Advanced Renamer: vanhemmat versiot ja versiohistoria

Detailed preview of filename changes

Select an item in the list to see a detailed preview of its changes at the bottom of the main window. The original and new filenames are shown together, with removed text highlighted in red and added text highlighted in blue, to make it easier to see exactly which parts of a filename will change. Any error for the selected item is displayed alongside the filename preview.

When using move or copy mode, the preview also shows the destination folder. If the batch changes file timestamps, the original and new dates are shown with the same highlighting.
If you prefer the extra space, you can hide the preview to get the full view of the file list.

Add correct filename format extension

The new <DetectedExt> tag returns a file extension based on the content of the file. Use it to add missing extensions or correct extensions that do not match the actual file format.

Add a New Name method, set "Apply to" to "Extension", and enter <DetectedExt> as the new name. For example, a PNG image named photo.dat will become photo.png. The tag returns the extension without the dot, just like <Ext>, and always in lowercase. If you prefer your extensions in uppercase, you can use the upper modifier, like this <DetectedExt:upper>.

If the file format cannot be detected from its content, the tag returns the existing filename extension.

UI updates for tag selector

A new Search tab in the tag selector lets you search across all tag categories from one place. Type part of a tag name or description to narrow down the list, then click a result to insert the tag into your naming pattern.

Search also includes project tags, named counters, and metadata fields from the files in the list, including fields normally hidden under "More". The tag selector layout has been updated, with tag names and descriptions shown in different colors to make the list easier to read.

Use external JS files in script method

JavaScript functions can now be kept in external .js files and reused in your Script methods. Open the Project Settings window, select the Script tab, and add the files you want to use.

The external files are loaded in the listed order before the Script method's own code, making their functions available without copying the same code into each method. This is useful for keeping shared formatting functions or more complex renaming logic in one place, and lets you edit that code in your preferred editor.

Full list of changes in version 4.28
- Scripting: Setup external library files in project settings
- Main window: Statusbar showing changes for selected item
- Main window: Added "Move to recycle bin" to the list right click menu
- New name method: Tab for searching through all tags
- New name method: UI improvements
- Timestamp method: Changes to file level timestamps now only applies to the destination file when using move or copy mode
- Tags: New tag <DetectedExt> for returning a file extension based on the content of the file
- Tags: <Date Created> tags did not work on macOS
- Metadata: Made reading metadata from PDF files more reliable
- Metadata: Support for HTML files
- Metadata: Support comic book archive files (CBR, CBZ)
- Metadata: Support metadata from ZIP and RAR archives
- Metadata: Native support for MTS and M2TS files
- Metadata: Native support for more raw image formats
- Metadata: Native support for APE and WV audio formats
- Metadata: Support several legacy formats
- Undo batch: Better error handling for undo batch
- Undo batch: Will now also revert changes to file level timestamps
- Columns window: Column double click an item moves it to the other list
- Thumbnails: Better generation of thumbnails and image previews on macOS
- UI: Changed look and feel for application titlebar on macOS
- Settings: Split the Program tab into Program and User Interface tabs
- Settings: Added "Confirm clear method list" and "Confirm save on project close" options, both enabled by default
- Batch project: Save project w

Full list of changes in version 4.27
- Fixed an issue causing the program to fail when loading certain batch method configurations on Windows

Saved method lists are now batch projects

Batch methods are now saved together with batch settings in a project, making it easier to reuse the whole configuration in a consistent workflow. Existing .aren batch method files still work and new projects are also backwards compatible, but will contain more project specific configuration.

The new Project Settings window lets you override renaming settings for the current project only, such as word separators, zero padding, and the replacement for unsupported characters. The three new features of batch projects, Named counters, Project tags, and Custom filename validation, are also available in the Project settings window.

Named counters, referenced with tags like <Inc Nr:Name> are used for keeping track of numeric sequences within the project across multiple program sessions. When a batch is completed, the named counters are updated and their numeric values are preserved for the next batch, so that the next batch can continue the sequence seamlessly.

