How to batch delete the characters on the left side of folder names? The method to uniformly remove the first few characters

When a large number of folder names contain letters, numbers, or fixed prefixes that are no longer needed, modifying them one by one is not only time-consuming but also prone to missed changes and accidental deletion of characters. This article uses batch removal of the leftmost 3 characters from folder names as an example to explain how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to add multiple folders, select "leftmost text", set the deletion count, and complete subsequent processing. After the operation, names such as ABC20240101 can be uniformly changed to 20240101, which is suitable for project archiving, date directory organization, and standardization of historical materials.

When organizing project materials, customer files, shared department directories, or folders archived by date, you often encounter a repetitive task: each folder name begins with several characters that no longer need to be kept. For example, folders were originally named "ABC20240101", "DEF20240202", and "GHI20240303", but now you only want to keep the date numbers at the end, so you need to uniformly delete the three English letters at the far left of each name.

If there are only a few folders, renaming them one by one in File Explorer is manageable; however, when a directory contains dozens, hundreds, or even more folders, manually removing prefixes consumes a great deal of time and can also lead to problems such as deleting one character too few or too many, missing folders, or inconsistent names. For this kind of folder renaming task with clear rules and repetitive execution, you can use the batch processing feature in office software to complete it all at once.

This article will use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool as an example to explain how to batch delete several characters from the left side of folder names. In the example, the three leftmost characters of each folder name are uniformly deleted, turning directory names with letter prefixes into pure date numbers. This method does not require each prefix to be exactly the same; as long as the number of characters to delete is the same, it can be processed by position.

1. Applicable scenarios: which folder names are suitable for deleting characters from the left side

"Delete several characters from the far left" is suitable for handling folders whose name structure is relatively consistent and whose unwanted content is at the beginning. Unlike searching for and replacing a fixed keyword, it operates mainly based on the position and number of characters, so it can uniformly delete prefixes even when the letters at the beginning of each folder are different.

1. Delete folder prefixes with different content but the same length

For example, a batch of folders may be named "ABC20240101", "BCD20241010", and "DEF20240202". The first three characters are not the same, but they all represent classification codes that need to be removed. In this case, you cannot simply search for a single fixed word and replace it, but deleting the leftmost three characters exactly meets the requirement.

2. Clean up numbers added by exported systems

When some business systems export materials, they add a fixed-length serial number, department code, or source identifier before the folder name. For example, "001Customer Materials" and "002Project Materials". If these numbers are not needed for later archiving, you can uniformly delete the three leftmost digits. If the numbers are followed by spaces or connectors, you should first confirm whether those also need to be included in the deletion count.

3. Standardize date folders and project archive directories

When a folder name consists of "business code + date" and the current organization rule requires keeping only the date, you can delete the preceding business code. Similar needs include removing employee abbreviations, region codes, legacy project identifiers, and fixed-length leading text generated when migrating directories.

4. Situations where deleting directly by count is not appropriate

If different folders require deleting prefixes of different lengths, such as some prefixes being two characters, some three, and some having no prefix at all, you should not set the same count for all of them without checking. In that case, you should first process the folders in groups or choose a more suitable rule based on the actual name structure, so as to avoid deleting meaningful characters that should be preserved.

2. Result preview: delete the leftmost three characters of folder names

1. Folder names before processing

The image below shows the directory list before processing. You can see that each folder name begins with three English letters, followed by an eight-digit date, such as "ABC20240101", "DEF20240202", "GHI20240303", and "JKL20240404". The red marks point to the left-side letter portions that are about to be removed in batch.

The common pattern of these names is that the dates to be kept are all on the right side of the names, while the prefixes to be cleaned up occupy the leftmost three characters. Although the prefix contents are ABC, BCD, DEF, GHI, and so on, their lengths are the same, so you can directly use the position-based deletion method without creating multiple separate replacement rules.

2. Folder names after processing

After batch processing is completed, the three leftmost letters of the original names are deleted, and the folders become "20240101", "20240202", "20240303", "20240404", and so on. The result retains only the date portion at the end of the original names, making the overall naming format more consistent.

From the before-and-after comparison, it can be confirmed that this task processes the text at a specified position in folder names, rather than deleting the folders themselves. For directories that need to be sorted by date, archived uniformly, or imported into other management systems, this concise and consistent naming method makes them easier to find and maintain later.

3. Operation steps: batch remove characters from the beginning of folder names

Step 1: Enter the "Delete text in folder names" feature

Open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . This is office software designed for batch processing of office files and directories, with its left-side interface organized by tool categories such as file names, folder names, file organization, and Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and others.

The object of this task is folder names, so first select "Folder Names" on the left. After entering the corresponding tool page, find and open "Delete text in folder names". This feature is used to batch remove qualified content from multiple folder names.

The purpose of this step is to enter the processing entry point that matches the task. Note that "file names" and "folder names" are different processing objects. If you want to modify directory names, you should enter the folder name category to avoid mistakenly adding ordinary files in the directory to other renaming tasks.

