Fast, accurate file renaming for Windows users — list files, edit in Excel, and bulk rename with confidence.

Bulk Rename files and Folders on Windows - Researchers's Guide

After a busy study you may return with hundreds or thousands of datasets and notes named like example_researchers_file.txt. device filenames are fine for storage, but make it hard to find, sort, and deliver work. Adopting a consistent naming pattern — for example researchproject_experimentA_20251026_001.txt — makes client delivery, archiving, and future searches much faster and far less error-prone.

Approx. 4 min read • Keywords: bulk rename datasets, list files in folder, list files in Excel
File Renaming for Researchers

Why file naming matters for Researchers

After a busy study you may return with hundreds or thousands of datasets and notes named like example_researchers_file.txt. device filenames are fine for storage, but make it hard to find, sort, and deliver work. Adopting a consistent naming pattern — for example researchproject_experimentA_20251026_001.txt — makes client delivery, archiving, and future searches much faster and far less error-prone.

An Excel-first workflow helps you do this reliably: the app lists every file in a folder, you update the New Name column in Excel (manually or via simple formulas), then import and apply the bulk rename with a preview step.

Step-by-step: from listing to renaming

Step 1 — List your files

Drop your study_folder (e.g. "Study_ABC_2025") containing datasets (CSV), scripts (PY), reports (PDF). Ensure anonymization of participant data before renaming.

Pro Tip: Name each study_folder with the experiment code and date, e.g. DATA_StudyA_2025-10-28, to keep datasets reproducible.

Step 2 — Open in Excel

In Excel you'll see the exported columns and an editable New Name column. You only need to update that column — either type names directly or generate them with formulas. The app manages the other columns behind the scenes to keep rows matched to files.

Step 3 — Build your new names

Use Excel to automate repetitive naming — for example, combine client, date and sequence into a pattern: =Client & "_" & TEXT(Date,"yyyymmdd") & "_" & TEXT(Seq,"000"). Excel handles sequences, padding, and date formatting so you don't type hundreds of names manually.

Step 4 — Validate and clean up

Quick checks catch the usual problems: duplicates and illegal characters. Use a helper COUNTIF to spot duplicates. The app also detects invalid or locked files during import/rename and will skip affected rows while creating a log so you can review them later. Temporary helper columns (e.g., Client or Notes) are fine while working — delete them before saving if you like.

Step 5 — Import, preview, and apply

Save the edited sheet and load it back into the app. You’ll see a clear before-and-after preview of each filename. Review the preview, then click Rename. The app applies the changes quickly and produces a log of any skipped items for your records.

Pro Tip: Use Excel filters to group shots by date or client so sequences remain consistent. A simple pattern like Client_Date_Sequence works well for delivery and long-term archiving.

Example naming templates

Note: Edit only the New Name column. The app handles other columns and will report any skipped / locked files in the rename log. Temporary columns may be used while editing and can be deleted before saving.
Rename thousands of datasets confidently.
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