How do you batch remove Chinese prefixes from folder names? A method to keep the original numerical numbering.

Many office directories use naming conventions with Chinese prefixes plus numeric numbering, such as “报告03、归档99、项目001”. When materials need to be migrated, sorted, or imported into a system by number, you can use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to uniformly remove all Chinese characters from folder names. Based on before-and-after results and the software interface, this article explains how to add multiple folders, verify paths, select the “All Chinese characters” processing type, and complete batch renaming. It also covers considerations such as duplicate names, directories containing only Chinese, and leading zeros.

In department shared drives, project repositories, and client archive directories, folder names in the format of "purpose description + number" often appear, such as "会议808", "客户202", and "设计004". This naming style is intuitive for daily viewing, but when folders need to be delivered by number, migrated to systems that only accept code-style names, or processed further by scripts, the Chinese prefixes in the names may need to be removed uniformly.

The problem is that these prefixes are not exactly the same: some are "报告", some are "备份", and there are also "财务、导出、归档、会议、客户、设计、项目、照片", and so on. If you use ordinary find-and-replace, you would need to set rules for each type of Chinese content separately; if you modify them manually, it creates a large number of repetitive operations. A more suitable approach is to directly delete all Chinese characters from folder names based on character type, while preserving numbers, letters, or other non-Chinese content.

Below, using the office software " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool " as an example, we explain how to perform batch renaming on multiple folders. This article only handles folder names and does not require opening folders one by one, nor does it involve modifying the names of doc, docx, xls, xlsx, pptx, PDF, images, or other office files within them.

Applicable scenarios: which directories are suitable for batch deletion based on Chinese character type

When the Chinese parts of different folders are inconsistent, but all need to be removed uniformly, processing based on "all Chinese characters" is especially convenient. Typical applications include:

• Before delivering materials, reorganizing "项目001, 项目002" into "001, 002";
• When migrating client archives, changing "客户202, 客户203" into number-only directories;
• When archiving financial or audit materials, removing descriptive text such as "财务, 报告, 备份";
• Before connecting asset libraries to programs, deleting Chinese prefixes and keeping only numeric codes;
• Before batch compression, upload, or synchronization, performing preprocessing according to unified directory naming standards.

Compared with searching for specific words such as "报告" and "备份" one by one, deleting all Chinese characters does not depend on fixed prefixes. Therefore, even if the Chinese in the names appears before or after the numbers, or if the Chinese content differs from one another, the same processing rule can still be applied. However, before formally executing it, you should still check whether the remaining names after deleting Chinese characters are valid and unique.

Effect preview: changes before and after deleting Chinese prefixes

Original directory names

The folders in the example are all combinations of Chinese descriptions and numeric numbers, including "报告03, 备份1000, 财务606, 导出55, 归档99, 会议808, 客户202, 设计004, 项目001, 照片77". These names have different lengths and different Chinese prefixes, but all have numeric parts that can be preserved.

If you delete only one fixed keyword, you can only process part of these directories. For example, deleting "项目" would only yield "001", but it could not simultaneously process "报告03" and "客户202". Therefore, this example does not use keyword replacement, but instead uniformly identifies and deletes Chinese characters from the names.

Result after batch renaming

After processing is complete, the Chinese parts are all removed, and the directory names become "001, 03, 004, 55, 77, 99, 202, 606, 808, 1000". The original numeric text is preserved, and the leading zeros in "001" and "004" still remain.

Because the folder names change, the system may sort them according to the new name order. Therefore, "报告03", which was first before processing, may not necessarily still appear in the first row after being changed to "03". When checking the results, use the final numbers and total count as the standard, rather than only comparing list positions.

Operation steps: from adding directories to batch deletion of Chinese characters

Step 1: Select "Delete text from folder names"

After launching HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , go to the "Folder Name" category in the left navigation bar. The main area will display multiple tools related to directory renaming, including find and replace, insert text, add prefix and suffix, case conversion, and delete text from folder names.

This time you need to remove various different Chinese prefixes, so select "Delete text from folder names".

The purpose of entering this function is to establish a unified processing task for multiple directories. Compared with manually pressing F2 to rename, the software can first add records in a centralized manner and then uniformly select a deletion rule, which is suitable for office organization scenarios with a large number of folders.

Step 2: Batch add target folders

After entering the task page, you are currently in the "Select records to process" stage. Click "Add Folder" in the upper right corner and select the directories whose names need to be modified this time. After adding, the software will list the folder name, full path, creation time, and modification time in the table.

The number of records shown in the screenshot is 10, and the table lists each target directory. Do not rush to the next step at this point; it is recommended to first complete the following checks:

1. Check whether the number of records is the same as the planned number of folders to process;
2. View the "Path" column to avoid selecting directories with similar names but different locations;
3. Confirm that after deleting Chinese characters, each name still has numbers or other characters that can be preserved;
4. Confirm that different directories will not end up with the same name after deleting the Chinese text.

If a directory was added by mistake, you can click the delete icon in the operation area of the corresponding record to remove only that item from the current task list. If the entire list selection is wrong, you can use "Clear" and add again. After the check is complete, click "Next" at the bottom.

