Windows Batch Find and Rename a Folder

Introduction

Managing files and folders can be a daunting task, especially when dealing with a large number of them. Windows Batch scripting provides a powerful way to automate repetitive tasks like renaming files and folders. In this blog post, we will discuss how to find and rename a folder using Windows Batch scripting.

Finding Folders with a Specific Name

The first step in renaming a folder is to locate it. In our case, we want to find all folders that have the term ” (Album)” in their names. We can achieve this using the dir command with the /b and /ad options. The /b option returns only the names of the folders, while the /ad option filters only directories.

@echo off
setlocal disableDelayedExpansion

for /f "delims=" %%A in ('dir /b /ad "* (Album)*"') do (
    set "folder=%%A"
    setlocal enableDelayedExpansion

    REM rename folder

    endlocal
)

The for /f loop reads the output of the dir command and assigns each folder name to the %%A variable. We use the delims= option to disable the default delimiter, which is a space. This allows us to handle folder names that contain spaces.

Renaming Folders

Now that we have located the folders we want to rename, the next step is to rename them. We can use the ren command to rename a folder. In our case, we want to remove the ” (Album)” term from the folder name. We can achieve this using the set command to replace the term with an empty string.

@echo off
setlocal disableDelayedExpansion

for /f "delims=" %%A in ('dir /b /ad "* (Album)*"') do (
    set "folder=%%A"
    setlocal enableDelayedExpansion

    set "newFolder=!folder: (Album)=!"
    ren "!folder!" "!newFolder!"

    endlocal
)

The set command uses the syntax !variable:find=replace! to replace the ” (Album)” term with an empty string. We assign the result to a new variable called newFolder. Finally, we use the ren command to rename the folder.

Handling Subfolders

Our folders may contain one or more subfolders with the names of albums. We need to handle these subfolders as well. We can achieve this by using a recursive function that calls itself for each subfolder.

@echo off
setlocal disableDelayedExpansion

call :renameFolders "."
goto :eof

:renameFolders
pushd %1

for /f "delims=" %%A in ('dir /b /ad "* (Album)*"') do (
    set "folder=%%A"
    setlocal enableDelayedExpansion

    set "newFolder=!folder: (Album)=!"
    ren "!folder!" "!newFolder!"

    endlocal
)

for /d %%A in (*) do (
    call :renameFolders "%%A"
)

popd
goto :eof

The call :renameFolders "." command starts the recursive function with the current directory. The pushd %1 command changes the current directory to the folder specified as the argument. The popd command restores the previous directory.

Handling Errors

Our script may encounter errors, for example, if a folder is read-only or contains invalid characters. We need to handle these errors gracefully to avoid terminating the script prematurely. We can achieve this by using the if errorlevel command to check the exit code of the previous command.

@echo off
setlocal disableDelayedExpansion

call :renameFolders "."
goto :eof

:renameFolders
pushd %1 || goto :eof

for /f "delims=" %%A in ('dir /b /ad "* (Album)*"') do (
    set "folder=%%A"
    setlocal enableDelayedExpansion

    set "newFolder=!folder: (Album)=!"
    ren "!folder!" "!newFolder!"

    endlocal
)

for /d %%A in (*) do (
    call :renameFolders "%%A"
)

popd
goto :eof

The || operator executes the goto :eof command if the pushd command fails. The goto :eof command exits the current function and returns control to the caller.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Windows Batch scripting provides a powerful way to automate repetitive tasks like finding and renaming folders. We have discussed how to find and rename folders with a specific name using Windows Batch scripting. We have also discussed how to handle subfolders and errors gracefully. With these techniques, you can efficiently manage your files and folders and save time and effort.

To find and rename the folders that contain ” (Album)”, you can use the following script:

@echo off
setlocal disableDelayedExpansion

for /d %%A in (*) do (
set "folder=%%A"
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion

REM Check if the folder name ends with " (Album)"
if "!folder: (Album)=!" neq "!folder!" (
REM Extract the album name by removing the " (Album)" part
set "album=!folder: (Album)=!"
REM Rename the folder
ren "!folder!" "!album!"
)

endlocal
)

This script iterates over all the directories in the current folder and checks if the name of each directory ends with ” (Album)”. If it does, it extracts the album name by removing the ” (Album)” part and renames the folder to the album name.

Note: This script assumes that the album names do not contain parentheses. If they do, the script may not work correctly. You may need to modify the script to handle this case.

One way to express a command to locate folders that contain the term “(Album)” would be:

dir *(Album) /s /b /ad

For additional details, you can refer to the documentation by typing “dir /?” This could be the directory listing to be utilized in the for loop. I have tested it, and it should function as intended.

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
for /f "tokens=*" %%f in ('dir /s /b /ad "*(Album)"') do (
    set "filename=%%~nf"
    ren "%%f" "!filename:~0,-7!"
)