This article is aimed at office users who need file archiving, month labeling, and project directory organization, explaining how to batch prepend the same text to multiple folder names. The example uses HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to uniformly add the prefix 2025-12 to 10 folders. The article covers applicable scenarios, before-and-after comparisons, software operation procedures, inspection items, and precautions, helping users avoid the inefficiency and errors of manual renaming.
Many office materials are not a single file, but a set of folders. A department might have multiple directories such as annual plans, backup data, client files, design documents, finance records, marketing assets, project reports, resource libraries, team meetings, and technical notes. If these directories all belong to the same month or the same project batch, the ideal management method is to give them a unified identifier, for example, by adding 2025-12 to the beginning of their names. The problem is that manually adding text to the beginning of multiple folder names is not efficient: each folder needs to be selected, renamed, have the prefix pasted, and confirmed. With a large number, it's easy to get fatigued and miss renaming a folder. This article will introduce a method more suitable for office scenarios: using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch add the same text to the beginning of multiple folder names.
Applicable Scenarios: What problems does adding text to the beginning of folder names solve?
Adding text to the beginning of folder names is usually used to enhance directory identification. Compared to placing a description at the end, a prefix is more noticeable and more conducive to sorting. For example, putting 2025-12 at the very front of the name allows materials from the same month to be displayed together; putting a project number at the front allows materials from the same project to be grouped in the list; putting a department abbreviation at the front allows for quick differentiation of materials from different sources.
This type of operation is particularly suitable for the following scenarios: archiving folders by month, such as 2025-12Annual_Plans; differentiating directories by project phase, such as Phase1-Design_Documents; organizing materials by client identifier, such as ClientA-Client_Files; marking directories by status, such as Delivered-Project_Reports; distinguishing shared folders by source, such as Marketing_Department-Marketing_Assets. For long-maintained resource libraries, a unified prefix can reduce the cost of subsequent searching and handovers.
It needs to be emphasized that this article discusses the batch processing of folder names, not the content processing of Word, Excel, PDF, or other files, nor the batch renaming of the docx, doc, xlsx, pptx files themselves. HeSoft Doc Batch Tool is a batch processing software designed for office scenarios. Its interface separates file names, folder names, file organization, and various document tools, making it convenient for users to select functions based on the actual object. For this particular requirement, the correct entry point is Folder Name.
Effect Preview: Changes in folder names before and after batch adding a prefix
Before Processing: Folders only have business names, no date tags
The pre-processing screenshot shows 10 folders: Annual_Plans, Backup_Data, Client_Files, Design_Documents, Finance_Records, Marketing_Assets, Project_Reports, Resource_Library, Team_Meetings, and Technical_Notes. From a business context, these directory names are fine, but they lack a common date or batch tag. If reviewed six months later, you might need to open the directories or combine other information to determine which batch of materials they belong to.
After Processing: 2025-12 is added to the beginning of every folder name
In the post-processing screenshot, 2025-12 appears at the beginning of all folder names. This means the software applied the user-set prefix to every folder record, achieving unified naming. For the 10 folders in this example, manual operation might not take too long, but if expanded to 50, 100, or even more directories, the advantage of batch processing becomes very obvious.
From a management perspective, directories with added prefixes are more suitable for archiving. When browsing in File Explorer, users can quickly identify the time attribute of this batch of materials without opening the folders. For multi-person collaboration scenarios, unified naming also reduces communication costs, because everyone sees a consistent directory format, resulting in lower comprehension costs.
Operation Steps: Complete batch adding folder prefixes according to the screenshot order
Step 1: Find Add Prefix and Suffix to Folder Name in the software
Open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , and first select Folder Name from the left navigation bar. The screenshot shows that the Folder Name category provides multiple processing capabilities, including finding and replacing keywords in folder names, inserting text into folder names, adding prefix and suffix to folder names, converting folder name case, and deleting text from folder names. Our goal this time is to add a segment of text to the very front of the name, so click Add Prefix and Suffix to Folder Name.
The key to this step is selecting the correct function. Adding prefix and suffix is suitable for appending fixed text at the beginning or end of a name; inserting text is more suitable for insertion at a specific position; find and replace is suitable for replacing existing text with another segment of text; deleting text is suitable for cleaning certain content from names. Different functions correspond to different needs, and choosing correctly reduces operational errors.
