HelpMasterFileProductionHow do I rename files dumped from a MasterFile briefcase?

How do I rename files dumped from a MasterFile briefcase?

There are three parts to renaming files dumped from a MasterFile briefcase

  1. Dump the files to disk.
  2. Modify the CSV file that was created during the dump for use by BulkRename Utility. (BulkRename Utility is a very useful free utility that is supported by donations. Download it at http://www.bulkrenameutility.com).
  3. Rename the files with BRU.

Dump the files from the MasterFile briefcase

Dump the files from the MasterFile briefcase

From the Evidence Cruncher dialog box

  1. Choose Dump briefcase to disk.
  2. Choose All or Only selected.
  3. Choose Documents to disk.
  4. Click on Set dump ..., navigate to the output folder and enter a name for the associated CSV file created during the dump process.

We'll call this set of documents Renaming.

Renaming is also used as the prefix to the CSV file created during dump.

Place the CSV file in Excel using Excel's Data tab

Note there are many columns in the CSV file. We only need two for our purposes and will delete the rest.

Note that CSV files can not simply be opened in Excel due to Excel data conversion errors. You can learn more about placing files in Excel by following these instructions.

Place the CSV file in Excel using Excel's Data tab

Delete all the columns except two

  • EL_CURRENT_FILE_NAME_TF and
  • DP_ORIGINAL_LOCATION_K

which will leave the spreadsheet looking as shown.

Column B, DP_ORIGINAL_LOCATION_K, will either contain

  • just the file name, which can be used to rename the dumped files, or
  • a full path and filename in which case the filename needs to be extracted from the path using the formula =RIGHT("\"&B2,LEN("\"&B2)-FIND("|||",SUBSTITUTE("\"&B2,"\","|||",LEN("\"&B2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE("\"&B2,"\",""))))) pasted into each cell of column C.

Save the spreadsheet as

  • an Excel XSLX file and
  • as a CSV file (i.e. Renaming dump.csv in our example) by choosing the CSV option shown.

Modify the CSV file for BulkRename Utility

Close the CSV file that's open in Excel. Click Don't save when prompted.

Do not skip this step. Otherwise, when you delete column B in the next step, Excel will fail to preserve column C and assign it the value #REF!

Modify the CSV file for BulkRename Utility

Reopen the CSV file (i.e. Renaming dump.csv in our example). From the reopened CSV, delete column B (DP_ORIGINAL_LOCATION_K).

Insert a new column B.

Fill column B with '+==+ (you must include the quote) and save the CSV file.

  1. Open the CSV file in a text editor like Notepad or Notepad++. (Notepad++ is a free, advanced test editor with very useful features, including the ability to display very long lines, supported by donations. Download it at http://notepad-plus-plus.org.)
  2. Replace all instances of ,+==+,  (you must include both commas) with | (| is the vertical bar usually above the \ symbol on the keyboard).

As you can see, ,+==+, has been replaced with |

Save the CSV file which is now ready to be used to rename the files dumped from the MasterFile briefcase.

Rename the files using BulkRename Utility

Start BRU and navigate to the the folder containing the files you dumped. The New Name column will still show the dumped filename.

Rename the files using BulkRename Utility

Choose File > Import Rename-Pairs and import the CSV file you modified.

Select the files to be renamed and you will see the new name displayed in the New Name column.

Click Rename to apply the new names.

The files are renamed.

Note, this process will work assuming there were no duplicates amongst the original filenames (i.e. the same file did not exist in two folders that were loaded into MasterFile, or the same file was not attached to two emails, etc.).