How to batch remove the English prefix from folder names? Steps to keep the original numeric sequence

When there are many folders with different English prefixes, using fixed character extraction or renaming them one by one is prone to errors. This article introduces a method for cleaning up directory names by character type: use the "Delete text in folder names" feature of HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , import folders in batches, select "All English letters," and clean up names such as FinanceData606 and MeetingNotes808 into 606 and 808. The article also explains practical considerations such as result verification, leading zeros in numbering, duplicate name conflicts, and path changes.

Directory listings exported from business systems often carry different English labels, such as FinanceData606, HolidayPhotos77, and MeetingNotes808. The people organizing them may ultimately need only numbers like 606, 77, and 808, but because the length and content of each English prefix differ, this cannot be resolved all at once by deleting a fixed number of characters. If the folders are renamed one by one, the more folders there are, the higher the risk of omissions and incorrect operations becomes.

For this situation, you can use the office software " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool " to batch-clean folder names by character type. This article explains how to uniformly remove the A-Z and a-z English letters from many directory names while keeping the numeric identifiers. The method is suitable for batch renaming directories and numbering-based archiving. It does not require separate processing rules for different prefixes such as Alpha, Beta, ClientReport, and ProjectArchive.

1. Which folders are suitable for batch removal of English prefixes

This method is most suitable for folders whose names contain clear numeric identifiers and whose English characters no longer need to be retained. It can handle not only a single English word, but also names formed by concatenating multiple English words.

Typical naming forms

• An English category word plus a three-digit number, such as Alpha001 and FinanceData606;
• An English project name plus a two-digit number, such as ClientReport03 and ProjectArchive99;
• An English purpose description plus a four-digit number, such as DesignDraft004 and TempBackup1000;
• Batch directories in which English names and numbers are mixed, but the English lengths are inconsistent.

In actual office work, such directories may come from customer data exports, project stage backups, image batch archiving, meeting note organization, financial data migration, or file delivery. If the folders later need to be matched to an Excel list by numeric identifier, imported into an archive system, or associated with order numbers, removing the English content can make the directory structure more consistent with a unified standard.

It should be made clear that this article is about modifying the folder names. It is not equivalent to deleting directories, nor is it the batch deletion of English content from files such as doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, and pdf. Folder name processing and content processing for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents are different tasks, so do not confuse them when selecting a tool.

2. Preview of the processing result: from mixed names to numeric directories

Before processing: English descriptions mixed with numbers

The following image shows the directory before processing. The 10 folders use names such as Alpha001, Beta202, ClientReport03, DesignDraft004, ExportBatch55, FinanceData606, HolidayPhotos77, MeetingNotes808, ProjectArchive99, and TempBackup1000.

As can be seen, the common point of these names is that they all contain English letters and numbers, but the lengths of the English parts vary greatly. For example, Alpha has 5 letters, while ClientReport and ProjectArchive consist of longer English content. If the approach of "deleting a certain number of characters from the far left" is used, the names must be grouped by different lengths, which is inconvenient. Therefore, a more reasonable solution is to directly identify and delete all English letters.

After processing: numbers and leading zeros are retained

After the batch task is completed, the folder names become 001, 03, 004, 55, 77, 99, 202, 606, 808, and 1000.

The result shows that the English content has been removed, while the original numeric identifiers have been retained. It is especially worth noting that 001 in Alpha001 has not been simplified to 1, and 03 in ClientReport03 has not become 3. Such leading zeros are often used to maintain the digit count of identifiers, and they have practical significance in project codes, customer codes, and archive serial numbers.

The display order after processing differs from that before processing because after the directory names change, File Explorer re-sorts them according to the new names. For example, Beta202 may originally have appeared near the front of the list, but after becoming 202 it moves position according to the current numeric or text sorting rules. When checking, a correspondence between the original name and the target name should be established, rather than requiring the list order to remain unchanged.

3. Complete steps for batch-deleting English letters from folder names

Step 1: Select the correct function in the folder name tool

After starting HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , first enter the "Folder Name" category on the left. In the interface you can see tools such as "Find and replace keywords in folder names", "Insert text into folder names", "Add prefix and suffix to folder names", and "Convert folder name case".

