Moving files to another folder

ReNamer can move files and folders to a different location as part of the renaming process. You can move everything to a single target folder, or distribute files into multiple folders based on their properties.

Moving to a folder

To move items to a different folder, include the target folder path in the new name. You can use either an absolute path (e.g. C:\Example\) or a relative path (e.g. ..\Example\).

For example, to move a set of files to C:\New Folder, add an Insert rule with C:\New Folder\ as the prefix. The preview will show:

Proceed with renaming as usual. If the target folder does not already exist, ReNamer will create it automatically.

Tip: Make the New Path column visible in the files table to see the resolved destination for each item. This is especially useful with relative paths, since ReNamer will display the fully resolved absolute path.

Sorting files into multiple folders

Instead of moving all files to a single folder, you can distribute them into different folders based on their properties — sometimes called binning. To do this, use a meta tag in the path instead of a hard-coded folder name.

You can build a folder hierarchy in a single operation by using multiple meta tags in the path. Folders that do not exist will be created automatically.

For example, inserting :EXIF_Date:\ as a prefix will group photos into subfolders named by their capture date. Inserting :MP3_Artist:\:MP3_Album:\ will group music files into nested subfolders by artist and album.

Copying files

A normal renaming operation moves files by modifying their path. Copying is different, it involves creating a duplicate of the file, and is not supported directly.

However, to achieve the same effect, duplicate your files first using an external tool such as Windows Explorer and then rename the copies in ReNamer as usual.