When a folder name contains both English descriptions and numeric identifiers, subsequent archiving, sorting, and system import may require keeping only the numbers. This article focuses on the office task of "batch removing English characters from folder names," explaining how to use the HeSoft Doc Batch Tool folder naming feature, add the target folders, select the "All English Letters" deletion rule, and complete batch renaming, thereby helping users reduce repetitive work and improve file organization efficiency.
Many companies, when organizing project files, client data, test materials, and design drafts, habitually name folders using English words combined with numerical identifiers. For example, ClientReport03 represents a client report, DesignDraft004 represents a design draft, and TempBackup1000 represents a temporary backup. This naming convention is intuitive during the creation phase. However, when it comes to unified archiving, serial number management, or batch importing into a system, the English portions might no longer be necessary and can even affect sorting and matching. A common requirement in these situations is to batch-remove all English letters from folder names, preserving only the original numerical identifiers.
If you are only dealing with a few folders, manually renaming them is manageable. But when a directory contains dozens or even hundreds of folders, deleting the English characters one by one is extremely repetitive and can easily lead to the accidental deletion of numbers. This article uses " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool " as an example to demonstrate a batch processing method more suitable for office scenarios. It is an office software designed for document and file organization, offering feature categories like file names, folder names, Word tools, Excel tools, PDF tools, and more, making it suitable for handling tasks like standardizing doc, docx, xlsx, and pdf files, and normalizing large numbers of folder names. The operational flow will be explained below in the order of the screenshots.
Applicable Scenarios: Why Batch Remove English Characters from Folder Names
Batch removal of English characters from folders is common in three types of scenarios. The first is the data archiving scenario, where a department needs to uniformly rename folders like ProjectArchive99 and HolidayPhotos77 to 99 and 77 for easier cataloging by number. The second is the system import scenario, where some internal management systems, material management systems, or data collection processes only accept numerical identifiers and do not want English descriptions in directory names. The third is the handover and organization scenario, where temporary names need to be changed to a unified standard during employee departures, project closures, or client deliveries, reducing the learning curve for subsequent personnel.
The common characteristic of these tasks is clear rules, a large quantity, and high repetitiveness. As long as the rule is "delete all English letters," there is no need to manually judge each folder individually. Using a batch processing tool, you can apply the rule to multiple records at once, saving time and making the results more consistent.
Effect Preview: Folder Names Contain English Descriptions Before Processing
Before processing, the folder names are a mix of English and numbers. The screenshot shows examples like Alpha001, Beta202, ClientReport03, DesignDraft004, ExportBatch55, FinanceData606, HolidayPhotos77, MeetingNotes808, ProjectArchive99, and TempBackup1000. Red underlines and arrows highlight the English parts in the names, which are the characters to be batch-removed this time.
Looking at the naming structure, these folders do not have completely random names but follow a common pattern: the English words describe the business meaning, and the numbers serve as identifiers. The goal of this operation is to remove the descriptive English and preserve the identifiers. Such a rule is perfectly suited for batch execution by office software.
Effect Preview: Folder Names Become Numerical Identifiers After Processing
The processed screenshot shows that the folder names have become numerical forms like 001, 03, 004, 55, 77, 99, 202, 606, 808, and 1000. The English characters like Alpha, Beta, ClientReport, DesignDraft, ExportBatch, FinanceData, HolidayPhotos, MeetingNotes, ProjectArchive, and TempBackup from the original names have been deleted, while the numerical identifiers remain.
This indicates that the rule for batch-deleting English letters has taken effect. It should be noted that the display order of the folders in the file explorer after processing might differ from before, which is usually related to the system's sorting method and does not indicate an error. As long as the English letters in the folder names have been cleared and the numerical identifiers are not lost, the operational goal of this article has been achieved.
Operation Steps: Batch Delete All English Letters from Folder Names
Step 1: Open the Folder Name Category and Locate the Delete Text Function
After launching HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , first observe the left-side navigation bar. The screenshot shows various office processing categories on the left, such as File Names, Folder Names, File Organization, Word Tools, Excel Tools, PowerPoint Tools, PDF Tools, Text Tools, Picture Tools, etc. Since the object of this operation is folder names, you should click "Folder Names".
In the function area on the right, you can see multiple folder name processing functions. The one needed for this task is "Delete Text in Folder Names". This function card is selected in the screenshot and has a red prompt highlighting "Batch delete text in folder names". The purpose of this step is to enter the batch rename wizard, allowing the software to delete the specified text type from folder names according to the rules set in subsequent steps.
Do not select the "File Names" category here, because file names are typically used for processing specific files, such as Word documents like docx or doc, Excel sheets, PDF files, or image file names. This article deals with the names of the folders themselves, so the entry point should be "Folder Names".
Step 2: Add the Folders to be Processed and Check Names and Paths
After entering the function, the interface title is "Delete Text in Folder Names" and displays a step-by-step process. The first step is "Select records to process". On this page, you can add the folders needing renaming to the list by clicking "Add Folders" in the top right corner. If a wrong folder is added, you can also use "Clear" to reorganize the current records.
The list in the screenshot already has 10 folders added. Each record contains a sequence number, name, path, creation time, modification time, and operations. The name column shows the original folder names to be processed, and the path column shows they are located under D:\test\. The summary at the bottom shows the record count is 10, which means the deletion rule set next will apply to these 10 folders.