Project tags, referenced with <Project Name>, are used for values you want to reuse throughout the project. The value can be both a static value and it can be a dynamic value derived from a series of other tags.

For more advanced repeated workflows, set up a filename validation to catch potential naming issues before they occur. A filename validation can enforce rules such as required regex patterns and specific length constraints for filenames.

To make room for batch project controls and keep them grouped together, the main toolbar has been reorganized. Loading and saving projects should also feel more natural now.

Note: Named counters and Project tags, and Filename validation are only available for licensed users.

Tags reorganization

To make it easier to find the right tag, the tags from the categories Default, Advanced, File size, and Checksum, have been reorganized into Filename, Number, Data, and File info.

Tags of Filename category:
<Name>, <Ext>, <FolderName>, <SubFolder>, <Word>, <RWord>, <SubStr>, <RSubStr>, <Switch>

Tags of Number category:
<Inc Nr>, <Dec Nr>, <Inc NrDir>, <Inc Alpha>, <Inc Hex>, <Inc Roman>, <Rand>, <Rand Str>, <Num Files>, <Num Dirs>, <Num Items>, and any named counter tags.

Tags of Data category:
<ExifTool>, <->, <Csv>, <MediaType>, and any custom project tags.

Tags of File info category:
<Filesize>, <MD5>, <SHA1>

The documentation has been updated to reflect the new categories.

Copy/Paste batch method configuration

You can now copy the configuration from one batch method and paste it into another method of the same type. Select the source method and choose "Copy configuration" from the method header right click menu, then select the destination method and choose "Paste configuration" from the same menu to reuse its settings.

Batch method condition enhancements

When using Equals, Contains, Starts with, or Ends with, you can now enter a list of values to match. This lets one condition match several alternatives, such as applying a method to files with any of several extensions, without writing a regular expression.

You can also use any metadata field as the condition field. This makes it possible to decide whether a method should be applied based on information stored in the file, such as an artist or camera model, in addition to its name, extension, or path.

Full list of changes in version 4.26
- Method lists are now called Batch Projects
- Added Project Settings window
- UI: Reorganized the main toolbar to make room for functionality related to Batch Project
- Tags: Reorganized some tags into new categories: Default, Advanced, File size, Checksum has become Filename, Number, Data, File info
- Main window: All panel headers now have a right click menu to quickly change various UI settings
- Main window: Dragging a .aren file to the main window will load the method list instead of adding it to the item list
- List: Columns can now be dragged to a new location in the list and in the custo

Thumbnail grid mode

For easier sorting of images before renaming the list can now be presented in a grid mode showing thumbnails. The existing list based thumbnail view is still available. Toggle between the three modes (List, Thumbnail List, Thumbnail Grid) in the main toolbar.

Exclude items from batch based on conditions

Menu items have been added to the list right click menu to mark/unmark or remove items based on a condition. A condition is a logical expression, like any file containing a certain text. The available conditions are the same as those available for Method Conditions.

New tag: <RWord>

A new tag has been added to return a word from the end of a string. Works like the existing <Word> tag, but in the opposite direction. The tag is used like this: <RWord:1> will return the last word, <RWord:2> will return the second last word. <RWord:2:2> will return the last two words.

Quick change panel position

To quickly change the positions of a panel, right click the panel button and select a new position for the panel. The configuration can still be changed with the Settings window.

Full list of changes in version 4.25
- Improved First Use window while eliminating the select language window for first time users
- Main window: Add option to change main toolbar position in the main toolbar right click menu
- List: When adding files using regular expressions pattern, the pattern is now evaluated case insensitive
- List: Added "Mark by condition", "Unmark by condition", and "Remove by condition" to right click menu
- List: Thumbnail grid view mode
- Tags: Added <RWord:Index> tag for returning a word from the end of a string. <RWord:1> will return the last word, <RWord:2> will return the second last word.
- Tags: <Word> and <RWord> now have an additional option parameter to override the system wide word separator setting. <Word:1:1:-> will return the first word only using a hyphen (-) as the word separator.
- Tags: Show tag category with right click menu
- Main window: Methods panel is now showing short instructions on how to get started, when the panel is empty
- Main window: Show status for pair renaming and name collision rule when menu is in super compact mode
- Main window: Some items from the main toolbar in the Tools category has been moved to a dropdown menu
- Main window: Added help buttons to method panels
- Settings: Quick change of panel position configuration through main window right click menu
- Metadata: When using pair renaming, all files in the pair will be searched for metadata when the metadata field for the master file is empty
- Active method header will show with a slightly different color
- Show more information in the pre batch window
- Updated some icons for better visibility in dark mode
- Various UI improvements

