File Lists
Tab-Delimited File List Format
The tab-delimited file list format for Better Rename: current name, a tab, new name, editable in Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets or a text editor.
This format, also known as tab-separated text, can be manipulated by many commercial applications including:
- Text editors: BBEdit, TextMate, CotEditor, TextEdit (in plain text mode)
- Word processors: Pages, Microsoft Word
- Spreadsheets: Numbers, Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets
- Database software: FileMaker
A Better Finder Rename requires two columns
OldName1.txt New Name.txt
Old Document.docx The New Document.docx
- The current name of the file
- The desired new name of the file
Both columns are separated by a tab character and each line is terminated by a carriage return and/or new line character.
A Better Finder Rename changes the name of the file specified by the first column to the new name specified in the second column.
You can create the file list by hand or you can let A Better Finder Rename help you with the task by using the
Save File List… feature.
Please note: This feature will only work correctly if all the “current” file names in the list are unique. If you have several files by the same name in different folders that you wish to rename together, you will need to use the “Posix full Path Tab-Delimited File List Format” instead.