Renaming Files in Windows
Renaming multiple files in Windows can be a challenge. Windows has very limited support for it — I’m only aware of shift-right-click trick as mentioned on Lifehacker a few years back. Luckily there are plenty of programs out there to help you. And most of them are available for free.
The Bulk Rename Utility has tons of options for renaming files and directories. In fact, the main screen may look a bit daunting with all those options. They are, however, organized in 12 groups, so once you get used to the program, it works well. Bulk Rename Utility will also rename photo files based on EXIF data, though you need to turn on this feature in the menus. Bulk Rename Utility is freeware, but donations are accepted.
G6 Utilities can rename many file at once, but also apply “functions” on them. For example, you can remove ID3 tags, zip the files, etc. G6 Utilities is freeware.
Rename Master is another rename utility. It will rename based on MP3 tags and JPEG JFIF and EXIF tags. It lets you preview what the renaming will look like before you do it. There is also an undo button to revert a renaming operation. Rename Master is freeware, but donations are accepted.
ReNamer is a renaming tool. You drag the files you want to rename onto ReNamer, and you create rules for renaming. The rules can be very complex; you can even write rules in the PascalScript language. ReNamer will let rename folders, use regular expressions, and supports meta tags including ID3 and EXIF. ReNamer is freeware, but donations are accepted.
Rename-It! can rename multiple files in different folders. It supports regular expressions and wildcards, conversion to upper/lower case, and meta tags for MP3 files. A nice feature is that it allows you to check filenames before renaming and you can manually fix any problems. Rename-It! is freeware, but donations are accepted.