Read PDF text content with Script method

The new app.readFilePdf(filename) method can be used in the Script method to read the text content of a PDF into a string. Only real text can be read; if the text is stored as an image, it cannot be extracted. The program now has native PDF support without the need for external tools, making PDF loading faster.

An optional second parameter can be used to read only a specific page: app.readFilePdf(filename, page). If omitted, the text from all pages is returned.

Place panels on the right

Individual UI panels can now be configured to appear on the right side of the main window instead of the default left side. This setting is available in the Settings window, where each panel can be independently assigned to either the left or right side. You can keep all panels on the left (the default), move all of them to the right, or mix and match — placing only some panels on the left and others on the right — to suit your workflow.

Hide left or right panel by clicking panel button

You can collapse either the left or right panel by clicking its panel button, which gives you more room to work by exposing a larger area for the item list.

Full list of changes in version 4.24
- Metadata: Added native support for PDF files
- Script Method: Added method app.readFilePdf(filename) to extract all content from PDF files as text
- Improved reading metadata for Panasonic RAW files (.RW2)
- Improved reading Exif metadata when file contains unknown fields or malformed data
- Settings: Option to preserve file timestamps when copying files in batch mode
- Settings: Export keyboard shortcuts to a CSV file
- Timestamp method: Fixed created timestamp sometimes off by one hour on macOS
- Timestamp method: Fixed issue when timestamp fields are blank when using relative date and time
- Command palette: Now sorted alphabetically
- Settings: Choose to show individual UI panels in the right instead of the left of the main window
- UI: Methods panel can now be collapsed to show more of the item list
- Settings: Menu Position value "Auto" is no longer available. New default is "Top of list"

Full list of changes in version 4.22
- Fixed bug where customn keyboard shortcuts would block certain text input keys

Watch folder for changes

If you are always adding files from the same folder as part of your workflow, you can now setup a folder for the program to watch and automatically add any new files to the list. Choose folder and setup file name pattern or regular expression to filter which files to add. You can also choose to include subfolders.

Note: this feature is only availble for registered users.

Change keyboard shortcut mappings

You can now change the keyboard shortcut mappings to better suit your workflow. This allows for a more personalized and efficient use of the program. Keyboard shortcut configuration can be found in the settings window under the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.

Configure default configuration for newly added methods

When adding a new method, the program will load the configuration of the last used method of the same type. This can now be turned off in settings, so that am empty configuration is used instead.

Full list of changes in version 4.21
- Watch folder for new files and add them to the list automatically
- Settings: Change keyboard shortcut mappings
- Settings: Option to disable loading last used configuration when adding methods
- Settings: Fixed changing field Word Separators not working properly
- New tag: <SubFolder:1> will return the name of a folder within the same parent folder as the file. When used on folders, it will return the name of a subfolder within the folder
- Timestamp method: Support changing created timestamp on macOS
- Remove method: When using backwards mode with a remove count bigger than the available characters the program did nothing
- Updated ExifTool
- Faster first start after install on Windows
- Various visual improvements

Tag builder

The pattern window has been extended with a tag builder for helping setting up the right parameters for a tag. Can also be used to correctly add tag modifiers and tag fallbacks.

Full list of changes in version 4.20
- Pattern window: Tag builder for easy configuration of tag parameters and modifiers
- Fixed method list not loading when double clicking .aren file in Windows Explorer
- Improved support for long filenames
- Script Method: Upgraded JS engine to a newer version
- Script Method: Added optinal parameters, index and count, to app.readFileText(filename, index, count)
- Metadata: Improved reading metadata from certain WAV files

Changes to metadata writer

The user interface for the metadata batch writer has changed to better support large batches. The user interface is not more compact and performs better when many files are shown in the list.

