Many project files in the draft stage often carry identifiers like Draft, old years, old months, etc., which need to be uniformly replaced with new statuses and dates when delivered or archived. This article focuses on the practical office scenario of batch replacing multiple keywords in file names, demonstrating how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to import pdf, docx, pptx, xlsx, and other files, and set up corresponding replacement rules such as 2024 to 2025, 12 to 05, Draft to Completed by listing one keyword per line.
From draft to completion, project file names often need to change accordingly. For example, files like budget plans, financial reports, marketing strategies, product designs, employee handbooks, and project plans may initially carry identifiers like 2024_12 and Draft. When materials are updated to a new cycle or official version, you need to change the 2024 in the file name to 2025, 12 to 05, and Draft to Completed. The problem is that these files usually don't exist individually, but rather as a whole folder containing a mix of PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other formats.
If you use the system's built-in renaming method to modify them one by one, efficiency is very low, and you have to repeat locating, deleting, entering, and confirming for each file. The greater the number of files, the higher the risk of inconsistent naming. This article introduces a method more suitable for office scenarios: using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , through the "Find and Replace Keywords in File Names" feature, you can create a corresponding list of multiple old and new keywords to batch replace content in a large number of file names at once.
Applicable Scenario: Batch rename updates from draft files to completed versions
"Draft" is a common draft marker in many English project files, similar to "草稿", "初稿", or "待审" in Chinese file names. When files enter the delivery, approval, or official archiving stage, you usually need to change Draft to status words like Completed, Final, or Approved. Meanwhile, the year and month in the file name may also need updating, for example, changing from 2024_12 to 2025_05.
This type of requirement is very suitable for batch keyword replacement rather than complete renaming. This is because the core business content in the file name, such as Budget_Proposal, Financial_Report, Marketing_Strategy, and Product_Design, still holds value and should remain unchanged. Users really only want to modify a few fixed fragments. Using keyword replacement can maximally preserve the original naming structure and reduce operational errors.
In the office, this method can be used for batch renaming of monthly financial reports, unifying versions of project deliverables, updating dates on contract attachments, organizing training materials in batches, archiving HR policy documents, and more. Regardless of the file extension—pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx—as long as you need to process text fragments within file names, you can follow the same approach.
Effect Preview: File names before processing contain multiple old keywords
The pre-processing screenshot shows a group of files to be organized. The file names uniformly start with 2024_12 and uniformly end with Draft. The red boxes mark the key positions to be replaced this time, including the year 2024, the month 12, and the status Draft. The file types include various common office documents such as PDF, Word, PPT, and Excel.
This kind of file list is very common in real work: the same batch of materials is named according to a unified rule, but as time or status changes, some fields need to be updated entirely. If there are only 8 files in the folder, manual modification might be barely manageable; if there are 80 or 800 files, manual renaming becomes a significant bottleneck. More importantly, it's difficult to manually ensure that every single file conforms to the new rules perfectly.
Effect Preview: File names after processing have been uniformly replaced with new keywords
In the post-processing screenshot, the file names have been uniformly updated. The original 2024 has become 2025, the original 12 has become 05, and the original Draft has become Completed. The subject content in the file names remains unchanged, and the extensions, such as .pdf, .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, are still displayed correctly.
This shows that the batch replacement operation can accurately target specified keywords without affecting other parts of the file name that need to be retained. For files that need standardized archiving, the results are also easier to check uniformly: simply confirm whether all entries in the list have become 2025_05 and Completed to quickly determine if the naming update is complete.
Step 1: Open the keyword replacement tool under the File Name category
After launching HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , first select "File Name" in the left navigation bar. This software is a batch tool oriented towards office file processing, with the left side categorized by task type, making it easy for users to quickly find functions related to files, folders, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, text, images, and more. In this case, we want to process the file names themselves, so we should enter the "File Name" category.
In the function cards on the right, select "1. Find and Replace Keywords in File Names." The function description is "Batch find and replace keywords in file names," which perfectly matches the requirement of this example. After selection, the software will enter a step-by-step wizard to sequentially complete selecting records, setting processing options, setting the save location, and starting the process.
Step 2: Import the file records that need batch renaming
After entering the function interface, you first arrive at "Select Records to Process." The top part of the interface provides two main entry points: "Add Files" and "Import Files from Folder." If you need to select a few files from different locations, you can click "Add Files"; if the files are all concentrated in the same folder, it is recommended to click "Import Files from Folder," as this allows you to add the entire batch of files to the processing list more quickly.
