Using Automator to Rename Files

I can't figure out how to rename files so that the number in the name is in parentheses. For example Dog 1.jpg should be changed to Dog (1).jpg. How can I accomplish this in Automator?

ok. the following should work. paste it into AppleScript Editor. select the files you want to rename in finder and press "run" in script editor. you might want to test it on a small number of files first.
<pre style="
font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;
font-size: 10px;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #000000;
width: 720px;
color: #000000;
background-color: #ADD8E6;
overflow: auto;"
title="this text can be pasted into the Script Editor">
tell application "Finder"
set selected_items to selection
repeat with this_item in selected_items
set current_name to name of this_item as text
set current_extension to name extension of this_item
set length_extension to length of current_extension
set name_no_ext to text 1 thru (-length_extension - 2) of current_name
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to " "
if (number of text items of name_no_ext > 1) then
set z to last text item of name_no_ext --get the number at the end of the name before the extension
set name of this_item to do shell script "echo " & quoted form of current_name & "|sed 's/" & z & "." & current_extension & "/(" & z & ")." & current_extension & "/'"
end if
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ""
end repeat
end tell</pre>

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How can i use automator to rename files erasing first 3 digits of their name?

Actually in the files i am trying to rename the first 2 digits are numbers then space and then there is the file name i want to use. Hope this helps.

Open the AppleScript Editor in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder and paste in the following text:
tell application "Finder"
set the_items to items of window 1
repeat with this_item in the_items
set name of this_item to (items 4 thru -1 of (get name of this_item)) as string
end repeat
end tell
Navigate to the folder containing those files in the Finder and run the script.
(65537)

I used automator to rename some pages files, and now they can't be opened

I used automator to remove some text from the filenames of a group of pages files, and now they can't be opened. What went wrong?

Did you by any chance remove the file type extension?
Walt

Using automator to delete files with out moving them to the trash

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Hi Northridge, and a warm welcome to the forums!
I'd use the Terminal...
In Terminal type man mv & man reboot
You can execute those commands preceded by sudo, like...
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Yea, I figured out that much. My end goal is to take two .MTS (video) files and drop them onto an automator app and have it cat the files. I just don't know how to get there.
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Use Automator to move files and folder structure to another folder, retaining destination contents

I have been struggling trying to setup Automator to move files and folder structure to another folder, retaining the destination contents. Basically, I need to add files at the destination, within the same folder structure that exists at the source. Here's some details about the scenario:
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If you have a command-line syntax that works, why not just create an Automator workflow with a single 'Utilities -> Run Shell Script' action, where that action has your (working) shell commands?
Seems way, way simpler to me than trying to reinvent the wheel and transcribe shell commands into individual Automator actions

How to use automator to duplicate files into separate folder?

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Hello,
I really don't have much of an idea, but since no one has replied yet, I'll offer this...
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Using Automator for photography file needs

I've been looking on here but can't find a way to do what I need done exactly.
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Hi,
In Automator :
add action "*Run Shell Script*"
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Select "*as arguments*" in pass input: popup menu
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i=0
cd "$f"; /bin/mkdir -p "$f"/{RAW,JPEG}
for aJPG in "$f/"*.jpg ; do
if [ -f "$aJPG" ]; then
((i++)); index=${padding:${#i}}$i;
/bin/mv "$aJPG" "JPEG/$baseName$index.jpg"
fi
done
i=0
for aNEF in "$f/"*.nef ; do
if [ -f "$aNEF" ]; then
((i++)); index=${padding:${#i}}$i;
/bin/mv "$aNEF" "RAW/$baseName$index.nef"
fi
done
fi
done
That's all.
This shell proceed folder(s) only, if the input is file(s), it do nothing
Message was edited by: Jacques Rioux

Use Automator to move files to trash

I've spent quite a bit of time trying to work out how to move files with automator to another folder - finally worked this out using a folder action.
I am now trying to do similar, but this time using a folder action to move files to the trash. Again, I don't seem to be getting this right. I have the following:
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Cheers,
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sdiaz34 wrote:
The external hard drive was partitioned to have a back up drive for time machine and another drive for other (pics&vids) use.
If it is possible can the automator task then trash all files in original pictures subfolder when task is complete to avoid any memory use on macbook air?
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For best results, get another external HD for your photos. Then let Time Machine back up both your internal HD and the external. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #32 for details.

