When you are dealing with a large group of files, there are times when you want to rename all of them at once to manage them in a better way. Renaming all files manually can be a frustrating experience, but Windows 11 offers a few ways to rename your files in bulk. In this article, we will go through the steps on how to collect rename files in Windows 11.
Batch rename files in Windows 11 (2022)
Batch rename files using Windows 11 File Explorer
Did you know that you can use Windows 11’s default file explorer to rename files in batch? Although it is not as versatile as PowerToys or other third-party batch file renaming software, it gets the job done for most users. Here’s how it works:
1. Open File Explorer with Windows 11 keyboard shortcut Win + E Select the files you wish to rename. Right click on the selected files and files Click on the “Rename” icon. from the context menu. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut “F2” to rename the files.
2. Enter the new name of the files and press the Enter key. While you’ll see the text box on one of the selected images, it’s worth noting that Windows will assign all files selected with different numbers the same name.
3. As you can see in the image below, Windows has renamed all the selected files with the same name. If you don’t mind having a number at the end of the file name, that’s all you need to easily rename multiple files on Windows 11.
Use PowerToys to rename bulk files in Windows 11
1. Download the latest PowerToys installer from GitHub and run the setup file. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete setup and open PowerToys.
2. When PowerToys is opened, Switch to the “PowerRename” tab from the left sidebar and Click “Open Settings” To review your PowerRename settings.
3. By default, you will notice that a file “Enable PowerRename” toggle enabled. If not, enable it to use PowerRename.
4. Select the files you want to rename and right click on them. Click “Show more options” to expand the context menu and Choose “PowerRename”.
5. When the PowerRename interface appears, type the word you want to replace in the top box and the alternate word in the Replace With text box.
6. Click the Apply button in the lower left corner of the application to batch rename files in Windows 11 using PowerRename.
Third-party app to rename Windows 11 files in batch
You can also consider using a dedicated batch renaming program to rename files in bulk. Although there are plenty of options, one program we recommend is FastStone’s Photo Resizer. Although the app looks a bit outdated, it is fast and has a minimal learning curve.
1. Install FastStone Photo Resizer (download) and navigate to the folder containing the files you want to rename. Select the files and click the “Add” button. to add them to the renaming queue.
2. You can now set the common name using the file name template or search and replace specific words in the file name. You also have the option to use the original folder name, year, date, and more using the icons detailed in the app tips section. After selecting the desired name and formula, Click the “Rename” button to rename the files in bulk.
3. The app will show you a confirmation message. Click Yes to confirm the changes.
4. FastStone will now rename the files you selected, and you can view the results on the next page.
Easily rename files in Windows 11
So here are three ways to collect rename files in Windows 11. Meanwhile, don’t forget to take a look at our other guides to always run apps as administrator in Windows 11 and how to add a guest account in Windows 11. Moreover, you can also check out our article on the best features Windows 11 hidden to explore more of these features.