When a large number of folder names end with dates or numbers, such as ABC20240101, BCD20241010, renaming them one by one wastes a lot of time. This article explains how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select the delete text function in folder name processing, and use the "rightmost characters" rule to batch remove the last 8 characters, quickly obtaining uniform and concise folder names.
Many office files, upon creation or export, automatically append dates, serial numbers, or batch numbers to the end of folder names. While this helps differentiate files during generation, these trailing numbers often become distracting information during later archiving, delivery, or consolidation. For example, a batch of folders named ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, GHI20240303—if you now only want to keep the project codes ABC, BCD, DEF, GHI, manually deleting the last 8 digits of each folder name becomes very tedious.
This article will address the question "How to batch remove trailing date numbers from folder names" by demonstrating how to perform batch processing using office software. The software in the screenshots is HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , which is designed to help users batch process file and folder names, reducing repetitive work. We will use the "Delete text from folder names" function, selecting "Several texts from the right" to uniformly delete a fixed number of characters from the right side of each folder name.
Applicable Scenarios: Batch Remove Trailing Dates, Numbers, or Suffixes from Folder Names
In practical work, it is very common for folder names to end with fixed text. As long as the length of the content to be deleted at the end is consistent, you can consider using the "Several texts from the right" processing method.
For example, the following types of scenarios are highly suitable:
- System-exported folders with dates: Such as "ABC20240101", "BCD20241010", where the last 8 digits represent a date, and you only want to keep the prefix during archiving.
- Project folders with batch numbers: Such as "Project Materials000001", "Client Files000002", where you need to remove the trailing serial number.
- Departmental materials with months: Such as "Sales Dept202406", "Finance Dept202406", to uniformly delete the trailing month identifier.
- Temporary sorting names need to be restored: For instance, numbers were once added for sorting, and they need to be removed for subsequent delivery.
- Large numbers of folders with consistent formats: When the number of folders is large and naming conventions are the same, batch processing is more reliable than manual work.
The core of this method is "deletion by position," not searching by specific content. Therefore, you don't need to input each date individually or set up ABC, BCD, DEF separately. You just tell the software "how many characters to delete from the far right," and the software applies the same rule to all folders in the list.
Pre-processing Effect: 8 Digits on the Right Side of Folder Names
In the pre-processing screenshot, a batch of folder names consists of a letter prefix and 8 digits. The red marks highlight these end numbers, such as 20240101 in ABC20240101 and 20241010 in BCD20241010. They are located at the very right of the folder name and have a consistent length of 8 characters.
If you are only dealing with one or two folders, manual renaming might be acceptable. But as the number of folders increases, repeatedly performing the action "click folder, rename, select end characters, delete, press Enter" consumes a lot of time. More importantly, manual operation can lead to inaccurate selection ranges, such as mistakenly deleting ABC to AB, or leaving part of the date, resulting in inconsistent naming.
Therefore, when folder names have a consistent structure, using a batch folder renaming tool is more appropriate.
Post-processing Effect: Cleaner Names After Batch Deleting Text on the Right
After processing is complete, the screenshot shows the folder names have become ABC, BCD, DEF, GHI, JKL, MNO, PQR, STU, VWX, YZA. In other words, the original 8 digits on the right side of each folder name have been deleted, leaving only the letter codes on the left.
From the results, it's evident that batch deleting text from the right side of folder names enables uniform, rapid, and controllable naming organization. Especially in scenarios like project material delivery, departmental archive filing, and client folder cleaning, this kind of processing makes directory structures clearer and facilitates subsequent searches.
Step One: Open the Folder Name Category and Enter the Delete Text Function
First, open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . On the left side of the software is a tool category navigation panel, including Home, Task Flow, All Tools, File Name, Folder Name, File Organizer, Word Tools, Excel Tools, PowerPoint Tools, PDF Tools, Text Tools, Image Tools, etc. Since this article deals with folder names, you need to click the Folder Name category on the left.
In the Folder Name function area, find and click Delete Text from Folder Names. In the screenshot, this function is located within the folder name tools, with the description "Batch delete text from folder names." This is the entry point we will use to remove trailing date numbers from folder names.
The purpose of this step is to enter the correct batch processing function. It's particularly important to note that folder name processing and file name processing are not the same type of operation. If your goal is to handle the names of folders themselves, you should choose the "Folder Name" category; if you are handling names of files like doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, pdf, txt, jpg, etc., you should choose the corresponding file name or other tool category. The example in this article only targets folder names.
Step Two: Add Folders and Confirm the Records to Be Processed
After entering the "Delete Text from Folder Names" function, the interface displays a step-by-step wizard. In the screenshot, it is currently at Step 1 "Select records to be processed." On the upper right of the page, you can see the Add Folder button, along with options to clear, more operations, etc.
After clicking "Add Folder," add the folders whose end text you want to delete to the list. Once added, the table will list information for each record, including sequence number, name, path, creation time, modification time, and operation. In the screenshot, 10 records have been added, with names including ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, GHI20240303, JKL20240404, MNO20240505, PQR20240606, STU20240707, VWX20240808, YZA20240909.
Before clicking the next step, it's advisable to do a check:
- Check the Name column: Confirm that all folders fit the "prefix + 8 digits" structure.
- Check the Path column: Confirm the folders come from the correct directory, for example, the paths in the screenshot are under D:\test\.
- Check the record count: The bottom shows a record count of 10, meaning processing will be performed on these 10 folders.
- Exclude items not to be processed: If a certain folder should not be renamed, it can be removed from the list first.
This check is very important. The efficiency of batch processing comes from applying rules in one go, but it also means that if a folder that shouldn't be processed is mixed into the list, the rule will be applied to it as well. Therefore, verifying the list before proceeding to the next step is key to ensuring accurate results.
