A word of caution about file extensions (.doc, .pdf, .html, .txt, etc). DO NOT CHANGE THEM! Unless, of course, you know what you’re doing. Changing an extension while changing a file name can cause big problems with files and apps. So be careful when renaming files.

@Michael, good point. I plan on having a short post on what file extensions are, and when it would be safe to change them, as well as why. I was hoping in most cases, people have the default pref, which is that they can not see the .ext, so they do not have a simple way to even change it.

Thanks for the comment.

Check out MassReplaceIt too. It lets you batch rename file names, or extensions and even lets you batch replace text within files themselves. You can also save the search and replace commands, so if you repeatedly rename files this app is perfect.

http://www.hexmonkeysoftware.com/

You can also do batch renaming with the example scripts included with AppleScript, or use those as a base to make your own customized batch renaming scripts. Even if you’re not a programmer at heart, AppleScript is fairly easy to figure out with a few minutes of logical thinking applied.

You can also change the name by Get Info – *I

I work full time as a Mac guy these days and love it. But, my biggest gripe is the finder. The interface and UI needs to be addressed to make it easier to use.

@Paul, if you have specific issues, please do point them out. Perhaps we can cover a post that suggests methods and workaround to others. As of 10.5, I can no longer complain about the slowness of it. I certainly have issues with some aspects, but it is improving.

Happy to …
I will put together a list here but in fairness, the windows explorer interface is better in this case – it is just easier for people to find files in Explorer then in Finder. Cut, copy paste etc and knowing which folder files are going into is much better in the windows model.
Strange that really, considering the mac product is so superior.

@Paul, there are some methods I want to cover in regards to how to change Finder prefs to alleviate what you are talking about. Defaults make it challenging to get two windows open at the same time. This makes it hard to visualize a move of a file from one location to another.

Once you wrap your head around SpotLight, and I would say to not even bother in 10.4, but in 10.5 Leopard, it is quite a useful search tool.

More to come, thanks for the comments.

I’m late to the party, but glad to find you and all your precious advice. I have a question related to this post about file names. Is there a way to rename more than one file at once? Like, if I have a dozen files called “accounting1″ to “accounting12″ and I now want to call them “books 2007-1″ to “books 2007-12″? There must be another way than having to rename them one by one but I can’t seem to find it.

@pat, there are a few ways to batch rename files in the Finder, none of them are really built into OS X, the nerdy way would be in the terminal, but we will not put that on you

If you want a standalone app, there is Name Mangler which as far as I can tell is free still.

If you want a very simple method, you can use an Automator Action, which is more something built into OS X. I have used this one for ages, and it works well for me.

thanks much, bro

There IS a way to batch rename and it’s comes with the system: Automator.

@Mark, uhm, yeah, I believe that is more or less what I said:

If you want a very simple method, you can use an Automator Action, which is more something built into OS X. I have used this one for ages, and it works well for me.

I apologize for not knowing if the ‘return key’ is the ‘enter key’, the backspace key or something else. I’ve tried both of your suggested methods of renaming folders and have had no success. The folder’s properties read only box can be manually unchecked, but the computer immediately checks it. Suggestions from other websites have not been successful either. Please help. Bud

Hi, all. Nice site…I really like your site ! Good job man.

Is there a way to protect a folder I made with a password so that only I can get into it?

@Colleen There are a few third party applications that can do this. However, you probably do not want to apply a password to a folder.

Most of those methods are easily breakable, and do not offer much security. Apple has a built in method to create a secure disk image, which is more or less a virtual disk, but you can consider it a folder for all intents and purposes.

In your Utilities folder, open “Disk Utility” and click on the “New Image” button. This will pop open a panel that looks like this.

You should be able to see the changes that I have made. Choosing 128 bit over 256 bit should be more than sufficient for most home users needs. Both are secure, 256 bits come at the expense of some performance. 128 bit, with a strong password, will take years and years for someone to crack.

