The Truncation category shortens names to a fixed length.

  • Truncate cuts the name after the number of characters in Truncate to:. With Preserve all file extensions wherever possible ticked, the extension stays intact and only the name part is shortened: A very long document title.pdf truncated to 10 → A very lon.pdf
  • Truncate to DOS 8.3 format produces names with at most 8 characters, a dot and a 3-character extension, as required by some embedded devices and very old software

Truncating often gives several files the same name. Automatic conflict resolution then numbers them, and Preview Conflict Resolution in the View › Preview menu shows the result.

Example

Scans were saved with the whole first line of the document as their name, e.g. Minutes of the annual general meeting held on 14 October 2026 in the town hall.pdf, and a backup program refuses names longer than 40 characters.

  1. Choose Truncate and enter 40 in Truncate to: … characters
  2. Leave Preserve all file extensions wherever possible ticked

The name becomes Minutes of the annual general meeting he.pdf: 40 characters, then the untouched extension. If two scans start with the same 40 characters, the preview shows the conflict and the numbers that resolve it.

Try it on your own files

The free trial renames up to 10 files at a time, with no time limit. Version 12.36 for macOS 15 Sequoia and later, Intel and Apple Silicon. Older macOS versions