Ren (command)

Last updated
ren / rename
Developer(s) Various open-source and commercial developers
Operating system OpenVOS, RT-11, OS/8, RSX-11, ISIS-II, iRMX 86, TOPS-20, Z80-RIO, FLEX, CDOS, OS-9, FlexOS, PC-MOS, 4690 OS, MPE/iX, THEOS/OASIS, OpenVMS, CP/M, MP/M, TRIPOS, AmigaDOS, DOS, MSX-DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, Windows, ReactOS, SymbOS, DexOS
Platform Cross-platform
Type Command

In computing, ren (or rename) is a command in various command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM , cmd.exe , 4DOS, 4NT and Windows PowerShell. It is used to rename computer files and in some implementations (such as AmigaDOS [1] ) also directories. It is analogous to the Unix mv command. However, unlike mv, ren cannot be used to move files, as a new directory for the destination file may not be used. Alternatively, move may be used if available. On versions of MS-DOS that do not support the move command (older than 6.00), the user would simply copy the file to a new destination, and then delete the original file. A notable exception to this rule is DOSBox, in which ren may be used to move a file, since move is not supported.

Contents

Implementations

Description of the RENAME command of RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100. RT-11 help.jpg
Description of the RENAME command of RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100.

The command is available in the operating systems Digital Research CP/M, [2] MP/M, [3] [4] Cromemco CDOS, [5] MetaComCo TRIPOS, [6] DOS, IBM OS/2, [7] Microsoft Windows, [8] ReactOS, [9] SymbOS, and DexOS.

Multics includes a rename command to rename a directory entry. It can be contracted to rn. [10]

Stratus OpenVOS, [11] DEC RT-11, [12] OS/8, [13] RSX-11, [14] Intel ISIS-II, [15] iRMX 86, [16] TOPS-20, [17] Zilog Z80-RIO, [18] TSC FLEX, [19] Microware OS-9, [20] DR FlexOS, [21] IBM/Toshiba 4690 OS, [22] HP MPE/iX, [23] THEOS/OASIS, [24] and OpenVMS [25] also provide the rename command which in some cases can be contracted to ren.

The rename command is supported by Tim Paterson's SCP 86-DOS. [26] On MS-DOS, the command is available in versions 1 and later. [27] DR DOS 6.0 also includes an implementation of the ren and rename commands. [28]

In Windows PowerShell, ren is a predefined command alias for the Rename-Item Cmdlet which basically serves the same purpose. [29]

TSL PC-MOS includes an implementation of rename. [30] Like the rest of the operating system, it is licensed under the GPL v3. [31]

It is also available in the open source MS-DOS emulator DOSBox.

Example

>ren filename newname >ren *.htm *.html

Another example. This will rename a default video found in Windows 7 with a new name:

>rename"C:\Users\Public\Videos\Sample Videos\Wildlife.wmv""Wildlife2.wmv"

The first parameter may contain a drive and a path, but the second parameter must contain only the new filename.

To remove certain characters of a file name in Microsoft Windows command prompt (XP & Higher) :

>rename"abcd*.txt""////*.txt"

This will remove abcd from the file name.

Notes:

  1. Same number of / as the number of initial characters to remove.
  2. Double quotes for both arguments.
  3. It doesn't remove . from file name


See also

Related Research Articles

dir (command) Directory information command on various operating systems

In computing, dir (directory) is a command in various computer operating systems used for computer file and directory listing. It is one of the basic commands to help navigate the file system. The command is usually implemented as an internal command in the command-line interpreter (shell). On some systems, a more graphical representation of the directory structure can be displayed using the tree command.

mkdir Directory creation command on various operating systems

The mkdir command in the Unix, DOS, DR FlexOS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows, and ReactOS operating systems is used to make a new directory. It is also available in the EFI shell and in the PHP scripting language. In DOS, OS/2, Windows and ReactOS, the command is often abbreviated to md.

In computing, rmdir is a command which will remove an empty directory on various operating systems.

In computing, CLS is a command used by the command-line interpreters COMMAND.COM and cmd.exe on DOS, Digital Research FlexOS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows and ReactOS operating systems to clear the screen or console window of commands and any output generated by them. It does not clear the user's history of commands, however. The command is also available in the DEC RT-11 operating system, in the open-source MS-DOS emulator DOSBox and in the EFI shell. In other environments, such as Linux and Unix, the same functionality is provided by the clear command.

In computing, echo is a command that outputs the strings that are passed to it as arguments. It is a command available in various operating system shells and typically used in shell scripts and batch files to output status text to the screen or a computer file, or as a source part of a pipeline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHKDSK</span> System tool in DOS, OS/2 and Windows

In computing, CHKDSK is a system tool and command in DOS, Digital Research FlexOS, IBM/Toshiba 4690 OS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows and related operating systems. It verifies the file system integrity of a volume and attempts to fix logical file system errors. It is similar to the fsck command in Unix and similar to Microsoft ScanDisk, which co-existed with CHKDSK in Windows 9x and MS-DOS 6.x.

more (command) Terminal pager available on various operating systems

In computing, more is a command to view the contents of a text file one screen at a time. It is available on Unix and Unix-like systems, DOS, Digital Research FlexOS, IBM/Toshiba 4690 OS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows and ReactOS. Programs of this sort are called pagers. more is a very basic pager, originally allowing only forward navigation through a file, though newer implementations do allow for limited backward movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debug (command)</span> Line-oriented debug utility in DOS

