Renaming using character sets

Help & Support
1

I used a particular naming structure that ended in dollar amounts for a large set of files.
I now find that more often than not, I search by amount so want to move the dollar amount to a different position within each file name to sort more easily since DOs file search is so slow. I don't want to make this change one file at a time - there's too many files to do it that way. I also can't use the easy edit functionality in DO's renaming feature because the text that precedes these dollar figures are different lengths so it doesn't line up. What is required is a way to specify/select "x" number of characters from the right, for example, and then drag or arrow-move them to the desired placement in the file name (see example below). As every amount varies, a simple insert won't do. However, I can't find (or don't have the expertise to recognize) DOs mechanism for doing something like this, if it has one. Please advise. Thx!

Example: 
Current file name: Expense 2021-07-10 VA ABC Business **$56.50**
Desired Change:  Expense **$56.50**_2021-07-10 VA ABC Business
2

What kind of search are you doing? (i.e. Which attributes are you searching for, or what are you typing as the search query.)

How slow is it?

Are you using Tools > Find Files (Opus's internal functionality) or the Search field at the top right (Windows Search, which can use indexing but can also be slow in non-indexed folders, and tends to search contents by default)?

If you just want to search for strings in filenames then it shouldn't be slow, unless there's a huge number of files/folders to search through (e.g. searching the whole C drive instead of just the invoices folder(s) would be quite slow).

You can also find all the files that might match (or use Flat View on their parent folder) and then use filtering to find particular files and hide the others, which is very fast.

The Rename dialog's macro editing mode lets you anchor the cursor and selection positions to the right as well as the left. Push End twice while editing the New Name column in the preview list to right-align things.

But that will still only work if all the things you want to move are the same number of characters. If you had values like $100.00, $50.00 and $5.00 then you'd need something more complex. Similarly if the position each value is going to move to on the left is not in the same place in each name.

If the lengths and positions all vary for each file, you'd be better off using wildcards or regular expressions to move the files.

Moving the last word starting with $ to the position after the 2nd word would be easy to do using regexp, but we'd need more example filenames to get the regex right. One isn't enough to see all the different patterns and potential issues.

Do the files really not have any extensions, or was that missing from the example? I'm assuming the ** characters are just for emphasis and not there in the real names.

Do you want an underscore adding after the dollar amount? Only if there's a date as the second word, or regardless?

Or does the dollar amount need to be moved in front of a date, which may not always be the second word?

(Edit: I'm also not sure that moving the dollar amount around in the filename will speed up searching. It shouldn't make any real difference.)

3

Thank you for the speedier than expected reply.

You have resolved my problem by eliminating the need to make the change. LOL!
I was using the upper-right search field. I wasn't even aware of the Tools-->Find Files function.
While there are times I might want to specify to change or insert at X position right or left, I can save that training for another day because it sounds more complex that I can focus on processing right now. I needed a quick solution to hit a deadline I'm up against. Until then, finding this solution initially difficult as much from not knowing the words to use to search for there answer. Is there a specific help text that I can bookmark for later to learn more about using "expressions" to change file names.(If yes, please provide link or words to search with.) I'm intrigued by your explanation, even if I don't fully understand it yet. My head is full of all sorts of fancy formulas and coding for Access and Excel but how I'd translate that knowledge into renaming in DO I have no idea....Anyway, thanks again for your help.. Though I'm still learning DO as each new situation presents itself, I really enjoy the product and appreciate the stellar support.

4

If Windows Search is slow, it's usually because it's searching file contents in folders that haven't been indexed. You can put filename: before the search string to stop that, although it's easier to use Tools > Find Files than to type that every time. :smiley:

The "Opus Manual" menu at the top-right of this page has quick links to the wildcard and regex syntax.

5

Much appreciated!!!