Tutorial on batch renaming folders: one-click removal of all characters following a marker word

If a folder name contains a unified marker word, but after the marker there are version, status, or archive descriptions of varying lengths, they can be removed in one go using batch rename rules. This article uses the END marker as an example to demonstrate how to add multiple folders in HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select "everything to the right of a certain text", keep END and delete the following characters such as Final, Release, Archive, and also explain considerations such as name conflicts, marker matching, and trial processing.

When organizing a large number of project directories, folder names often accumulate status suffixes as work progresses. For example, Draft is added during the initial draft stage, Approved after review, and Final or Done upon delivery. Over time, the same batch of directories can develop problems such as overly long names, inconsistent status suffixes, and search results that are hard to read. If you now need to keep the main name and a uniform marker word while deleting everything to the right of the marker word, renaming them one by one manually would take a great deal of time.

For example, ten folders all contain “END”, but they end with Final, Release, Archive, Clean, Paid, Edited, and so on. The actual requirement is to make all names stop uniformly at END. Using the office software HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can add these folders to a task at once and complete the batch renaming with a single rule. The following explains the complete approach, setup method, and items to check before performing the operation in the order shown in the screenshots.

1. Applicable scenario: truncating folder names by keyword

“Delete everything to the right of a certain text” can be understood as truncating the name by keyword. The software first locates the specified text, then removes the characters after it. This method is especially suitable for directories where the content on the right is not fixed, but the locating marker in the middle is consistent.

Typical usage scenarios include:

• Removing version statuses such as Final, Release, and Archive at the end of project folders.
• Cleaning up suffixes such as assignee, approval result, or delivery status in customer directories.
• Batch removing notes that come after date marker words.
• Organizing category directories containing images, contracts, reports, Word documents, docx, doc, Excel sheets, or PDF files.
• Standardizing directory names exported from business systems to reduce manual item-by-item renaming.

This method differs from “find and replace a fixed suffix”. If ten names end with Final, Done, Public, and Report respectively, ordinary fixed replacement requires multiple operations; locating END and deleting everything to its right can be completed with just one rule.

2. Effect preview: from mixed suffixes to unified names

Before processing: the ending content of each folder is different

From the before-processing screenshot, you can see that the folder names use a structure of “main content_END_status”. The red-marked area is the part to be deleted.

These include the following names:

• Backup_START_tempFiles_END_Final
• Build_START_debugInfo_END_Release
• Client_START_2024Draft_END_Archive
• Data_START_sampleChunk_END_Clean
• Invoice_START_batch001_END_Paid
• Photo_START_rawSet_END_Edited

You can see that the content to be deleted is not uniform in length, and the words themselves are also different. If edited one by one, the operator must repeatedly locate the cursor, select the suffix, delete it, and confirm. The more folders there are, the higher the probability of omissions and mistaken operations.

After processing: uniformly retained up to END

After the batch processing is completed, all folders end with END, and the original status suffixes have been removed.

For example:

• Data_START_sampleChunk_END_Clean becomes Data_START_sampleChunk_END
• Invoice_START_batch001_END_Paid becomes Invoice_START_batch001_END
• Photo_START_rawSet_END_Edited becomes Photo_START_rawSet_END
• Project_START_alpha_END_Report becomes Project_START_alpha_END

The final result retains the main information between START and END and only deletes the content to the right of END. This shortens the names while preserving the original project identification structure.

3. Operation steps: how to clear characters after the keyword

Step 1: Enter the corresponding tool from the folder name category

After starting HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , click Folder Name in the left navigation bar. The main area will display several functions related to batch folder renaming, including finding and replacing keywords, inserting text, adding prefixes and suffixes, case conversion, and deleting text from folder names.

This time you need to locate END and clear the characters after it, so click Delete Text from Folder Name. After entering this tool, the top of the page displays four stages: select the records to process, set processing options, set the save location, and start processing. This workflow helps verify the targets and rules step by step before formal execution.

Step 2: Add all directories that need unified renaming

In the first stage, click Add Folder in the upper right corner and select the folders to process. After adding, the directories will appear in the record table.

The screenshot contains ten records. The “Name” column in the table is used to confirm the current folder name, the “Path” column is used to identify the folder location, and the creation time and modification time can help determine whether the correct directory has been selected. Before batch operations, do not look only at the name, because folders with the same name may exist on different disks or in different project paths.

At this point, it is recommended to complete a task list check:

1. Confirm that END exists in all target names.
2. Confirm that the content after END is truly no longer needed.
3. Confirm that the list contains no directories that are in active use and not allowed to be renamed.
4. If a mistakenly selected record is found, use the delete icon in the corresponding row operation area to remove it from the list.
5. Check the record count at the bottom and confirm that the number matches expectations.

The bottom of the screenshot shows “Record count: 10”. After checking, click Next to enter the rule settings page.

Step 3: Set the deletion range to all content to the right of the text

On the “Set processing options” page, you can see multiple operation types. In this example, All content to the right of a certain text is selected.

