Advanced Renamer calculates new names for batches of files or folders before it changes the filesystem. A batch can rename items in place. It can instead copy them to another location or move the originals. The rules affect names and paths rather than file contents. This differs from Windows Rename because Advanced Renamer applies an ordered Method list to every checked item and shows the calculated result before Start Batch commits it.
A Method is one naming action
A Method adds one operation to the naming sequence. Common Method choices include Add, Replace, New Name and Script. Add inserts characters, while Replace swaps a matched pattern. New Name builds the complete result. Script supplies a programmable path. Advanced Renamer applies the Methods in list order.
Order changes the result. Removing text before replacing it can eliminate the characters that a later Replace Method expects. Moving the same Method higher or lower therefore recalculates the New Filename column even when every Method keeps the same settings.
The live New Filename column is the review point. Start Batch commits the displayed operation. A checked list with a wrong preview is already a warning because the batch uses that calculated result.
Tags can calculate values or read metadata
A tag is a placeholder inside a Method or output path. Some tags calculate a value, while others read metadata found in the selected item. Item Details lists detected metadata and the tag name that can retrieve each field.
The GPS City tag does not store a permanent city label inside every photograph. It needs embedded coordinates and an online place lookup. A file without GPS coordinates returns empty text for that tag. The chosen nearby place can also change with the configured population threshold.
Date Taken is another interpreted value. Advanced Renamer checks several metadata fields in a defined priority instead of reading one universal camera date. Mixed files can therefore derive their date text from different source fields.
Batch mode controls duplication and location
Rename changes the selected item’s name in its current location. Copy creates another item in an output folder. Move changes the item’s location. Copy and Move expose an output-folder field that accepts naming tags, and Advanced Renamer creates missing generated folder components during the batch.
A tag in the output path can therefore change directory structure as well as the final filename. Reviewing only the New Filename value can miss a generated folder path that sends material to an unexpected location.
Name collisions follow a separate rule
Two calculated results can still target the same name. The default collision behavior is Fail, which leaves colliding items unchanged. Ignore attempts the conflicting operation and can pass an error to the operating system. Other policies append a number or character. Image metadata can supply a sub-second suffix, and a tag pattern can generate another suffix.
Collision handling changes the final output after the Method list has calculated it. Advanced Renamer therefore needs a collision review separate from the naming preview.
Undo attempts to reverse filesystem work
Undo Batch can attempt to reverse an earlier rename job. It can also reverse recorded copy or move work, and the user can select only part of a recorded batch. It is not a preserved filesystem snapshot. If another program deletes or changes an item after the batch, the earlier state may no longer be available for restoration.
Disabling media analysis can make the file list load faster. Methods that depend on skipped audio, image, video or document metadata then lose those values. The speed choice changes which tags Advanced Renamer can calculate for the batch.