Step Three: Set the Deletion Rule to Several Texts from the Right
After confirming the folders to be processed are correct, click the Next button at the bottom of the page to enter Step 2 "Set processing options." On this page, the software provides various text deletion rules, such as all digits, all whitespace, all Chinese characters, all content, all English letters, several texts from the left, several texts from the right, all content to the left of a certain text, all content to the right of a certain text, position range, and more.
In this case, what we want to delete are the 8 digits at the end of the folder names, so we should choose Several texts from the right.
After selecting this rule, enter 8 in the "Quantity" input field. The meaning of this setting is: for each folder name in the list, delete 8 characters starting from the furthest right. Since 20240101, 20241010, 20240202 are all 8 digits, deleting them will leave the preceding project code.
A few examples can help with understanding:
- ABC20240101: The 8 rightmost texts are 20240101, leaving ABC after deletion.
- BCD20241010: The 8 rightmost texts are 20241010, leaving BCD after deletion.
- MNO20240505: The 8 rightmost texts are 20240505, leaving MNO after deletion.
- YZA20240909: The 8 rightmost texts are 20240909, leaving YZA after deletion.
If the end of your folder names is not 8 digits but another length, fill in the actual length. For example, if the end is "_001," you might need to enter 4; if it's "202406," enter 6; if it's "-V2," enter 3 based on the character count. The key is that the deletion quantity must match the length of the right-side text you want to remove.
Step Four: Proceed to the Next Steps, Set the Save Location, and Execute Processing
After setting "Several texts from the right" and the quantity, continue by clicking the Next button at the bottom. According to the step bar at the top of the interface, the subsequent process includes Step 3 "Set save location" and Step 4 "Start processing." In these two steps, follow the software interface prompts to complete setting the save location or processing location, and reconfirm the rules before starting.
Before executing, it is recommended to focus on confirming:
- Whether the records to be processed are still the target folders.
- Whether the operation type is indeed "Several texts from the right."
- Whether the quantity is filled in as 8, matching the actual length of the trailing dates to be deleted.
- Whether important data has been backed up, or a small sample has been tested first.
After confirming everything correctly, start the processing. The software will batch modify folder names according to the settings. After processing is finished, return to the folder's directory to view, and you will see that names like ABC20240101, BCD20241010 have been changed to ABC, BCD, etc.
Why Recommend Batch Processing Tools Over Manual Renaming
The biggest problem with manual renaming is not "whether it can be done," but "whether it's done stably and whether it's worth your time." If there are 10 folders, manual processing might take a few minutes; if there are 100 or 500 folders, the repetitive actions are magnified exponentially, and it becomes easier to make mistakes due to fatigue further into the process.
The advantages of using office software like HeSoft Doc Batch Tool are:
- Uniform rules: All folders are processed using the same rule to delete text on the right, leading to more consistent results.
- Fast processing speed: Adding folders, setting the quantity, and starting processing accomplishes batch renaming.
- Reduces manual errors: No need to individually select end characters, lowering the chance of deleting too few or too many.
- Suitable for repetitive office scenarios: Roles in administration, finance, project management, and data archiving often need to organize numerous folders; batch tools are more efficient.
- Facilitates standard workflows: As long as naming conventions are consistent, the same steps can be reused repeatedly.
Office efficiency improvement often comes from optimizing repetitive tasks. Batch deleting end text from folder names seems like a small operation, but when applied to numerous data organization scenarios, it saves a significant amount of time.
Common Questions and Considerations
1. Does "text" only refer to Chinese characters?
No. "Text" here can be understood as character content within a folder name, which can be numbers, English letters, Chinese characters, symbols, or mixed content. The example in this article deletes the 8-digit date on the far right.
2. Can folder names with different prefix lengths be processed?
Yes. Because this method deletes a fixed number of texts from the far right, it has no direct relation to the length of the left-side prefix. As long as the content to be deleted at the end of each folder is 8 digits, they can be processed uniformly even if the left prefixes vary in length.
3. What if some trailing dates are 8 digits and others are 6 digits?
It is not recommended to mix them in the same batch. You can first add folders with 8-digit dates separately and set the quantity to 8, then process folders with 6-digit dates separately and set the quantity to 6. This avoids over-deletion or under-deletion.
4. Does processing folder names affect the content of Word, Excel, PDF, etc. files?
No. This article uses the folder name processing function, targeting the names of folders. It does not involve the content of Word doc, docx files, nor does it modify the content of Excel xls, xlsx tables. The content of PDF, PPT, image files, etc., will also not be edited by this naming operation. However, if renaming a folder causes some external programs to rely on the original path, you may need to relocate the path.
5. What is most easily overlooked before batch processing?
The most easily overlooked aspects are the quantity setting and the processing list. A wrong quantity will lead to unexpected results; mixing irrelevant folders into the list might accidentally rename them. Therefore, it's recommended to first process a small sample, confirm the results are correct, and then process all folders.
Summary: Using "Several texts from the right" is the Easiest Way to Handle Fixed-Length Suffixes
When many folder names end with fixed-length dates, numbers, batch numbers, or version numbers, using "Several texts from the right" for batch deletion is an efficient and clear processing method. In this article's example, the folder names before processing were ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, etc., where the last 8 digits were date numbers to be removed. By going into "Delete Text from Folder Names" via HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , adding folders, choosing "Several texts from the right," and entering 8 for the quantity, you can batch obtain results like ABC, BCD, DEF.
For users who frequently organize project directories, client archives, exported data, and historical files, delegating this repetitive naming task to office software can significantly reduce manual operation time and make folder naming more uniform. It is recommended that before formal batch processing, you first confirm the naming pattern and deletion quantity, then test with a few folders; once confirmed, process the entire directory in one go. This is both efficient and reliable.