Debian Package of the Day (static archived copy)

Entry submitted by Matej Urbančič. DPOTD needs your help, please contribute!

Quick overview

KRename is a powerful batch renaming tool for KDE that allows to rename lots of files in one step. The design of the program is suitable for both advanced and novice users.

Program description

KRename supports batch renaming of files based on a set of predefined and adjustable expressions. It can also copy or move the files to another destination. Among the most notable operations are: case-toggling of file names, numbering and powerful finding and replacing. It supports changing access and modification dates, permissions, and file ownership. It can work recursively. The more demanding audience can do magic with the support for regular expressions. It can be used in tabbed mode or the more comfortable wizard mode, whatever you prefer, when sorting your picture collection, music library or project files.

KRename follows the paradigm of console based commands that can really be used for any purpose. Since not all of us feel comfortable writing our own scripts, such tools really are a perfect replacement. The biggest advantage of KRename is surely its simple and straightforward interface and a great set of possibilities, which gives power even to not so knowledgeable users.

The tabbed mode includes four tabs. On the first tab we select files and directories in many different view modes and sort options, and through support for global KDE file types we can actually see which files are being changed. We need to define what should the program do with the locations of the files in the second tab. Usually we rename existing files in some directory, but the program can also move them to another location. The third tab defines the plug-ins to be used for some special operations, such as using data extracted from the file to determine its new name (it supports avi, ogg, pdf, jpg, bmp, mp3, deb, rpm, emails, etc), changing permissions.

In the last tab we define what exactly we want to do with the settings we selected and how to shape the file name. There are many predefined sets of expressions, but we can also make our own. KRename supports regular expressions, which can really make a difference.

For the wizard mode, the first two steps are very similar to the first two tabs, whereas the third —and last— step combines the other two tabs in a simpler interface.

Screenshots

Tabs view:

Wizard view (last step):

Additional Information

In the homepage you can find a support forum, and more screenshots. It is programmed in C++, using the Qt/KDE framework, and has been integrated in Krusader and the Konqueror file manager.

It has been available in Debian and Ubuntu since a long time ago.