Step 2: Click Add Folders to add target directories to the processing list
After entering the function page, you can see the page title is Add Prefix and Suffix to Folder Name, and the top workflow starts with Select records to process. Click Add Folders in the upper right corner to add the directories that need processing to the table. The screenshot shows 10 folders have been added, with each row representing a directory pending processing.
The information provided by the table is very practical: the sequence number helps confirm the quantity, Name displays the current folder name, Path shows the folder's location, Creation Time and Modification Time help determine if the directory is correct, and the operation column allows processing of a single record. The bottom shows a record count of 10, indicating this batch task will act on 10 folders. For the batch processing workflow of office software, the pending processing list is the first line of security check. If the list is correct, subsequent rules will be applied correctly.
At this step, it is not advisable to only look at the folder names; you should also check the paths. Because there might be directories with the same name in different paths, selecting the wrong location means that even if the prefix is set correctly, the wrong object will be processed. After confirming everything is correct, click Next at the bottom.
Step 3: Enable Add Prefix and enter the text to add to the beginning of the name
After entering the Set Processing Options page, you can see two areas: Add Prefix and Add Suffix. In the screenshot, Add Prefix is enabled with 2025-12 in the input box; Add Suffix is not enabled. This setup exactly matches the goal of this article: only add text to the front of the folder name, without changing the end of the name.
When entering the prefix, please check it as part of the final folder name. Entering 2025-12 results in 2025-12Annual_Plans; entering 2025-12- results in 2025-12-Annual_Plans; entering Archive- results in Archive-Annual_Plans. Different prefixes affect final readability. The post-processing effect in the screenshot clearly shows the prefix as 2025-12, so do not add any unplanned spaces or symbols here.
After completing the settings, click Next. The interface workflow will continue to Set Save Location and Start Processing. Since batch renaming will affect all folders in the list at once, it is recommended to reconfirm three things before formal processing: Is the prefix correct? Is the suffix kept off? Does the folder list only contain the directories for this batch? After confirming, start processing according to the interface prompts.
FAQ or Precautions: Avoiding rework after batch adding prefixes
A prefix is not necessarily better the shorter it is; the key is rule stability
Some users, for convenience, only add short prefixes like 12 or Dec, which might be hard to understand over time. For long-term archived materials, it is recommended to use a clearer format, such as 2025-12, 2025Q4, 2025-12-ProjectA. As long as the team is unified, the directory structure can be kept clear.
Pay attention to the connection between the prefix and the original name
The result in the screenshot is 2025-12Annual_Plans, where the date and the original name are directly connected. If you wish for more natural readability, you can include a connector in the prefix, such as 2025-12- or 2025-12_. The software will execute based on the content you enter, so the connector needs to be written into the input box beforehand.
Do not confuse folder processing with file processing
A folder is a directory; a file is a specific content carrier. Adding a prefix to folders does not equate to adding a prefix to the Word documents, docx files, Excel sheets, or PDF files inside the folders. If you also need to process the file names inside the folders, you should separately use file name-related functions and confirm the scope before processing.
Verify the list before batch processing, especially for shared directories
If folders are located on a shared drive, sync drive, or team collaboration directory, renaming may affect the access habits of other members. It is advisable to notify relevant personnel beforehand or choose an appropriate time for processing. For critical materials, you can also verify the prefix effect in a test directory first before processing the official directories.
Avoid repeatedly processing the same batch of folders
If a prefix like 2025-12 has already been added to a batch of folders, executing the same rule again might cause a duplicate prefix. Checking the beginning of the name before processing is the simplest way to avoid this problem. For a large number of directories, you can use the name information in the list for a quick browse.
Summary: Turning directory organization into a standardized action with batch processing tools
Batch adding the same text to the beginning of multiple folder names is a frequent but easily underestimated office operation. It is not complex, yet it directly affects the efficiency of material archiving, project handover, and daily retrieval. Through HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , users can enter Add Prefix and Suffix to Folder Name from the Folder Name entry point, add the folders to be processed, enable Add Prefix, enter 2025-12, and then continue following the workflow to complete the processing. The entire process is clear and verifiable, suitable for the unified organization of a large number of directories.
If you currently have a batch of folders that need a month, project number, client name, or status tag added, there's no need to manually rename them one by one. First determine the naming rules, then use the batch processing function to execute. This can significantly reduce repetitive labor, lower input errors, and make folder management more standardized and efficient.