Renaming files manually can be exhausting, but with PowerShell, you can batch rename multiple files in just one click on Windows! In this post, we’ll walk you through a simple yet effective PowerShell script to rename files in sequence or based on specific conditions. Let’s break down the script and customize it for various use cases.

The Script:

Get-ChildItem *.png | ForEach-Object {
    $newName = $_.BaseName.TrimStart('0') + $_.Extension
    Rename-Item $_.FullName -NewName $newName
}

🔍 Line-by-Line Breakdown:

1. Get-ChildItem *.png

• What it does: Retrieves all .png files in the current directory for processing.

Example:

Get-ChildItem *.jpg  # To fetch all JPEG files

2. | ForEach-Object { ... }

• What it does: Loops through each file and applies the actions inside the curly braces { ... }.

Example:

Get-ChildItem *.txt | ForEach-Object { 
    Write-Host $_.Name 
}

3. $_.BaseName.TrimStart('0') + $_.Extension

• What it does: Removes leading zeroes from the file name while keeping the file extension intact.

Example:

$newName = $_.BaseName.TrimStart('A') + $_.Extension  # Removes leading 'A' characters

4. Rename-Item $_.FullName -NewName $newName

• What it does: Renames the file using its new name generated in the previous step.

Example:

Rename-Item $_.FullName -NewName "newFile_" + $_.Name  # Add 'newFile_' prefix

🎯 Different Scenarios and Examples

1. Renaming Files by Adding a Suffix

   Get-ChildItem *.txt | ForEach-Object {
       $newName = $_.BaseName + '_backup' + $_.Extension
       Rename-Item $_.FullName -NewName $newName
   }

This script renames file.txt to file_backup.txt.

2. Changing File Extensions

   Get-ChildItem *.png | ForEach-Object {
       $newName = $_.BaseName + '.jpg'
       Rename-Item $_.FullName -NewName $newName
   }

This renames image1.png to image1.jpg.

3. Adding Sequential Numbers to Files

   $counter = 1
   Get-ChildItem *.png | ForEach-Object {
       $newName = "image$counter" + $_.Extension
       Rename-Item $_.FullName -NewName $newName
       $counter++
   }

This renames files sequentially like image1.png, image2.png, etc.

💡 Conclusion

Using PowerShell in Windows, you can easily rename multiple files in sequence with just one click! Whether you’re stripping zeroes, adding suffixes, or changing file extensions, this script is a flexible and powerful tool to streamline your file renaming tasks.

Happy scripting! ⚡