renaming multiple files using the command prompt

Question

Hello,

I had a few dozen files that used a naming convention beginning with an abbreviation for a city (in this case, WI) and then an alpha-numeric sequence that was unique to each file. I wanted to rename the files to include the entire city name (in this case, Windsor) without changing the subsequent unique sequences. So I opened command prompt, traced a path to that file, typed in the "dir" command to ensure that I had found the correct folder (I had, the correct files were listed). This is the command that I entered in to change all the file names: ren WI*.* Windsor*.*

After executing that command, the result is that the first file changed names to "Windsor" but eliminated the unique alpha-numeric sequence that followed (I need the alpha-numeric to remain intact) and for every subsequent file, I got the message "A duplicate file name exists, or the file cannot be found." Obviously, I set this up wrong. Can anyone help me with the correct command structure? Thanks...

Chris

Answer 1

Thanks so much for this! Super helpful for batch renaming video proxies and making life so much easier!