[feature suggestion] regular expressions in multirename-tool

[bago]

It would be helpful to have regular expression match/substitution pattern integrated in multirename tool.

how often renaming files in the form XX - SongName - ArtistName.mp3 and you want Artist before the Songname?

Well, with regexp (PCRE) you simply need to search ([0-9]+ - )([^-]+) - ([^\.]+).mp3 and replace it with $1$3 - $2.mp3.

It could seem complicated but every PCRE's fan would kill for this

[ghisler(Author)]

Until now, I haven't added regular expressions because I think that they are too complex for the average user. Even I have to look up these options quite often because the syntax isn't very clear.

[fabiochelly]

It's would be very useful I think to implement regular expressions: it's less complicated than DOS jokers and much more powerful.

Systools (which is opensource now) includes a regex engine: very easy to implement.

[Ergo]

What use of regular expressions in search box? It wuold has use only in search & replace tasks. IMHO.

[Valentino]

2ghisler(Author)
An average user (and everybody who's below this rank) just won't use it. Similarly, one can still use Find Files dialog to find files even without knowledge of special symbols * and ?.

[Ergo]

What use of regular expressions in search box? It wuold has use only in search & replace tasks. IMHO

Sorry I was not attentive enough and missed "multirename-tool" in topic caption

An average user (and everybody who's below this rank) just won't use it.

I agree.

[scannert]

for me regular expressions are much easier to understand and use than the current [tags] while using the multi-rename tool.
I can't think of any reason on what type of rename operations where I can use the tags currently available with it.

I would too love to see regular expression support since I too rename very much mp3 files.
I even would like to suggest a savelist for multiple regexp to make it a bit easier if you only know the basics.

for example I have the following directories:

Adam_Beyer_and_Henrik_B-Year_Of_Reflection-Vinyl-2002-UTE
Alicia_Keys-Girlfriend_(KrucialKeys_Video_Version)-2002-BLEH
Anouk-Graduated_Fool-CD-2002-3G
Tenacious_D-Tribute-CDS-2003-3G

I would like to rename them all to:

Adam Beyer and Henrik B - Year Of Reflection vinyl (2002)
Alicia Keys - Girlfriend (KrucialKeys Video Version) (2002)
Anouk - Graduated Fool (2002)
Tenacious D - Tribute single (2003)

so I would have a savelist of regexp that would look like this and goes through from 1 till the end:

1. replace ^(.*)-(.*)-(.*)-([0-9]{4})-.* with $1 - $2 $3 ($4)
2. replace ^(.*)-(.*)-([0-9]{4})-.* with $1 - $2 ($3)
3. replace Vinyl with vinyl
4. replace CD with <empty string>
5. replace CDS with single
6. replace / +/ with / / (multiple spaces with only 1 space)

Very nice would even be that I can select which regexp numbers I want to use that session.

Reason I ask is that currently I have about 300 lines of regexps writting in a php script. I do under dos prompt a "dir /b >dirlist.txt", enter the contents in a sendform and let it go through my php script that outputs the contents for a msdos batch file that renames it how I want it renamed.

it works like a charm... hehe
but if it could be done from within tc... man! It would rock!

[bago]

Until now, I haven't added regular expressions because I think that they are too complex for the average user.

Total Commander users are NOT average users: average users like "explorer" and the standard shell interface... why should they use TC?

We are POWER users!

Even I have to look up these options quite often because the syntax isn't very clear.

You personally don't know well PCREs, but many many power user do, and they think with regexps too

regular expression is very easy once "understood", and very powerful for this! It's like the "vi" editor: it is unusable to the average user but power users listen to mp3s too with it (joking).

PCREs (Perl Compatible Regular Expression) are very diffused and used by other programs: many editors, under windows too, already let search&replace by PCRE.

PCRE: you need 2 days to learn them, you gain 2 month of your life by using them

[apz]

1. regular expressions are always nice to have, though, as valentino points out, 99% of people barely know how to use aa??bb.* type of searches.
2. why dont you look at a tool that does mp3 renaming based on id3 tags? you will save yourself tons of headaches

[bago]

1. regular expressions are always nice to have, though, as valentino points out, 99% of people barely know how to use aa??bb.* type of searches.

99% of users: probably more...
well... I can tell you that 99% of users doesn't know how to use TC, too

2. why dont you look at a tool that does mp3 renaming based on id3 tags? you will save yourself tons of headaches

Well, I do this: but you won't use multirename tool, lister, plugins if you use external tools. File compare, Dir compare, Renaming, SFV Check, FTP all this can be done with external tools but if they were not in TC I won't use it

Again if you never used a feature you don't know how much it is usefull. You can do without CTRL-D until you begin to use it. You can do without PCREs if you never learned them.

[pdavit]

>bago
> well... I can tell you that 99% of users doesn't know how to use TC, too

Wow!!! Easy tiger!


I vote for regular expressions too. Although I have to admit that the multirename-tool as it is now completes my needs 90% of the cases. It’s good to know though that for the remaining 10% of the case, if regular expressions are to be implemented, I will not have to follow side-methods to complete a task.

As far as the complexity concerned... well, there’s always a way to encapsulate the advanced features from normal users.

[bago]

As far as the complexity concerned... well, there’s always a way to encapsulate the advanced features from normal users.

It could be an INI feature or a flag in the renametool.

And as scannert said it could allow to save, load, apply a set of PCREs with few keys.

Probably there are already PCRE or regexp sources/libraries available around so the complexity would not be an issue: I can offer my help if needed .

[albel]

The feature offered looks nice! But I fully agree it'd be better to for it be an INI feature or a flag in the renametool

[JackFoo]

And thou shall lie what is yours on the altar of Regular Expression and Macros...
I'm all for it, IMO those two features are THE most important for the next "large" release.

Cheers.

[pdavit]

I agree with JackFoo too!

Yes I had a thread on the old forum asking for macros as well in addition to a log file.

I personally think that if such a powerful tool as TC is, is to be combined with macros to automatically perform a series of file managing tasks then the resulted application will become unbeatable!!!