When downloading materials from the internet, folder names always come with useless prefixes or suffixes like "[Latest Version]" or "Download Must-Have"; or project folders sent by colleagues have names cluttered with dates and version numbers, looking long and messy. If you try to organize them, right-clicking to rename and deleting extra characters one by one—clicking through dozens of folders is dizzying, tiring, and error-prone. Today, I'll introduce some tools that can help you clean out unwanted characters, numbers, Chinese characters, or specific text from all folder names, making them concise and standardized.
Why do you need to delete text in folder names?
1. Organizing downloaded materials: Tutorials and software downloaded from different websites often have folder names carrying ad phrases like "Free Download" or "HD Version" added by the sites. You need to delete these useless texts from folder names to make them cleaner.
2. Cleaning up photography/design assets: Folder names generated by cameras typically include dates and camera models, such as "IMG_20231027_DCIM". When archiving, you might only want to keep the date or subject, thus needing to delete certain fixed characters in the folder name, like "IMG_" and the camera model.
3. Standardizing company project files: Naming habits for folders created by different colleagues vary greatly. Some have "V1.0_Final_Version", others have "2023 Report". When archiving projects, you need to delete these inconsistent version and date texts, unifying them into clear project names.
4. "Slimming down" folder names: Some automatically generated folder names are extremely long, containing a large amount of descriptive text. They display incompletely in the file manager, which is bothersome. You need to delete the redundant descriptive text in folder names, keeping only the core name for easier browsing.
5. Extracting key information from complex names: Some folder names are like "Work_Report_ZhangSan_20231030_Revised", and you only need to keep "Work_Report_ZhangSan". This is when you need to delete specified characters, such as the "_20231030_Revised" part.
Preview of the effect of deleting text in folder names
Before processing:
After processing:
Method 1: Use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to delete specified characters from folder names
Recommendation Index: ★★★★★
Advantages:
1. Simple and direct functionality: The interface shows all options for deleting text in folder names at a glance: delete numbers, delete spaces, delete Chinese characters, delete content before/after specific text. Select what to delete without searching through a bunch of menus.
2. Batch processing: Whether you have dozens or hundreds of folders needing organization, select and add them all at once. Set it up, click process, and all folders become clean, boosting efficiency dozens of times.
3. Intuitive and safe operation: All operation types are clearly listed in Chinese, like "Delete certain characters in folder names (specific text)". A real-time preview is visible during setup, so you won't make irreversible mistakes. Processing is done locally, offline, safe and worry-free.
4. Flexible and practical rules: Not only can you delete fixed words, but it can also intelligently identify and delete all numbers, all Chinese characters, or "all content between two texts". This flexibility handles most practical organization needs.
Disadvantages:
【 HeSoft Doc Batch Tool 】needs to be used locally on a computer.
Operation Steps:
1. Open【 HeSoft Doc Batch Tool 】, select【Folder Name】on the left, then select【Delete Text in Folder Name】on the right.
2. Click【Add Files】in the upper right, or drag the folders to be processed to the designated location to complete file importing.
3. Click【Next】. For the operation type, we demonstrate deleting a few characters on the far right of the folder name; you can choose according to your needs.
4. Click【Next】, the tool will automatically delete the specified text in the folder names and provide a prompt upon completion.
Method 2: Use Windows File Explorer to delete text from folder names
Recommendation Index: ★★★☆☆
Advantages: Built into the system, completely free, easy to learn. Suitable for changing one or two folder names.
Disadvantages: You have to right-click folders one by one, select Rename, use the Backspace key or mouse to select the text to delete, and then confirm. Dozens of folders will exhaust you, with extremely low efficiency and prone to visual errors.
Operation Steps:
1. First, open the location where your folders are stored.
2. Find the first folder you want to rename, just click it once with the mouse.
3. Then press the F2 key on the keyboard directly, or find and click "Rename" in the right-click menu.
3. You'll see the file name becomes editable. Move the cursor to the place you want to change, and delete whatever section you want.
4. After changing the name, press the Enter key, and it's done.
5. For the remaining folders, use the same method to rename them one by one. It's actually quite simple.
Method 3: Use professional renaming software to remove keywords from folder names
Recommendation Index: ★★★☆☆
Advantages: Extremely powerful and detailed functionality, offering dozens of renaming rules (including character deletion), suitable for users with high customization needs.
Disadvantages: The interface is too complex. Full of options, buttons, and tabs, you can't find where the desired function is. Completing a simple deletion operation has too high a learning curve.
