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In computing, ren (or rename) is a command in various command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, 4DOS, 4NT and Windows PowerShell. It is used to rename computer files and in some implementations (such as AmigaDOS[1]) also directories. It is analogous to the Unix mv command. However, unlike mv, ren cannot be used to move files, as a new directory for the destination file may not be used. Alternatively, move may be used if available. On versions of MS-DOS that do not support the move command (older than 6.00), the user would simply copy the file to a new destination, and then delete the original file. A notable exception to this rule is DOSBox, in which ren may be used to move a file, since move is not supported.
 The ReactOS ren command | |
| Developer(s) | Various open-source and commercial developers |
|---|---|
| Operating system | OpenVOS, RT-11, OS/8, RSX-11, ISIS-II, iRMX 86, TOPS-20, Z80-RIO, FLEX, CDOS, OS-9, FlexOS, PC-MOS, 4690 OS, MPE/iX, THEOS/OASIS, OpenVMS, CP/M, MP/M, TRIPOS, AmigaDOS, DOS, MSX-DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, Windows, ReactOS, SymbOS, DexOS |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Type | Command |
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RENAME command of RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100.The command is available in the operating systems Digital Research CP/M,[2] MP/M,[3][4] Cromemco CDOS,[5] MetaComCo TRIPOS,[6] DOS, IBM OS/2,[7] Microsoft Windows,[8] ReactOS,[9] SymbOS, and DexOS.
Multics includes a rename command to rename a directory entry. It can be contracted to rn.[10]
Stratus OpenVOS,[11] DEC RT-11,[12] OS/8,[13] RSX-11,[14] Intel ISIS-II,[15] iRMX 86,[16] TOPS-20,[17] Zilog Z80-RIO,[18] TSC FLEX,[19] Microware OS-9,[20] DR FlexOS,[21] IBM/Toshiba 4690 OS,[22] HP MPE/iX,[23] THEOS/OASIS,[24] and OpenVMS[25] also provide the rename command which in some cases can be contracted to ren.
The rename command is supported by Tim Paterson's SCP 86-DOS.[26] On MS-DOS, the command is available in versions 1 and later.[27] DR DOS 6.0 also includes an implementation of the ren and rename commands.[28]
In Windows PowerShell, ren is a predefined command alias for the Rename-Item Cmdlet which basically serves the same purpose.[29]
TSL PC-MOS includes an implementation of rename.[30]
Like the rest of the operating system, it is licensed under the GPL v3.[31]
It is also available in the open source MS-DOS emulator DOSBox.
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>ren filename newname
>ren *.htm *.html
Another example. This will rename a default video found in Windows 7 with a new name:
>rename "C:\Users\Public\Videos\Sample Videos\Wildlife.wmv" "Wildlife2.wmv"
The first parameter may contain a drive and a path, but the second parameter must contain only the new filename.
To remove certain characters of a file name in Microsoft Windows command prompt (XP & Higher) :
>rename "abcd*.txt" "////*.txt"
This will remove abcd from the file name.
Notes:
- Same number of
/as the number of initial characters to remove. - Double quotes for both arguments.
- It doesn't remove
.from file name
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Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Guide to Windows Commands
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