Project directories, archive folders, and client folders often contain the same old text, such as version-1, draft, old, or year numbers. When a unified update is needed, manual renaming is inefficient and error-prone. This article uses replacing version-1 with v-2 as an example to explain how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch modify folder name keywords.
Many office files are not standalone but are managed by category within folders. For example, a project may contain proposals, quotes, contracts, reports, image assets, and delivery documents; a client may have data directories for multiple phases; a department may also create numerous archive folders based on month, year, or version number. When the naming conventions for these folders need adjustment, a problem arises: if each folder must be renamed manually, the workload increases dramatically.
For example, suppose there is a batch of project directories whose names all include "version-1". As data is updated, these directories need to be uniformly changed to "v-2". If modified one by one, users must not only type repeatedly but also repeatedly confirm whether hyphens, version numbers, and positions are correct. For people accustomed to using office documents like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF, folder name conventions are just as crucial, because directory names determine the efficiency of data retrieval and team collaboration.
This article introduces a more efficient approach: utilizing the folder name processing feature in the office software HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch find and replace keywords in folder names. With a single setup, "version-1" is uniformly replaced with "v-2", reducing repetitive work and boosting directory organization efficiency.
Applicable Scenarios: Project Directories, Client Data Folders, and Archive Folders Are All Suitable
Batch modification of folder keywords applies to various office scenarios. The first type is project version updates, such as replacing "version-1" with "v-2", "v1" with "v2", or "draft" with "final". The second type is time identifier adjustments, such as replacing "2025" with "2026", or "06" with "07". The third type involves organizational or client name adjustments, such as department abbreviation changes, client name standardization, or project code upgrades. The fourth type is archive organization, such as replacing old identifiers like "temp," "old," or "backup" with text that better conforms to archiving rules.
The commonality across these scenarios is a large number of folders with similar name structures where the content to be modified follows a clear pattern. As long as the old and new keywords can be determined, the batch find-and-replace method can be applied. Compared to manual renaming, batch processing is better suited for tasks that are highly repetitive, have explicit rules, and require consistent results.
It is important to note that this tutorial targets folder names, not file content, nor the names of files inside folders like doc, docx, xls, xlsx, pptx, pdf, etc. If your goal is to batch replace keywords in Word file names, you should choose the file name related feature; if the goal is to modify directory names, you should use the folder name related feature.
Effect Preview: Project Directories Before Processing Still Contain Old Version Keywords
In the pre-processing screenshot, multiple folders have "version-1" as part of their name. They correspond to different business topics, such as client-proposals, competitive-analysis, executive-reports, go-to-market, growth-strategy, marketing-campaigns, pricing-model, revenue-forecast, risk-assessment, and supplier-management.
The red box marks the "version" related text in the folder names, and the red arrow emphasizes that these keywords need uniform replacement. As can be seen, the front parts of different folders are not identical, so the entire directories cannot simply be overwritten with a single new name. The correct approach is to retain each folder's original business name and replace only the common old keyword "version-1".
Effect Preview: After Processing, Old Keywords Have Become New Version Identifiers
The post-processing screenshot shows that the original "version-1" has been replaced with "v-2". The folder names have become client-proposals-v-2, competitive-analysis-v-2, executive-reports-v-2, go-to-market-v-2, growth-strategy-v-2, marketing-campaigns-v-2, etc. The name structures remain clear, the business identifiers are preserved, and the version identifiers have been uniformly updated.
This effect is very suitable for project version archiving. When team members see "v-2", they can quickly determine that these directories belong to an updated version; at the same time, because the preceding business names are not corrupted, users can still quickly locate corresponding materials for client proposals, marketing campaigns, revenue forecasts, risk assessments, and more.
Operation Step 1: Open the Folder Name Category and Select the Find & Replace Feature
Open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool and select "Folder Name" from the left navigation. This category centrally houses processing functions related to folder naming. The screenshot shows multiple card-style features on the page, the first of which is "Find and replace keywords in folder names". Since this time we are changing the old text "version-1" to "v-2" in the folder names, select this function.
The expected outcome of this step is to enter the corresponding batch processing wizard. Choosing the right tool is crucial because, although both involve renaming, the processing objects for file names and folder names are different. File names typically correspond to specific files, like contract.docx, report.xlsx, plan.pdf; folder names correspond to the directories themselves, like the folder named client-proposals-version-1. The example in this article processes directory names, so you should enter the folder name tool.
Operation Step 2: Add the Folders to Modify and Confirm the Record Count
After entering the function page, the first step is to "Select records to process". The "Add Folder" button in the upper right corner of the page is used to add the directories for this batch processing. The table in the screenshot has already listed 10 folders, with each record containing information like name, path, creation time, and modification time. The summary at the bottom shows a record count of 10, indicating the current task will process 10 folders.
On this page, it is recommended to carefully check two types of information. First, check the name column to confirm that all directories contain the "version-1" that needs to be replaced. Second, check the path column to confirm these directories are in the correct location, such as the D:\test\ path shown in the screenshot. If a folder is found not to belong in this processing scope, it can be removed via the delete icon in the action column; if a new selection is needed, the "Clear" button can be used to empty the list.
