When a batch of project folders all contain the same year, serial number, or version number, renaming them one by one is not only time-consuming but also prone to omissions. This article uses the example of replacing "2024" with "2025" and "001" with "002" in multiple folder names to introduce how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to perform batch folder name replacement. The article includes before-and-after effects, applicable scenarios, detailed operation steps, and precautions, making it suitable for office scenarios such as project archiving, annual data updates, and departmental folder organization.
In daily office work, many folder names come with fixed rules, such as year, project number, version number, customer number, department code, etc. For example, a batch of project folders all start with "2024_" and end with "_001". When a new year's archiving is required or project numbers are upgraded, these folders need to be uniformly changed to "2025_" and "_002". If there are only one or two folders, manual renaming is manageable. However, if there are dozens or hundreds of folders, modifying them one by one not only wastes time but also easily leads to missed changes, incorrect changes, and inconsistent numbering.
This article addresses the issue of "batch replacing multiple keyword lists in many folder names". We will use screenshot examples to demonstrate how to batch find and replace multiple keywords in folder names using the office software HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . In the example, the folder names before processing contain "2024" and "001", and after processing, they are uniformly changed to "2025" and "002". This method is suitable for batch renaming scenarios for various folders, such as project materials, R&D documents, meeting minutes, test reports, and resource directories.
Applicable Scenarios: When is it appropriate to batch replace multiple keywords in folder names?
Batch replacing folder names is not simply "changing one name"; it is more suitable for handling regularly structured directory naming. As long as the same old keywords exist in multiple folder names, and these old keywords need to be replaced with new keywords according to a fixed correspondence, this method can be used.
Common scenarios include: annual folder updates, such as batch changing "2024" to "2025"; project number upgrades, such as batch changing "001" to "002"; customer directory migration, such as replacing old customer abbreviations with new ones; departmental organization adjustments, such as replacing "Sales" with "Marketing"; version number adjustments, such as replacing "V1" with "V2"; and file archiving standardization, such as uniformly replacing multiple fixed fields in old names with new standard fields.
This need is common in project management, administrative archiving, R&D material organization, financial voucher directories, and contract folder management. Especially when folders contain Word documents, .docx files, .doc files, Excel spreadsheets, PDF documents, image materials, etc., maintaining the standardization of the outer folder names is very important. Once folder names become chaotic, subsequent searching, sharing, and backing up of materials will be affected.
HeSoft Doc Batch Tool is positioned as office software, with its core value in batch processing files and folders to reduce repetitive labor. For this kind of batch folder renaming task, using a tool can transform operations that originally required copying, pasting, deleting, and typing one by one into a one-time setup of rules and batch execution.
Effect Preview: Changes in folder names before and after processing
Before Processing: Multiple folder names contain old year and old number
From the screenshot before processing, you can see that the folder list contains multiple groups of project directories, such as "2024_Project_Plan_001", "2024_Requirements_Documents_001", "2024_Design_Specifications_001", "2024_Development_Code_001", "2024_Test_Reports_001", etc. Their common feature is that the name starts with "2024" and ends with "001".
If modified manually, you would need to select each folder one by one, enter rename mode, change "2024" to "2025", and then change "001" to "002". The more folders there are, the more fatiguing manual operation becomes, and the more likely it is that some directories will only have the year changed but not the number, or the number will be entered with extra or missing digits.
After Processing: Old keywords are uniformly replaced with new keywords
The screenshot after processing shows that the original "2024" has been batch replaced with "2025", and the original "001" has also been batch replaced with "002". For example, "2024_Project_Plan_001" became "2025_Project_Plan_002", and "2024_Archived_Files_001" became "2025_Archived_Files_002". The business name part in the middle of the folder was not changed; only the key fields that needed updating were replaced.
This is precisely the advantage of multi-keyword batch replacement: it can retain the original folder name structure while only performing corresponding replacements for specified keywords. For standardized naming, annual updates, and number adjustments, this method is more reliable than completely renaming everything.
Operation Steps: Using office software to batch replace keywords in folder names
Step 1: Enter the "Folder Name" function and select the find-and-replace tool
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can see the "Folder Name" category in the left-side function navigation. According to the screenshot, after entering this category, the main interface provides multiple function cards related to folder names, including "Find and replace keywords in folder names".
The goal of this task is to batch replace multiple keywords in many folder names, so you should choose the "Find and replace keywords in folder names" function. The purpose of this function can be directly judged from its name: first find the specified text in folder names, then replace it with new text. The position marked in red in the screenshot is exactly the function entry that needs to be clicked.
The purpose of this step is to enter the correct functional module from the many office batch processing tools. After entering, the software will guide the user to complete the steps: select the records to be processed, set processing options, set the save location, and start processing. For first-time users, simply follow the process sequence on the interface.
Step 2: Add the folders to be processed
After entering the function page, you can see the current function name "Find and replace keywords in folder names" at the top of the interface. There is an "Add Folder" button on the upper right, which is emphasized with a red box and arrow in the screenshot. After clicking "Add Folder", add the folders that need batch renaming to the task list.
