How to batch delete characters on the left side of folder names? A 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, renaming them one by one is not only time-consuming but also prone to omissions or accidental deletions. This article uses batch deletion of the leftmost 3 characters of folder names as an example to introduce how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to import multiple folders, select "leftmost characters" and set the number to delete, then complete saving and processing according to the wizard. After the operation, names such as ABC20240101 and DEF20240202 can be uniformly organized into 20240101 and 20240202, which is suitable for project archiving, date directory standardization, and historical data organization.

When organizing project materials, client archives, scanned document directories, or office files archived by date, you often encounter a situation where many folder names are largely correct, but the leftmost portion contains a no-longer-needed sequence of letters, numbers, or internal codes. For example, the original folder names may be "ABC20240101," "DEF20240202," and "GHI20240303," but when actually archiving them, you only want to keep the date codes "20240101," "20240202," and "20240303" at the end. If there are only a few folders, manually editing them is acceptable; once the number grows to dozens or hundreds, renaming them one by one creates a great deal of repetitive work.

This article addresses the issue of batch-deleting characters from the left side of folder names. The following steps use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to remove the first three letters from multiple folder names in one operation. The entire process is wizard-based: select folders, configure processing options, set the save location, and start processing. There is no need to open or manually edit each folder name.

Applicable scenarios: which folder names are suitable for batch-deleting text from the left side

"Delete the leftmost characters" is suitable for folders whose name structures are relatively uniform and whose prefixes need to be removed in consistent lengths. Common use cases include the following.

• Removing fixed-length department codes: for example, in "CWK202401" and "XSB202402," the first three letters are old department codes, and you want to keep only the business numbers that follow.
• Cleaning prefixes generated by export systems: some business systems add a fixed-length identifier to the beginning of folder names when exporting data. When these identifiers are no longer needed for archiving, they can be removed uniformly.
• Standardizing date-based folder names: for example, "ABC20240101" and "BCD20241010" need to be converted into pure date formats for easier sorting, searching, and verification by name.
• Adjusting customer or project document directories: after migrating files, the original project abbreviations may no longer be useful, and only contract numbers, order numbers, customer IDs, or dates need to be kept.
• Batch-standardizing historical folders: directories created by different people may contain legacy codes. By batch-deleting the first few characters of folder names, you can quickly unify them.

Note that this method deletes by character count rather than identifying a specific word. If the quantity is set to 3, the leftmost 3 characters of every imported folder name will be removed. Therefore, before processing, you should confirm that these folders follow a consistent naming pattern, or at least confirm that the prefix lengths to be removed are the same.

Preview of results: folder name changes before and after processing

Before processing: the left side of each name contains 3 letters

In the image below, the folder names consist of "3 English letters + 8 date digits," such as ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, GHI20240303, and so on. The red markings indicate the left-side letters that need to be deleted.

The common pattern in this batch of names is very clear: each folder has 3 letters at the far left, and what really needs to be kept is the 8 digits after them. Because the deletion position and length are exactly the same, these folders are highly suitable for batch processing with office software instead of manual editing one by one.

After processing: only the date digits remain

After the operation is complete, ABC20240101 becomes 20240101, DEF20240202 becomes 20240202, and GHI20240303 becomes 20240303. The other folders also have their leftmost 3 characters removed according to the same rule.

From the results, you can see that the processing affects only the left-side text of the folder names, while the order and content of the remaining digits are unchanged. The name structure becomes cleaner and is also better suited for sorting, searching, and archiving by date. The folder order in the screenshot differs slightly from before processing because pure numeric names are displayed and sorted according to the new naming rules. When checking the results, focus on verifying the name contents rather than simply comparing the list positions.

Steps: batch-delete the leftmost 3 characters from folder names

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

Open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , and in the function categories on the left, select "Folder Names." After entering that category, you will see tools related to folder naming, such as find and replace, insert text, add prefix or suffix, and case conversion. This time you need to remove letters from the left side of folder names, so select "Delete text in folder names."

The purpose of this step is to enter the page specifically designed for deleting text from folder names. This is not the same as deleting the folders themselves: it processes only some characters in the names, not the directories or the office documents inside them. After selecting the correct feature, the software guides you through the workflow of "select records - configure processing options - set save location - start processing."

Step 2: Add the folders to be batch-renamed

After entering the feature page, click "Add Folders" in the upper right corner to add the directories you want to process to the task list. In the screenshot, 10 records have already been added, with names including ABC20240101, BCD20241010, DEF20240202, and so on. The table also shows the path, creation time, and modification time.

