Batch Renaming w/ Sequence #

I’ve played around with the scripts and looked at a few forum posts, and it seems it’s not possible, though I’ve read there might be additional scripts I could install — still not sure, so wanted to double check.

What I want to do is rename a bunch of files w/ various, inconsistent file names to e.g.
Image_1, Image_2, Image_3, etc., but all it seems one can do is replace existing text…

Can RegEx do this? If so, where do I learn how to do the above. I searched for RegEx in the handbook but didn’t find anything. I did find this, but seems a bit difficult to learn just for this purpose: DEVONtechnologies | Rename Items Using RegEx

Thanks!

Trust me, you don’t “just learn Regex”. :open_mouth:
It is powerful and cool and frustrating and confusing, all in one.
Worth knowing some? I think so.
For the faint of heart? Nope.

You question depends on what you’re wanting to do over the long run.
If this is just a group of images alone, you could select them all and run a Tools > Batch Process with a Counter placeholder, like so…

Originals

Screen Shot 2021-09-15 at 11.14.27 AM

Batch Process with Placeholder

After batch processsing

Screen Shot 2021-09-15 at 11.15.19 AM

However…

  • No, you can’t set the counter to start at a specific number.
  • Setting the specific number of digits requires using a hidden preference (see Documentation > Help > Appendix > Hidden Preferences > Counter Digits)/

Regex by itself can’t increment a counter. You’d have to integrate it in a script. If you even need a regex at all. Since you want to replace the complete existing filename with something completely new, @BLUEFROG’s way seems a lot more reasonable.

thanks @chrillek and @BLUEFROG — i think batch process w/ placeholder will do exactly what I need. I guess I could use a renaming app or even use lightroom, but doing quick stuff within the app is genius. while regex seems powerful, it’s a bit overkill and a bit above my pay grade at the moment. :slight_smile: cheers.

I’m not sure at what point you’d be thinking about these options but caution you without knowing more info.

And you’re welcome!

I guess I meant I could drag the files to a folder on the desktop and use a renaming app or lightroom to rename and then reimport to DT, but that’s too much work — your solution is great for my needs.