You can now also use tags when setting metadata values. This makes it possible to set metadata values based on other metadata values or file properties.

Name collision rule improvements

A new Name Collision rule has been added called Append Character. It works in the same way as Append Number, but instead of appending a number to make the filename unique, it will append characters (A, B, C, ..., Z, AA, AB, etc), like the <Inc Alpha> tag.

The Append Number rule now has a new option to start from a custom number instead of 1. To force a specific number length, append zeros, like this to get a 4 digit number: 0001.

Full list of changes in version 4.19
- Item Details Panel: Will show a message if metadata analysis is turned off in settings
- Folder Panel: Show selected folder in edit box
- Replace Method: Fixed named groups when using regular expressions
- List Replace Method: Button, Move To Bottom, when shown in a separate window did not work
- Command Palette: Recent method presets now available through command palette
- Command Palette: Will remember the last 5 used commands between program restarts
- MacOS: Program settings has moved to a different folder, to be more compliant with Mac conventions. Existing settings will be migrated automatically
- Portable mode: Will now check for write permissions for config files on startup
- Tags: <Duration> now has an optional parameter called unit. <Duration:mins> will return the total duration in minutes. <Duration:secs> will return the total duration in seconds. <Duration:hours> will return the total duration in hours
- Metadata: Better support for reading EXIF metadata from Canon RAW CR3 files
- Export: It is now an option to select which field to export when exporting list to .txt file
- List: When sorting timestamp columns, also sort by sub second if available
- List: The menu item Randomize Sorting in file list popup has been moved into the Sort By submenu
- List: Save List menu item in popup replaced by Export menu item
- Batch Write Metadata: Tags can now be used when changing metadata
- Batch Write Metadata: Changed UI for better support for processing larger batches
- Name Collision Rule: New rule, Append Character
- Name Collision Rule: Added Start Value configuration to Append Number

Command search

The program now has a command search feature, which can be opened with Ctrl+P (Windows) or ⌘P (Mac). It can be used to quickly find and execute commands in the program, like adding a specific method, opening settings, or adding files. Most features shown in toolbars and menus are available through the command search. Just start typing to filter the list of commands and press Enter to execute the selected command.

Configure favorite folders

A list of favorite folders can now be configured on the folder panel. Use it to quickly navigate to the folders you use the most. Right click a folder and click "Add to favorites" to add it to the list.

Quick change UI settings

Various parts of the UI can be customized to fit your liking. These configurations are available in the settings window, but to make it easier to change these settings, some of them are now available through a right click menu on selected UI elements in the main window.

The Insert Tag and Pattern windows have been merged

Instead of two separate windows for inserting tags and patterns, there is now only one window with all the functionality of both. This means that all windows that support tags also have the option to save the pattern for later use. Can also be used to store your favorite regex patterns.

Full list of changes in version 4.18
- Added support for searching commands by name through a new search field
- Folder panel: Configure list of favorite folders
- Right click menu on certain UI elements to quickly change UI related settings
- The Insert Tag window and the Tag Pattern window has been merged into one window
- Fixed some issues with email tags: Did not support names containing comma (,). Also fixed issue with the FromEmail tag not working
- Progress bar in batch progress window was too wide for the window
- Updated JavaScript engine to a newer version
- Fixed <RSubstr> tag being off by one when second parameter is a search pattern instead of a numeric value
- Added row move buttons to list replace method when shown in a separate window
- When loading a method list with more than 500 methods, the program will now show a message and only load the first 500 methods, instead of crashing
- Properly read framerate from .mkv files and .mp4 files
- Read audio bitrate from QTFF based file formats, like .mp4, .mov, and .m4a
- Added two new tag modifiers :multiply and :divide

Open List and List replace in new window

The List method and List Replace method can now be opened in a new window. This makes it easier to work with large lists, as you can now see more lines on the screen without scrolling.

