Rename Us is a free batch renaming utility for Windows

Ashwin
Apr 19, 2020
Updated • Apr 22, 2020
Software, Windows software
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14

Whenever I receive a bunch of attachments, the first thing I do is to rename them. To make this less time-consuming, I use a batch renaming tool such as Advanced Renamer.

Rename Us is a free batch renaming utility for Windows

Recently, I came across a similar program called Rename Us. Let's see what it has to offer.

Rename Us' interface is divided into several tabs. There are three panes in the select files tab. The top left pane is the tree pane which you can use to select the folder where your files are stored. When you have made your selection, the pane on the right will display the files in the chosen directory. You may enable the option to include subdirectories and make read-only files display too.

Note: The default view mode of Rename Us is pretty small, you can only see three files in the right pane. Mouse over the dots below the pane and the cursor changes to a drag pointer, use it to resize the view to display more files. Select multiple files using the Shift key, and click on the icon with a single arrow to add them to the rename queue. Or, click the double-arrow icon to add all files and folders to the queue.

The files that you add are displayed in the large pane at the bottom. The toolbar above the queue can be used reorder the items which can be useful if you're using an incremental renaming method, or you can randomize the list. The copy button copies all file names, with their full path, modified date, file type, size and creation date. The export options in Rename Us allow you to directly save the data in a TXT, CSV, XLSX, HTML, XML, or SYLK file. You may use the context menu for copying the file names or to export the data.

The next step is to configure the renaming rules, head to the second tab, "Specify renaming actions". The program can be set to copy the files or move and rename them. Click the drop down menu under the "Rules for file names". It has options to use enumeration, change text to upper case or lower case, replace a substring with new text, add prefix or suffix, cut a prefix or suffix, custom expression, change Cyrillic symbols to translit.

Rename Us rules

The enumeration option allows you to replace the file name with a schema, or use it as prefix or suffix, and optionally select schema separators. A few of these renaming rules have a built-in preview option that displays what the new file name would look like. When you add a rule for file name, it is displayed in the top pane along with the parameters you selected and a preview of the file name. The rules for file extensions are exactly the same, but you can define them separately in the bottom pane. You can save your session as a Rename US project, and come back to it anytime.

Rename Us rules example

Go to the next tab, "Choose execution parameters" to select the location where the files should be saved (source or a different folder), decide whether Rename Us should overwrite the files? Save the process record in a log file in TEXT or HTML format.

Rename Us execution parameters

Worried that something might become messed up in the renaming process? That's what the preview tab is for. Click the execute button to simulate the renaming process and check the results. If you find something that needs fixing, head back to the rules and execution parameters and change them.

Rename Us preview

Ready to rename the files? Switch to the Execute tab, and click on the "Execute" button. Your files will be renamed in seconds. The Undo button can be used to revert to the previous filenames, but this only works for the current session.

Rename Us execute

The program isn't portable. A premium version is available, the only differences between it and the free version are that Rename Us Pro can rename files from the command line, create folders automatically when renaming files, and write an extended log file with a custom script.

Rename Us is fairly good for batch renaming files, the interface is quite easy to get used to. But having gotten accustomed to Advanced Renamer, I missed the option to restore names of the previous batch and some advanced options.

Rename Us

For Windows

Summary
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Author Rating
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2 based on 3 votes
Software Name
Rename Us
Operating System
Windows
Software Category
Productivity
Price
Free
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Comments

  1. John said on April 24, 2020 at 11:19 pm
    Reply

    It very simple to change the name of a lot of files. Hold CTRL A and push F2 and select RENAME. Enter the name and at the end every name will have a number, voilà!

  2. Anonymous said on April 21, 2020 at 6:30 am
    Reply

    No portable version, really?

  3. Anonymous said on April 20, 2020 at 5:08 pm
    Reply

    ReNamer has better UI and does its job.

  4. Jeremy said on April 20, 2020 at 12:51 am
    Reply

    I used Advanced Renamer (advancedrenamer.com) which is nice and has most of the features this one does, but with the free version.

  5. Undocumented Feature said on April 20, 2020 at 12:04 am
    Reply

    I’ve been using Inviska Rename, but noticed their site is offline so I don’t know what’s going on with it. Looking for a replacement so gonna try this out instead.

  6. some1 said on April 19, 2020 at 2:36 pm
    Reply

    I have been using Better File Rename (publicspace.net) for ages. Unfortunately it is not free nor open source, but it is worth the price.

  7. Tommi Raulahti said on April 19, 2020 at 2:31 pm
    Reply

    Best one I have been using for _years_ is Bulk Rename Utility (https://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/) . Nothing else I have tested, comes even near, not even Advanced Renamer. And yes, I have tested pretty much all of them.

    1. Pandu POLUAN said on April 21, 2020 at 4:07 am
      Reply

      Seconded! BRU (Bulk Rename Utility) is a godsend, a must-have utility I have in my “toolbox” since forever (actually, since the first version). It never disappoints me.

  8. CGA said on April 19, 2020 at 2:23 pm
    Reply

    I’ve been using this for years and it has never failed me, excellent software.

  9. hg said on April 19, 2020 at 11:46 am
    Reply

    Advanced Renamer is the best I have ever come across.

    1. Steve99 said on April 20, 2020 at 4:13 pm
      Reply
    2. Steve99 said on April 20, 2020 at 4:06 pm
      Reply

      Thanks for this tip. After spending 4 hours yesterday maintaining my own custom written renaming app, it is time to replace it. I just downloaded and dropped Advanced Renamer portable (AR) on my machine. Unlike the other user, I am not receiving any pop ups so it seems OK on that front.

      I am also happy to report, that AR at first blush, respects user privacy. I started & exited AR several times; AR did not attempt any network connects, not even a single dns lookup. This is what I call the start of a good, friendly relationship. I haven’t tried to actually use it yet though, so time will tell. But looking at the options, AR seems like a solid, well written privacy respecting app suited for its purpose.

      1. chippy said on April 22, 2020 at 6:17 am
        Reply

        I’ve been using Advanced Renamer for years, with no issues.

        The dev of Advanced Renamer (Kim Jensen) knows his craft, as it shows in this excellent beast.

        Beyond that, last year I finally learned a bit of “regular expressions” and thus made several presets that near-automatically clean up all that filename junk from my downloads.

    3. Undocumented Feature said on April 20, 2020 at 12:01 am
      Reply

      Not freeware though, has an annoying pop-up about buying a license on every startup.

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