The line-oriented debugger DEBUG.EXE is an external command in operating systems such as DOS, OS/2 and Windows.

move (command)

In computing, move is a command in various command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, 4DOS/4NT, and PowerShell. It is used to move one or more files or directories from one place to another. The original file is deleted, and the new file may have the same or a different name. The command is analogous to the Unix mv command and to the OpenVOS move_file and move_dircommands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TYPE (DOS command)</span>

In computing, type is a command in various command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, 4DOS/4NT and Windows PowerShell used to display the contents of specified files on the computer terminal. The analogous Unix command is cat.

del (command) Command in various operating systems

In computing, del is a command in command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, 4DOS, NDOS, 4OS2, 4NT and Windows PowerShell. It is used to delete one or more files or directories from a file system.

ver (command) Command in many command-line interpreters

In computing, ver is a command in various command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe and 4DOS/4NT. It prints the name and version of the operating system, the command shell, or in some implementations the version of other commands. It is roughly equivalent to the Unix command uname.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PRINT (command)</span> Computing command

In computing, the print command provides single-user print spooling capability in a number of operating systems. It is roughly similar to that provided by the UNIX System V lp and BSD lpr print spooler systems.

find (Windows)

In computing, find is a command in the command-line interpreters (shells) of a number of operating systems. It is used to search for a specific text string in a file or files. The command sends the specified lines to the standard output device.

In some operating systems, vol is a command within the command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM and cmd.exe. It is used to display the volume label and volume serial number of a logical drive, such as a hard disk partition or a floppy disk, if they exist.

help (command) Command in various command line shells

In computing, help is a command in various command line shells such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, Bash, qshell, 4DOS/4NT, Windows PowerShell, Singularity shell, Python, MATLAB and GNU Octave. It provides online information about available commands and the shell environment.

copy (command)

In computing, copy is a command in various operating systems. The command copies computer files from one directory to another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TIME (command)</span>

In computing, TIME is a command in DEC RT-11, DOS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows and a number of other operating systems that is used to display and set the current system time. It is included in command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, 4DOS, 4OS2 and 4NT.

format (command)

In computing, format, a command-line utility that carries out disk formatting. It is a component of various operating systems, including 86-DOS, MS-DOS, IBM PC DOS and OS/2, Microsoft Windows and ReactOS.

comp (command)

In computing, comp is a command used on DEC OS/8, DOS, DR FlexOS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows and related computer operating systems such as ReactOS. It is used to perform comparisons of multiple computer files to show the differences between them.

References

  1. ↑ Rügheimer, Hannes; Spanik, Christian (September 19, 1988). AmigaDOS quick reference. Grand Rapids, Mi : Abacus. ISBN   9781557550491 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ "Manual" (PDF). www.cpm.z80.de. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  3. ↑ Digital Research (July 1981) [1979]. MP/M - Multi-Programming Monitor Control Program - User's Guide (PDF) (4 ed.). Pacific Grove, CA, USA: Digital Research. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  4. ↑ Digital Research (1981-09-25). MP/M-86 Operating System - User's Guide (PDF) (1 ed.). Pacific Grove, CA, USA: Digital Research. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  5. ↑ CDOS USER'S MANUAL
  6. ↑ "Manual" (PDF). www.pagetable.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  7. ↑ "JaTomes Help - OS/2 Commands". Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  8. ↑ "Microsoft TechNet Rename (ren) article". 11 September 2009.
  9. ↑ "reactos/reactos". GitHub. 3 January 2022.
  10. ↑ "Multics Commands". www.multicians.org.
  11. ↑ "Manual" (PDF). stratadoc.stratus.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  12. ↑ "RT-11 HELP FILE". paleoferrosaurus.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  13. ↑ "Concise Command Language" (CCL). "OS/8 Handbook" (PDF). April 1974. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  14. ↑ John F. Pieper (1987). RSX A Guide for Users (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. ISBN   0-932376-90-8 . Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  15. ↑ ISIS II Users Guide
  16. ↑ iRMX™86 INTRODUCTION AND OPERATOR'S REFERENCE MANUAL For Release 6
  17. ↑ "TOPS-20 Command manual" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  18. ↑ Z80-RIO OPERATING SYSTEM USER'S MANUAL
  19. ↑ "FLEX 2.0 User's Manual" (PDF).
  20. ↑ Paul S. Dayan (1992). The OS-9 Guru - 1 : The Facts. Galactic Industrial Limited. ISBN   0-9519228-0-7.
  21. ↑ "FlexOS User's Guide" (PDF). www.bitsavers.org. 1986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  22. ↑ "Users guide" (PDF). archive.org. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  23. ↑ "MPE/iX Command Reference Manual" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  24. ↑ THEOS/OASIS User's Handbook
  25. ↑ OpenVMS User's Manual [ permanent dead link ]
  26. ↑ 86-DOS - Disk Operating System for the 8086 - User's Manual (PDF). Version 0.3 (Preliminary ed.). Seattle, Washington, USA: Seattle Computer Products, Inc. 1980. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14. (59 pages)
  27. ↑ Wolverton, Van (2003). Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN   0-7356-1812-7.
  28. ↑ DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips
  29. ↑ "Microsoft TechNet PowerShell Rename-Item (ren) article". 22 October 2009.
  30. ↑ PC-MOS User Guide
  31. ↑ Jansen, Roeland (8 February 2018). "pcmos386v501: PC-MOS/386 v5.01 final release including cdrom driver sources" – via GitHub.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.