The only troubling part of this is that you have to chose the size of the disk image you are about to make. 10MB is as small as you are allowed. You will end up with a 10MB disk image that you can store anything you want inside. However, if you ever need to store more than 10MB, you will be out of luck.

This size problem is easy enough to solve, just create a new larger disk image, and copy your old files to it.

An alternative is to create the format as a read/write sparse image. This will allow you to make it a minimum of 10MB, but also allow the disk image to dynamically grow to whatever size you desire.

When you click “Create”, you will be asked to enter in a password. Enter it in twice, to make sure you have it correct. You are now left with a single file, in this case, called “secret-folder.dmg”.

Opening that will open a virtual disk, that you can treat as a folder. You will be asked for a password to do so. I suggest not saving it in your keychain.

When you are done, and want to lock up your files, just drag the disk image icon to the trash, but keep the .dmg file, that is where your secret files are.

You are free to move and store this dmg file anywhere you like. It is a single secure file that can contain files and folders, just like any other files and folder. You can safely ftp, email, and transfer it to other Mac’s, and it will be openable on those machines with the correct password.

I am planning on keeping a secure disk image one on a USB thumb drive, specifically the OCZ Rally 2 series. I feel confident, that as long as my password is not in a dictionary, and is not guessable by anyone, that my most guarded secrets would be safe.

You may want to read our Understanding file downloads and their remnants, in order to get an understanding of how dmg files work before you embark on this.

This is a question we get frequently, if I have some time, I will try to clean up this reply, and turn it into a more detailed post for others.

Hope that helps.

Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to write that all out! I will take your advice and read up on the file downloads/remnants first to make sure I have a better idea of what I’m doing but your directions are great! One last question…what is my “keychain?”

@Colleen, your keychain is where OS X stores your passwords. Any time the system asks you if you want to remember a password, that is where it is stored. If you are trying to secure files, it does not make much sense to store the password in the keychain, as it would automatically open for anyone who was able to gain access to your computer.

I wanted to mention that if the delay for renaming a file is too long you can change it in preferences. Apple has tied it to the double-click speed in the mouse preferences…how ingenious. If your delay is long then double-clicking to rename has to be long; if your delay is set to it’s shortest then you have a very short double-click delay.

iMovie puts Events into “folders” labelled with years. Is there any way to rename one of these, since mine is putting videos shot in 2006 into a folder labelled 2002? I asked a guy at Apple telephone support, and he didn’t know the right name for these “folders” (identified by boxy yellow icons) or how to rename them.

Thanks! You’re awesome! The return works. Been driving me crazy.

Why is the file extension selected on some files when you try to change the file name and how to make it go away? Cheers

Hi, Is there a way of renaming a file you have opened and are working in? My question relates to photo files that all have numbers. If I’m in the file and can see the photo, I know what to call it. But I don’t want to have to exit the file just to give it a name. Thanks.

@Jim, there are a few ways to deal with this, none of them ideal, as you are already in the file.

First is “Save As” which will allow you to save the file you are in with a new name. However, you then will need to go back into the Finder, locate the old file and then delete it.

OS X does have the ability to show rather large icons. One thing you could do would be to sit the view options to icon, and change the icon size to as large as possible, around 512 x 512. You should be able to see the file within the Finder at a size that will allow you to rename it based on the content of the file.

Neither method is ideal. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to use a photo management application such as iPhoto, or if you need something more professional, look to the paid organizers and editors. Photo apps such as these will allow you to rename the file from within the application, or, in my opinion, a better aspect is that they don’t rely on the filename at all. Simply import, tag, name etc, never even worry about where the files are on your computer, let alone the name of the actual file.

Hi Scott, Thanks for the tips. I’ve been doing “Save As,” but it’s cumbersome. I wonder why OSX doesn’t provide this simple convenience. I also wonder why Photoshop won’t allow us to save in JPEG. Again, you have to do a “Save As” to get what you want. Re the photo apps, I have all the major ones plus others, but am too old and too lazy to get involved in elaborate organization and file naming.