Rename multiple Google Drive files at once

Renaming a folder or file in Google Drive is easy. The challenge comes when you need to do this to several items and doing them manually one by one is tedious and time-consuming.

This is where Folgo's Rename files feature comes in. It lets you easily rename bulk items all at once in a snap!

Steps on renaming folders

1. Initialize the rename feature.

Once Folgo in Google Drive (press the icon on the right sidebar) and click Rename files.

2. Select the files or folders to rename

You’ll see the message: “Select at least one file to rename.”

The pointing finger indicates that you need to select the target files or folders directly in Google Drive, not in the Folgo sidebar.

To select multiple items quickly, click and drag your mouse over the files or folders you want to include. Folgo can process large selections, so you can select as many items as needed.

Tip:

You can also click the first item, hold Shift, then use the up or down arrow keys to extend your selection.
To select a continuous range, click the first item, hold Shift, then click the last item. Everything in between will be selected.
To select multiple non-adjacent items, hold Ctrl and click each file or folder you want to select.

3. Choose a Renaming type

Depending on your needs, you can choose:

Search & replace: Select existing words or characters in the title, then replace them with your chosen text.
Rename full title: Replace the entire file or folder title.
Insert before/after title: Add words or characters before or after the file or folder title.

Note: After entering the words or characters you want to insert, press Tab on your keyboard to leave the text field. This helps Folgo save and apply your entry correctly.

4. Supplementary renaming options

Depending on what you want to rename, you can choose one or more options:

Include subfolders & files: Apply the renaming rule to the selected folder, its subfolders, and the files inside them.
Exclude folders: Rename files only. Folder names will stay unchanged.
Exclude files: Rename folders only. File names will stay unchanged.

5. Activate the renaming process.

Click “Rename” to start the renaming process. Processing time depends on the number of files and folders selected. Once the operation is complete, Folgo will generate a spreadsheet report with the details of your changes.

Info: You will receive an email when your renaming job is finished.

Tip: Once the renaming process has started, you can safely close Folgo, Google Drive, your browser, or even your computer. Folgo continues processing in the background.

Important notes on Sharing settings or File Restrictions

If you have read-access to files or folders, but the file owner restricted their Sharing Settings - preventing you from renaming them, then Folgo won’t be able to rename them either. The accompanying Process report will indicate whether or not Folgo was able to rename each of your folders/files.

In our example below, a user/member was assigned a Commenter role and he tried to rename a file. Folgo will process the request - but will show in the Process report that the request to rename the file was denied:

NEW NAME - Blank
STATUS - ERROR (Access denied: DriveApp)

To fix this, ask the folder/files owner to change the Sharing Settings (if applicable). Learn more about this in Google’s article on how to stop, limit, or change sharing.