Many office directory folder names consist of fixed prefixes, temporary fields, and fixed suffixes. Often, only the variable text in the middle actually needs to be removed. This article uses the example of START and _END to explain how to add multiple folders in HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , choose to delete text in the folder name, and set the "all content between two texts" rule, thereby cleaning folder names in bulk, preserving necessary identifiers, and improving data organization efficiency.
In the process of organizing enterprise documents, project delivery, design file archiving, and shared drive maintenance, folder names often get appended with various temporary notes as collaboration progresses. For example, to distinguish stages, team members might add content like debugInfo, 2024Draft, sampleChunk, oldVersion, privateText into the names. When the project is archived, these intermediate fields are no longer valuable but remain sandwiched between fixed keywords, affecting the uniformity of folder names. The problem this article aims to solve is: how to batch delete all text between two specific texts in many folder names, instead of manually renaming them one by one.
The office software used here is HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . Its positioning is not simply to open and edit a single file, but to handle repetitive tasks for batch processing files, folders, and office documents. For batch cleaning of folder names, it allows users to first import a batch of directories and then use unified rules to delete specified parts within the names, which is especially suitable for scenarios involving large quantities, similar structures, and error-prone manual operations.
Applicable Scenario: Deleting the Middle Variable, Not the Entire Name
This tutorial is suitable for the following type of folder names: names that have fixed text on the left and fixed text on the right, with variable content in between. In the example, the folder names generally follow the pattern "BusinessPrefix_START_Variable_END_BusinessSuffix". The business prefix could be Backup, Build, Client, Data, Design, and the business suffix could be Final, Release, Archive, Approved, Paid, etc.; the actual target for deletion is the variable between START and END.
If handled traditionally, users would need to open File Explorer, select folders one by one, press F2 to rename, navigate to the middle field, and then delete the corresponding text. This process would be repeated many times, and the variable text lengths vary—some contain numbers, some contain English words, some contain multiple words—making manual deletion prone to missing underscores or accidentally deleting fixed keywords. Using the "all content between two texts" rule, the software can automatically locate the range between the left and right text in each name and delete that content.
This method applies not only to the example's START and END but also to other fixed identifiers, such as begin and finish, [Draft] and [Archive], v and final, customer ID and status fields, etc. As long as you can clearly define the left and right boundaries, you can hand over tedious batch-renaming tasks to the office software.
Effect Preview: Inconsistent Middle Fields in Names Before Processing
In the screenshot before processing, you can see that all 10 folders contain START and END, but the middle content varies. For example, tempFiles in Backup_START_tempFiles_END_Final, debugInfo in Build_START_debugInfo_END_Release, and 2024Draft in Client_START_2024Draft_END_Archive are all variable text strings that need to be uniformly cleaned up.
If these variable texts are retained, they can lead to excessively long folder names, non-intuitive sorting, and inconsistent search results. Especially in a team collaboration environment, different members might have different understandings of naming, and the more complex the folder names, the higher the subsequent maintenance cost. Therefore, before project delivery or data archiving, batch deleting the useless middle text in folder names is a very practical way to organize.
Effect Preview: START and END Retained After Processing, Names More Standardized
The screenshot after processing shows that the variable text between START and END in all folder names has been deleted. The original Backup_START_tempFiles_END_Final becomes Backup_START_END_Final, Build_START_debugInfo_END_Release becomes Build_START_END_Release, and Task_START_removeThis_END_Done becomes Task_START_END_Done.
As you can see, the processed names are not simply truncated; the prefix, START, END, and suffix are preserved. This means the batch processing rule only affects the specified interval and does not impact business information outside that interval. For office directories that need to maintain a naming structure, this is very important.
Operation Steps: Batch Delete Folder Name Content Following Screenshots
Step 1: Find the Delete Text Function in the Folder Name Category
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , first look at the left navigation bar. The interface has categories like Home, Task Flow, All Tools, File Name, Folder Name, File Organization, Word Tools, Excel Tools, PowerPoint Tools, PDF Tools, etc. Since the current processing target is folder names, select "Folder Name". In the function cards on the right, find and click "Delete Text in Folder Name".