Search

When you open the Script method, List method, or List Replace method in a new window, you can now search through the content using Ctrl+F/⌘F. You can also search the main list with the same shortcut.

Updated UI for loading and saving method lists

The buttons for loading and saving method lists has been extended with a submenu to access additional functionality, like appending a method list file with an existing list, or easily overwriting the recently opened method list file. The presets dropdown has been moved into this submenu as well for a cleaner more compact UI.

Script method: formatDate()

The Script method now has a new function called formatDate(date, format), taking the same format parameter as the Datetime tags.

Example of use:
var date = new Date(item.modifiedDate);
return app.formatDate(date, 'yyyy_mm_dd hh_nn_ss');

Full list of changes in version 4.17
- List method and List Replace method can be opened in a new window
- Added search functionality to Script method, List method, and List Replace method, when shown in a separate window
- Added search to item list in main window
- UI update for recent methods. Is now in a submenu of the load button instead of a dropdown
- Scripting: The values item.newModifiedDate and item.newCreatedDate can now be updated from script
- Added method app.formatDate(date, format) to scripting method
- Settings: Added options to always use strict mode in scripts
- Item details: Added Copy Tag to right click menu
- New option in list right click: Unmark items with errors. Also updated logic behind remove items with errors
- Fixed an issue where dates of folders could not be changed on Windows
- When the main menu was in super compact mode, the show thumbnails button didn't work
- Multi select support in columns window
- Faster load time for Exiftool at startup

Metadata writer is back

The ability to change metadata values is the last large feature missing fra version 3.95 and now it has finally returned. It works the same way as in 3.95 and it still uses Exiftool under the hood to change metdata in image, video, and audio files. A couple of improvements has been added, like the ability to change values from the item details panel, when the Exiftool group is selected.
Remember, not all formats and fields are supported. The program will automatically adapt based on file extension and selected metadata field.

Import data in Script method

The Script method now has the ability to import data from an external file through the readFileText() and readFileLines() functions. This makes it possible to create scripts that can read data from external files and use that data to rename files. By default, the program will only read from CSV, JSON and text files, but this can be changed in the settings window.

At the same time the tags <File Content> and <File Line> is now considered deprecated and will be removed at some time in the future. The tags are too complex for tag based renaming. The functionality is best acheived through scripting instead.

Learn more about the new import functionality in the user guide.

Apply script shortcut

It has now become easier to apply a new script. Instead of reaching for the mouse to click the Apply button, you can now use the keyboard shortcut instead.

Windows shortcut: Ctrl + Enter
Mac shortcut: ⌘Enter

Pattern location in Remove method

If you want to remove a pattern from the beginning or end of a filename, you had to use regular expressions, but not everyone is comfortable using regex. An option to specify where the pattern should be located has been added, which works even without regular expressions. Use it to remove a pattern from the start or end of a filename. The option can be used when the remove type is set to Pattern, Word characters, Non-word characters, Numbers, or Not numbers.

Full list of changes in version 4.16
- The metadata writer has been reintroduced with a couple of new features
- Item details panel: Change values by right-clicking when the Exiftool group is selected
- Script method: Load the contents of a file into a variable using the new readFileText(filename) and readFileLines(filename) functions
- Script method: A shortcut has been added for the Apply button (Windows: Ctrl + Enter; Mac: Cmd + Enter)
- Script method: Added item.csv(columnIndex) function for retrieving data previously imported from a CSV file
- Script method: Copy shortcut didn't work in the Log window
- Remove method: New configuration option Location, with the options Anywhere, Start, and End, for use with Remove Types: Pattern, Word characters, Non-word characters, Numbers, and Not numbers
- The program will ask for confirmation when loading a method list file containing a Script method
- Export window: When selecting an output format, the correct options did not always appear
- The buttons for changing the menu size are now bigger and easier to see
- Fixed an issue with Exiftool where metadata wasn't retrieved for a large list when a single file had bad data
- Fixed an issue with the List Replace method when using a colon in the Key field
- Some issues preventing texts from being translated have been fixed
- The new version number will now be shown when new versions are available
- The tags <File Content> and <File Line> have been deprecated in favor of the script functions readFileText and readFileLines. These tags still work, but will be removed in a future version

