You could use the following command to make the change: ren *.html *.? The command accepts wildcard characters like * and ? for matching multiple files, which can be helpful if you only want to rename a certain selection of files in a folder full of many.Īnd while we’re on the subject of wildcards, you can also do some interesting things with the ? wildcard, which is used to stand in for any single character. If you need more power than that, you can use the rename or ren command in a Command Prompt window to one or more files. Rename Multiple Files from the Command Prompt All the selected files are renamed using the name you just typed, and are appended with a number in parentheses to differentiate them. Type a new name for the file and then hit Enter or click somewhere else in the window. You’ll see that all the files remain selected, but the first one in the group gets its name highlighted so you can type a new name. When you’ve got the files selected, use one of the rename commands-the button on the Home menu, the command on the context menu, or just press F2. Start by selecting a bunch of files-you can hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple files at once, or Shift to select a range of files. If you’re renaming a bunch of files in the same folder and those files don’t need completely different names from one another, Windows provides an easier way to rename those files in batch.

Keep hitting Tab and typing names this way and you can easily rename all the files in a folder if you’re so inclined.

Here’s where things get interesting: you can also hit the Tab key to automatically select the next file name in the folder so that you can immediately begin typing a new name for it.

File rename utility mac