Renaming Files in Bulk in Google Drive

Google Drive has proved its utility over time. And we all love to use it for the benefits it offers and the flexibility attached with it that helps us access it from a variety of mediums throughout the world with the only basic requirement of an Internet connection.

At times, we do need to sift through our Google Drive database of files and perhaps rename a few / all of them. The necessity to rename files can be attributed to a variety of factors ranging from sorting them in a particular manner, removing specific characters from filenames or even while looking for a particular set of files. For instance digital cameras always store pictures by naming them as DSC 0001, DSC 0002 etc. This mode of labelling them gives absolutely no clue as to what occasion the picture was taken on. The user might want to label the pictures as Wedding 1, Wedding 2, Family 1, Family 2, BBQ 1, BBQ 2 and so on. This helps trace pictures of any specific occasion a lot easily and within the blink of an eye even if the entire image collection is lying in a single folder.

Bulk renaming will help add that meaningful bit of information to pictures in a variety of ways, ranging from adding date and time, adding new characters, applying numbering to the pictures, converting uppercase letters to lowercase and vice versa and so on. So let’s jump right into the solution then.

To rename Google Drive files, you can rely on the Cloud File Renamer. It uses official Google Drive API and never stores your passwords and files. You don’t need to download files to your computer for renaming and then sync them again to reflect changes in the filenames.

Rename Google Drive Files 100% Online

Step # 1: Download all of the files from Google Drive to your PC

1. 1. Navigate to the Google Drive homepage.

1. Now right-click that folder which contains all the files which you wish to rename and select Download.

Step # 2: Perform the Bulk Rename Operation

Using Windows PowerShell

Windows PowerShell can be used to replace a character in filenames. The character can be a letter, alphabet or even a number. Also, this method also facilitates mass renaming of file extensions.

1. 1. Click start | All Apps | Windows PowerShell | Windows PowerShell.

1. 1. Now use the following command to replace a character from file names in bulk quantities.
      
      Here char denotes the original character which has to be replaced, and replace_with denotes the character that will replace it. It can be either a number or an alphabet.
      As an example:
      

1. This command line can be used to rename file extensions in bulk.
   

Using Command Prompt

In a similar fashion, Command Prompt enables users to change extensions conveniently, all at the stroke of the execution of a command.

1. 1. Click start | All Apps | Windows System | Command Prompt.

1. 1. Now navigate to the directory where all of the downloaded Google Drive data sits.
      For example: CD D:\My Files\Google Drive

1. The rest is pretty simple as you can change file extensions by using the ren command, in the following manner.
   For example: ren *.ext1 *.ext6 (This command will change all file extensions from .ext 1 to .ext 6)

That’s it folks. We hope this was informative. See ya all next time.