# Need help to do a batch rename
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [December 2, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190 "2012-12-02T18:54:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Skoot](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Skoot)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/1 "2012-12-02T18:54:20Z")
Hi all
I have a folder containing over 1000 songs and i want to do a batch rename.
I have been trying to figure out how to do this but but cant.
At the moment all the songs look like this:
Title Artist
001 - ACDC - You shook me all night long Various Artists
I want to remove the number at the front and move the 'artist' to the artist column and I don't want to do each one individually.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Skoot
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/2 "2012-12-02T19:27:57Z")
Create an action of the type "import tag fields" or "Guess values"
Enter as mask:
%dummy% - %artist% - %title%
or if you want to import the leading number as track number:
%track% - %artist% - %title%
---
### Author:  [@Skoot](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Skoot)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/3 "2012-12-02T19:42:20Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> Create an action of the type "import tag fields" or "Guess values"
> Enter as mask:
> %dummy% - %artist% - %title%
> or if you want to import the leading number as track number:
> %track% - %artist% - %title%
Thanks for your reply.
I'm a complete novice here and I don't understand how to do any of
that.
Can you explain further, please?
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/4 "2012-12-02T19:48:40Z")
> [@Skoot](#):
>
> Thanks for your reply.
>
> I'm a complete novice here and I don't understand how to do any of
> that.
> Can you explain further, please?
Now you have to do a little bit of reading.
First check the FAQs about actions.
[/t/967/1](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/967/1)
---
### Author:  [@gwenkillerby](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/gwenkillerby)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/5 "2012-12-02T19:49:42Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> Create an action of the type "import tag fields" or "Guess values"
> Enter as mask:
> %dummy% - %artist% - %title%
> or if you want to import the leading number as track number:
> %track% - %artist% - %title%
Won't your solution only work if the FILENAMES look like that, not if his TAGS look like that.
For your solution to work, he should FIRST rename his files, only then he can do what you suggest.
And isn't the problem that his tracknumber is in the same tagfield as the actual artist, (ACDC) ?
I recommend Total Commander and using it's Multi-rename tool. [www.ghisler.com](http://www.ghisler.com)
Or, just PM me a textfile with all the names and paths of your file, and I will make you a batchfile.
---
### Author:  [@gwenkillerby](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/gwenkillerby)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/6 "2012-12-02T19:56:51Z")
To get a textfile with all your filenames:
type this into the Run box
cmd /k dir/s \*.mp3 \> C:\Documents and Settings\AllMyMP3-Files.txt
The textfile will look like this:
> [@](#):
>
> C:\music...\anya marina & john smith - move you.mp3
> C:\music...\mark craft & john smith - dragonfly.mp3
> C:\blues...\ry cooder & john smith - jericho blues.mp3
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/7 "2012-12-02T20:02:30Z")
> [@GwenkillRRRRbeee](#):
>
> Won't your solution only work if the FILENAMES look like that, not if his TAGS look like that.
Actually, "my" solution (it's more of a suggestion, I would like to humbly point out) only works with tag fields.
If you want to import that data from a filename, then you could use the converter filename-tag and the mask
%dummy% - %artist% - %title% Various Artists
But as the op sort of created a kind of table which assigned the "Various Artists" to ARTIST, I thought that he actually had the data in the tags...
Let's see.
---
### Author:  [@Skoot](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Skoot)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/8 "2012-12-02T21:12:46Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> Now you have to do a little bit of reading.
> First check the FAQs about actions.
> [/t/967/1](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/967/1)
Ok, I read that and I am still lost. It's not very helpful to a complete novice.
To get a textfile with all your filenames:
type this into the Run box
cmd /k dir/s \*.mp3 \> C:\Documents and Settings\AllMyMP3-Files.txt
I tried to do this but I keep getting access denied.
I'm still struggling here.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/9 "2012-12-03T06:51:41Z")
> [@Skoot](#):
>
> Ok, I read that and I am still lost. It's not very helpful to a complete novice.
Now you have to help me a little:
Where do you get stuck?
I mean, the instructions how to create a new action are pretty straight forward, I doubt that a repetition would express it any clearer.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2026, 12:24pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/need-help-to-do-a-batch-rename/14190/10 "2026-02-09T12:24:12Z")