Common extraneous codes, letter prefixes, or fixed-position characters in folder names can affect data management and retrieval. This article provides practical examples of how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch delete content from a custom position range in folder names. Simply add folders, select to delete text in folder names, set the position range to 1:3, and you can uniformly organize folders with letter prefixes into more standardized numeric names.
Batch renaming of folders is a high-frequency need encountered by many office workers. Especially when exporting data from business systems, network drives, collaboration platforms, or scanning and archiving software, folder names often contain unnecessary content, such as prefix codes, source abbreviations, temporary IDs, or system identifiers. They are useful during export but can cause interference during subsequent archiving, sorting, and retrieval.
This article is not about simply replacing a fixed word, but about a more common and flexible requirement: deleting all text within a custom position range in folder names. For example, deleting the 1st to 3rd characters at the beginning of ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, resulting in 20240101, 20241010, 20240202.
To avoid manually renaming them one by one, we will use the office software HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to complete the operation. Its advantage lies in visualizing the batch file and folder processing workflow. Users do not need to write scripts or use complex commands; they can complete a large number of repetitive tasks by adding records, setting rules, and executing processes.
Applicable Scenario: Redundant Content in Names Within a Fixed Character Range
"Custom position range deletion" is suitable for handling folders with fixed naming conventions. Common situations include: the first 3 characters of the folder name are department codes, followed by a date; the first 4 characters indicate the customer source, followed by a customer ID; characters 6 to 10 in the folder name are invalid fields generated by an old system; or the redundant text content varies across different folders but is located at the same character positions.
If the content to be deleted is exactly the same, you might consider finding a specific text and then deleting it; but if the content to be deleted is different for each folder, such as ABC, BCD, DEF, GHI all being different, processing by keyword would be very tedious. In this case, choosing "position range" is more efficient because it only deletes based on character position, without requiring the text content to be consistent.
The example in this tutorial is very typical: the first 3 characters of all folders are letters, followed by an 8-digit date. Our goal is not a conceptual explanation of deleting all digits or all English letters, but rather a demonstration of how to precisely delete the first 3 characters of text using the specified range 1:3.
Result Preview: Folder Names Before Batch Processing
Before processing, there are multiple folders in the directory, with names composed of three letters plus a date number. In the screenshot, red markers point to the letter areas at the beginning of the folder names, such as ABC, BCD, DEF. These are the characters we are about to batch delete.
If these folders are used for project date archiving, the leading letters can make the names look less uniform; if sorting by date later, the different prefixes could also affect readability. More importantly, these prefixes have no uniform content, making manual processing or individual searching inefficient.
Result Preview: Folder Names After Batch Processing
After processing, the folder names only contain the numeric dates. The original letter prefixes have been uniformly deleted, and the directory display appears neater. In the screenshot, you can see names like 20240101, 20240202, 20240303, 20240404, with a consistent format for easy identification.
From the before-and-after comparison, it is clear that the software does not delete folders or move them, but performs batch text processing on the folder names. For office needs that require keeping the internal data of folders and only modifying the outer names, this method is very suitable.
Step 1: Open the Tool and Navigate to the Folder Name Feature
After launching HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , the left side contains the function navigation bar. Since our processing target this time is folder names, we should click Folder Name. After entering this category, you can see multiple function cards related to folder names, including Find and Replace Keywords in Folder Names, Insert Text into Folder Names, Add Prefixes and Suffixes to Folder Names, Folder Name Case Conversion, and the one we will use in this article, Delete Text in Folder Names.
The purpose of choosing "Delete Text in Folder Names" is to tell the software that the task is to remove a segment of content from folder names. Do not choose Word tools, Excel tools, or PDF tools here, as those categories mainly deal with document content or file processing; also, do not mistakenly select the file name category, as files and folders are different objects.
Step 2: Add Folders and Check Pending Records
After entering the function, the task flow is displayed at the top of the page. The first step is Select records to be processed. Click the Add Folder button on the upper right to select the folder directory that needs batch renaming. After adding, the software will list the folders in a table.
The table in the screenshot contains 10 records. The name column shows ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, GHI20240303, JKL20240404, MNO20240505, PQR20240606, STU20240707, VWX20240808, YZA20240909. The path column shows that these folders are located under D:\test\, and the creation time and modification time are also displayed.
