Renaming files

Summary

There are several ways to change the appearance of the filename and add/remove separator characters after which you can easily modify sections to suite your own taste of how the filename must become.
If you want to see the result of the current action then you can preview the result with the 'Preview' button. If you don't like what has changed then you can go back by choosing 'Undo'. The 'Rename' button actually changes the filenames physically and these changes will be permanent. You should only use the 'Rename' button until you are completely satisfied with the result you see.
Note: Remember that 'Undo' does not go back one step at a time but it will take you back to the very beginning.
The way of changing a filename is divided into changing text and switching sections which will be explained next. For adding/changing/removing text you use the functions on the 'Change' tab and for switching sections you choose the 'Switch' tab.

The 'Change' tab

Functions on the 'Change' tab

Add/replace/remove characters or text

If no text is entered it will not be used. The second field 'by' is optional which means that if the second field is empty, the text entered in the first field will be replaced by nothing. Default is case-insensitive.
If the text to be replaced needs to be case-sensitive, check the corresponding checkbox to the right.
If multiple occurences of the text must be replaced, check the 'Multiple' checkbox to the right. If not checked it will replace the first found character(s) only.
Trick:
If you prefer to use the underscore then you can use this approach to exchange the space character ' ' with '_' and select 'Multiple' after automatic formatting until the program has been updated to define your own, see the picture below.

Remove sections

If the filename contains separator characters then you can use this to remove an unwanted section. For this to work you need at least one separator character (hence two sections), otherwise you would end up with an empty filename. You will get a warning if you try to do this with only one section and any action will be aborted.

Add track number

If you want to add a track number without the use of the 'Format box' below, then a tracknumber will be added at the front of the filename, starting with the given number and it will go through the selection from top to bottom as it appears at the moment of action.
If the order of filenames (and therefore the follow-up of track numbers) is not correct as they appear in the list then you can drag the number in the first column to move the filename to the correct position.

Using automatic formatting

If desired, you can use automatic formatting to make the filename look better. It can do a variety of things, for instance:
If 'Remove text up to numbers' has been checked then all text from the front up to the first encountered number will be removed. This can sometimes be useful with very long filenames.
If 'All words caps' has been checked, every word will be capitalised in the complete filename.
If 'Selected format' is active:
The character '_' will be replaced by the separator character '-'.
The separator character will be surrounded by spaces.
The section 'Artist' will be capitalised for every word.
The section 'Title' will only be capitalised on the first word of the entire title section (unless you select 'All words caps').
If a track number is in the 'Selected format' then the given track number will be added in the corresponding section.
Note: The above features are hard-coded at this time. It is on our wishlist to make it as flexibel as possible and therefore in the future it will be possible to change it to whatever you like.
Another way of renaming your files is using the ID3 tags. If the mouse cursor is hovering over the filelist and when you click the right mouse button, you choose the first function 'Tag -> Filename'. See the pictures below.
With the function 'Tag -> Filename' in combination with the chosen format you can rename your files fast and easy. For information about entering pre-set formats see Entering data automatically for details.
In the above case the filename will be build with the Artist name and Title from the ID3 tag. At the moment it is not yet possible to build directorie names out of tags. This is however on the wishlist of desired funtions.
Hint: You need to be sure that your ID3 tags are filled out correctly before starting this operation. If something went wrong you can always go back with the 'Undo' button, but this will take you back to the very beginning of all changes.

The 'Switch' tab

Switching sections

With this you can turn the filename upside down using the separator characters. It is best to do this one step at a time. That is, you switch only two sections instead of five at the same time because that would easily lead to mistakes. With every step you can see the results with the 'Preview' button (as mentioned before there is no need to use the 'Rename' button until you are completely satisfied with the result). If you are not satisfied then you can go back with the 'Undo' button.
Easily switching sections
The preformats '1-2-X-X-X' etcetera as shown in the picture above are only there for convenience and quick change of the settings. You may choose any position but they must be crossed in columns, as pairs and rightly numbered according the given examples below.
The colors shown in the examples below have the following meaning:
Right combination: Green
Wrong combination: Red
These are possible examples not added to the pre-formats list:
Example 1:
Filename before switching: 1-X-X-2-X
Filename after  switching: 2-X-X-1-X
Example 2:
Filename before switching: 1-2-4-3-X
Filename after  switching: 4-3-1-2-X
Here are some examples which are not possible. They do not come as pairs, are not equally crossed or are wrongly numbered:
Example 3 (wrongly crossed in columns):
Filename before switching: 1-X-X-2-X
Filename after  switching: 2-1-X-X-X
Example 4 (wrongly crossed in columns and wrongly numbered):
Filename before switching: X-1-X-2-X
Filename after  switching: X-2-3-X-X
Example 5 (wrongly numbered):
Filename before switching: X-1-2-X-X
Filename after  switching: X-2-3-X-X
Example 6 (not equally paired and wrongly numbered):
Filename before switching: 1-2-4-3-X
Filename after  switching: 4-3-1-2-X
It is not really necessary to select something different than the pre-formatted sections and it is time-taking to do so too.