After selecting this option, enter END in the required “Text” input box. The purpose of this step is to tell the software from which position in the name to determine the right-side range. For “Backup_START_tempFiles_END_Final”, after locating END, the “_Final” to its right will be included in the deletion range.

Below there is also a Include this text switch. In the screenshot the switch is off, meaning the deletion range does not include END itself, so the processing result will still end with END. If it is turned on, whether the deletion range includes the locating word will directly affect the final name, so the setting must be confirmed according to the actual goal. The goal of this tutorial is to keep END, so you should use the off state shown in the screenshot.

The rule can be summarized as:

Original name = main name + END + right-side suffix; processed name = main name + END.

After confirming that the operation type, locating text, and inclusion method are all correct, click Next at the bottom of the page.

Step 4: Complete the save settings and execute the task according to the wizard

The page flow also includes “Set save location” and “Start processing”. Continue to complete the subsequent settings according to the prompts in the software interface. Before entering the start processing stage, check the task content again. Since this operation involves folder names, it is recommended to focus on checking whether the processed names may be duplicated, and whether the locating word appears in the expected position.

After processing is completed, open the original directory to check the names. The ideal result should be that each folder retains END, and no underscore, Final, Release, Archive, or other content appears after END. Then randomly open several folders to confirm that the internal doc, docx, xlsx, PDF, images, or other business files can still be accessed normally.

4. Analysis of the operation logic: why this method is more suitable for batch tasks

Manual renaming is suitable for handling one or two folders, but when the number of directories increases, repeated operations quickly accumulate. Assuming each folder takes more than ten seconds to rename manually, processing hundreds of directories not only takes time, but also requires sustained attention. Batch rules convert “individual judgment” into “unified judgment”, and the software processes the entire batch of names based on the same locating text.

In this example, suffixes such as Final, Release, and Archive have no common content, but they all share a common starting point—the right side of END. As long as the deletion boundary is set after END, there is no need to care about what each ending actually is. This is also why batch deletion by position or marker word is more efficient than replacing suffixes one by one.

However, batch processing does not mean that checking can be skipped. The more unified the rule, the more important it is to ensure that the input data also conforms to the same structure. If END in some directories is part of the main name rather than a separator marker, those folders should not be processed together with the others.

5. Common questions and precautions

1. What should be done if END appears multiple times in a name

When the locating text appears multiple times in the same folder name, the actual deletion position may differ from expectations. To avoid ambiguity, it is recommended to first examine the name structure, try to choose a more complete and more unique locating text, and test the result with a small number of copies. Do not directly process a large number of official directories without verification.

2. Will the underscore to the right of the locating text also disappear

The structure in the screenshot is “END_Final”. The underscore is on the right side of END, so it is classified as right-side content, and the processed name ends directly with END. If the separator is on the left side of the locating text, it usually belongs to the retained part. Before setting, you can split the name into a “retained part” and a “deleted part”, and then enter the text after clarifying the boundary position.

3. Can I delete only Final without deleting other content

If you only want to delete one clear and fixed word, rather than clearing all characters to the right of the locating word, you should choose another name processing method that matches the actual requirement. The “All content to the right of a certain text” method used in this article clears the complete content after the specified position, and it should not be treated as a single-word replacement.

4. Why may name conflicts occur after processing

If “A_END_Final” and “A_END_Archive” exist in the same parent directory, both will attempt to become “A_END” after processing. Two folders with exactly the same name cannot exist simultaneously in the same path, so the result should be predicted before execution. You can first adjust the main name, split the task into batches, or retain information that distinguishes the directories.

5. Will files inside the folders also be renamed

This tutorial enters the “Folder Name” category and uses the “Delete Text from Folder Name” function, targeting the names of the added directories. The screenshots do not show rules set for internal file names, so this task should not be understood as simultaneously batch modifying internal Word, Excel, PDF, or image file names. If you also need to organize file names, you should separately use a processing function suitable for file names.

6. What preparations should be made before formal processing

It is recommended to keep a backup of the original directories, or first copy two or three sample folders for trial processing. During testing, check whether the locating text is accurate, whether END is retained, whether the right-side content is completely deleted, and whether duplicate names occur after processing. After confirming that everything meets expectations, add the remaining directories to the batch task.

7. Can end with different letter cases be placed in the same batch

If END, End, and end all exist in the actual directories, they should first be treated as different written forms and checked. Since the screenshots do not show a case-matching rule, you should not directly assume that entering END can cover other forms. The safer approach is to process them in groups according to the actual text in the names and verify the results separately.

6. Summary

The key to batch clearing all characters after a specified marker word in folder names is not to identify Final, Done, or Archive one by one, but to find the locating text common to all names. In this example, END is used as the boundary. In HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select “All content to the right of a certain text”, enter END, and turn off “Include this text”. This achieves the effect of retaining END and deleting the suffix to its right.

For users who organize project directories, archive folders, and department-shared materials over the long term, this office software batch processing method can reduce mechanical renaming operations and lower the probability of missed changes. In actual use, first back up the directories and select a small number of samples for verification; after confirming that the naming rules, retention range, and duplicate-name risks are all correct, start the complete batch processing. This can balance both efficiency and safety.