After adding the folders, do not rush to the next step. It is recommended to first check the following:

1. Confirm that all folders in the list are the objects whose names you need to modify this time.
2. Check the paths to avoid adding directories that have the same name but are stored in different locations.
3. Review the naming patterns to confirm that all directories have the 3 characters to be removed on the left side.
4. If a record was added by mistake, use the delete icon in that row's "Actions" area to remove it from the current task list.
5. If the entire batch is wrong, use "Clear" on the page and add the folders again.

After confirming everything is correct, click "Next" at the bottom to enter the processing rule settings. The advantage of a batch task is that you can add multiple records at once and apply rules uniformly, but precisely because this affects multiple names at the same time, checking the list before processing is very important.

Step 3: Select "the leftmost characters" and enter the quantity

On the "Set processing options" page, the software provides multiple text-deletion methods, including all digits, all whitespace, the rightmost characters, everything to the left or right of a specific text, content between two texts, position ranges, and more. In this example, the goal is to delete the 3 letters at the beginning of each folder name, so you should select "the leftmost characters."

After selecting this operation type, enter "3" in the "Quantity" input box. Here, 3 means deleting 3 characters starting from the far left of the name. Taking "ABC20240101" as an example, counting from left to right, A is the 1st character, B is the 2nd character, and C is the 3rd character, so after deletion "20240101" remains. Similarly, "BCD20241010" will become "20241010."

After configuring the rule, click "Next." This step is the core of the entire operation. The quantity should be determined based on the actual names rather than mechanically entering 3. If the actual prefix is 2 characters, enter 2; if the prefix is 5 characters, enter 5. Entering the wrong quantity may leave part of the prefix or accidentally delete content that should be preserved in the name.

Step 4: Set the save location and start processing

According to the workflow prompts at the top of the page, after setting the processing options you still need to go to "Set save location" and then to "Start processing." Because batch folder renaming affects the original directory references, it is recommended to carefully confirm the save location or processing location according to the prompts on the page, especially whether these directories are currently being used by other programs, shortcuts, or workflows.

After completing the relevant settings, enter the "Start processing" stage to run this batch task. When processing is finished, open the target location, spot-check several folder names, and compare the total number of records with the number of results. Based on the example in the screenshots, all 10 directories should have their leftmost 3 English letters removed, leaving only the 8-digit date numbers.

Frequently asked questions and precautions

1. Does "text quantity" mean the number of bytes?

In actual operation, it should be understood as the number of characters counted from the left side of the name. In this article's example, ABC is 3 characters, so the quantity is entered as 3. If the beginning of the name contains Chinese characters, digits, or symbols, you should also check them one by one according to the interface rules and the actual names. It is recommended to test with a small number of copies first.

2. What if each folder has a different prefix length?

If some names have a 3-character prefix while others have a 4-character prefix, it is not appropriate to delete a fixed quantity uniformly without distinction. You can first group them by naming structure and then run batch tasks separately; or you can check whether other deletion methods in the software better match the actual structure, such as processing based on a specific text position. Do not force the same quantity onto different naming rules just to complete everything in one pass.

3. Will deleting left-side characters delete the files inside the folders?

This feature is designed for processing folder names. The example shows the result of folder renaming, not emptying folder contents. However, name changes may affect existing shortcuts, program reference paths, or synchronization tasks, so before processing important directories, you should still make a backup and confirm that the relevant files are not being used by business systems.

4. Why does the display order of folders change after processing?

File Explorer usually re-sorts items according to their current names. Previously the names began with letters such as ABC, BCD, and DEF, while after processing they become pure numeric dates, so the sorting basis changes accordingly. As long as the name contents are correct and the quantities are consistent, this kind of order change is usually normal.

5. How can I reduce the risk of errors in batch renaming?

It is recommended to follow the sequence of "make a backup first, then test with a small number of items, confirm the rules, and finally execute the batch operation." In particular, check the shortest folder names to ensure that the deletion quantity will not exceed the prefix range that should be removed. After processing, spot-check the first, middle, and last records instead of checking only one result.

Summary

When multiple folder names all contain invalid prefixes of the same length, renaming them one by one with F2 takes a lot of time and can easily lead to deleting one character too few, accidentally deleting valid numbers, or missing a directory altogether. Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can turn this kind of repetitive work into a unified rule: enter the "Folder Names" category, select "Delete text in folder names," add directories in batch, then choose "the leftmost characters" and enter the deletion quantity, and finally set the location and start processing according to the wizard.

If your directories also have structures such as "letter prefix + date," "department code + project number," or "old code + customer number," it is recommended to back up the original directories first, select a small number of folders to test the deletion quantity, and after confirming that the results meet expectations, add the full set of directories and execute the batch operation. This provides a more reliable way to standardize folder names, reduce repetitive work, and improve the efficiency of organizing office materials.