Activating the Better Rename service in the Finder and other applications

In order for the Better Rename… item to appear in the Finder context menu and in other appropriate contexts, you need to activate the service manually in System Settings.

Proceed as follows:

1. In the Finder, choose Finder › Services › Services Settings…
2. System Settings opens at Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Services
3. Under Files and Folders, tick the Better Rename… checkbox to activate the service
4. Optionally assign a keyboard shortcut to the service (see below)

The service should now appear in the Finder’s context menu.

If it does not, or if the item does not appear in the list, there are a few things to check:

• The Better Rename application needs to be in the Applications folder
• You may need to launch Better Rename by double-clicking it once
• You may need to click on the Force Services Menu Update button in the Services Menu Item tab of the Better Rename Preferences to force an update of macOS’s services database
• You may need to log in and out (or restart) for the service to become available

These things might be necessary as macOS checks all applications in the Applications and in the Utilities folders at start up to find out which applications define system services.

Assigning a keyboard shortcut (hot key)

While you are still in Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Services, you can give the service a keyboard shortcut. Better Rename does not come with a built-in shortcut; macOS lets you choose one yourself.

1. Under Files and Folders, make sure the Better Rename… checkbox is ticked
2. Click none at the right-hand end of the row and press the key combination you want to use, for instance Command-Control-R
3. Click Done

Choose a combination that the Finder and your other applications do not already use. If pressing the hot key does nothing, a clash with an existing shortcut is the usual cause. See Using the hot key for how to use it.