Rename a folder of camera clips so each name starts with its date and time, in PowerShell on…

Guide ID: art_01M782HZ9DBEDQ5J13GNTAGBAB

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Guide title

Rename a folder of camera clips so each name starts with its date and time, in PowerShell on Windows, with a dry run first and an undo list

Coverage

Aimed at anyone with a folder of camera-named clips who wants names that sort by shoot time, wants to preview the change, and wants a way back. A Windows PowerShell script writes a plan file first, then on request renames files to date, time and original name (optionally with a prefix and with sidecars), keeping an undo log written around every rename, and can later put the old names back. It never overwrites, deletes or touches file contents. Tested only on generated files on a local disk; real cards, huge batches and other file systems are untested.

Example

On 15 generated files the dry run planned 10 renames and changed nothing, the real run renamed them and left times and contents intact, a second run did nothing, and the undo restored every original name.

Useful starting points

• Copying preserves when a file was last written but stamps a fresh creation date, which is why the default clock here is the last-write one.
• Read the plan file before adding the switch that applies it.
• Keep the undo log next to the footage; it only works while the files are where it says.