Replace Part of File Name Powershell

Question

I have files that are generated every morning:

Default_20140227_05.00.29.csv
Default_20140226_05.00.29.csv

I would like to rename the files:

VOD_20140227_05.00.29.csv
VOD_20140226_05.00.29.csv

I would basically be replacing Default with VOD.

I am using Powershell 1.0. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Paul Roub · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-12 16:39:46Z

68

simplified:

ls *.csv | Rename-Item -NewName {$_.name -replace "Default","VOD"}

edited Mar 12, 2018 at 16:39

Paul Roub

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answered Mar 12, 2018 at 16:30

lacecoasts

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3 Comments

oleksa Over a year ago

works like a charm. However please note that -replace treat search parameter value as regex expression so you have to use special regex characters for certain values, like \s to find and replace the space char

Robert Kaucher Over a year ago

On Mac (and it will likely be the same on Linux), I had to use gci rather than ls likely because ls is a native command.

pjpscriv Over a year ago

This gave an error for me. I ended up using the approach from this answer

Adil Hindistan · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-04 21:35:00Z

26

I do not have PowerShell 1.0 to test, but assuming you are running this in the folder where files reside, you can try:

Get-ChildItem Default_*.csv  |Rename-Item -NewName {$_.name -replace '^Default','VOD'}

answered Mar 4, 2014 at 21:35

Adil Hindistan

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Comments

Cole9350 · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-04 21:41:16Z

7

gci | ?{$_.Name -like "Default*"} | % {$newname = ([String]$_).Replace("Default","VOD"); Rename-item $_ $newname}

A more explanatory version:

$DefaultFiles =  Get-ChildItem | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "Default*"}
ForEach($File in $DefaultFiles) 
{
    $newname = ([String]$File).Replace("Default","VOD")
    Rename-item -Path $File $newname
}

edited Mar 4, 2014 at 21:41

answered Mar 4, 2014 at 20:40

Cole9350

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2 Comments

Travis Griggs Over a year ago

Care to add any explanation? I don't get the impression that the poster has the ability to necessarily parse/maintain that. I drop in "it works, but I don't have a clue how" isn't much better than not knowing.

Cole9350 Over a year ago

It seems pretty self explanatory if you know the commands, I shouldn't have been using the aliases or pipelining I guess.. But then again I tend to put as much effort into my answers as the asker does the question... updated anyways

Eris · Accepted Answer · 2021-06-15 22:24:27Z

1

If you're looking for a generic version that will take your find and replace as parameters and log out what you've renamed (handy, imo), here's one building from Cole9350's answer:

$Find = $args[0]
$Replace = $args[1]
$TargetFiles =  Get-ChildItem | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*$Find*"}
ForEach($File in $TargetFiles) 
{
    $newname = ([String]$File).Replace($Find,$Replace)
    write-host "Renaming $File to $newname"
    Rename-item -Path $File.PSPath $newname
}

And if you want it recursive, just add -Recurse after Get-ChildItem

answered Jun 15, 2021 at 22:24

Eris

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2 Comments

nollaf126 Over a year ago

This looks like exactly what I need, but it says '$Find' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. I made a "test.cmd" file with your code, and get the error when running the file from a powershell prompt, and when I drag a folder and drop it on the test.cmd file (what I'm wanting to achieve), it just briefly flashes a cmd window with no renaming taking place.

Eris Over a year ago

Simple fix for ya @nollaf126 . This code is written using Powershell, so you'll want a .ps1 extension for your file, not .cmd - that should fix your error. You'll also need to provide two arguments so if the file is called rename.ps1 and you want to rename Hat to HeadSock, you'll need execute rename.ps1 Hat HeadSock

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