Step 3: Select "All Chinese characters" in the processing options

The next page is "Set processing options". The operation types in the interface cover multiple deletion ranges, such as all numbers, all whitespace, all Chinese characters, all English letters, a certain amount of text from the far left or far right, and specified position ranges.

In this example, you should select "All Chinese characters".

After selecting this option, the software will identify and delete the Chinese characters in the folder names for each record. Taking "归档99" as an example, the processing rule will remove "归档" and leave "99"; taking "设计004" as an example, it will remove "设计" and leave "004". Since numbers are not the deletion target this time, the numbered content will not be actively removed because "All Chinese characters" is selected.

Here you need to pay special attention not to mistakenly select "All content". The goal this time is not to clear the names, but only to delete Chinese characters. Also do not select "All numbers", otherwise you will get the opposite of the intended result, leaving only the Chinese parts.

Step 4: Continue setting and start processing

After confirming "All Chinese characters", click "Next". From the process shown at the top of the interface, you can see that the subsequent steps also include "Set save location" and "Start processing". Please complete the remaining settings according to the actual prompts on the software page, and check the task scope again before starting execution.

Before formal processing, it is recommended to close programs that are currently accessing these directories. For example, if a synchronization tool, command-line task, or document management system is using the target paths, you can temporarily exit the relevant programs to reduce the possibility that folder renaming is affected by file locks. After processing begins, wait for the task to finish, and do not manually modify these directories at the same time.

Step 5: Return to the directories to verify the numbers

After the batch task ends, open the target location to view the processing results. First check the total number of folders, and then check several representative names, such as whether "报告03" has become "03", whether "备份1000" has become "1000", and whether "项目001" has become "001".

In addition, you should also randomly open several directories to confirm that Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PPT presentations, PDFs, images, and other materials within them are still located in the corresponding folders. After folder names are changed, if other documents, shortcuts, or scripts reference the old paths, you should also evaluate whether they need to be updated.

Why batch processing is more suitable than manual renaming for a large number of directories

Manually renaming one folder may seem simple, but the complete operation usually includes multiple actions such as selecting, entering rename mode, locating the Chinese text, deleting characters, and confirming the result. When faced with hundreds of directories, repetitive operations take up a lot of time, and manual judgment is difficult to keep completely consistent.

Using office batch processing software allows you to complete "selecting objects" and "setting rules" separately. Users first add all targets at once, and then select a unified "All Chinese characters" rule, avoiding the need to create independent tasks for each type of Chinese prefix. For directories with long numbers, leading zeros, or similar folder names, this method can also reduce errors caused by re-entering numbers.

The value of batch processing is not just faster speed, but also consistent rules, checkable lists, and clearer operation scope. Especially in scenarios such as financial archiving, client material delivery, and project migration, where names cannot be changed carelessly, reviewing the list clearly before executing uniformly makes it easier to control risk than modifying manually while browsing.

Common questions and precautions

Can it be processed if the Chinese is not at the beginning of the name?

The setting this time is based on "All Chinese characters", not "Delete a fixed number of characters from the left". Therefore, the core judgment is based on character type, not the position of the Chinese text. For more complex mixed names, it is recommended to first test with a small number of copies to confirm that the software's recognition results match the actual naming rules.

Will the zeros in front of numbers disappear?

As can be seen from the example results, "项目001" becomes "001" after processing, and "设计004" becomes "004". This is because the software preserves the numeric text in the original name, rather than converting the number into a numeric value and regenerating it. However, if the names are later imported into Excel or another system, the receiving system may read them as numeric values and omit leading zeros, so text formatting should be set separately during import.

What should be done if two folders end up with the same name after processing?

Suppose there are "报告03" and "会议03"; after deleting the Chinese characters, both would point to "03". Two completely identical names cannot be kept under the same parent directory, which may cause some records to fail to rename as expected. Before processing, you should first check whether numbers are duplicated, and if necessary add letters, dates, or other unique identifiers to duplicated numbers.

Can names that are entirely in Chinese be processed directly?

It is not recommended to process purely Chinese names without checking first. If "财务资料" contains no numbers, letters, or symbols, deleting all Chinese characters will leave no valid remaining name. You can first add numbers to such directories, and then batch process them together with other folders.

Is a backup necessary?

Batch renaming itself is not intended to delete directory contents, but it will change the original paths. For important projects, financial records, or unique archives, it is recommended to make a backup first and record the correspondence between old names and numbers. If related shortcuts, hyperlinks, scripts, or software configurations reference the old paths, the impact of the rename should also be evaluated in advance.

Summary

When dealing with directories that mix Chinese prefixes and numeric numbers, such as "报告03, 备份1000, 财务606", there is no need to delete the Chinese text one by one, nor to set replacement words separately for each prefix. Using the "Delete text from folder names" function of HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , add the target directories and then select "All Chinese characters" to uniformly preserve the original numbers while removing the Chinese content.

It is recommended that in actual operation you follow the sequence of "back up first, then test in small batches, check the list, confirm the rules, and finally execute in batch". This can both leverage the efficiency advantages of office software in batch processing files and folders, and reduce the impact caused by duplicate names, empty names, and path changes.