New tag: <Delimiter>

If you have ever created a filename made from metadata values you might have experienced oddly looking filenames with repeated delimiters when some metadata values are empty. It could be a New Name pattern like this:
<Title> - <Artist> - <Album> - <Year>
If the Album value is empty, you end up with a filename like this:
Heroes - David Bowie - - 1977
To prevent this, a new Delimiter tag has been added with special logic to not appear in the beginning or end of the filename and will not repeat. The tag can be used like this:
<Title><Delimiter: - ><Artist><Delimiter: - ><Album><Delimiter: - ><Year>
The result for the same case as above will be:
Heroes - David Bowie - 1977
The tag can also be used with the short syntax <-> to make it easier to type, and if all delimiters are the same, only the first has to be defined with a parameter:
<Title><-: - ><Artist><-><Album><-><Year>
Multiple delimiter parameters can be used in the the same pattern:
<Title><-: - ><Artist><-><Album><-><Year><-><Track><-: of ><TrackCount>

Short syntax for default and alternative tag values

The new short syntax for default and alternative tag values makes it easier to use tags with multiple alternatives. Instead of using the long syntax like these:
<Artist:default:Unknown artist>
<Artist:alt:Performer>
You can now use the short syntax with | like this:
<Artist|Unknown artist>
<Artist||Performer>
Single pipe | is short for using the default tag modifier, which will default empty values to a string, and double pipe || is short for using the alt tag modifier, which will use the value of the alternative tag if available.
As oppose to the syntax based on tag modifiers, the short syntax will always appear before any parameters, and parameters and tag modifiers will always be applied to the resolved tag value. Therefore, this syntax:
<Artist||Performer|Unknown artist:lower>
Is equivalent to this using tag modified:
<Artist:lower:alt:Performer:lower:default:Unknown artist:lower>
Learn more about tag fallback.

Full list of changes in version 4.15
- Added <Delimiter> tag which will not appear in the beginning or end of filename and will not repeat. Will primarily use the short syntax: <->
- Support short syntax for default and alternative tag values: <Artist||Performer|Unknown artist> will return the value of Artist if available, otherwise Performer, and if neither is available, it will return "Unknown artist"
- Added special tag <MetaData:fieldname> to access metadata fields that has the same name as built-in tags
- Email Date field renamed to DateTime
- Script method will show pre script button and log button in bold text if they have values (Windows only)
- The program did not always ask for language when starting for the first time
- Fixed an issue where the program could potentially crash at startup when the Script method was loaded
- Fixed some icons not always shown in the correct resolution on Windows
- At certain DPI scales on Windows batch methods would have too much spacing at the top
- Fixed export to HTML in details with images, when printed to PDF, always had an empty page at the end and no page break after first item
- Script method: JS Log window: Escape key now closes the window
- Script method: The value of the item checkbox is now available in scripting
- Script method: log method now accepts multiple parameters
- Script method: Small performance improvement

New tag: <Switch>

The new tag <Switch> can be used to switch between two or more values, each item in the list getting the next value in the sequence. When the last value is reached, the sequence starts over from the first value.

This is how you can switch between odd and even or a sequence of letter:
<Switch:Odd:Even>
<Switch:A:B:C:D>

Tag modifiers

From time to time I have seen users try to use tags within tags, which doesn't work, but could be very useful. Instead a new concept has been added named Tag Modifiers. This is a set of special parameters that can be added to tags, to modify their value before inserting into the filename. This is an example of how you can get the artist name in uppercase:
<Artist:upper>
Or the first 10 characters of the artist name:
<Artist:substr:1:10>
Or both:
<Artist:substr:1:10:upper>
Full list of tag modifiers:
- default:text
- alt:tagname
- append:text
- prepend:text
- suffix:text
- prefix:text
- pad:length:character
- trim
- upper:pos:count
- lower:pos:count
- titlecase:pos:count
- substr:pos:count
- rsubstr:pos:count
- remove:pos:count
- insert:text:pos
- replace:replace:with
- word:index:count
- add:number
- subtract:number
Learn more about tag modifiers in the Tag Modifiers section of the user guide.
To be able to implement this new feature, it was necessary to completely rewrite how tags are parsed. As a side effect, the parsing is now 30% faster for larger batches.