After adding, the table will display information such as serial number, name, path, creation time, modification time, and actions. In the example, 8 folders have been added, including "2024_Archived_Files_001", "2024_Design_Specifications_001", "2024_Development_Code_001", "2024_Meeting_Notes_001", "2024_Project_Plan_001", "2024_Project_Resources_001", "2024_Requirements_Documents_001", and "2024_Test_Reports_001". The record count is shown as 8 at the bottom.
The operational purpose of this step is to tell the software "which folders need to participate in the batch replacement." It is recommended to check the names and paths in the list after adding to confirm that no directories that do not need processing were selected by mistake. If you find that a certain folder should not be processed, you can use the action entry on the right side of the table to remove it. After confirming the list is correct, click "Next" at the bottom to enter the processing options settings.
Step 3: Set the search method and the correspondence for multiple keywords
After entering the "Set processing options" page, you can see the search method area. In the screenshot, "Exact text search" is selected. This means the software will perform precise matching based on the entered keywords, suitable for processing fixed fields like "2024" and "001". If you need to replace years, numbers, or codes that clearly exist in folder names, using exact search is more intuitive.
In the "List of keywords to find" below, enter the old keywords line by line. In the example, "2024" is entered in the first line and "001" in the second line. In the "List of replacement keywords" on the right, enter the corresponding new keywords with the same line numbers. In the example, "2025" is entered in the first line and "002" in the second line. That is, the first line establishes the "2024 → 2025" replacement relationship, and the second line establishes the "001 → 002" replacement relationship.
Here, special attention should be paid to the line-number correspondence between the left and right lists. Line 1 on the left will be replaced with line 1 on the right, and line 2 on the left with line 2 on the right. If the order is filled in incorrectly, it may lead to unexpected replacement results. For example, writing "002" on the first line of the right and "2025" on the second line would confuse the year and number replacement relationships.
The screenshot also shows additional options like "Ignore letter case" and "Match whole word rather than part of the word". For numeric years and numbers in this example, usually you don't need to check case-related options. If processing English folder names, such as Project, PROJECT, project, you need to judge whether to ignore case based on the actual situation.
Step 4: Proceed to the next step, set the save location, and start processing
After completing the keyword list settings, click the "Next" button at the bottom of the page. According to the interface flow, you will subsequently enter the "Set save location" and "Start processing" stages. Since folder renaming involves actual directory name changes, it is recommended to reconfirm three things before starting processing: first, is the list of folders to be processed correct; second, do the old and new keywords correspond one-to-one; third, will the replaced names not duplicate existing folder names.
If the software interface provides save location or processing location settings, complete the selection according to the on-screen prompts. Finally, after entering the start processing stage, execute the batch replacement. After processing is complete, you can return to the file explorer to check the folder names and confirm whether they have changed from "2024_..._001" to "2025_..._002". From the screenshot after processing, it can be seen that the batch replacement was successfully completed.
Frequently Asked Questions and Precautions
1. Why must multiple keywords be replaced by line correspondence?
The core of multi-keyword batch replacement lies in the correspondence between the "list of old keywords" and the "list of new keywords". Typically, the same line represents one set of replacement rules: the left side is the content to find, and the right side is the content to replace with. Line correspondence allows the software to process multiple sets of rules at once, such as completing a year update and a number update simultaneously.
2. Will replacing "001" affect other numbers?
The software will search based on the keywords you input. In the example, "001" is searched, so any "001" appearing in folder names will be replaced with "002". If some folder names also contain "001" but you do not wish to replace them, you need to exclude those directories when adding folders, or adjust the naming rules before processing.
3. Will Project Plan, Meeting Notes in the middle of the folder name be changed?
No. As long as these texts do not appear in the "List of keywords to find", they will not be replaced. In the example, only "2024" and "001" are replaced, so the project type names in the middle will remain unchanged.
4. Is backup necessary before batch processing?
For important material directories, it is recommended to make a backup first, or test the rules with a small number of folders first. Although batch renaming can significantly improve efficiency, if the rules are entered incorrectly, it could also batch generate incorrect names. Testing first and then batch processing is a more prudent office habit.
5. Can this method be used for material directories containing Word, Excel, and PDF files?
Yes. This article deals with folder names, which do not depend on what files are inside the folder. Regardless of whether the contents are Word documents, .docx, .doc, Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, images, or other materials, as long as the outer folder names comply with the replacement rules, you can process the folder names according to the method in this article.
Summary: Use batch replacement to reduce repetitive renaming and improve folder organization efficiency
When a large number of folders need unified modification of years, numbers, version numbers, or other fixed keywords, manual renaming is both slow and error-prone. Through the "Find and replace keywords in folder names" function in HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can map multiple old keywords to multiple new keywords in a list and complete batch replacement in one go.
In the example of this article, the software batch changed "2024" to "2025" and "001" to "002" in the names of 8 folders, preserving the middle business name structure. For office scenarios such as project archiving, annual directory updates, and departmental material organization, this method can significantly reduce repetitive labor. It is recommended that you first organize a keyword correspondence table before processing, confirm it is correct, and then execute in batch. This way is both efficient and reliable.