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Rename Multiple Files or Folders at Once

Sometimes you have a bunch of files or folders that you want to sequence with the same name followed by a number. For example, I organize my projects in folders named for the year (2002, 2003, and so on), and within each of these I have folders for each month, numbered 1 through 12. Or perhaps you have a batch of digital photos that you want to group and name for a date or an occasion. Windows XP lets you rename those files in a flash.

First, open the folder holding the files you want to rename, right-click an empty area of the folder pane, click Arrange Icons By, and make sure Auto Arrange is unchecked. Put the files you want to rename in one column. Now select the files to be renamed (press Ctrl-A to select all the files). Right-click the first selected file and type a name followed by a number in parentheses-- Junior's 2002 Birthday party (1), for example (see FIGURE 3). Press Enter, and presto! All the files are renamed at once, with a number (in parentheses) appended to the end of each. You can specify any number at the end of the first file's name (not just 1), and the names of the other files will be numbered sequentially higher. You can rename a group of files to number them from 1 through 20, for example, and later rename another group to number them from 21 onward.

If you rename too many files, press Ctrl-Z to undo the renaming of the final item. Unfortunately, undo reverses the effect only on the last ten files in the list when you press Ctrl-Z repeatedly.