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− | You can use Vim to quickly rename many files at once. This is essentially |
+ | You can use Vim to quickly rename many files at once. The steps are: create a list of files; change the list by constructing commands to rename each file; execute the commands. This is essentially an in-memory simplistic shell script. |
+ | ==Unix shell== |
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− | == |
+ | ===Create list of files=== |
⚫ | |||
+ | Starting at a shell prompt, you can send a list of file names to the standard input of Vim by entering: |
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<pre> |
<pre> |
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\ls | vim - |
\ls | vim - |
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</pre> |
</pre> |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
+ | |||
⚫ | |||
<pre> |
<pre> |
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:%s/.*/mv -i & \L&/g |
:%s/.*/mv -i & \L&/g |
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</pre> |
</pre> |
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− | To append <tt>.orig</tt> to each |
+ | To append <tt>.orig</tt> to each file name: |
<pre> |
<pre> |
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:%s/.*/mv -i & &.orig/g |
:%s/.*/mv -i & &.orig/g |
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</pre> |
</pre> |
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− | To change all |
+ | To change all <tt>.JPEG</tt> extensions to <tt>.jpg</tt>: |
<pre> |
<pre> |
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:%s/.*/mv -i & &/g |
:%s/.*/mv -i & &/g |
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</pre> |
</pre> |
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− | You can use any Vim features here ([[VimTip398|macros]] are useful), as long as each line |
+ | You can use any Vim features here ([[VimTip398|macros]] are useful), as long as each line results in a valid shell command. |
+ | ===Execute the commands=== |
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− | ==Commit your changes to disk== |
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<pre> |
<pre> |
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:w !sh |
:w !sh |
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</pre> |
</pre> |
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− | The reason this works is Vim writes a file line-by-line. So if you |
+ | The reason this works is Vim writes a file line-by-line. So if you started with a list of 100 file names, it will execute 100 <tt>mv</tt> commands. Sure there are utilities that may do this better, but Vim is always available and that's one less thing you have to remember. |
+ | An alternative method of executing the commands is: |
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− | ==Commit your changes to disk v2== |
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<pre> |
<pre> |
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:%!bash |
:%!bash |
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</pre> |
</pre> |
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− | This will pipe the whole |
+ | This will pipe the whole buffer to the system command <tt>bash</tt>, thus executing all of the move commands. This will also replace the file with the command's output, which is useful for commands besides <tt>mv</tt>. You can also visually select a small subset of lines, and only execute those commands: |
− | |||
<pre> |
<pre> |
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:'<,'>!bash |
:'<,'>!bash |
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</pre> |
</pre> |
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− | Again, this will replace the selected lines with the command's output |
+ | Again, this will replace the selected lines with the command's output which can be useful for some commands. |
==Comments== |
==Comments== |
Revision as of 08:15, 14 May 2010
Proposed tip Please edit this page to improve it, or add your comments below (do not use the discussion page).
You can use Vim to quickly rename many files at once. The steps are: create a list of files; change the list by constructing commands to rename each file; execute the commands. This is essentially an in-memory simplistic shell script.
Unix shell
Create list of files
Starting at a shell prompt, you can send a list of file names to the standard input of Vim by entering:
\ls | vim -
The backslash tells your shell to disregard any aliases for ls; we need plain output with no color. Vim will open, displaying a list of file names.
Change to list of shell commands
In Vim you now have one file name per line. We need to change each line to be a valid stand-alone shell command.
For example, to rename the files to lowercase:
:%s/.*/mv -i & \L&/g
To append .orig to each file name:
:%s/.*/mv -i & &.orig/g
To change all .JPEG extensions to .jpg:
:%s/.*/mv -i & &/g :%s/.JPEG$/.jpg/g
To remove duplicate extensions:
:%s/.*/mv -i & &/g :%s/.jpg.jpg$/.jpg/g
You can use any Vim features here (macros are useful), as long as each line results in a valid shell command.
Execute the commands
:w !sh
The reason this works is Vim writes a file line-by-line. So if you started with a list of 100 file names, it will execute 100 mv commands. Sure there are utilities that may do this better, but Vim is always available and that's one less thing you have to remember.
An alternative method of executing the commands is:
:%!bash
This will pipe the whole buffer to the system command bash, thus executing all of the move commands. This will also replace the file with the command's output, which is useful for commands besides mv. You can also visually select a small subset of lines, and only execute those commands:
:'<,'>!bash
Again, this will replace the selected lines with the command's output which can be useful for some commands.
Comments
TO DO
- Probably should generalise by adding a section for Windows.