Changes to Remove Method

The Remove method has the remove type Numbers, but the opposite has been missing. The options "Not numbers" has now been added.

Some remove types now have the option to get a list of exception characters. This can be used if you want to remove all special characters except a few. For example, you can remove all non-word characters except the dash (-) character.

Thumbnails in item list

A feature from version 3 that has been missing is the ability to show thumbnails in the item list. This has now been added back. The thumbnails will be shown in the Filename column. The list is still displayed as a vertical list and not in tiles, which was supported in version 3.

The source of the thumbnails is the same as for the preview panel. Future versions will add support for extracting thumbnails from more file formats.

Export to HTML

The export window has been extended with the option to export the list to HTML format. It will export the same data as the CSV format, but formattet as a HTML table. If you choose the Data Layout "Details" it will export a vertical table for each file. You can choose to also export the image. The generated HTML will have a local link to the file, so if you are exporting the HTML to a website, remember to change those links.

Support for email metadata

If you want to rename emails and use metadata fields like Subject, Date or Receiver names and emails on the filename, you can now do that with the new tags, with support for .eml and .msg files:
- <Subject>
- <Date>
- <From>
- <FromName>
- <FromEmail>
- <To>
- <ToName>
- <ToEmail>
- <Cc>
- <CcName>
- <CcEmail>
- <Bcc>
- <BccName>
- <BccEmail>
If an email has multiple recipients, the tags will return a comma separated list of all recipients. If you only want the first, use a numeric parameter like this: <ToName:1> or <ToEmail:1>.
Learn more about the new email tags.

New parameter for Word tag

The <Word> tag has been extended with a second parameter to specifify the number of words to return. <Word:1:3> will return the first three words of the filename. Any word separator between the words will be preserved. If the filename is "This is a long filename" the result will be "This is a", while the result of "This-is-a-long-filename" will be "This-is-a". If the filename has less words than specified, it will return all the words.

Exif Sub second

The behavior of the sub second field has changed to give a more correct result. Previously, the field was interpreted as a two digit field with the possibility of the field being longe

Move, Delete, or Rename existing target files

When setting up a renaming batch you might end up with the error "File already exists". This can be most common when moving or copying files to a new location. It has been requested that the program should have an option to overwrite existing files, but that makes it difficult to undo a batch properly. Instead you will now have these three options, before starting the batch:
- Move existing files to a new location
- Move existing files to recycle bin
- Rename existing files
The buttons will show automatically in panel in the bottom of the main window, when at least one item has the "File already exists" error.
When renaming or moving files with this feature, the program will use Advanced Renamer technology to produce the new names and file paths, which means you can use the same tags as in a standard renaming batch and you can even revert the action.
Note, this only works for files, not folders.

Export list, including all metadata

A new window for exporting the file list has been added, with many more options. As always you can export to text and CSV file, but now you can also export to JSON format. There are plenty of options for how the program should format the output and which encoding to use. You can choose to export the columns of the item list as it is or export all metadata found in the files.
A later version will extend the support for importing files and enriching the list of files with more data from external sources.