This task is not about replacing one English word with another word, nor about uniformly converting case. Instead, it is about removing English characters from names, so you should open "Delete text from folder names".

Selecting the correct function is very important. If find-and-replace is used, multiple keywords such as Alpha, Beta, and ClientReport would need to be handled separately. In contrast, "Delete text from folder names" provides an option to delete by content type, which is more suitable for batch directories with inconsistent English prefixes.

Step 2: Add folders and check the task records

After entering the function page, you are currently in the "Select the records to process" stage. Click "Add Folder" in the upper right to add the directories to be renamed to the list. After adding them, the software displays information such as directory name, path, creation time, and modification time in table form.

In the screenshot, 10 records have already been added, and the paths are located in the same test directory. At this point it is recommended to complete the following checks:

1. Check the quantity: Check whether the record count at the bottom matches the planned number of folders to process.
2. Check the names: Make sure each name contains the English characters you want to delete, while also containing numbers or other valid content that needs to be retained.
3. Check the paths: Folders with the same name may be located in different places, so do not judge them by name alone.
4. Remove incorrectly selected items: If a directory should not participate in the processing, it can be removed from the list through the action on the right side of that row.

The most common problem in batch tasks is often not the rule itself, but selecting the wrong processing scope. Official work materials may be distributed across multiple project paths, so spending a little more time checking on this page can reduce later rework. After confirming that everything is correct, click "Next".

Step 3: Select "All English letters" instead of fixed-position deletion

After entering the "Set processing options" page, you can see multiple operation types. To delete all English letters from directory names, select "All English letters".

The purpose of selecting this option is to treat English characters as a unified identification target, regardless of their position and length in the name. Take the examples:

• After deleting the letters, Alpha001 retains 001;
• After deleting the letters, ClientReport03 retains 03;
• After deleting the letters, ExportBatch55 retains 55;
• After deleting the letters, FinanceData606 retains 606;
• After deleting the letters, MeetingNotes808 retains 808.

The "leftmost several characters" option on the page may also appear able to delete English prefixes, but it is only suitable when every name has exactly the same prefix length. In this example, Alpha, Beta, DesignDraft, and TempBackup have different lengths, so deleting the same fixed number of characters would incorrectly delete numbers or leave some letters behind. "All content to the left of certain text" and "All content to the right of certain text" require clear locating text, and are likewise less direct than deleting by character type.

After selecting "All English letters", check the radio button status, then click "Next" at the bottom of the page.

Step 4: Complete the saving-related settings and start processing

From the process shown at the top of the page, the software will next enter "Set save location", and then enter "Start processing". Please complete the settings according to the prompts on the current interface. Because this task involves changes to folder names, before execution you should confirm that important data has been backed up and close any programs or windows that may be occupying these directories.

After entering the final stage, confirm the task once more: whether the number of processed records is correct, whether the target is folder names, and whether the operation option is all English letters. After confirming, start the processing and wait for the task to complete. During processing, do not arbitrarily move the directories already added to the list, to avoid changes to the original paths.

Step 5: Refresh File Explorer and spot-check the results

After the task ends, return to the directory. If the window still shows the old names, refresh it and then check. It is recommended not to spot-check only one record, but to check names with different structures separately:

• Check short prefixes: whether Beta202 becomes 202;
• Check long prefixes: whether ProjectArchive99 becomes 99;
• Check multi-digit numbers: whether TempBackup1000 becomes 1000;
• Check leading zeros: whether Alpha001, ClientReport03, and DesignDraft004 become 001, 03, and 004 respectively.

If these representative records all meet expectations, it can usually indicate that the selected deletion rule matches the naming structure of this batch of directories. For very large tasks, it is still recommended to export or retain the original directory list so that the original names can be traced later.

4. What is the difference between deleting by character type and find-and-replace

Find-and-replace is suitable when the target text is fixed, for example when all folders contain the same field "Backup" and it only needs to be replaced with nothing. However, the English content in the example includes multiple different values such as Alpha, Beta, ClientReport, DesignDraft, and ExportBatch. If they were found and replaced one by one, multiple rules would need to be created repeatedly.

Deleting by "All English letters" focuses on character category rather than a specific word. As long as a character belongs to the English alphabet, it becomes the target of this cleanup. This method can cover English content of different lengths, different cases, and different positions, so it is more suitable for batch removal of English prefixes, English suffixes, or letters inserted between numbers in folder names.

