entered in this box that can be found in the part of the filename matched with this wild card will be replaced by the text in the "With" box.  If this box is empty, then no find and replace is performed.  Note that the text entered in this box is case sensitive.


The text in this box replaces all occurrences of the text in the "Replace" box that can be found in the part of the filename matched with this wild card.  This box is only enabled if one or more characters to find have been entered in the "Replace" box.


Check this box to truncate the part of the filename matched with this wild card so that it has at most the number of characters shown in the "Maximum length" field.  If it is not longer, it is left unchanged.


Shows the maximum length for the part of the filename matched by this wild card. If it is longer than this length, it is truncated, otherwise it is left unchanged. This field is only enabled if the "Truncate" switch is checked.


Auto-number wizard

The auto-number wizard is one of the auto-text wizards.  It is brought up by pressing the Auto-text Wizard button on the change text panel, and selecting the Auto-number tab.

This auto-text wizard allows you to add numbers to a filename.  The start value and step can be set.  The numbers are set in the filenames in the order that the files are listed in the file list.  The files in the file list can be sorted either by the name, or by the file size or last-modified time.  The column headers in the file list show the sort order, since the column that is used for sorting will have a small triangle in it.  The sort order can also be reversed by clicking on the same column header again.  The direction of the triangle shows whether the sort order is ascending or descending.  In order to sort on file size or last-modified time, the appropriate column will need to be shown in the file list.  These columns can be added or removed from the View menu.

Setting the start and step values

The "Start" number is the first number that will be generated.  Floating point numbers are not supported, and negative values can not be generated for filenames.  The "Step" value must also be positive.  If you want to auto-number the files in the opposite direction, simply reverse the sort order by clicking on the sort column header in the file list.

Setting the leading zeros

To have leading zeros for the generated numbers, simply check the "Leading Zeros Add" switch, and enter the number of digits required.  Note: if the number already has more digits than this, it is left unchanged, it will not be shortened.


Enter the starting number to be generated into this field.  This value may not be negative.  If you enter a value less than 0, it will be replaced by 0.


Enter the step value into this field.  This value will be successively added to the start value to generate the number sequence.  The step value may be positive or negative, but if the number generated falls below 0, then it will be clipped to 0.


Select this option to add leading zeros to the number generated to make its length equal to that shown in the "digits" field.  If the number already has this many digits or more, then it is left unchanged.


This field specifies the minimum number of digits for the number generated, which is achieved by adding leading zeros if necessary. This field is only enabled if the adjacent box is checked.


This menu selects how the auto-text is added to the "To" box in the Change Text panel.  It can either replace any text already in the "To" box, or be added to the start or end.  If the "To" box is empty, then this menu has no effect.


File Time Auto-text wizard

The file time wizard is one of the auto-text wizards.  It is brought up by pressing the Auto-text Wizard button on the change text panel, and selecting the File Time tab.

This auto-text wizard allows you to add the file last-modified time to a filename.  The time can be added in any of the formats shown in the list.


Select the format you want for the modified time of the file.


File Size Auto-text wizard

The file size wizard is one of the auto-text wizards.  It is brought up by pressing the Auto-text Wizard button on the change text panel, and selecting the File Size tab.

This auto-text wizard allows you to add the file size to a filename.  The size can be entered in any of the following units:

  bytes

  kilobytes (1 KB = 1024 bytes)

  megabytes (1 MB = 1024 KB)

  gigabytes (1 GB = 1024 MB)

  auto

If auto is selected, then the size will be shown in the largest units possible, i.e. gigabytes if the file size is 1GB or greater, or megabytes if 1MB or greater, or kilobytes if 1KB or greater, otherwise bytes.  In auto mode, the units are shown by adding B if the units are bytes, K for kilobytes, M for megabytes or G for gigabytes.  In all other modes the size is only shown as a number, since there is no ambiguity.  If you did want to show the units, it can be added like any other text after the auto-text command.

When any units except bytes is selected, the size will always be rounded up to the next whole number.


Check this to add the file size in bytes.


Check this to add the file size in kilobytes (1 KB = 1024 bytes).


Check this to add the file size in megabytes (1 MB = 1024 KB).


Check this to add the file size in gigabytes (1 GB = 1024 MB).


Check this to add the file size in units that are automatically determined.  The units are bytes up to a size of 1 KB, then KB up to 1 MB, then MB up to 1GB, then GB.  B, K, M or G is added to show which units are being used.


Folder Name Auto-text wizard

The folder name wizard is one of the auto-text wizards.  It is brought up by pressing the Auto-text Wizard button on the change text panel, and selecting the Folder Name tab.

This auto-text wizard allows you to add the parent folder name to a filename.


General Options panel

The general options panel is brought up by selecting the options command from the view menu.

This panel allows you to set the following options:

Auto-select all when folder selected

If this box is checked, then every time a folder is selected in the folder browser, an auto-select will automatically be run for all of the files in that folder.  This is the same as if you press the auto-select all button each time you select a new folder.  This is useful if you want to rename files differently in different folders.  However, if you want to use the same rename command in lots of folders, or if you tend to mainly use stored command, then you should turn this option off.

