Hello.

Need to rename 1000's of files with names like 991%20(2003)%20-%20991%20Ryall%20Prison%20Population%20and%20Recorded%20Crime.doc
All I need is the beginning numbers , in this case 991 .

Tried: for file in * ; do mv $file `echo $file | sed '/^[0-9]{p;q}'` ; done

but no luck.

Thank You.
Whatsup.

You'll find this link very helpful.

Hi,

You might find http://www.computerhope.com/unix/tree.htm usefull for building the file system explorer on UNIX/LINUX.

Thanks,
Uday.

How was that helpful?

Try this, assuming you're using bash or ksh:

That was helpful because the link pointed to the search page, a utility that too few of our members use before asking questions. Many of the questions asked have been answered before, and a search might have provided whatsup with the answer.

I understand what the search function does - I use it myself. However, a user in need of some assistance may not know what search terms to use. Can you at least provide some search terms that may begin to answer the question? My reply took a couple of minutes (including testing to make sure I didn't have syntax issues), and I still didn't give out a complete answer, although enough for someone to figure out one way of doing what they want.

You may as well say "Try 'man bash'". Why even bother responding? Can you find a search string that matches what the user asked?

Search term:
rename files

Returns dozens of examples of examples of this question or others very similar and its possible answers. Most people are quite capable of using a search function, and repeating answers that have been given umpteen times before does not contribute anything to the knowledge base of these forums, however pointing a user to the search engine, may provide them with:

• The answer to their question
• The answer to some other question they have
• A better way of doing something they already do in an inefficient way
• The knowledge that there is a seach engine on this site

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.