However, the broader the rule coverage, the more necessary it is to check names in advance. If some letters themselves belong to valid identifiers, for example A and B in A001 and B002 represent regions or levels, then they should not be deleted casually. In that case, the naming requirements should be reevaluated rather than directly applying "All English letters".

5. Common problems and precautions before processing

1. Can it still be handled if the English letters are not at the far left

In this example, the selected option is "All English letters", not the fixed-position rule of "delete English prefix". Therefore, even if English letters appear in the middle or at the end of a name, they are still targets that need to be checked. Before formally processing directories with mixed structures, it is recommended to copy a small number of samples to verify the actual result.

2. Do uppercase and lowercase letters need to be processed separately

The interface provides an "All English letters" option and does not require separate settings for uppercase or lowercase. The names in this example contain both capital initials and lowercase letters, and the same option is used to complete the processing. When executing, you only need to confirm that this option is selected, rather than the "Folder name case conversion" function.

3. Why is it necessary to check purely English names

If a name contains only English letters such as HolidayPhotos, with no numbers, Chinese characters, or other content that needs to be retained, then deleting all English letters will leave no usable name. Before creating the task, purely English directories should be filtered out separately and given new names, rather than being processed together with directories that contain numbers.

4. What problems can duplicate numbers cause

Suppose Alpha001 and Beta001 are in the same level. After deleting the letters, both would point to 001, but two completely identical folder names cannot exist in the same path. Before processing, check whether the retained parts are unique according to the original list. If duplicates exist, you can first supplement different numbers, archive them in separate directories, or adopt other rules that can distinguish the names.

5. Will renaming affect shortcuts or document links

After a folder name changes, its path also changes. If Word, docx, doc, Excel, xlsx, xls, PowerPoint, pptx, ppt, PDF files, scripts, or shortcuts reference the original directory path, the related links may need to be updated simultaneously. Therefore, before batch-processing shared materials or business directories, confirm whether there are path dependencies.

6. Can official materials be processed directly

It is not recommended to directly perform batch renaming on a large number of important directories without testing. A safer approach is to copy several representative samples, including names with two-digit numbers, three-digit numbers, four-digit numbers, and leading zeros, and first complete a small-scale test. Only after confirming that the results, sorting, and path impact are acceptable should the official directories be processed.

7. How to confirm that no letters were missed after processing

You can browse the results in File Explorer, focusing on records with longer names or special structures. If there are many directories, sort them by name so that items still containing English characters are easier to spot. The number of processed records should also be compared with the pre-processing list to confirm that no folders were omitted due to an incorrectly selected scope.

6. Practical suggestions for improving batch organization efficiency

When processing for the first time, it is recommended to create a simple before-and-after renaming comparison table. For example, record that Alpha001 corresponds to 001 and FinanceData606 corresponds to 606. The comparison table can help verify the result and also makes it easier to trace the origin of a directory when other people ask about it later.

If different directories require different rules, do not mix them all in the same task. For example, one group of folders may need all English letters deleted, another group may only need the fixed field Backup deleted, and another group may need letter-based identifiers retained. They should first be grouped by rule, and then separate batch tasks should be created. This can reduce the risk of broad rules accidentally damaging valid characters.

For periodically generated export directories, the naming standard can be written into internal operating instructions: first confirm that the numbers are unique, then use the batch tool to delete English, and finally spot-check leading zeros and paths. Once the process is standardized, consistent results are easier to obtain even when different personnel perform it.

7. Summary

When folder English prefixes vary, but the numeric sequence numbers must all be retained, neither modifying them one by one nor deleting a fixed number of characters is an ideal solution. Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can open "Delete text from folder names" in the "Folder Name" category, add directories in batches, then select "All English letters", and complete the settings according to the workflow before starting processing.

This method can uniformly organize names such as FinanceData606, HolidayPhotos77, and MeetingNotes808 into 606, 77, and 808, reducing the workload of repeated keystrokes and manual character selection. Before starting the official task, please first check purely English directories, duplicate numbers, leading zeros, and path references, and test with a small number of copies. After confirming that the rule is accurate, add the remaining folders in batches. This allows directory name standardization to be completed more safely and efficiently.