Step 2: Add the folders that need batch renaming

After entering the feature page, the current process is first in the "Select records to be processed" stage. Click "Add Folders" in the upper right to add the directories whose left-side characters need to be removed to the task list. If anything is added by mistake, you can remove a single record using the delete icon on the right side of the list; if you want to reselect everything, you can also use "Clear" on the page.

The list in the screenshot already contains 10 folders, with names including ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, GHI20240303, and others. The page also shows the path, creation time, and modification time, and the summary area at the bottom displays "Record count: 10". Before clicking "Next", it is recommended to carefully check the following:

• Whether all folders in the list are the objects intended for this renaming;
• Whether the number of characters to delete on the left side of each name is consistent;
• Whether any directories without prefixes have been mixed in;
• Whether the paths point to the correct working directory or test directory.

After confirming that the records are correct, click "Next" at the bottom to enter processing option settings.

Step 3: Select "Several characters from the far left" and enter the count

On the "Set processing options" page, you can see multiple operation types such as all digits, all Chinese characters, all English letters, all whitespace, all content to the left of a certain text, and position range. Because this example requires deleting a fixed number of characters from the starting position of each name, select "Several characters from the far left".

Then enter "3" in the "Count" input box. This value means that three text characters are continuously deleted starting from the far left of each folder name. For "ABC20240101", deleting ABC gives "20240101"; for "DEF20240202", deleting DEF gives "20240202".

This step is the core of the entire task. The count must be filled in according to the actual name structure, rather than based only on rough visual judgment. If a name begins with "ABC-20240101", entering only 3 will leave the connector, and the result will become "-20240101"; if you also want to delete the connector, you should re-confirm the setting based on the actual number of characters. Chinese characters, English letters, digits, spaces, and punctuation can all occupy positions in a name, so before executing, it is best to select several representative names and check them character by character.

Step 4: Continue setting and start processing

After setting the operation type and count, click "Next" at the bottom of the page. According to the process shown at the top of the software, the subsequent steps also include "Set save location" and "Start processing". Please complete the subsequent settings according to the on-screen prompts, and check the task records and processing rules again before officially starting.

Because batch renaming acts on multiple records at once, it is recommended that first-time users copy a small number of folders into a test directory, confirm that the deletion count and final names meet expectations, and then process the official materials. After processing is complete, open the target directory to check the results, focusing on whether the left-side prefixes have been removed, whether the retained parts are complete, and whether any duplicate names or empty names have appeared.

4. Frequently asked questions and precautions

1. Must every folder's prefix be exactly the same?

No. This feature deletes according to the position and count from the far left, and does not require the content to be the same. ABC, BCD, and DEF are different text, but they are all three characters, so they can be removed uniformly in the same batch task. What really needs to be consistent is the number of characters to delete and the name structure.

2. What happens if the deletion count is entered incorrectly?

If the count is too small, part of the prefix will remain; if it is too large, meaningful characters in the name that should be kept may be deleted. For example, if the count for "ABC20240101" is set to 4, the result will be "0240101", and the first digit of the date will also be deleted. Therefore, before starting the process, you should manually deduce the result using one name first.

3. How are spaces or symbols in names counted?

Spaces, hyphens, underscores, and other symbols are also part of the name. Suppose the name is "ABC_20240101"; if you only want to delete ABC, you should enter 3; if you also want to delete the underscore, you need to include it in the count. Character display may differ across systems, so you should directly inspect the actual folder names before processing.

4. Can many folders be added at once?

As can be seen from the example, the software supports adding multiple folder records to the same task and displaying the total count. This is exactly the value of batch processing compared with manual renaming: the rule only needs to be set once, and it can then be applied to multiple directories in the list. However, the more records there are, the more important it is to check carefully and create backups.

5. How can the risk of batch renaming be reduced?

It is recommended to keep a backup of the original directory and first run a trial with a small number of copies; after adding, check the paths and record count; when setting, confirm the deletion position and count; after processing, spot-check the first record, a middle record, and the last record. If folder names will be referenced by other documents, shortcuts, or business systems, you should also assess whether renaming will affect existing path relationships.

5. Summary

Batch deleting several characters from the far left of folder names is essentially converting repetitive manual renaming into a single rule setting. Through HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , enter the "Folder Names" category, open "Delete text in folder names", add the directories to be processed, then select "Several characters from the far left" and enter the count to uniformly remove prefixes of different content but the same length.

For the 10 date folders in the example, you only need to set the deletion of the leftmost three characters to organize names such as "ABC20240101" into "20240101". When dozens or more directories need to be processed, this batch processing method in office software can significantly reduce repeated clicking and input while lowering the probability of missed changes. It is recommended to back up first or use a test directory to verify the rule, and after confirming that the results are correct, apply the same method to the official folders.