Renaming Multiple Files Present In A Folder In Windows Form Applicaion

Introduction

Today I got scenario where I have to rename 100+ files with their names starting with XYZ_ and my task is to replace that XYZ_ with  ABC_. But I don't have that luxury to spend around 1-2 hours on renaming the files. So I find a way to rename the files through codding.

I made an application that is capable of replacing some text with your desired text.

Find the patten in the below image which thing I want to replace.

Files wth a prifix of XYZ_

This is a folder present in "E:\Test\Files" directory of my computer. As you can see the files present there in the above image you can find that all the files have a prefix of XYZ_ that needs to be changed to ABC_.

So if I go to change this by selecting all for renaming then it does not work it renames all the files with what I typed.

I tried to find out a standard solutions from the web but did not find one suitable and efficient one. So I developed a windows application to do the job. And here it is.  

   Download Source Code Here

Behind The Scene

Find the below image how I want the output.

When "XYZ_" replaced with "ABC_"

In order to do this I choose Windows application where I took two Text Boxes, those take the input from the user for replacement work. Find the below image and then I will explain what control does what ?

The Form with all the controls

* Find Text will take the text which you want to replace.
* Replace Text will take the text which will be replaced.
* Select File Type will give you to the option to select the type of file you want to rename.
* Rename Files button will open a folder selection dialog to select the respective folder you want. 

When you click on the Rename Files button with appropriate inputs then a folder selection dialog will be opened like below where you need to select the folder.

Folder selection Dialog

OK, now we are done with the design part. lets move to the codding part. Once you click on the  Rename Files button it will invoke the btnRename_Click event.

private void btnRename_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
      {
          //
          // This event handler was created by double-clicking the window in the designer.
          // It runs on the program's startup routine.
          //
          DialogResult result = folderBrowserDialog1.ShowDialog();

          if (result == DialogResult.OK)
          {
              int count = 0;
              lblError.Text = string.Empty;

              // This will get the folder you have selected.
              DirectoryInfo d = new DirectoryInfo(folderBrowserDialog1.SelectedPath);

              // Check if the Dropdown has some value or not.
              if (cmbFileType.SelectedText != "Select")
              {
                  try
                  {
                      // get only those files with an extension of the selected one.
                      FileInfo[] infos = d.GetFiles("*" + cmbFileType.SelectedItem.ToString());

                      // Make a loop to replace and rename the files.
                      foreach (FileInfo f in infos)
                      {
                          // Do the renaming here
                          File.Move(f.FullName, Path.Combine(f.DirectoryName, 
                          txtReplaceText.Text.Trim() + f.Name.Replace(txtFindText.Text.Trim(),"")));
                          count++;
                      }

                      // Show alert if no file with the selected extension is present.
                      if (infos.Count() == 0)
                      {
                          lblError.Text = "Destination folder has no " + " ' " 
                          + cmbFileType.SelectedItem.ToString() + " ' files.";
                      }
                      //Show success alert.
                      else if (count == infos.Count())
                      {
                          lblError.Text = "All ' " 
                          + cmbFileType.SelectedItem.ToString() + " ' files in '" 
                          + d +
                              " ' folder whose name contains a text of ' " + txtFindText.Text.Trim() +  
                              " ' has been replaced with ' " + txtReplaceText.Text.Trim() + " '.";
                      }
                  }
                  catch (Exception ex)
                  {
                      lblError.Text = "Some error occured";
                  }
              }
              else
              {
                  lblError.Text = "Please select a file type first.";
              }
          }
      }
  }

What I am doing in the above code ???

1. In the above method I am getting the folder name from the the folder selection dialog and creating a DirectoryInfo .
2. Selecting all the files with the extension selected from the combo box.
3. Making a loop to replace the intended text with the desired text.
4. Then show appropriate alert message to the user.

If you want to download the demo project then you can download it from the above download link.

Happy Coding...