Operation Steps:
1. First, download and open this software. The interface might be a bit dazzling.
2. Add the files or folders you want to rename.
3. Next, it requires a keen eye. Among the many options above, find the tab related to "Delete" or "Replace".
4. Once found, enter the text or specific characters you want to delete in the corresponding box.
5. After making changes, be sure to check the preview area below to verify the new names are correct. When satisfied, click the "Rename" button.
Method 4: Use file manager enhancement tools to delete characters from folder names
Recommendation Index: ★★★☆☆
Advantages: Its built-in renaming tool is feature-rich, supporting multi-file operations and simple rules, stronger than the system's default tool.
Disadvantages: First, you need to purchase and get accustomed to using this file manager. The interaction method of its batch renaming function isn't intuitive enough, making it hard for average users to operate.
Operation Steps:
1. Use Total Commander to first select all the folders you need to rename.
2. Then press Ctrl+M, or open the "Batch Rename" tool option from the menu.
3. In the pop-up window, you'll see symbols like [N], which represent the original file name.
4. To delete part of the text, you need to "indirectly" achieve this through a combination of these symbols. This requires a bit of a workaround and close attention.
5. Fortunately, the modified effect can be previewed directly below the window, allowing adjustments at any time if wrong.
6. After confirming everything is correct, click the "Start" button to finish renaming all at once.
Method 5: Use the Finder built into macOS to delete specified keywords from folder names
Recommendation Index: ★★★☆☆
Advantages: The file manager built into Apple computers, well-integrated with the system, smooth operation. After batch selection, you can rename files uniformly.
Disadvantages: Its batch renaming function options are very limited, mainly consisting of "Replace Text", "Add Text", and "Format".
Operation Steps:
1. First, in Finder, select all the folders you want to process, right-click and choose 'Rename X Items'.
2. From the pop-up options, click 'Replace Text', and enter the text you want to delete in the first Find box.
3. Here's the key: Leave the second Replace With box completely empty.
4. Click the 'Rename' button, and the system will automatically delete all found instances of that text. The process is quite intuitive, but it can only handle one replacement rule at a time.
Method 6: Use Adobe Bridge to remove certain text within folder names
Recommendation Index: ★★★☆☆
Advantages: Adobe's asset manager, features batch renaming, and works very well with Creative Cloud software.
Disadvantages: Very slow to start, the software is large. If you open this massive software just to change folder names, it's a bit of a waste of resources.
Operation Steps:
1. First, in Adobe Bridge's left navigation bar, locate the storage location of your folders.
2. Select all folders that need batch renaming. You can hold the Ctrl key to click and select them individually.
3. From the top menu bar, find 'Tools' -> 'Batch Rename'. This function is quite hidden and requires careful searching to find.
4. In the pop-up window, select a rule like 'Text Replacement', fill the text you want to delete into the "Find" field, and remember to leave the "Replace With" field empty.
5. The renamed preview will be displayed in real-time below. After confirming the effect, click 'Rename' in the bottom right corner.
Method 7: Use batch files (.bat scripts) to remove specified text from folder names
Recommendation Index: ★★☆☆☆
Advantages: For users who know some command lines, a well-written script can achieve automated batch renaming, which is quite convenient.
Disadvantages: High learning threshold. Requires understanding basic DOS commands and renaming syntax, and being careful not to mess up files with wrong commands. Generally unsuitable for ordinary office users.
Operation Steps:
1. Actually, using batch files to rename folders is a technical approach, suitable for handling regular, large-scale renaming. First, you need to right-click in the folder you're working with to create a new .txt document, open it, and write the command.
2. Its focus is on using the wildcard * and writing regular expressions. You need to figure out whether you are matching to delete fixed text or certain patterned characters.
3. After writing the script, the crucial step is to change the .txt suffix to .bat, so it becomes an executable file.
4. However, the risk of this method is that there is no preview function. You must check the results immediately after execution. If there's an error, you have to go back to modify the script and rerun it. It's not suitable for beginners and can be a big headache.
Therefore, if you often need to tidy up large batches of irregularly named folders with redundant information, and find manual work too tiring, scripts too difficult, and professional software too complex, then the "Delete text in folder names" function of【 HeSoft Doc Batch Tool 】is prepared for you. It captures the key points of "batch processing", "intuitiveness", and "sufficient capability", making a tedious, repetitive task exceptionally simple.