Overview
Auto-Rename PDF Files renames every PDF in a folder using a naming
pattern built from tokens: document metadata, extracted page text, dates, and counters.
Combined with the CSV lookup table, it can turn a folder of scanner output like
scan001.pdf into meaningfully named files based on what each document
actually contains.
How to use
- Go to Extensions > Mapsoft > Auto-Rename PDF Files.
- Set the Input folder containing the PDFs to rename.
- Enter a Name pattern using the tokens below.
- Optionally enable the CSV lookup table to map extracted values to replacement names.
- Click OK. Files are renamed in place.
Naming tokens
| Token | Expands to |
|---|---|
{filename} | The file's current name, without extension. |
{title} {author} {subject} |
Document metadata fields. |
{n} | A three-digit counter (001, 002, …). |
{alpha} | An alphabetic counter (A, B, … AA, AB). |
{date} | Today's date as YYYY-MM-DD. |
{hour} {minute} {second} |
The current time, zero-padded. |
{label} | The page label of the first page, honouring its numbering style (i, ii… / A, B…). |
{text:L,B,R,T} | Text extracted from a rectangle on the first page, in PDF points measured from the bottom-left corner. |
{match:PATTERN} | The first regular-expression match (or its first capture group) found in the first page's text. |
{bates:START,PAD} | A Bates-style number beginning at START, zero-padded to PAD digits, advancing per file. |
{username} {computername} |
The Windows user and machine name. |
CSV lookup table
With Use CSV lookup table enabled, the stem produced by the pattern is
looked up in a CSV file of extracted_value,replacement_name pairs (one per
line), and the replacement becomes the filename. Use this to translate codes found on
the page — an account number, a form ID — into human-readable names.
Note
Renaming never overwrites an existing file: when two inputs produce the same name, or
the target already exists, the later file gets a (2)-style suffix
instead. The completion message reports how many collisions were resolved this way.
Tip
Test a new pattern on a copy of a few files first. A token that matches nothing expands
to an empty string, so a pattern that relies entirely on {match:…}
can produce very short names when the pattern fails to match.