Recent folders list size

Each time a folder is selected it is added to the recent folders list, which can be found in the Recent Folders submenu of the file menu.  This option allows you to change how many folders are kept in the recent folders list.  Note that when this value is changed, it will only take effect the next time you run RenameMan.


Check this box to do an auto-select all whenever a folder is selected.


Enter the number of recently selected folders to keep in the Recent Folders list.  Note: changing this value will only take effect the next time you run RenameMan.


Column Options panel

The column options panel is brought up by selecting the options command from the view menu, and then pressing the "Columns" tab.

This panel allows you to select which of the optional columns appear in the file list.

File Size

If this box is checked, then a column showing the size of each file in the file list is added.

Modified Time

If this box is checked, then a column showing the last modified time of each file is shown in the file list.

These additional columns can be useful when using the auto-number command, since they allow the list to be sort by file size or modified time.

An alternative way to show or hide these columns is to right click in the column header in the file list, and select the column name from the pop-up menu.


Check this box to add a file size column to the file list.


Check this box to add a modified time column to the file list.


Auto Select panel

This panel can appear during the auto-select operation.  Normally, the auto-select operation is very fast, but in exceptional circumstances it can take a while to complete.  This panel allows you to cancel a slow auto-select operation, rather than waiting for it to complete.


Rename panel

This panel can appear while renaming files.  If you are renaming a lot of files, this can take some time.  This panel allows you to cancel a rename operation, rather than waiting for it to complete.  Note that if you cancel a rename operation, then some of the files you selected will have been renamed, and others will not.


No folder selected

Before you can rename any files, you must select the folder that contains the files you want to rename.  Use the folder browser to select the folder, then use the rename controls to set up a rename command.


Rename error

This message indicates that there is a problem with the rename command you are attempting to perform.  The files that are causing the problem will be indicated in the file list.  You must resolve this problem before you can rename any files, either by excluding the files that have the problem, or by changing the rename command.


No files to rename

This message indicates that you pressed the rename button when there were no files to be renamed.  Files that are selected to be renamed will appear in the file list.  If this list is empty, then either the current folder is empty, or the selector does not match any files in the current folder, or all the files have been excluded.


No changes

This message indicates that you pressed the rename button, but none of the files in the file list are set to be changed.  Use the rename control boxes to set the rename command.


Failed to rename file

This message indicates that the given file could not be renamed for the reason given.  Press OK to carry on renaming the rest of the files, or Cancel to stop renaming.  Note that if you press Cancel, the files that have already been renamed will stay renamed.


Failed to rename file

This message indicates that the file could not be renamed for the reason given.  Correct the problem and try again.


No name entered

You have not entered a new name to rename the file to.  All files must have a name of at least one character in length.


Welcome to RenameMan

The code you have entered has been verified, so your version of RenameMan is now registered.  This means that none of the panels referring to the evaluation period will appear from now on.

We hope you continue to find RenameMan to be a valuable tool.

Thank you for registering RenameMan.


Incorrect code

The code you have entered is invalid.  Check that you have entered the code exactly as given.

If you do not have a registration code, you can get one by ordering RenameMan.


Extended evaluation

The code you have entered has granted you an extended evaluation period.  Note that this code can only be used once!


Evaluation extension already used

You have already entered the code to extend your evaluation period, and it can only be used once.

The only way to activate RenameMan now, is to order it for just $15.  You will then be sent the full registration code.

Thank you for trying RenameMan.


Evaluation extension already used

You have already entered the code to extend your evaluation period, and it can only be used once.


Invalid filename

Filenames can not contain any of these characters:

\ / : * ? " < > |

This is a restriction built into Microsoft Windows, so RenameMan does not allow you to try to rename files to a name that contains one of these characters.


Invalid filename

Filenames can not contain the > character. This is a restriction built into Microsoft Windows, so RenameMan does not allow you to try to rename files to a name that contains this character.

The only time this character is allowed is when it is part of an auto-text command.  If you have accidentally edited an auto-text command to make it invalid, run the auto-text wizard again.


Invalid filename

Filenames can not contain the < character. This is a restriction built into Microsoft Windows, so RenameMan does not allow you to try to rename files to a name that contains this character.

The only time this character is allowed is when it is part of an auto-text command.  If you have accidentally edited an auto-text command to make it invalid, run the auto-text wizard again.


Duplicate command name

Each stored command must have a different name.  This error panel appears if you try to set the name of a stored command to the same name as an existing stored command.

The name of a stored command is shown in the stored commands list, so try to make it descriptive so you can remember what the rename command does.


No command name

Stored commands must be given a name that contains at least one character.

The name of a stored command is shown in the stored commands list, so try to make it descriptive so you can remember what the rename command does.


Failed to read the default commands

This panel appears if there is a problem reading the default commands from the default commands file.  The default commands are the commands that are restored when the Reset button is pressed on the stored commands panel.  This file should have been copied to the installation folder when RenameMan was installed.

To fix this problem, either

1.	Re-install RenameMan, which should restore the original default commands that come with RenameMan.

1.	Set up the commands you want to make the default stored commands, and then press the Set button.


Failed to write the default commands

This panel appears if there is a problem writing to the default commands file. The default commands are the commands that are restored when the Reset button is pressed on the stored commands panel.