PowerRename does not select any files to rename

[hareesh-kumar]

Microsoft PowerToys version

0.91.1

Installation method

PowerToys auto-update

Area(s) with issue?

PowerRename

Steps to reproduce

Open a folder with files to rename
Right click and select Rename with PowerRename
On the PowerRename window, enter the search text.
Enter the Replacement characters
Nothing gets selected to rename

✔️ Expected Behavior

All the file names that match the search text needs to get selected and the Renamed preview should display the renamed file name.

❌ Actual Behavior

Nothing is selected and the Apply button is disabled.

Additional Information

Windows 11 24H2
OS Build 26100.4351

Other Software

No response

[daverayment]

Hi @hareesh-kumar. Your regex is incorrect. To match all files called "unnamed[something]", please use:

unnamed.*

(Note the dot before the asterisk, which matches any character.)

Your regular expression matches the literal text "unname" and then zero or more "d" characters.

regex101.com is a good place to try out regular expressions.

Alternatively, if you don't need to reference the matched string in your target filenames, you can just uncheck "Use regular expressions" and type "unnamed" without the asterisk.

[hareesh-kumar]

Acutally none of them work. I did try that as well but that did not work either. I tried with and without selecting the "Use regular expressions".

Also, the regex should have at the minimum selected the one file "unnamed.jpg" ??

[daverayment]

Hi @hareesh-kumar. You will also need to check "Include subfolders", as the files you want to rename are inside a subfolder:

Please see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/powertoys/powerrename#include-subfolders for more information.

[hareesh-kumar]

Oh, that does work.. but why should I do that explicitly? I think it is still a bug. I went into the folder specifically which has the files and then opened PowerRename. There are no further subfolders. So, why should I select that option?

When I opened it from the actual folder where the files are, why is it expecting me to include sub folders? Also, from the display, it looks like the files are already there and selected.

[daverayment]

Hi, @hareesh-kumar. It seems that you right-clicked on the empty area in the folder view in Explorer. This selects that folder and all its files, which can be seen in your screenshot. The files are therefore classed as being within a subfolder, and you must check "Include subfolders" (which is on by default when you open PowerRename the first time).

Alternatively, select the files within the folder (instead of the folder itself) then right-click and choose PowerRename:

Here you can see that the files are matched even without the "Include subfolders" option being selected:

[hareesh-kumar]

Hi @daverayment , Thanks! You are correct, that is exactly what I am doing. I did notice that once I select the files and open power rename, it works as expected. However, in the scenario I had faced, where I clicked on the empty space and opened PowerRename, I would still expect it to be already in the directory because I am already in the directory and opened it from inside the directory. I am not opening PowerRename from outside the directory. So, it should behave as though I am in the directory and have selected all the files and folders instead. Here is my reasoning:

1. As an end user, that is what I expected because I am already in the folder and when I saw all the files listed, I assumed that they are already selected.
2. "Include Subfolders" was not selected by default. It is an additional step which is unnecessary.
3. It is further more confusing esp when there are no subfolder within the folder that I selected.
4. What I believe is happening is that, the app behaves as though it is in the parent folder and one of the sub folders is selected. While the reality is that I am within the folder that is to be selected already. When I have already selected the folder, I am not worried about other files/folders. I am only worried about the items within the folder. So, displaying folder from a higher level is unnecessary and point of confusion.

Thanks!

[daverayment]

@hareesh-kumar - PowerRename works on the files or folder(s) you have selected. If you right-click on empty space within a folder view, the selected item is the folder itself. You can see the folder as the selected item within Explorer:

If you right-click on empty space and select Properties, you are shown the properties of the folder, not the items within that folder. This is standard Windows behaviour.

If you think the way PowerRename deals with this is unintuitive, I'd recommend raising a separate issue with a feature request and a suggestion for improved UI (perhaps renaming "Include subfolders" as "Include files within folders"?). As it stands, this isn't a bug, but the way PowerRename has always worked.

The options "Include files", "Include folders" and "Include subfolders" should be initially selected when you run PowerRename.

I think this particular issue (selecting your files) is resolved. This was because the regex was incorrect and "Include subfolders" was not selected.

/needinfo

[hareesh-kumar]

@daverayment - I am not sure I entirely agree with that concept. Let's say there is folder A. Within folder A, there is folder B. Now, I open folder B in explorer, click on empty space and select "New" and create a new folder. The new folder gets created within folder B. It is not created outside of folder B, under folder A. Also, when I right click and open "Terminal", it will open the terminal within folder B. I will see only the files within folder B. At that point, any sub folder is a folder within folder B. Folder B itself is not a subfolder. So, when I right click and take an action, folder B is the primary folder and the action is only for files and folders within folder B. And I agree that, when I right click and select properties, it shows the properties of the folder B, because folder B is the primary folder selected. As you see below, B is the primary folder. Folder C is the sub folder. That is why the properties of folder B lists only 1 folder as contents.

Also, once I am in folder B, I do not have an option to change the folder name from within folder B. Then, why would I expect to rename the folder within PowerRename?

Of course, I am not in a position to decide if this is a feature or a bug. I believe, it is not functioning in line with how we expect the folders/files work within windows explorer. But, that change will make it more intuitive and user friendly and consistent with the behavior of other controls.

Thanks again for hearing me out.