CLI syntax for rename function?

buccaneere · 10-19-2009, 01:01 AM

I want to rename multiple files (hundreds) that are now on an NTFS partition.

Would this be better done in Windows environment, or Linux?

How do I delete characters from multiple files' titles.

MS knowledge base has syntax for ADDING characters, but not for DELETING characters.

For adding a character:

Quote:

For example, if you had files that are named smitha.doc, smithb.doc, and smithc.doc, you could use the ren smith*.doc smythe*.doc command. All file names automatically show the new spelling, and are renamed smythea.doc, smytheb.doc, and smythec.doc.

But I want to DELETE the first 4 characters from multiple files. I have something like this:

br3tMary.doc
br3tJohn.doc
br3tLindsey.doc
br3tMartin.doc
br3tLisa.doc

In Windows environment, I'm guessing this:

Code:

ren  br3t*.doc  *.doc

What about filepath syntax?

How 'bout Linux syntax?

pixellany · 10-19-2009, 01:34 AM

For something like this, I doubt if there is any real difference between Linux and Windows. I have the impression that CLI work is easier and more powerful in Linux, but I nver did it in Windows--so I have nothing concrete.

From Linux, accessing the NTFS stuff should be no issue--most modern distros come with NTFS support set up by default.

Quote:

ren br3t*.doc *.doc

(For Linux, replace "ren" with "mv".) That syntax will not work in Linux, and I would be surprised if it did in Windows. At least in Linux, I know of NO case where you can have a wildcard in the target of a command like mv, cp, etc.

Assuming the files are all in one directory:

Code:

for oldname in $(ls); do
   newname = echo $oldname|cut -c 5-
   mv $oldname $newname
done

Probably will not work if it encounters Window filenames with spaces in them. Watch out for other special characters also.

ghostdog74 · 10-19-2009, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixellany

Assuming the files are all in one directory:

Code:

for oldname in $(ls); do
   newname = echo $oldname|cut -c 5-
   mv $oldname $newname
done

Code:

for oldname in *

ghostdog74 · 10-19-2009, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buccaneere

I want to rename multiple files (hundreds) that are now on an NTFS partition.

Would this be better done in Windows environment, or Linux?

doesn't matter, as long as there are tools for you to do renaming..

Quote:

But I want to DELETE the first 4 characters from multiple files. I have something like this:

on windows, you can use vbscript..better than DOS(cmd.exe) in many ways and it comes natively installed. See here example 6 for renaming using vbscript.

jlinkels · 10-19-2009, 05:44 AM

rename s/^br3t// *.doc

jlinkels

pixellany · 10-19-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostdog74

Code:

for oldname in *

Noted!!---I guess i instintinctively avoid that because it is less obvious what it does. For example, will it see hidden files by default?

these 3 constructs provide a clear view of what will happen:

Code:

for oldname in $(ls)

for oldname in $(ls -a)

for oldname in $(ls -R)

etc.......

pixellany · 10-19-2009, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlinkels

rename s/^br3t// *.doc

jlinkels

Does not work here...And that syntax does no appear in the man page.

jlinkels · 10-19-2009, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixellany

Does not work here...And that syntax does no appear in the man page.

jlinkels@jlinkels_pc:/tmp/rn$ ll br3*
-rw-r----- 1 jlinkels users 0 2009-10-19 13:22 br3tAlice.doc
-rw-r----- 1 jlinkels users 0 2009-10-19 13:22 br3tJohn.doc
-rw-r----- 1 jlinkels users 0 2009-10-19 13:22 br3tMary.doc
jlinkels@jlinkels_pc:/tmp/rn$ rename s/^br3t// *.doc
jlinkels@jlinkels_pc:/tmp/rn$ ll
total 0
-rw-r----- 1 jlinkels users 0 2009-10-19 13:22 Alice.doc
-rw-r----- 1 jlinkels users 0 2009-10-19 13:22 John.doc
-rw-r----- 1 jlinkels users 0 2009-10-19 13:22 Mary.doc
jlinkels@jlinkels_pc:/tmp/rn$

Besides, the man states:
For example, to rename all files matching "*.bak" to strip the extension, you might say
rename 's/\.bak$//' *.bak

So I guessed it would work ^start as well.

However, different version of rename are around, it used to be a perl script, in Debian it was a binary for some time and now it is perl again.

jlinkels

yancek · 10-19-2009, 01:59 PM

Another way using rename:

Code:

rename br3t "" br3t*

pixellany · 10-19-2009, 02:41 PM

I obviously have a different version of rename---the "s" command does not work.

From the man page:

Quote:

AVAILABILITY
The rename command is part of the util-linux-ng package and is available from
ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux-ng/.

1 January 2000 RENAME(1)

And pacman -Q says:
util-linux-ng 2.16-1 (most recent version)

Available:
community gprename 2.6.3-1
community krename 4.0.0-1

jlinkels · 10-19-2009, 03:56 PM

My rename is a symbolic link to prename which is [obviously] a Perl script. It is part of the package perl in Debian Lenny.
There are an awful lot of rename packages around so I am not surprised that they differ in syntax.

jlinkels

ghostdog74 · 10-19-2009, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixellany

Noted!!---I guess i instintinctively avoid that because it is less obvious what it does. For example, will it see hidden files by default?

ls by itself doesn't display hidden files.

Code:

for files in .*
do
  echo "hidden file: $i"
done

Quote:

Code:

for oldname in $(ls)

this is same as

Code:

for oldname in *

Quote:

Code:

for oldname in $(ls -a)

this is same as

Code:

for oldname in .* *

of course, if one needs the added functionality of ls with its other switches then i guess its still alright, however always take care of "spaces in filename" problem when using for loop...if not, use a while loop