How to Rename Multiple Files at Once on Mac

If you just transferred 400 photographs from your digital camera to your Mac, they will likely be named completely useless, generic strings generated by the camera’s internal software (e.g., IMG_9042.jpg, IMG_9043.jpg). If you want to change all 400 files to say “Hawaii Vacation 1”, you do not need to slowly right-click and rename every single photograph individually. Apple built a massive, incredibly powerful batch-renaming utility directly into the macOS Finder, allowing you to instantly rename thousands of files simultaneously.

How to Access the Batch Rename Tool

The batch renaming engine is completely hidden inside the standard right-click context menu.

1. Open the Finder application and navigate to the folder containing all your poorly named files.
2. Highlight every single file you want to rename. (You can click the first file, hold Shift, and click the last file, or simply press Cmd + A to Select All).
3. Right-click on any one of the highlighted files.
4. Select Rename… from the drop-down menu.

Formatting the New Filenames

A powerful, floating dialog box will appear near the top of the Finder window, offering several ways to modify the names.

5. Click the drop-down menu at the extreme top left of the dialog box and change it from “Replace Text” to Format.
6. In the “Name Format” drop-down menu, select Name and Index.
7. In the “Where” drop-down menu, ensure it is set to after name.
8. In the “Custom Format” text box, type your desired master name (e.g., Hawaii Vacation). Crucial tip: Type a single space at the end of the word so the numbers don’t bunch up against the text.

Executing the Rename

Look at the bottom left corner of the dialog box. Finder will show you a live preview of exactly what the first file will look like (e.g., Hawaii Vacation 1.jpg).

9. If the preview looks correct, click the blue Rename button on the right side.

The Finder will instantly rip through the folder, renaming all 400 files simultaneously and perfectly numbering them in sequential order. A tedious two-hour chore is completed in two seconds.