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Windows XP: how do I add 00 in front of every file via command prompt?

I tried REN * 00*.gif but it doesn't work.

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I know this isn't exactly what you've asked for but there is a program called Bulk Rename Utility that does this and a lot more. I see someone has already answered how to do this via command prompt so you should be set that way :) – victoroux Nov 21 '11 at 19:21

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up vote 5 down vote accepted

If you really want to rename everything:

for %a in (*.*) do ren %a 00%a

If you only want to rename .gif files:

for %a in (*.gif) do ren %a 00%a

If you need to add the prefix to file names with spaces in them put quotes around the %a and 00%a at the end of the line, i.e. 

for %a in (*.*) do ren "%a" "00%a"
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great! it works! – reyes Nov 21 '11 at 19:30
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For future reference: this works properly on Windows XP but not on Windows 7; one of the files will be double-renamed (so x.gif would become 0000x.gif in this case). The easiest workaround is to create a new directory and use move instead of rename: move %a x\00%a – Harry Johnston Nov 21 '11 at 20:37
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I'm not seeing the double rename problem on Windows 8, maybe they fixed it – PsychoDad Nov 13 '12 at 15:42

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