You can rename multiple PDF files at once (batch rename) in several easy ways, depending on your device. Here are the most common methods 👇
✅ On Windows
Method 1: Using File Explorer (Quick & Easy)
- Open the folder with your PDF files.
- Select all PDFs
Ctrl + A(select all)- or hold
Ctrland click specific files.
- Right-click the first file → Rename
- Type the new name and press Enter
📌 Result:
Report.pdf
Report (1).pdf
Report (2).pdf
Method 2: Using PowerShell (Advanced)
- Open the folder
- Hold Shift + Right-click → Open PowerShell here
- Run:
$i=1; Get-ChildItem *.pdf | Rename-Item -NewName {"Invoice_$i.pdf"; $i++}
✅ On macOS
Using Finder
- Select all PDF files
- Right-click → Rename X Items
- Choose:
- Format
- Name and Index (or Name and Counter)
- Enter the base name → Rename
📌 Example:
File-1.pdf
File-2.pdf
File-3.pdf
✅ On Linux
Using Terminal
rename 's/.*/Document_$i.pdf/' *.pdf
Or with a loop:
i=1; for f in *.pdf; do mv "$f" "Document_$i.pdf"; ((i++)); done
✅ Using Online or Software Tools (No Coding)
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Bulk Rename Utility (Windows)
- Advanced Renamer
- PDFsam
- Online tools like batch file renamers
⚠️ Avoid online tools if files contain sensitive data.
✅ Rename PDFs Based on Content (Advanced)
If you want filenames based on:
- Invoice number
- Date inside PDF
- Title text
You’ll need:
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Python + OCR
- Dedicated PDF management software
