How can I batch delete the first 3 characters of folder names? Renaming method that keeps the trailing numbering

Many project directories use a naming convention of "letter prefix + date number". When the letter prefix is no longer needed, modifying a large number of folders one by one can be very inefficient. This article demonstrates how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to uniformly delete the first 3 characters from the names of multiple folders while fully preserving the trailing numbers. The steps include entering the text deletion feature, adding folders, checking names and paths, selecting "leftmost characters", setting the count to 3, and continuing with the wizard. It also summarizes considerations such as duplicate name conflicts, character count, and path references.

After business data has been accumulated over a long period, folder naming rules often change. In the early stages, letter codes such as ABC, BCD, and GHI may have been added at the beginning of names to distinguish departments or projects. By the unified archiving stage, staff only need to keep the later date or sequential number. At this point, it becomes necessary to delete the first 3 characters from many folder names together.

The traditional approach is to select folders one by one and rename them manually. Although this operation seems simple, after repeating the same action dozens of times, it is not only inefficient but also prone to issues such as missing a folder, deleting the wrong number of characters, or mistakenly changing the number. The following uses folders named with "letter code + 8-digit number" as an example to explain how to use office software HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch remove the first 3 characters from folder names while preserving the numbers at the end.

Applicable scenario: batch cleanup of fixed-length prefixes

This method is suitable for folders where "the content to be deleted is at the far left of the name and has a consistent length." Even if the letters or numbers at the beginning of each folder are different, as long as the number of characters to be removed is the same, the same processing rule can be used.

For example, the following names all meet the conditions for this processing:

• ABC20240101: delete ABC and keep 20240101;
• DEF20240202: delete DEF and keep 20240202;
• GHI20240303: delete GHI and keep 20240303;
• PQR20240606: delete PQR and keep 20240606.

This method of batch folder renaming is commonly used for project archiving, customer data organization, contract directory standardization, order folder cleanup, and historical data migration. For example, an old rule may have required adding department abbreviations before folder names, while a new rule uses only date numbers; or a system may automatically add a three-character classification code when exporting directories, while another system only accepts purely numeric names when importing later.

If what needs to be deleted is not a fixed number of characters but complete words of varying lengths, it is necessary to analyze the name structure first. Do not directly apply the same quantity to all records just because some folders look similar, otherwise information that should be retained may be deleted.

Effect preview: changes before and after deleting letter prefixes

Folder name structure before processing

The following image shows the directory before batch processing. The folder names are all composed of two parts: the 3 English letters on the left are the classification codes to be removed, and the 8 digits on the right are the dates or business numbers that need to be retained.

It can be seen that the folders include ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, GHI20240303, JKL20240404, and so on. Although the letter combinations at the beginning are different, they all occupy 3 characters. Therefore, instead of searching for ABC, BCD, and DEF one by one, it is better to directly delete the leftmost 3 characters of the name by position.

Only numeric numbers remain after processing

After batch renaming is completed, the three letters in the original names have disappeared, and all folders uniformly retain 8 digits. The processed names include 20240101, 20240202, 20240303, 20240404, 20240505, and so on.

This result is more concise and also easier to sort by date or number. Taking specific names as examples, "JKL20240404" becomes "20240404" after processing, and "MNO20240505" becomes "20240505". This can be used to verify that the software deletes the first 3 characters at the beginning of the name, rather than deleting all English letters or randomly matching a certain segment of text.

Operation steps: delete the first 3 characters from multiple folder names at once

Step 1: Open the folder name processing category

Start HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , and click "Folder Name" in the left navigation bar. This category centrally provides batch processing functions related to folder naming. After entering the category, select "Delete Text from Folder Name".

When selecting a function, judge according to the task goal. This time the task is to remove text from existing names, so "Delete Text from Folder Name" should be used; if functions such as adding a prefix or inserting text are selected by mistake, the processing direction will be reversed. After entering, multiple operation stages will be displayed at the top of the page, and users can follow the wizard to complete record selection, processing option settings, save location settings, and starting the processing step by step.

Step 2: Batch add the folders that need to be modified

In the "Select records to process" stage, click "Add Folder" in the upper right corner and select the directories that need to be batch renamed this time. After adding, each folder will be displayed as a record in the table.

The example list shows 10 records in total. The table not only lists the names but also shows the corresponding paths, creation times, and modification times. For batch renaming tasks, this list is an important check step before formal processing. It is recommended to confirm each name and path one by one to ensure that the target folders are included, rather than other directories with similar names but different purposes.

When checking, focus on three aspects: first, whether the total number of records is correct; second, whether all names contain at least 3 deletable characters; third, whether the remaining part after deleting the first three characters still has clear meaning. If a mistakenly selected record is found, it can be removed from the processing list by clicking the delete icon on that row; if the entire batch of folders needs to be reselected, use "Clear" and add them again.

After confirming that the list is correct, click "Next" at the bottom of the page. At this time, the software is only building the pending processing list and has not yet executed the final batch renaming, so this stage should be fully used to rule out mistakenly selected items.

Step 3: Set the operation type to the leftmost several characters

After entering "Set processing options", multiple deletion rules can be seen, including all numbers, all Chinese characters, all English letters, all whitespace, all content, and deletion by position. This time the task is not to delete all English letters in the names, but to delete fixed-length content at the very beginning of the names, so "Leftmost Several Characters" should be selected.