The list in the screenshot has had 8 records imported, each showing its name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time. This list is used not only to confirm whether the files were imported successfully but also to check before processing whether any files that shouldn't be renamed were mixed in. For batch operations, reviewing the list after import is very important. If a record should not be processed, you can use the delete button in the right operation column; if the import scope is incorrect, you can use the "Clear" button on the interface to reselect.
After confirming the list is correct, click "Next" at the bottom. The expected result at this point is to enter the rules settings page, which is where you tell the software which old texts to find and what new texts to replace them with.
Step 3: Select Accurate Text Search and fill in the replacement list
On the "Set Processing Options" page, first confirm the search method. The screenshot shows "Accurate Text Search" is selected. For scenarios with clearly known keywords, this is the most direct and easiest to understand way. Because the content we want to process is the actual 2024, 12, and Draft present in the file names, there's no need for complex fuzzy rules.
Next, fill in the two lists. In the left "Keywords to Find (one per line)" list, enter sequentially: 2024, 12, Draft. In the right "Keywords to Replace With (one per line)" list, enter correspondingly: 2025, 05, Completed. The key here is the "line-by-line correspondence": the first line on the left is replaced by the first line on the right, the second line on the left by the second line on the right, and the third line on the left by the third line on the right.
Once set, the batch replacement rules for this task can be understood as three directives: if 2024 is found in the file name, change it to 2025; if 12 is found, change it to 05; if Draft is found, change it to Completed. Since all three rules are configured on the same page, the user doesn't need to execute three separate renaming tasks or repeatedly import the same files. This is precisely the value of batch office software in reducing repetitive labor.
Additional options can also be seen on the page, such as "Ignore letter case" and "Match complete word instead of part of the word." In the screenshot, these options are not checked, so this example is explained based on the default exact text matching logic. In actual use, if file names have inconsistent casing for Draft, draft, DRAFT, users can decide whether to enable related settings based on the interface options.
Step 4: Follow the wizard to complete saving location and start processing
After filling in the replacement list, click "Next." The interface flow shows that there are still two subsequent stages: "Set Save Location" and "Start Processing." Since the screenshot does not show the specific fields of the save location page, in actual operation, selections should be made according to the current interface prompts of the software. It is generally recommended, before processing important data, to first confirm whether the original files are backed up or choose a location convenient for checking the results.
After entering the "Start Processing" stage, the software will batch process the file names based on the keyword correspondence rules set previously. Once processing is complete, open the target folder to check, focusing on three types of content: whether the year has changed from 2024 to 2025, whether the month has changed from 12 to 05, and whether the status word has changed from Draft to Completed. If all three points meet expectations, it indicates the batch replacement is complete.
Common Questions and Notes
1. How many keywords can be replaced at once? Judging from the interface design, keywords are entered "one per line," so you can organize multiple items to be replaced into a list. During actual use, it is recommended to keep the list clear and not mix unrelated rules in the same task for easier verification.
2. What happens if the replacement keyword field is left empty? The interface clearly prompts: "Leaving blank means deletion." That is, if a line on the left has Draft, and the corresponding line on the right is left empty, Draft will be deleted from the file name. Deletion operations should not be used casually; it is recommended to test on a sample file first.
3. Why review the import list before processing? Because the batch tool will uniformly execute the rules on all records in the list. If files from other years or other projects are imported by mistake, they could also be replaced. Therefore, before clicking "Next," you should check the names and paths to ensure they only include the files to be processed this time.
4. Can Word, Excel, PPT, and PDF files be processed together? The example has already shown different extensions like pdf, docx, pptx, and xlsx appearing together in the processing list. Since the operation target is the file name text rather than the internal content of the documents, various office files can undergo name replacement following the same rule.
Summary
When there are multiple keywords in file names that need to be uniformly modified, renaming items one by one is the least recommended approach. It is not only slow but also prone to causing naming inconsistencies. Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can organize old years, old months, and old status words into a find list, and new years, new months, and new status words into a replace list, completing batch replacement for multiple files, formats, and keywords in a single operation.
If your folders also contain a large number of office documents with Draft, old dates, or old version numbers, it is recommended to follow the method in this article: enter the File Name function, import files, select Accurate Text Search, fill in the replacement relationships line by line, and finally follow the wizard to process. This way, you can compress dozens of individual renaming actions into a single rule configuration, making file organization faster, more standardized, and more suitable for team collaboration.