For relatively simple bulk renaming, I like to use a utility called mmv.

For example, to rename something like "EM76540.pdf" to "76540EM.pdf", you could use a command like:

mmv "EM*.pdf" "#1EM.pdf"

In the first argument, you can use "*" and "?" like traditional wildcards. In the second argument, you use "#1", "#2", "#3", and so on to specify the things matched by the wildcards. #1 refers to whatever matched the first wildcard (in this example, the only one).

Check out the rename command with man rename.

It will do this. The documentation is simple and it works on multiple files. The "from" and "to" apply to text existing in the filenames and the "file" applies to the files you want to effect.

This way you don't have to write scripts. The processing time is negligable in either case, but rename is always there.

rename will also traverse folders. I had a problem with about 20,000 files which folders and file names that contained spaces and apostrophe's. With rename I fixed them all as fast as I could type.

For example:

rename ' ' '' */*

Replaced the first space char in all file and folder names. I ran it a few times and all the spaces were gone.

rename "'" '' */*

Replaced all of the apostrophe chars (max was 1 per fn or folder)


Len
WT6G