This step is very important because the batch renaming will uniformly execute the rule on the records in the list. It is recommended to complete three checks before clicking the next step: first, whether the number of records matches expectations; second, whether the paths are correct; third, whether the name structures are consistent and suitable for deleting the 1st to 3rd characters. After checking and confirming, click Next at the bottom.
Step 3: Select "Position Range" as the Deletion Rule
After entering the second step, "Set processing options," you can see the "Operation Type" area. It provides various deletion rules, such as All Digits, All Spaces, Rightmost Text, All Content Between Two Texts, All Chinese Characters, All Content, All Content to the Left of a Text, Position Range, All English Letters, Leftmost Text, All Content to the Right of a Text, etc.
To delete content within a custom position range, you need to check Position Range. After checking it, fill in 1:3 in the range input box below.
This setting means deleting all text between the 1st and 3rd character positions in the name. Taking DEF20240202 as an example, D, E, F are at the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions respectively, leaving 20240202 after deletion. Taking VWX20240808 as an example, VWX is deleted leaving 20240808. Since all folders adopt the same structure, a single rule can be applied to all records.
If your actual requirement is not to delete the beginning but a section in the middle, you can also adjust the range according to character position. For example, if the redundant content is at positions 4 to 6, you should set the corresponding range. The key is to first determine the position of each character, then input the range. Directly mixing folders with non-uniform structures is not recommended.
Step 4: Continue to Complete Save Location and Start Processing
After setting the range, click Next. From the process bar, you can see that the subsequent steps include "Set save location" and "Start processing." As the screenshots mainly show the function selection, adding records, and setting the range, you can continue by following the software interface prompts.
Before starting the processing, it is recommended to reconfirm that the input is 1:3, not 1:2 or 1:4. Different range numbers will lead to completely different final results. For instance, deleting 1:2 from ABC20240101 would keep C20240101, while deleting 1:4 would also remove the first digit '2' of 20240101, yielding an incorrect result. Therefore, the range setting is the part that requires the most caution in this operation.
After confirming there are no errors, proceed to the start processing step. The software will batch traverse the folders in the list and delete the specified range of text from their names according to the rule. Once processing is finished, return to the original directory to check; the folder names should match the post-processed screenshot, with the prefix letters removed and only the date IDs remaining.
FAQ and Precautions
1. Can the deletion range be customized?
Yes. This article uses 1:3 as an example because the goal is to delete the first 3 characters. In actual work, you should set the range based on the character positions you need to delete. As long as the name structure is uniform, you can batch process them using the same range.
2. Is the position range suitable for deleting Chinese characters, numbers, or symbols?
From the function name, "Position Range" emphasizes position, not character type. That is to say, it is suitable for deleting text at specified positions. In actual use, regardless of whether the position contains English letters, numbers, Chinese characters, or symbols, you should first confirm through samples that the rule meets expectations.
3. Why did the folder sorting change after processing?
Because the names changed, the file explorer will re-display them according to the new names. Originally sorted by ABC, BCD, DEF, after processing they are sorted by numeric names like 20240101, 20240202; this is a normal result.
4. Can it be used for files like docx, doc, xlsx, pdf?
This article's processing object is folders. If you want to batch modify the file names of Word documents (docx, doc), Excel spreadsheets (xlsx, xls), PDFs, or image files, you should select the file name or corresponding tool category in the software. Do not confuse folder name tasks with file name tasks.
5. What preparations are needed before processing?
It is recommended to back up important directories first, or copy a small number of folders for testing. Also, close any programs that might be using the folders to prevent a directory currently in use from being unable to be renamed. Batch processing emphasizes efficiency, but pre-checks can effectively prevent the spread of errors.
Summary
The key to deleting content in a custom position within folder names is converting "what to delete" into a clear range rule. This article demonstrated the method of deleting the first 3 letters from names like ABC20240101 through an example: open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , enter the Folder Name category, choose Delete Text in Folder Names, add the folders to be processed, select Position Range in the operation type and input 1:3, and finally complete the process by following the wizard.
This batch renaming method can significantly reduce repetitive labor and is particularly suitable for office scenarios such as organizing data, cleaning up system-exported directories, and archiving project folders. If you also have a large number of folders requiring the deletion of redundant text at fixed positions, it is recommended to first validate the range with a small sample, then batch process the complete directory to complete folder name standardization in a safer and more efficient way.