How to rename files in subfolder into a specific format - windows

Question

I have files named as RabcdYYMMKKACCOUNT.TXT in the Subfolders of a folder where YYMM is year, month this will change. KK is another identifier, I want all the files to be renamed to MSFKKDNB.ABC, the KK is the identifier in the input file.
Below is the one i tried and the result of it:
FOR /R %%f IN (*account.txt) DO REN "%%f" *dnb.abc
R00531706AUAccount.txt is renamed to R00531706AUAccount.txtdnb.abc
but the output should be MSFAUDNB.abc

Answer 1

This could be done for example with:
#echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions EnableDelayedExpansion
for /R %%I in (???????????account.txt) do (
set "FileName=%%~nI"
set "NewFileName=MSF!FileName:~9,2!DNB.abc"
if not exist "%%~dpI!NewFileName!" (
ren "%%~fI" "!NewFileName!" 2>nul
if not exist "%%~dpI!NewFileName!" echo Failed to rename file: "%%~fI"
) else (
echo Cannot rename file: "%%~fI"
)
)
endlocal
The file name of found account text file is assigned to environment variable FileName.
The new name for the file is created by concatenating the fixed parts MSF and DNB.abc with the 2 characters to keep from file name using string substitution and delayed expansion.
Next it is checked if a file with new name does not already exist. Is this the case the file renaming is done otherwise an error message is output.
After renaming the file it is checked if that was successful. A slightly different error is output if renaming failed for example because of a sharing violation.
For understanding the used commands and how they work, open a command prompt window, execute there the following commands, and read entirely all help pages displayed for each command very carefully.
echo /?
endlocal /?
for /?
if /?
ren /?
set /?
setlocal /?
Read also the Microsoft article about Using Command Redirection Operators.

Answer 2

Try this:
#Echo Off
For %%A In ("*account.txt") Do (Set "_=%%~nA"
SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion
Ren "%%A" "MSF!_:~-9,2!DNB.abc"
EndLocal)

Answer 3

I would probably do it the following way, provided that the files to rename are located in immediate sub-directories (YYMM) of the given root directory and nowhere else:
#echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions DisableDelayedExpansion
set "_ROOT=." & rem // (specify path to the root directory)
for /D %%D in ("%_ROOT%\????") do (
for %%F in ("%_ROOT%\%%~nxD\R??????????Account.txt") do (
set "FDIR=%%~nxD" & set "FILE=%%~nxF"
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
ECHO ren "!_ROOT!\!FDIR!\!FILE!" "MSF!FILE:~9,2!DNB.abc"
endlocal
)
)
endlocal
exit /B
If you want to check whether both the sub-directory name and the year/month portion of the file names are purely numeric, you could use the following script:
#echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions DisableDelayedExpansion
set "_ROOT=." & rem // (specify path to the root directory)
for /F "delims= eol=|" %%D in ('
dir /B /A:D "%_ROOT%\????" ^| ^
findstr "^[0123456789][0123456789][0123456789][0123456789]$"
') do (
for /F "delims= eol=|" %%F in ('
dir /B /A:-D "%_ROOT%\%%~nxD\R??????????Account.txt" ^| ^
findstr "^R....[0123456789][0123456789][0123456789][0123456789].."
') do (
set "FDIR=%%~nxD" & set "FILE=%%~nxF"
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
ECHO ren "!_ROOT!\!FDIR!\!FILE!" "MSF!FILE:~9,2!DNB.abc"
endlocal
)
)
endlocal
exit /B
If you want to check whether the sub-directory name matches the year/month (YYMM) portion of the file names, replace the pattern R??????????Account.txt by R????%%~nxD??Account.txt (for both scripts).
After having verified the correct output of either script, remove the upper-case ECHO commands to actually rename any files!
Basically, both scripts use sub-string expansion to extract the identifier part (KK) from the file names. Since there are variables set and read in the same block of code, delayed expansion is required for that. The second approach does not list the sub-directories and files by standard for loops, it uses the dir command, findstr to filter their names and a for /F loop to capture the resulting output for both sub-directories and files.