Today I am continuing my assault on the Macintosh software list trying to match up software I will need for my upcoming migration from Windows. I’ve started my list of applications or functions I want to make sure and replicate after the move. Some of the categories were very easy to replicate while others are proving far more difficult than I had anticipated. There was one item on the list I was dreading as I was sure it would be impossible to find.
A couple of years ago I came across a small utility called “Better File Rename”. It was one of those rare epiphanies that occur when you are desperate and end up finding a perfect tool to eliminate a mundane task that would have otherwise taken you massive amounts of time.
At the time I had literally thousands of files that needed to be renamed with a specific pattern. The thoughts of doing that by hand were enough to bring tears to my eyes. In a last ditch effort before succumbing to hours of manual renaming I came across this utility from publicspace.net. It was exactly what I was looking for. It saved me hours if not days and in the end the files conformed to a standard naming convention.
The beauty of this utility was that it not just renamed files but allowed me to adjust the batches by directory something I had not even considered. Besides the naming standards this application also allowed me to change the file extensions and even change case to make all the files standard before uploading them to a server. Better File Rename has become invaluable to my daily workflow and the thoughts of not having that functionality after migrating to the Macintosh was not something I wanted to consider.
After a quick search on the Internet I found that PublicSpace.net had a similar product for the Macintosh called Better Finder Rename. The functionality is very similar to what I have become accustomed to on the Windows side. This was welcomed news and immediately made my list of must-have applications for my migration toolkit.
While reading the details on Better Finder Rename I found that there is a companion application called A Better Finder Attributes. This application allows you to change the file attributes of a single file or multiple files. This would be extremely helpful to digital photographers who would like to modify the EXIF data to perhaps reset dates or times or add additional information such as a copyright to each of your photos.
The developers at PublicSpace.net have once again come up with an invaluable tool. I definitely recommend stopping by their web site and taking a look at their product offerings. They offer a trial version of the software so you can see how easy they are to use. I’m sure once you play with these utilities you too will wonder how you ever got by without them.
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