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Sequencing Targets



What it does:

The FileMonkey sequencer renames file or folder names to match a sequential (numeric) pattern.

If you have 100 files, you can rename each file to match a sequence of numbers.

Here is an example using 5 file names. On the left is the original file name and on the right is the sequenced file name:

Msgsocm.log-->001.log
Msmqinst.log-->002.log
Netfxocm.log-->003.log
Notepad.exe-->004.log
Ntdtcsetup.log-->005.log

You can also do this, preserving the original file extension. Here is the same example with file extensions preserved:

Msgsocm.log-->001.log
Msmqinst.log-->002.log
Netfxocm.log-->003.log
Notepad.exe-->004.exe
Ntdtcsetup.log-->005.log

You can also do this adding fixed text to the start or the end of each file name. Here is the above example, using start text of "File " and end text of " EndFile":

Msgsocm.log-->File 001 EndFile.log
Msmqinst.log-->File 002 EndFile.log
Netfxocm.log-->File 003 EndFile.log
Notepad.exe-->File 004 EndFile.exe
Ntdtcsetup.log-->File 005 EndFile.log

You can also do this with a varying amount of trailing zero's. In the above example, there are 3 digits in each numeric sequence (001, 002 etc...). If I use an align value of 1, this will remove the leading 2 zeros:

Msgsocm.log-->File 1 EndFile.log
Msmqinst.log-->File 2 EndFile.log
Netfxocm.log-->File 3 EndFile.log
Notepad.exe-->File 4 EndFile.exe
Ntdtcsetup.log-->File 5 EndFile.log

You can also add a numeric sequence preserving the original file name.

For example:

Msgsocm.log-->001 Msgsocm.log
Msmqinst.log-->002 Msmqinst.log
Netfxocm.log-->003 Netfxocm.log
Notepad.exe-->004 Notepad.exe
Ntdtcsetup.log-->005 Ntdtcsetup.log

You can use any of the above combinations to rename your files and adding a numeric sequence is optional.

The FileMonkey sequencer can also work on folder names.

Here is an example using 5 folder names. On the left is the original folder name and on the right is the sequenced folder name:

C:\Windows\Resources-->C:\Windows\001
C:\Windows\Security-->C:\Windows\002
C:\Windows\ShellNew-->C:\Windows\003
C:\Windows\Srchasst-->C:\Windows\004
C:\Windows\System-->C:\Windows\005

Why would I want to do this:

To make file or folder names neat and tidy looking.

If you write scripts (In any language for example: php/html/perl etc) that rely on file or folder names that conform to a pattern then this feature may be useful.

Basic Tutorial

Here is a step by step tutorial that demonstrates a basic file name sequencing operation:

If you use the sequencer on files or folders that your system uses (for example: windows or system dll or exe files) then your operating system may not work properly. We recommend only using the sequencer on files that are not used by your operating system.

1.

Target your files. Click HERE for a targeting tutorial.

2.

Once you have targeted your files, select the "Quick-Find, Rename" menu item from the main window.

3.

This will open the "Rename files or folders" window (Fig 1 below).

Fig 1
sequence number file names

4.

Set up this window as shown in Fig 1.

5.

Click on the "Start" button to start the operation.

6.

When the operation is complete, the results window will open. Once you have finished examining the results window, close it.

7.

If you wish to undo the sequencing operation that you have just performed, click on the undo button and select "Undo Most Recent Rename" from the pop-up menu.




Related Topics:
FileMonkey Tutorials
Frequently Asked Questions
Renaming files using Rename
Renaming files using Search And Replace
Renaming Files By Case
Using Rename to change file extensions

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