After selecting this option, enter "3" in the "Quantity" field below. This number means that each folder will have 3 characters deleted starting from the far left of the name. Taking "ABC20240101" as an example, the name can be split into "ABC" and "20240101"; after deleting the first three characters, the result is exactly "20240101".

It is not recommended to choose "All English Letters" here. Although the beginnings of the example names happen to be all letters, the retained parts of actual business names may also contain English letters. If the rule for deleting all English letters is used, letters that need to be retained elsewhere in the name may also be removed. Processing by leftmost position and fixed quantity has clearer rule boundaries and is more suitable for the explicit requirement of "removing the first 3 characters from folder names."

Step 4: Enter subsequent stages and execute the processing

After confirming the operation type and quantity, click "Next" and continue following the page wizard to complete "Set Save Location", then enter the "Start Processing" stage. Before formal execution, review the rule again: the processing objects are the 10 added folders, the deletion position is the far left, and the deletion quantity is 3.

After processing is complete, return to the directory where the folders are located to verify the names. It is recommended not to check only one result, but to check folders at the beginning, middle, and end of the list separately. For example, confirm whether ABC20240101 has become 20240101, whether MNO20240505 has become 20240505, and whether BCD20241010 has become 20241010. Multi-point spot checks can help determine whether the same rule has been correctly applied to the entire batch of records.

What is the difference between batch processing and manual renaming

Manual renaming is suitable for occasional modifications involving a very small number of items, but when faced with dozens of folders with the same structure, staff need to repeatedly select, edit, and confirm. Each repeated operation may produce differences, such as deleting only two characters once, or mistakenly deleting the first digit in the number.

After using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , folders can first be collected uniformly, and then a deletion rule can be defined once. The office software will apply the same operation to the entire batch of records, reducing repetitive work while keeping the naming format consistent. For administrative, operations, archives, finance, and technical personnel who need to regularly organize large numbers of project directories, this type of batch file processing method makes it easier to form a standardized process.

In addition, list-based operation also makes it convenient to view folder names and paths before execution. Compared with switching back and forth between directories in the file manager, centralized checking can more quickly identify issues such as abnormal quantities, incorrect paths, or inconsistent naming rules.

Common questions and notes

After deleting 3 characters, will the contents inside the folders be deleted

The operation in this article targets folder name renaming. The example results show that the folder names change, while the retained parts continue to be used as the new names. However, it is still recommended to back up important data in advance and verify the operation with a small number of copies before formal batch processing, so as to reduce the impact of incorrect rules.

If there are 2 Chinese characters at the beginning, can they also be deleted according to the leftmost text

If the goal is indeed to delete a fixed number of characters at the far left of the names, it can be set according to the actual quantity. The key is not that the characters must be English letters, but that the part to be deleted for each folder is at the far left and has a consistent length. Before setting, representative names should be selected and manually split to confirm the quantity.

Why should the quantity not be judged only by visual width

Chinese characters, letters, numbers, and spaces may have different display widths in the interface, but the deletion rule uses text quantity. If there are spaces before folder names, the spaces should also be included in the name structure check. The safest method is to copy a name, clearly mark the two parts intended for deletion and retention, and then enter the quantity.

What to do if two folders have the same name after the prefix is deleted

This is a problem that must be checked in advance when batch deleting prefixes. For example, "ABC20240101" and "BCD20240101" have different first three characters but the same retained part; both will become "20240101" after processing. Before formal execution, check whether the result after deleting the prefix from each name is unique. If duplicates exist, the folders can be processed in batches by directory, or necessary distinguishing markers can first be retained for some of them.

After a folder is renamed, can existing shortcuts still be used

The folder name is part of the path. If the directory has already been referenced by shortcuts, office document links, scripts, synchronization programs, or business systems, the original path may change after renaming. When processing shared directories, automation task directories, or software data directories, relevant dependencies should first be confirmed, and references should be updated synchronously after renaming.

Can Word, Excel, or PDF file names be processed at the same time

This tutorial uses the "Folder Name" category, and the processing objects are directory names. doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, pdf, and similar formats belong to files or document formats. If you need to batch delete characters before these file names, you should choose a tool related to file names or the corresponding document type, and cannot directly use the folder name function as a substitute.

Practical suggestions for improving processing accuracy

First, organize naming samples first. Randomly viewing a few items is not enough to prove that the entire batch of folders follows the same rule; it is best to check multiple records at the beginning, middle, and end.

Second, calculate the expected result first. Write "ABC20240101" as "ABC|20240101" to clarify that the separation point is after the 3rd character, and then enter 3 in the software.

Third, back up important directories first. Especially for directories with large quantities, deep hierarchies, or connections to business systems, it is recommended to test with copies.

Fourth, conduct spot checks immediately after processing. Confirm that letter prefixes have been deleted and numeric numbers are not missing, and check for duplicate names or invalid path references.

Summary

When a large number of folders all use the structure of "3-letter prefix + number", HeSoft Doc Batch Tool can be used to quickly delete the first 3 characters from folder names. The complete process is: enter the "Folder Name" category, open "Delete Text from Folder Name", add and check the target folders, select "Leftmost Several Characters", set the quantity to 3, and then follow the wizard to enter subsequent stages and start processing.

This method does not require the specific content of each prefix to be the same; it only requires that the position is at the far left and the length is consistent. Compared with modifying them one by one manually, batch processing can reduce mechanical operations and keep the entire batch of folders under a unified naming rule. You can now copy a small number of target folders for testing first, and after confirming that the processing results meet expectations, add the complete directory to the software for batch execution.