bash - replace all spaces in file, folder names

Kenhelm · 04-17-2008, 01:03 PM

If rename creates the name of a file which already exists then the file will be overwritten, so you can end up with fewer files than you started with.

The detox command line utility supplied with some linux distributions can recursively replace spaces with '_' and also remove other characters which might cause problems in file and folder names; it won't overwrite a file that already exists.
More details, and detox, can be obtained from http://detox.sourceforge.net/

ta0kira · 04-17-2008, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostdog74

is rename a perl script? does it have the ability to do the sed portion, so that sed can be removed. all done using rename.

Code:

/usr/bin/rename: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), stripped

Not true about not needing sed. rename will only replace the first instance of space, not all of them.
ta0kira

ta0kira · 04-17-2008, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ararus

This is completely redundant, rename translates patterns itself.

Code:

> touch "1 2 3"
> rename " " "_" "1 2 3"
> ls 1_*
1_2\ 3

ta0kira

ararus · 04-18-2008, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ta0kira

Not true about not needing sed. rename will only replace the first instance of space, not all of them.
ta0kira

Bugger, I never noticed that before, my bad.

There is also the mmv command, though it's not standard.

A more efficient way might to be use a perl wrapper with xargs, e.g.:

find -type f -print0 | xargs -0 rmspace.pl

rmspace.pl:

Code:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w

for $ARGV (@ARGV) {
        $new = $ARGV;
        $new =~ s/ /_/g;
        rename $ARGV,$new;
}

(My Perl is pretty limited so this might no be the best way to do this...)

ararus · 04-19-2008, 11:18 AM

You can also use the shell of course:

Code:

# foo="a b c"
# echo ${foo// /_}
a_b_c

Cyhaxor · 04-19-2008, 11:34 AM

you don't have to rename all your folders subfolders etc.. just do

Code:

cp "folder name with spaces"

Telemachos · 04-19-2008, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ta0kira

Code:

> touch "1 2 3"
> rename " " "_" "1 2 3"
> ls 1_*
1_2\ 3

ta0kira

Nope, still redundant:

Code:

telemachus ~/files $ touch "1 2 3" "4 5 6"
telemachus ~/files $ ls
1 2 3  4 5 6
telemachus ~/files $ rename 's/ /_/g' *
telemachus ~/files $ ls
1_2_3  4_5_6

Just use the 'g' option in the rename command. Edit - unless your rename and mine are different. (Mine is the Debian version, ie a Perl script.)

ta0kira · 04-19-2008, 02:48 PM

Yeah, that doesn't work at all for me. Mine is a binary.
ta0kira

Telemachos · 04-19-2008, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ta0kira

Yeah, that doesn't work at all for me. Mine is a binary.
ta0kira

Another reason to choose Debian then.

babag · 04-20-2008, 12:17 AM

thankyou to all who've responded here. this will take me
some time to sort through. been out of town the past few
days. frankly, i'm astonished at the amount of response
this question has produced.

thanks again,
BabaG