🔄 Find & Replace

Find and Replace Text in File Names — Batch, No Coding

Replace any text pattern across hundreds of filenames at once. Remove prefixes, swap underscores for spaces, fix date formats, strip version tags — preview every change before applying. No regex knowledge required.

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✓ Plain text & regex modes✓ Preview before applying✓ Windows 10 / 11✓ Undo in one click

What is find and replace for file names?

Find and replace for file names works exactly like find-and-replace in a text editor — except it operates on the filenames of every file in your batch at once. You specify a search string (or regex pattern) and a replacement string; Renomee scans every filename, replaces each match, and shows you a before/after preview before writing a single change to disk. Leave the replacement empty to delete matched text. Works with plain text, case-sensitive matching, or full regular expressions.

🔄Instant previewSee every change before it happens

📁Unlimited filesProcess whole folders in one pass

🔤Text or RegexSimple mode or advanced patterns

↩️One-click undoRestore originals any time

Files accumulate bad naming habits over time.

Downloaded files arrive with auto-generated names. Exports add prefixes. Versions pile up. Shared drives mix conventions — underscores, spaces, dashes, CamelCase. The result is a folder that looks like it was named by five different people on five different days. Find and replace is the fastest way to fix a consistent pattern across hundreds of files without renaming each one manually.

→Underscores from old export scripts: project_report_v1.pdf → project report v1.pdf
→Stale prefixes from shared drives: OLD_Contract_Smith.docx → Contract_Smith.docx
→Mixed date formats from different apps: 2026_10_26_invoice.pdf → invoice_2026-10-26.pdf
→Version tags no longer needed: Proposal_FINAL_v3_REVISED.docx → Proposal.docx
→Double spaces or hyphens from manual naming: my--report---2026.pdf → my-report-2026.pdf

How batch find and replace for file names works

📁

Add your files

Drag in a folder or individual files. Renomee loads thousands of files in seconds — no batch size limit.

💬

Describe what to change

Say it in plain language — "replace underscores with spaces" or "remove the OLD_ prefix from every file". No find/replace fields to configure, no regex to write. Renomee understands and applies your instruction.

👁️

Preview every result

Every old and new filename appears side by side instantly. If something's off, say what to fix — Renomee adjusts and re-previews.

✅

Apply — or undo

Click Apply to rename all matched files. Made a mistake? One-click undo restores every original filename immediately.

Common find and replace patterns

These are the most frequent use cases. Just say what you want — Renomee handles the rest.

➡️Underscore → Space

Find_

Replace with

💬

Say to Renomee"Replace all underscores with spaces in every filename"

Result filenameproject report v1.pdf

🗑️Remove prefix

FindOLD_

Replace with(empty)

💬

Say to Renomee"Remove the OLD_ prefix from all files"

Result filenameContract_Smith.docx

📅Fix date separator

Find_

Replace with-

💬

Say to Renomee"Replace underscores in the date part with hyphens"

Result filenameinvoice_2026-10-26.pdf

✂️Strip version tag

Find_FINAL_v3_REVISED

Replace with(empty)

💬

Say to Renomee"Remove _FINAL_v3_REVISED from all filenames"

Result filenameProposal.docx

🔡Space → hyphen

Find

Replace with-

💬

Say to Renomee"Replace spaces with hyphens in all filenames"

Result filenameproject-report-v1.pdf

🔢Remove numbering

Find01_

Replace with(empty)

💬

Say to Renomee"Remove the leading number prefix from every file"

Result filenameIntroduction.mp4

Match modes — plain text, case-sensitive, and regex

Choose the mode that fits your task. Most use cases need only plain text mode.

Mode

When to use

Example pattern

Plain text (default)

Match the exact string, any case. The fastest and simplest option for most tasks.

Find "report" matches "Report", "REPORT", "report"

Case-sensitive

Only match the exact casing you typed. Use when capitalisation is meaningful.

Find "Report" — skips "REPORT" and "report"

Regex

Match complex patterns: dates, repeated chars, optional segments. Full regex syntax supported.

_v\d+ matches "_v1", "_v12", "_v3_FINAL"

💡 Tip: start in plain text mode. Switch to regex only when you need to match a pattern rather than a fixed string.

