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REN - Rename files or subdirectories

 
 Purpose:    Rename files or subdirectories. 
             
 Format:     REN [/A:[[-]rhsda] /E /N /P /Q /S /T] old_name ... new_name 
                 or 
             RENAME [/A:[[-]rhsda] /E /N /P /Q /S /T] old_name ... 
             new_name 
             
             old_name :  Original name of the file(s) or subdirectory. 
             new_name :  New name to use, or new path on the same drive. 
             
             /A: (Attribute select)          /Q(uiet) 
             /E (No error messages)          /S(ubdirectory) 
             /N(othing)                      /T(otal) 
             /P(rompt) 
 
 See also:  COPY and MOVE. 
 File Selection 
 Supports extended wildcards, ranges, multiple file names, and include 
 lists. 
 Usage 
 REN and RENAME are synonyms.  You may use either one. 
 REN lets you change the name of a file or a subdirectory, or move one or 
 more files to a new subdirectory on the same drive.  (If you want to move 
 files to a different drive, use MOVE.) 
 In its simplest form, you give REN the old_name of an existing file or 
 subdirectory and then a new_name.  The new_name must not already exist -- 
 you can't give two files the same name (unless they are in different 
 directories).  The first example renames the file MEMO.TXT to MEM.TXT. 
  The second example changes the name of the \WORD directory to \WP : 

 
         [c:\] rename memo.txt mem.txt
         [c:\] rename \word \wp
 
 
 If you use REN to rename a directory, the extended directory search 
 database will be automatically updated to reflect the change. 
 When you rename files on an HPFS drive, you must quote any file names 
 which contain whitespace or special characters.  See File Names for 
 additional details. 
 You can also use REN to rename a group of files that you specify with 
 wildcards, as multiple files, or in an include list.  When you do, the 
 new_name must use one or more wildcards to show what part of each 
 filename to change.  Both of the next two examples change the extensions 
 of multiple files to .SAV : 

 
         [c:\] ren config.sys autoexec.bat 4start.btm *.sav
         [c:\] ren *.txt *.sav
 
 
 REN can move files to a different subdirectory on the same drive.  When 
 it is used for this purpose, REN requires one or more filenames for the 
 old_name and a directory name for the new_name : 

 
         [c:\] ren memo.txt \wp\memos\
         [c:\] ren oct.dat nov.dat \data\save\
 
 
 The final backslash in the last two examples is optional.  If you use it, 
 you force REN to recognize the last argument as the name of a directory, 
 not a file.  The advantage of this approach is that if you accidentally 
 mistype the directory name, REN will report an error instead of renaming 
 your files in a way that you didn't intend. 
 Finally, REN can move files to a new directory and change their name at 
 the same time if you specify both a path and file name for new_name.  In 
 this example, the files are renamed with an extension of .SAV as they are 
 moved to a new directory: 

 
         [c:\] ren *.dat \data\save\*.sav
 
 
 You cannot rename a subdirectory to a new location on the directory tree. 
 
 REN does not change a file's attributes.  The new_name file(s) will have 
 the same attributes as old_name. 
 Options 
    /A::    (Attribute select) Select only those files that have the 
            specified attribute(s) set.  Preceding the attribute character 
            with a hyphen [-] will select files that do not have that 
            attribute set.  The colon [:] after /A is required.  The 
            attributes are: 
               R  Read-only 
               H  Hidden 
               S  System 
               D  Subdirectory 
               A  Archive 
 
 If no attributes are listed at all (e.g., REN /A: ...), REN will select 
 all files and subdirectories including hidden and system files.  If 
 attributes are combined, all the specified attributes must match for a 
 file to be selected.  For example, /A:RHS will select only those files 
 with all three attributes set. /E:(No error messages) Suppress all 
 non-fatal error messages, such as "File Not Found."  Fatal error 
 messages, such as "Drive not ready," will still be displayed.  This 
 option is most useful in batch files. /N:(Nothing) Do everything except 
 actually rename the file(s).  This option is useful for testing what a 
 REN command will actually do. /P:(Prompt) Prompt the user to confirm each 
 rename operation.  Your options at the prompt are explained in detail 
 under Page and File Prompts. /Q:(Quiet) Don't display filenames or the 
 number of files renamed.  This option is most often used in batch files. 
  See also /T. /S:(Subdirectory) Normally, you can rename a subdirectory 
 only if you do not use any wildcards in the new_name.  This prevents 
 subdirectories from being renamed inadvertently when a group of files is 
 being renamed with wildcards.  /S will let you rename a subdirectory even 
 when you use wildcards.  /S does not cause REN to process files in the 
 current directory and all subdirectories as it does in some other file 
 processing commands.  To rename files throughout a directory tree, use a 
 GLOBAL REN. /T:(Total) Don't display filenames as they are renamed, but 
 report the number of files renamed.  See also /Q. 

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