[Workaphobia]

I would use find.

find -name "wls*" -exec mv '{}' '{}.mp3' ';'

I may have screwed up the {} and ; substitutions - they may need a backslash in front, or they may not need to be quoted, etc. But that would do it - you find all files named in that pattern and then execute a command on each.

[loft306]

hmmm there is a rename command? i never knew that....i just use mv (move) probably still will less letters...less typing

[x0054]

find -name "wls*" -exec mv '{}' '{}.mp3' ';'

Cool, that works Thank you.

hmmm there is a rename command? i never knew that....i just use mv (move) humph.

rename works grate if you have hundreds of blah.cgi files and you need to rename then to .pl, or things like that. Works grate for most things.... not this one apparently though.

Thanks for help,

- Bogdan

[UgoDeschamps]

Well yes I know it doesnt work as this was only an exemple : i dont like to give THE answer... since finding it yourself you'ld prove much more efficient

#!/bin/bash
echo "Starting conversion process..."
for i in wls* ; 
do
cp "$i" "$i.mp3" 
echo "Conversion process completed..."
done

CP will make another copy of the file (I recommend if you need the original)
MV will replace the current filename with the new one

[x0054]

Ok, that make sense. Sorry about that the ${file##prefix-} part through me off. I was not sure what to do with that. So woud ${file##prefix-} be set to everything after prefix- in the $file variable?

Thanks for help,

- Bogdan

[UgoDeschamps]

actually, this line, remove "##" the "prefix-" from the filename...

prefix-file1
prefix-file2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
would be
file1
file2

${file##prefix-}
$ = file name
file##prefix-
file = filename
## = remove
prefix- = what to remove from the fileName
You understand?

[x0054]

ahh, I think so. Any good tutorials on what I assume is string manipulations? This looks like useful thing to learn.

- Bogdan

[UgoDeschamps]

here's a little something that should get you on the go...

[valan]

Heh, I never knew about a rename command for Linux. But apparently it's there, I read the man page for it. It's simple to use, too, but not like the one for DOS. Say you have a bunch of .text files, but want to rename them to .txt: 'rename .text .txt *.txt'. The first argument is the original file type, the second is the new one, and the third is all the files you want to rename. So you can't just do 'rename monkey.apple cheese.zebra' and expect it to work, because it won't. Read the man page for more info, it's real short and sweet too.

[linny]

Originally Posted by UgoDeschamps

here's a little something that should get you on the go...

The link doesn't work for me.
What activate link does it refer to?
I get this message.
System Error: Module is not active
Unable to find Base Info for Module: guides
Explanation:

A module was called that has not yet been activated/installed. Use the activate link in the modules module (Modules->ViewAll) to install modules.

This topic I find of great interest.
I am especially interested in removing repetative parts of multiple filenames.
I am talking about bulk renaming.

Example is
abc-two_first.mp3
abc-two_second.mp3
abc-two_third.mp3

How do I remove abc-two_ from all the filenames?
Is the rename command best for this,or mv?
Or a combination of both commands put into a script?