Batch Renaming Your Files - Adobe Photoshop

I don’t know about you, but I hate the camera’s generic image names:DSCF0459 or img2356. It would help on so many different levels if I could just rename all of them to Hawaii0001 through Hawaii1234. Luckily, Photoshop makes this a lot easier with its Batch Rename function.

1. Copy the images into a folder. Do this as a general rule of thumb, especially if you are not sure that renaming is Pok2Do (Perfectly okay to Do). One example of when this step is not necessary is when you are renaming images from a CD. (Photoshop can’t overwrite files already burned to CD). I’m of the paranoid but lazy type(read:worried enough to really want to back up everything, but generally procrastinating so long it never gets done). I like to copy the images to a folder and save myself the ulcer, in case something goes wrong.
2. Go to your newly created folder in Photoshop’s file browser.
3. ChooseEdit >Select All, or press Command+A (Win: Ctrl+A). This selects all the image thumbnails in the folder.(This is the same keyboard shortcut for Select >All that you take when selecting all the contenton a layer an image).

You don’t have to select all of the files. You could do a noncontiguous selection by holding the Command key (Win: Ctrl) and selecting images



4. Go back to the file browser’s bar menu and choose Automate >Batch Rename.

This renames all of the selected images



The Batch Rename dialog box.



5. You can choose the Rename in Same Folder option since you already have your images in a separate folder.
6. Under the File Naming area, either type in a name or choose an option. Since these are my photos from Australia, I give it the name Australia in the first field. To distinguish each one from the other, I give them a four-digit number, followed by the file extension. Finally, I want the numbers to start from 67(to match the previous numbers), so I enter 67 at the Starting Serial # text box at the bottom. At the top of the File Naming area, a sample of what the name looks like reflects your selections. It always uses GIF as the sample extension, so don’t worry that your 16-bit TIF will be converted to a GIF—it won’t be.
7. Click OK and you see all of your selected images have been renamed! . If you navigate through a system window, you see that the actual files have been renamed. Of course, the file browser reflects this also.

The images are renamed.