So my filename looks like this :
Building+a+Container+for+Robust+Conversations.pdf
I would like to use mmv to rename it like this :
Building_a_Container_for_Robust_Conversations.pdf
Or like this :
BuildingaContainerforRobustConversations.pdf
2 Answers
(Assuming you want to perform the same operation on all files in the current directory...)
To replace + with _ :
mmv '*+*' '#1_#2'
To strip + :
mmv '*+*' '#1#2'
Now, mmv only replaces the first matching + for each file. If you are doing this manually from the shell, and only want/need to do this renaming process once, then you can just repeat the command as many times as is necessary. (Pressing the Up/Down Arrow keys is the easiest way to scroll through your command history.) If you are going to do this, then adding the -v (verbose) flag is advisable, as it will let you know what the mmv command did, and when there is no more work to do. For example:
$ mmv -v '*+*' '#1#2'
a+b+c.jpg -> ab+c.jpg : done
d+e+f.jpg -> de+f.jpg : done
g+h+i.jpg -> gh+i.jpg : done
$ mmv -v '*+*' '#1#2'
ab+c.jpg -> abc.jpg : done
de+f.jpg -> def.jpg : done
gh+i.jpg -> ghi.jpg : done
$ mmv -v '*+*' '#1#2'
*+* -> #1#2 : no match.
Nothing done.
If you want all occurrences to be replaced in all of the files in a single pass, or want to embed this command into a script of some sort, then a more elaborate solution, or a different command, is needed. Perhaps consider rename?
rename 's/\+/_/g' *
or
rename 's/\+//g' *
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1This is not correct because it only replaces the first
+character in the filename. OP wants to replace all occurrences. Feb 16, 2021 at 12:31 -
1
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2@BlueManCZ I had (rightly or wrongly) assumed that the command was being run manually and that efficiency wasn't paramount — so the OP could merely repeat the command as many times as necessary. I have amended the answer to make this clear, and suggest other alternatives if that is not the case. Thanks for pointing it out.– TimFeb 16, 2021 at 22:56
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2@ychaouche On GNU Bash 4.4.20 (installed on Ubuntu 18.04) the command renames all of the files in the current directory, not just one. If you want just one, then you would need to make the matching strings unique enough... but at that point simply using mv would make more sense.– TimFeb 16, 2021 at 23:01
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@Tim Now it looks better. I would say repeating command multiple times is kinda.. meh.. but it does the trick. And it does indeed work for all files in a directory. Feb 17, 2021 at 8:35
rename all files with "+" to be with "_"
rename "s/+/_/" *
rename all files with "+" to be without any whitespaces
rename "s/+//" *
mmv -n …would be a good place to start. Have you looked atman mmv, particularly the examples section?renamecommand could save you some troubles withmmv.