The expected result of this step is to enter the specific process for deleting text from folder names. When selecting the function, be careful not to mistakenly choose "File Name" or other document tools. File Name typically targets files themselves, like docx, doc, xlsx, pdf files; whereas this tutorial processes directory names, so you should enter the Folder Name module.
Step 2: Add Folders and Confirm the Records to be Processed
After entering the feature page, the page title is "Delete Text in Folder Name". The top process flow shows you are currently at Step 1 "Select records to process". Click "Add Folder" in the upper right corner to add the folders that need processing to the list. After adding, the table will list information such as Serial Number, Name, Path, Creation Time, Modification Time, and Operations.
In the example, the bottom of the list shows a record count of 10, indicating that 10 folders have been successfully added. It is advisable to quickly check the name column row by row at this point: do they all contain the START and END structure? Are there any folders that should not be processed? If a row should not participate in processing, you can use the delete icon in the operations column to remove it; if the entire list was added incorrectly, you can use "Clear" to reselect. The advantage of batch processing is completing many records at once, but the prerequisite is that the processing scope must be accurate.
Step 3: Select "All Content Between Two Texts" and Fill in Boundaries
Click "Next Step" at the bottom of the page to enter Step 2 "Set processing options". In the operation type area, select "All content between two texts". After selecting this option, the interface will require you to fill in the left text and the right text. According to the example in the screenshot, fill in START for the left text and _END for the right text.
A critical detail here is that the right text is filled in as _END, not END. This is because in the original names, START is typically immediately followed by an underscore and the variable text, then _END. If the right boundary is written as _END, the software will delete all content after START and before _END, naturally resulting in START_END after processing. This preserves the END and avoids extra separators in the name.
The screenshot also shows switches for "Include left text" and "Include right text". The current goal is to delete the content between the two texts and preserve the START and END boundaries, so these two switches should remain off. If the boundary text inclusion is enabled, the processing result might delete START or _END as well, which does not meet the expectation of this example.
Step 4: Proceed to Next Step, Set Save Location and Execute Processing
After setting the rule, click "Next Step". Following the page flow, you will then enter "Set save location" and "Start processing". Before execution, double-check the boundary text, especially whether the underscore in the right text is entered correctly. For batch renaming tasks, a single character difference can affect the final result.
After completing the processing, go back to the folder location to check. If the names appear as the post-processing effect in the screenshot, it indicates the rule was executed successfully. Since the software processes records in batch according to the list, users do not need to repeat the deletion operation for each folder, saving a significant amount of organization time.
Common Questions and Precautions
Is the boundary text case-sensitive?
As seen in the screenshot, the example input uses uppercase START and _END, so it is recommended that users fill in according to the actual characters in the folder names. To avoid matching failures, case, underscores, spaces, etc., should be consistent with the original names.
Can it be processed if the middle content lengths are different?
Yes. This rule focuses on the positions of the left and right text, not the length of the middle content. Whether the middle is tempFiles, 2024Draft, or removeThis, as long as it is located between START and _END, it can be uniformly deleted.
Is this suitable for processing file names, Word, docx, or PDF names?
The screenshots in this article demonstrate folder names. If you want to process file names, such as Word documents docx, doc, or PDF, Excel file names, you should select the functional module related to file names. The idea is similar, but the processing object is different, so confirm the correct module selection before operating.
Is a backup needed before execution?
Batch renaming can affect multiple records at once. For important project directories, it is recommended to test the rule on a small number of folders first, confirming the results meet expectations before batch execution. This reduces the risk of names not meeting requirements due to incorrectly filled boundary text.
Summary: Using Rule-Based Batch Cleaning to Improve Folder Organization Efficiency
Deleting the variable text between two keywords in folder names is a very typical repetitive task in office document organization. Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , users simply need to enter the "Folder Name" category, select "Delete Text in Folder Name", add the folders to be processed, set "All content between two texts", fill in START and _END, and can batch generate unified, clean folder names. Compared to manually renaming one by one, this method is faster, more stable, and more suitable for handling large numbers of directories. It is recommended to prioritize using batch processing tools during project archiving, data handover, or shared drive cleanup to free up time from repetitive labor.