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Introduction
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| In these days of MP3 libraries and vast collections of digital images, many of us have faced the necessity of renaming our files for organizational purposes. If you’ve come here looking for a solution we have some good news. There are great (and free!) programs to suit your needs.
There are many different methods to achieve the desired result, from laboriously renaming files one at a time using Windows Explorer, to bulk renaming utilities that can pull out metadata or execute powerful Perl based regular expressions. Some programs focus on simplicity and others are designed for power users. Most of the renamers support a basic set of features such as crop, insert, remove, replace, case changes, and auto number. And some renamers have more powerful features that others don’t. Because the programs reviewed here are designed for different purposes, there isn’t a renamer that is vastly better overall but there is a renamer that is best for certain situations. These differences make it easy to find which file rename utility is right for you. |
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Discussion
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 Bulk Rename Utility v2.7.1.1 has a cluttered interface and takes a little getting used to. You can choose files to be affected in the main window and drag files from Windows Explorer. It has an undo feature. Among many other basic features you can auto date, add a prefix or suffix, and move or copy to another location. Bulk Rename Utility supports custom file formats, logging, regular expressions, a few EXIF tags, and ID3 v1 tags. You can stack commands, zoom in to increase the size of a small text box, and modify file attributes, save frequently used configurations, and also import a file rename list.
Bulk Rename Utility is easy to use, powerful, and highly functional with excellent help files, suggestions, and examples. However the interface is a little messy, only supports a few EXIF tags, and there is no support for ID3 v2. I noticed some bugginess when attempting to rename MP3 files by their ID3 tags when there was no ID3 v1 data.
A solid renamer altogether but not without some issues. For example, it could not find EXIF metadata for my images, there are no regular expression information or examples included in the help files, and it would be nice if the undo, subfolder, and logging features were included in the free version.
Lupus Rename is a well balanced program suitable for beginners and more technically inclined users. It features command line operation, undo, and supports ID3 v1, ID3 v2, EXIF, CDisplay Comic Reader, and regular expressions although I was unable to get the regular expressions to work on Vista or XP. Metadata tags are manually entered instead of choosing from a menu. Unfortunately, it appears Lupas Rename is no longer actively developed.
The downside, affecting casual users for the most part, is that Siren has a steep learning curve compared to other renamers. With what is in essence a library of predefined tags the simplest rename will require a little studying of the help file. Technically minded users may pick up the syntax quickly enough to make it worth their while.
Its a little light on more powerful features but its easy to use. It only supports a handful of ID3 and EXIF tags and doesn’t support regular expressions. A very nice undo feature allows you to choose from a list which changes to undo. You can stack commands, map illegal file name characters, automatically display metadata, and change file attributes. It has a picture preview, supports file change lists, and has very good help files. Selecting files from a list to rename is clunky, you cannot select which ones you want to change, you can only remove them from the list.
Stability is a question as the program crashed several times while I was using it. There are unexpected renaming results such as when I used EXIF data to rename a file the program generated an error because it tried to insert the illegal file name character, ‘:’. Flexible Renamer v8.0 supports invalid character mapping, file attribute modification, metadata tags for documents, imaging, and audio. Also supports VB scripts, Javascript, and regular expressions. Learning curve is too steep for what you get out of it. CKRename v1.08 has a simple design and you can change file names, extensions, case, auto number, and use sting substitution but it doesn’t have many advanced features. Rename-It! v3.05 is a very simple program with a just a few features. It has an intuitive interface and you can do simple cropping, case changes. It supports regular expressions and a few ID3 tags, both v1 and v2. Seems to work well for what it does but has less functionality than other renamers. Ant Renamer v2.10 supports regular expressions, EXIF tags, and ID3 v1 tags. You can also change names from an imported file list. File change preview is limited to a single file and you cannot simultaneously view the commands and the file listing. No ID3 v2 support. Irritating bugs, for example, just open “Options”, change anything and the language also changes.
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File Renamer Basic has a very nice, polished interface that has a directory tree, a file listing, and tabs below. Beyond the basic features File Renamer Basic also supports regular expressions, ID3 v1 and ID3 v2, EXIF, renaming lists, saved profiles for repeat tasks, and ID3 tag editing which is a nice feature. And, the help files are excellent.
Lupas Rename 2000 has a fairly intuitive interface and once you know your way around it, changing complex file names with this powerful utility is easy.
Siren v2.0 has a simple interface, there are some buttons on toolbars, a file listing window and a text box labeled “Expression”. You enter your rename commands in the Expression box by using tags. All file renames work exactly the same way, no tabs to select, no stacking of commands in a window, just an “expression” built from tags. Siren is the most powerful renamer I tested. For a power user with many and varied tasks to complete Siren will make your life allot easier. There’s not room in this small review to list all the functionality, file formats, and metadata supported– audio, video, images, documents, torrents, executables, regular expressions, a hundred tags for EXIF metadata, and much more.
Advanced Renamer v2.57 has a nice interface and works a little differently than other renamers. After you select the files you want to rename, you select the “Renaming method” you want to use. You then select pre-defined tags from multiple menus as commands. You can switch between methods to add different types of tags. The renaming is mostly menu driven and easy to use once you get the hang of it.
KenRename v0.78 has a pleasing, intuitive interface. You can work on one command at a time or you can stack commands and save them for later use. KenRename is great for beginners and has more complicated functionality for power users. It has all the normal features of a renamer and it also supports a few ID3v1, ID3v2, and EXIF tags. Also supports regular expressions, macros, VBScripts, and buffers for importing huge file lists. You can select metadata tags from a list or type them in the text box.
2.7.1.1 
Unrestricted Freeware 
Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 2003, 2008
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