It is recommended to check two things in this step: whether the number of folders is correct, and whether the path is correct. The biggest risk in batch processing is selecting the wrong directory. If folders that should not be processed are added to the list, they might be renamed along with the others. Therefore, before clicking "Next", confirm that each item in the list falls within the scope of removing English characters this time.
Step 3: Select the Operation Type "All English Letters"
After clicking "Next", you enter the second step, "Set Processing Options". This page determines what content the software will delete. The screenshot lists multiple selectable rules, including All Digits, All Whitespaces, The Rightmost Text(s), All Content Between Two Texts, All Chinese Characters, All Content, All Content to the Left of a Text, Position Range, All English Letters, The Leftmost Text(s), All Content to the Right of a Text, and others.
Since we need to delete English characters from the folder names this time, "All English Letters" should be checked. This option is selected in the screenshot and pointed to by a red arrow. With this rule selected, the software will identify and delete the English parts from the folder names while retaining the numerical identifiers. For example, ExportBatch55 will become 55, MeetingNotes808 will become 808, and ProjectArchive99 will become 99.
It is crucial to avoid selecting the wrong rule in this step. If "All Digits" were selected, the result would be the opposite of the goal, deleting the numerical identifiers. If "All Content" were chosen, all text in the names might be deleted. If a position-based rule were selected, it would be more suitable for deleting characters at fixed positions, which does not fit the requirement here of deleting "all English words regardless of whether they are at the beginning, middle, or end". Therefore, for folder names mixing English and numbers, selecting "All English Letters" is the most direct approach.
Step 4: Continue to the Next Step and Confirm the Saving Location or Processing Flow
In the top process bar of the screenshot, you can see that after setting the processing options, there are two more steps: "Set Save Location" and "Start Processing". After selecting "All English Letters", click the "Next" button at the bottom of the page and follow the software wizard to continue. Since the screenshot does not show the specific configuration items on the subsequent pages, this article will not describe any button names not visible. Users are just reminded to follow the interface prompts to complete the subsequent confirmation.
Before proceeding to the final processing, it is advisable to verify the rules again: the processing target is folder names, the processing records are the folders in the current list, and the deletion content is all English letters. For important directories, consider testing on a copy of sample data first. Once the processed names meet expectations, proceed with batch processing the official folders.
Step 5: Start Processing and View the Results
After completing the wizard, you enter the "Start Processing" stage to execute the batch renaming. Once processing is finished, open the original directory to view the folder names. Referring to the processed screenshot, the original English descriptions have disappeared, leaving only the numerical identifiers in the folder names. This completes the batch conversion from "English description + ID" to "pure ID format".
If the results still contain English characters, go back to the previous record list and check if that folder was added. If the numbers are missing, verify whether an operation type related to deleting numbers was mistakenly selected. The advantage of batch processing is its efficiency, but the premise is that the rule settings are accurate.
Frequently Asked Questions and Precautions
1. Will batch deletion of English letters affect the folder contents?
No. This operation targets the text of the folder names, not deleting the folders themselves or emptying their contents. The Word documents, docx, doc, Excel, PDF, pictures, videos, or other data within the folders will remain. What changes are the display name of the folder and the corresponding path name.
2. What impact does a folder path change have?
When a folder is renamed, its path also changes accordingly. For example, D:\test\Alpha001\ might become D:\test\001\ after processing. If other documents, shortcuts, scripts, or system configurations reference the original path, they will need to be updated synchronously. Therefore, when dealing with business system directories or shared directories, evaluating the impact beforehand is recommended.
3. What if folder names become duplicates after deleting the English?
Folders within the same directory cannot have identical names. If both Report001 and Client001 have their English removed, they might both become 001. Before processing, check whether the numerical identifiers are unique to avoid conflicts during batch renaming. For directories where duplicates might occur, you can first supplement with different identifiers before performing the English deletion operation.
4. Will Chinese characters or symbols in the folder name be deleted?
The rule chosen in this article is "All English Letters", targeting the deletion of English characters. Whether Chinese characters, numbers, and symbols in the names are preserved depends on the selected rule and the original name. If you only want to delete English and keep other content, do not select rules like "All Chinese Characters", "All Digits", or "All Content".
5. How many folders is this process suitable for?
Looking at the example, 10 folders were processed this time. In real-world office work, as long as the folders to be processed share the same naming pattern, they are suitable for this batch method. The more folders there are, the more pronounced the efficiency advantage of batch processing is compared to manual renaming.
Summary: Delegate Repetitive Renaming to Office Software for Batch Completion
When folder names mix English and numbers, and only the numerical identifiers need to be retained later, manually deleting the English characters one by one is not an efficient approach. With the help of HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can enter the "Folder Names" category, select "Delete Text in Folder Names", add the folders to be processed, check "All English Letters" in the processing options, and finally complete the batch processing by following the wizard. The whole process is clear and suitable for project archiving, data cleansing, ID reorganization, and name normalization before system import.
For users who frequently need to organize large numbers of files, folders, Word documents, docx, doc, Excel sheets, or PDF materials, using batch-processing office software can significantly reduce repetitive labor. It is recommended to back up or test the rules using a test directory before formal processing. Only after confirming that the results are as expected should you execute the batch process. This approach can improve efficiency while reducing the risk of operational errors.