Batch processing is about configuring once and executing for multiple items, so preliminary verification is very important. Especially when project materials are abundant, different directories may have similar names but different uses. Only by ensuring the pending processing list is accurate will the subsequent replacement results meet expectations. After confirming everything is correct, click "Next" to enter the processing option settings.
Operation Step 3: Enter Old and New Keywords to Establish the Replacement Relationship
On the "Set processing options" page, first select the search method. The screenshot shows "Exact text search" is selected. For fixed text like "version-1", an exact search can directly match the complete string within the folder name, suitable for most version number, year, and fixed phrase replacement scenarios.
Next, enter "version-1" into the "Find keyword list" on the left; enter "v-2" into the "Replace with keyword list" on the right. This setting means the software will look for "version-1" in each pending folder name and replace it with "v-2". The arrow button in between also illustrates the correspondence from the find content to the replacement content.
When filling in, pay special attention to the accuracy of the text. "version-1" contains a hyphen, and "v-2" also contains a hyphen. If the hyphen is missed or a space is entered, the processed names may not meet the team's naming convention. To reduce errors, it is suggested to copy the old keyword from the pre-processing folder name and paste it into the find list; enter the new keyword according to the final naming rules.
The screenshot also shows additional options, including "Ignore letter case" and "Match the complete word rather than part of the word". These options are not checked in this example because the format of "version-1" in the example folders is consistent. If your actual directories have case inconsistencies, you can choose whether to enable related options based on the situation. For users unfamiliar with the rules, it is recommended to first verify the results with a small number of test folders before executing in batch across the complete directories.
Operation Step 4: Continue to the Next Step and Execute Batch Processing
After completing the keyword settings, click "Next". According to the progress bar at the top of the interface, the subsequent steps include "Set save location" and "Start processing". Since the provided screenshots do not show the specific options on these two pages, this article does not fabricate extra button names. Users simply need to follow the software wizard to complete the settings and execute the processing in the final step.
Before execution, it is recommended to do a final check: Is the pending record count 10 or the number you actually need to process? Is the find keyword the old text "version-1"? Is the replace-with keyword the new text "v-2"? Are there possibly identically named folders in the same directory after replacement? Are the related folders not occupied by other programs? Confirming this information before starting makes batch modification more secure.
After processing is complete, open the original directory location to inspect. According to the post-processing screenshot, all instances of "version-1" in the folder names have become "v-2". In this way, the directory naming convention stays consistent with the current project version, making subsequent searching and collaboration clearer.
Common Issues and Precautions
1. Will batch replacement affect the contents inside the folders?
This tutorial demonstrates folder name keyword replacement, which mainly changes the directory names. The contents of Word, Excel, PDF files, images, or other files inside the folder will not be modified because the directory name has changed. However, if some external programs depend on old paths, reference paths may need to be updated synchronously after the directory name changes.
2. Can a keyword be replaced with nothing?
The hint next to the replacement area in the screenshot says "Leaving blank means deletion", suggesting that in some cases, you can delete specified text by replacing it with empty content. However, the tutorial example replaces "version-1" with "v-2", so a new keyword is filled in on the right. If you want to delete text, you should first fully confirm the rules to avoid accidentally deleting necessary information from the name.
3. Why check for duplicate names before processing?
If two folders are in the same parent directory and become the same name after replacement, naming conflicts might arise. For example, under certain rules, A-version-1 and A-v-2 could end up being close or identical. Predicting the new names before batch processing helps avoid processing failures or unexpected results.
4. What is the difference between exact search and fuzzy search?
The screenshot provides "Exact text search" and "Use formula for fuzzy text search". Exact search is suitable for clear text replacement as in this example; fuzzy search is more appropriate for complex rules. For average office users dealing with version numbers, dates, and fixed keywords, prioritizing exact search makes it easier to control the outcome.
5. Is a backup needed before batch modifying folder names?
If the directories involve important projects, client data, financial data, or formal delivery documents, it is recommended to back up first or trial run in a test directory. Batch tools can increase efficiency, but any batch modification should be based on accurate rules and a clearly defined scope.
Summary: Batch Replacing Keywords Makes Folder Organization More Time-Efficient and Standardized
The essence of batch modifying folder keywords is transforming repetitive, mechanical, and error-prone manual renaming operations into a controllable rule setup executed once. Taking the replacement of "version-1" with "v-2" as an example, this article demonstrates the complete thought process, from selecting the folder name feature, adding pending directories, setting an exact text search, filling in the replacement keywords, to executing the processing.
As a batch processing software designed for office scenarios, HeSoft Doc Batch Tool can help users manage file and folder naming more efficiently. Whether you are organizing project directories, client data folders, Word document archive directories, Excel report folders, or PDF scanned document directories, as long as there are numerous identical keywords needing uniform replacement, you can use this method to reduce drudgery. It is recommended that the next time you need to batch rename directories, first sort out the old and new keywords, and then use the batch replacement function to complete the processing, making office data management clearer and more orderly.