Full list of changes in version 4.13
- When new filename already exists, the program will now give the option to move or rename the existing target files
- New export Window: Export to TXT, CSV, and JSON files
- Fixed Timestamp method for use with folders on Windows
- Will give an error when starting a renaming batch and there are no methods added
- The program is now less likely to crash when analysing corrupted MP4 files
- Support for reading metadata from .ivf files
- Support more tags from .wav, .ogg, .webp, and .aiff files
- Alias metadata fields, Channels -> AudioChannels and SampleRate -> AudioSampleRate added for better compatibility
- Improved reading of metadata from .ogg, .ogv, and .mp3 files
- Show a summary of error codes in the pre batch window
- Changed implementation of Copy batch mode to preserve timestamps and file attributes on file copy

Full list of changes in version 4.12
- Upgraded regular expression engine for use in renaming methods
- Replace method: Named group substitution is now supported in regular expressions (e.g., (?<name>.*) and ${name})
- Program is now less likely to crash when config file is corrupted
- Fixed an edge case bug in List Replace method
- Fixed large file support in ExifTool integration
- Improved reading XMP metadata from MP4 files
- ExifTool field names sometimes showed up in lists where they were not supported
- Will no longer show error "Extension changed" when new name is blank
- Disc and DiscCount metadata now correctly recognized for MP3 files
- Item details would sometimes show the same fields multiple times
- Additional metadata fields is now supported for MP4 files: AudioFormat, AudioChannels, AudioSampleType, AudioSampleRate, CompressionID, CompressionName, BitDepth, XResolution, YResolution
- More robust handling of MP4 files with corrupted data
- Added support for extracting metadata from some older QuickTime .mov files
- Fixed an issue reading GPS metadata from image and video files, when formattet in a certain way
- Improved MKV file metadata support
- Added support for metadata fields AudioFormat, AudioChannels, and AudioSampleRate for AVI files
- Import from CSV did not remember the last used column index for original filename
- Fixed name collision rule "Append image sub second"
- When using name collision rule "Append image sub second", the rule will now be applied to all items in the list with the same name
- Improved performance for JPEG files containing long XMP Extended metadata
- MacOS: Item preview panel will now use embedded thumbnails for JPEGs for better performance

Full list of changes in version 4.11
- Fixed an issue where the menu bar would have the wrong height when starting the program with menu in super compact mode
- Script: Re-added the item.GPSExists property
- Fixed move method, when moving in backwards mode and using Move To value longer than filename length
- Fixed not being able to change filename and timestamp in a single batch
- Could not load Norwegian language file

Automatic method titles

When multiple methods of the same type are used in a batch, the title of the method will show basic information about the method configuration. This makes it easier to see what each method does without having to open the method panel. The default setting is to only show the configuration when there are multiple of the same type, but this can be changed in the Settings window on the Program tab.

Not all methods will support this (Script, List, List Replace, and Trim). Those that are list based does not have an obvious basic info to show.

New modes for Remove method

The Remove method has been extended with new remove types to make it easier to perform certain types of removals from filenames.

The new types are:
Position - Like the existing functionality of the Remove method.
Pattern - Works like the Remove pattern method.
Accents and special marks - For easy removal of accents and special marks, also known as diacritics.
Word characters
Non-word characters
Upper case - Remove all characters that are upper case.
Lower case - Remove all characters that are lower case.
Character list - A list of characters to remove.
Numbers - Remove all numeric values.

This change effectively makes the Remove pattern method redundant. Later versions of Advanced Renamer might not be able to create new Remove pattern methods, but full backwards compatibility will be maintained.

Remove character accents

As mentioned in the paragraph above, the new remove type Accents and special marks can be used to remove accents and special marks from filenames. This is useful when you want to remove accents from characters like é, è, ê, and ë. Only accent and special mark is removed, leaving the clean character behind.

Layout changes for Timestamp method

The user interface Timestamp method was getting too tall and was diverging from the layout of other methods. The "Set to" controls have been changed from radio buttons to a dropdown.

Some settings have moved
The Program tab in the Settings window was getting too crowded, so some settings have been moved to other tabs, for the most part the Renaming tab.

Full list of changes in version 4.10
- Always show all batch modes, but show an error if copy mode is chosen in folder mode
- When multiple methods of the same type is used, the title will show basic information about the method configuration
- Reorganized the settings window
- Remove method changed to support several remove types: Position, Pattern, Accents and special marks, Word characters, Non-word characters, Upper case, Lower case, Character list, and Numbers
- Various performance improvements
- Changed how method panels are rendered
- New layout for the timestamp method