I was wondering if it was possible to use Automator to move files based on the filename.

Hi,
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Hi,
Here's a solution that uses a script, because it is not possible, at least to make twenty or more Workflows
In Automator :
Create a new worflow.
Add the action "Run Shell Script", select "/bin/bash" in the popup menu
Cut the text in the action.
Copy/paste this script in the action :
targetsDir=('/Users/jack/Desktop/MyImagesFolder' '/Users/jack/Desktop/MyVideosFolder')
destDir=('/Users/jack/Desktop/yearImageFolder' '/Users/jack/Desktop/yearVideoFolder')
for i in 0 1;do
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      for each in "${targetsDir[$i]}"/*;do
            if [ ! -d "$each" ];then ## not a directory
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                  if [[ $name =~ ^([0-9]{2})|^..([0-9]{2}) ]]; then
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                        /bin/mv -n "$each" "$subfolder$year"
                  fi
            fi
      done
done
Replace the paths in the first line by the path of your Images Folder and Video Folder, use drag/drop between the simple quote ''
Replace the paths in the second line by the path of your destibation Folders, use drag/drop between the simple quote ''.
This script will not overwrite existing files, If you want to replace the existing file, use the /bin/mv -f instead of /bin/mv -n
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Can't read directory contents: /Volumes/Files
The other thread suggests choosing "Ignore Input" for the "Ask for Finder Items" action, which I did. But now I have a different error:
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Any ideas? Thanks!

This has been covered before, but the solution didn't work for me, so excuse the mainly copy-and-paste article:
I wrote an automator workflow to copy a chosen file located on a PC on the local network.
Here is the workflow:
Get Specified Servers
Mount Servers
Ask for Finder Items
Copy Finder Items
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Can't read directory contents: /Volumes/Files
The other thread suggests choosing "Ignore Input" for the "Ask for Finder Items" action, which I did. But now I have a different error:
Couldn't create: /Users/{my name}/Desktop/filename.xlsx
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Using AppleScript to rename file as current date

Hi, I created a script to record a radio show on a daily basis.
I would like apple script to set the name of the files as the day´s date.
any help would be appreciated,
Thank you very much

Once you've got a file name and path in the Finder, you can use this:
tell application "Finder"
set name of file "path:to:file" to (month of (current date)) & " " & day of (current date) & ", " & year of (current date) as string
end tell
(14444)

Renaming files in folder

trying to figure out how to use automator to rename files within a folder.
searched on youtube but none of the methods seem to work on my mac.
if anyone knows of a great tutorial for this i would love to have it.
thanks'
Owen

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. Are you referring to the Downloads folder that Mac OS X sets up by default in your user's home directory? If so, you rename files in that folder the same as you would any other folder. The Downloads folder does not (unless something's amiss with the permissions on your system) restrict anything and isn't any sort of "special" folder in terms of how it behaves.
If that's not what you meant, please post back and explain further.
Regards.

How to use Automator to batch convert xls/xlsx files into tab OR pipe delimited text file.

If you have answer, please provide specific and detailed steps.
Situation 1:
Start:
150+ files in .xls OR .xlsx format
data contains many characters EXCEPT "Tab"
Process:
Use Automator to:
Select Files from Finder window
Convert selected files from xls/xlsx to TAB-DELIMITED file format
End:
150+ files in .txt format
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Start:
150+ files in .xls OR .xlsx format
data contains many characters EXCEPT | (pipe, vertical bar)
Process:
Use Automator to:
Select Files from Finder window
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End:
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If your post is addressed to my response then the answer is you have to write your own or search on-line to see if something exists to do what you want.
As you note there is no pre-built script for this.
regards
Message was edited by: Frank Caggiano - Are you certain there isn;t something in Excel to export as a tab delimited file?
This link Convert An Excel Spreadsheet To A Tab Delimited Text File seems to indicate that the function is in Excel already.

Automator: Impossible to rename file using automator under Mac OS X Lion

Hi,
Before upgrade my iMac to MAC OS X Lion 10.7.2, I had service created with automator under snow leopard in order to rename my pictures file names by blocks instead of one by one. Since I'm using Lion, this one doesn't work anymore. I have completely recreate the service under Lion and the results is the same.
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Thanks in advance for your help.

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Using Automator to Rename Files

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