2004.08_Krename-File or Batch Renaming and Permission Changing.pdf

LINUX USER

KTools

Move and Rename

“The batch renamer for KDE 3.x”, this is how the KRename KDE tool describes

itself. However, it can do more than the name suggests: from simple file

renaming, to permission modifications for as many files as you like – all at one

fell swoop. BY STEFANIE TEUFEL

and easily done, assuming you

just need to rename a couple of

files. Renaming a large number of files

and directories is more time-consuming.

Thanks to KRename, users can leverage

the power of a batch renamer with the

typical KDE look & feel to modify a list of

filenames by reference to a user-defin-

able template.

There is more to come: KRename can

also copy or move files to another direc-

tory, renaming either the target or source

files. A single mouse click allows you to

change filename capitalization, add

numbers, and search and replace strings

within filenames. Finally, KRename also

supports changes to the last accessed, or

last modified timestamps, file permis-

sions and ownership.

You can download the latest version of

this useful tool from the project home-

page at http://www.krename.net/3.0.

html . As the program is under active

development, you will also find the cur-

rent developer version at the same place.

This article is based on the current stable

version 2.8.5.

In addition to the sources, the develop-

ers also have RPM packages for most

major distributions, so installing the tool

should not pose any problems. If the

download section does not have a pack-

age for your system, follow the normal

steps, configure; make; make install , to

build KRename from source code. You

will need to point the program in the

direction of your KDE directories by set-

ting the KDEDIRS environment variable,

for example:

to select a user interface (see Figure 1).

Keep the default, Use wizard style GUI

(beginners) , if you want KRename to dis-

play a whole bunch of dialogs to guide

you through the rename process.

After getting used to the program, you

can switch to Use tabbed GUI (advanced

users) in Settings | Configure KRename…

| Look and Feel to group the dialogs

described in the following sections as

tabs in a single window.

Ta k e a quick look at the KRename

function in the preferences dialog. If you

check the Add KRename to konquerors

context menu checkbox, you will not

need to launch the program in future.

Instead, you can simply select the

Rename with krename context menu

entry in KDE file dialogs, and in Kon-

queror. This menu appears when you

right click a file that you want to rename.

Adding Files for Renaming

Before you can rename files, you need to

add them to the list in the dialog box.

export KDEDIRS=/opt/kde3:/usr U

/local/kde

After completing the install, you can

either launch KRename via the Tools |

Krename entry in the K menu, or by typ-

ing krename in your favorite terminal

emulation. When you launch KRename

for the first time, the program asks you

KTools

Figure 1: Beginners should opt for the Wizard.

In this column we present tools, month by

month, which have proven to be especially

useful when working under KDE, solve a

problem which otherwise is deliberately

ignored, or are just some of the nicer things

in life, which – once discovered – you would

not want to do without.

Figure 2: Use this dialog to specify what to do

with the original files.

August 2004

www.linux-magazine.com

Modifying filenames and attributes with KRename

R enaming files is a common task

KTools

LINUX USER

Figure 3: KRename’s functionality is extensible thanks to a huge selection of

plug-ins.

Figure 6: After renaming, the PNG image filenames include bit depth

information.

There are various approaches to doing

this. You can click the Add files… button

to fill the empty list using the file section

dialog. You can select one file or multiple

files. Clicking Add directory… will add

the total content of the directory to your

list. If you prefer, you can simply drag &

drop files into the list. After completing

your selection, the next step, after click-

ing the Next button, is to specify a target

location for the renamed files. Again

there are a number of options (see Figure

2): Rename input files renames the origi-

nal files in the list, Copy files to

destination directory keeps the original

names, but moves the files to the target

directory and renames the copies.

If you opt for Move files to destination

directory , the original files are moved to

the target directory and then renamed.

The fourth option Create symbolic links

in destination directory keeps the origi-

nal files in their original location, as

KRename simply sets up symbolic links

for the files in the target directory.

If you click on the Finish button after

selecting a target, you are in for a

surprise (see Figure 3). KRename uses

KDE plug-in technology. Depending on

your KDE version, you should have a

selection of various plug-ins at this stage.

PNG-Info or the Picture Plugin can be

extremely useful when renaming files, as

you will see shortly. To load a plug-in,

select the plug-in from the list on the left,

and check the Use this plugin checkbox.

Then go on to click Finish .

templates, that is text strings with

control characters that tell the program

how to rename the files. You can click on

Functions to view an explanation of the

wildcard characters (see Figure 4).

Entering a number sign # in the Te m -

plate text box tells the KRename to add a

serial number to the selected files. The

more number signs you add, the more

digits the serial number will have. The

program pads out the remaining digits

with zeros.

Be careful when renaming files: you

can not change the file extension by

default, as KRename will reapply the

original extension after renaming. There

is a workaround for this: simply uncheck

the Use extension of the input file check-

box . You can now add your new

template for the file extension in the

Template text box.

Templates

This finally takes you to the screen

where you can rename your files in a

single batch process. KRename uses

Figure 4: Using wildcards to define a template for

renaming files.

Figure 5: KRename can add this characteristic of a

PNG file to the filename.

An Alternative Approach to

Plug-ins

After selecting a plug-in, you can select

Functions in this dialog box to inspect

the functions provided by the plug-in.

KRename allows you to view the func-

tionality of any plug-in that you have

loaded. Figure 5 shows PNG-Info as an

example. You can select [BitDepth] , for

example, and then click on Add , KRe-

name will add the bit depth to the name

of any PNG image files you have selected

(see Figure 6).

■

GLOSSARY

Symbolic link: If you need the same file at

two different locations in the filesystem tree

(where the files can have different names),

you do not need to create a copy. Instead, you

can enter the “ln -s” command at the desired

location to create a link to the file. If you

delete the original file later, the symbolic link

becomes orphaned.

Batch: This is a term from the early days of

data processing where punch cards were used

to control commands running on computers.

Operators used to feed a “batch” of cards to

the card reader, which would process them

sequentially. Today, the term “batch” refers to

a collection of commands and functions

processed sequentially (and typically auto-

matically) by a program.

www.linux-magazine.com

August 2004

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