General Rename Folder in Windows 11


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Folder_rename_banner.png

This tutorial will show you different ways to rename a folder to what you want in Window 11.

A folder name can't contain any of the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > |

If you rename more than one folder at the same time, the name of each folder will be the same and numbered in order like: new folder name (1), new folder name (2), new folder name (3), etc...


Contents





Option One

Rename Folder using Keyboard Shortcut


1 Select the folder(s) you want to rename.

2 Press the F2 key.

3 Type a new name, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder.png





Option Two

Rename Folder from File Explorer Command Bar


1 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Navigate to and select the folder(s) you want to rename. (see screenshot below step 3)

3 Click/tap on the Rename button on the command bar. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder_File_Explorer_command_bar.png

4 Type a new name, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder.png




Option Three

Rename Folder from Context Menu Toolbar


1 Select the folder(s) you want to rename.

2 Right click on the selected folder(s), and click/tap on the Rename button on the toolbar at the top of the context menu. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder_context_menu_toolbar.png

3 Type a new name, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder.png




Option Four

Rename Folder from "Show more options" Context Menu


1 Select the folder(s) you want to rename.

2 Right click on the selected folder(s), and click/tap on the Show more options. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder_Show_more_options-1.png

3 Click/tap on Rename. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder_Show_more_options-2.png

4 Type a new name, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder.png




Option Five

Rename Folder from Properties


1 Right click on the folder you want to rename, and click/tap on the Properties. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder_properties-1.png

2 In the General tab, type a new name in the top box, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder_properties-2.png




Option Six

Rename Folder using Two Single Clicks


This option requires to use Double-click to open an item (single-click to select) instead of Single-click to open an item (point to select).


1 Click/tap once on the folder you want to rename to select it. (see screenshot below step 2)

2 Click/tap on the text of the folder name. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder_single_clicks.png

3 Type a new name, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Rename_folder.png




Option Seven

Rename Folder in PowerShell



1 Open Windows Terminal, and select Windows PowerShell.

2 Type the command below into PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Rename-Item -Path "Full path of folder" -NewName "New Name" -Force

Substitute Full path of folder in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to rename.

Substitute New Name in the command above with the actual new name you want to rename the folder.

For example: Rename-Item -Path "C:\Users\Brink\Desktop\Old folder name" -NewName "New folder name" -Force


3 When finished, you can close the Windows Terminal window if you like.

Rename_folder_PowerShell.png





Option Eight

Rename Folder in Command Prompt



1 Open Windows Terminal, and select Command Prompt.

2 Type the command below into the command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

ren "Full path of folder" "New Name"

Substitute Full path of folder in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to rename.

Substitute New Name in the command above with the actual new name you want to rename the folder.

For example: ren "C:\Users\Brink\Desktop\Old folder name" "New folder name"


3 When finished, you can close the Windows Terminal window if you like.

Rename_folder_command.png



That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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Last edited:
Really nice and interesting tutorial, I didn't know some of these new ways.
Thanks
 

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