Before & After

📄 OLD_Contract_Smith_2026.docx→📄 Contract_Smith_2026.docx

Remove OLD_ prefix

📄 project_report_v1_FINAL.pdf→📄 project report v1 FINAL.pdf

Underscore → space

📄 invoice_2026_10_26.pdf→📄 invoice_2026-10-26.pdf

Fix date separators

📄 IMG_001 copy 2.jpg→📄 IMG_001.jpg

Remove " copy 2" suffix

📄 Meeting Notes -- Q4 -- Draft.docx→📄 Meeting Notes Q4 Draft.docx

Remove double dashes

📄 01_Introduction.mp4→📄 Introduction.mp4

Strip leading numbers

📄 Proposal_FINAL_v3_REVISED.docx→📄 Proposal.docx

Strip version tags (regex)

📄 screenshot 2026-10-26 at 14.32.11.png→📄 screenshot_2026-10-26_14-32-11.png

Spaces → underscores, dots → hyphens

Who uses batch find and replace for file names?

Any workflow that produces files with consistent naming problems benefits from one bulk find-and-replace pass.

Office & admin

Remove department prefixes, standardise date formats, clean up shared-drive naming conventions across contract and invoice folders.

Designers & creatives

Strip export suffixes like "_compressed" or "_web", remove version tags from deliverable files, replace spaces with hyphens for web upload.

Developers

Rename test fixtures, replace namespaces in asset filenames, strip build artifacts from exported asset bundles.

Photographers

Remove camera export prefixes (DSC_, IMG_), standardise location or session names across photo batches.

Researchers & academics

Clean downloaded paper filenames — remove publisher codes, normalise author-date citations, strip DOI fragments.

IT & sysadmins

Batch-rename log files, standardise backup naming patterns, clean up archived export folders before migration.

Renomee vs Windows Explorer vs PowerRename

Windows has limited built-in renaming. Here is how the options compare for find-and-replace tasks.

	Renomee	Windows Explorer	PowerRename (PowerToys)
Find & replace in filenames	✅ Full support	❌ Not available	✅ Full support
Preview before applying	✅ All files at once	❌ None	✅ Live preview
Regex support	✅ Toggle on/off	❌ None	✅ Toggle on/off
Undo	✅ One-click in-app	✅ Ctrl+Z (limited)	❌ No dedicated undo
Batch size	✅ Unlimited	⚠️ Slow for large batches	✅ Unlimited
AI rename in same tool	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
Install required	✅ Standalone app	✅ Built-in	⚠️ PowerToys package

💡 PowerRename is free and capable. Renomee adds AI-powered renaming (read file content, EXIF, ID3 tags) alongside rules — useful when you need both types of rename in the same workflow.

FAQ — Find and replace in file names

How do I find and replace text in multiple file names at once?

In Renomee, select your files, type what you want to find in the "Find" field and what to replace it with in the "Replace" field, preview the result for every file, then click Apply. No coding or command line required.

Can I remove a prefix from hundreds of files at once?

Yes. Enter the prefix text in "Find" and leave "Replace" empty. Renomee removes the text from every filename in the batch. Preview shows you the exact result before anything is changed.

Does Windows Explorer support find and replace in file names?

No. Windows Explorer does not have a find-and-replace function for filenames. You can rename files one at a time or add sequential numbers, but bulk text replacement requires a dedicated tool like Renomee or PowerRename.

Can I use regex to find and replace in file names?

Yes. Renomee supports both simple text matching and regular expressions. Toggle regex mode to match patterns like dates (\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}), repeated characters, or file version tags like _v\d+.

Is the find and replace case sensitive?

You choose. Renomee defaults to case-insensitive matching so "REPORT", "Report", and "report" all match. Enable case-sensitive mode when you need to target only a specific casing.

Can I replace text in the file extension too?

Yes. By default Renomee applies find and replace to the filename stem. Enable the "include extension" option to also match and replace within the file extension — useful for normalising ".JPEG" to ".jpg" across a batch.

What if only some files match the search pattern?

Only matching files are renamed. Files that do not contain the search text remain unchanged and are shown in the preview without modification.

Can I undo a batch find-and-replace rename?

Yes. Renomee shows a full before/after preview before applying any changes. After applying, use the one-click undo to restore all original filenames instantly.

Related guides

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🤖

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Fix all your filenames in one pass

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