Utility to rename files with invalid characters in their names

[Gary]

I have downloaded many files with invalid characters in their names.

I am looking for a simple utility to scan through the names of files
in a folder and remove invalid characters.

Anyone got something?

 

[Lord Gazwad of Grantham]

Gary, <[email protected]>, the lazy, double-barrelled hen, and woman who
is employed to suckle the children, threw up:

Anyone got something?

I've got itchy bollox?

--
For my own part, I have never had a thought which I could not set down
in words with even more distinctness than that with which I conceived
it. There is, however, a class of fancies of exquisite delicacy which
are not thoughts, and to which as yet I have found it absolutely
impossible to adapt to language. These fancies arise in the soul, alas
how rarely. Only at epochs of most intense tranquillity, when the
bodily and mental health are in perfection. And at those weird points
of time, where the confines of the waking world blend with the world of
dreams. And so I captured this fancy, where all that we see, or seem,
is but a dream within a dream.

 

[johnf]

A most appropriate and helpful reply. You have something there, that's for
sure, but IMHO it needs immediate psychiatric treatment.

 

[trout]

Anyone got something?

I have a dose of the clap if that helps.

 

[Kadaitcha Man]

johnf, <[email protected]>, the screaming, bonkers herbivore, and barge
operator, uttered:

A most appropriate and helpful reply. You have something there,
that's for sure, but IMHO it needs immediate psychiatric treatment.

Not everyone is like you. Many humans on this planet do not think with their
groins.

 

[7]

I have downloaded many files with invalid characters in their names.

I am looking for a simple utility to scan through the names of files
in a folder and remove invalid characters.

Anyone got something?

If you have the files on fat32 partition, you can download DSL
(Damn Small Linux) LiveCD, boot up off the CD, and rename files
to heart's content.
Also delete those difficult to delete files in _restore
and temp directories.
http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php
All free, open source softare,
works off the CD, and no need to install.

 

[D Larsen]

Gary,

I've used Ztree, a non-graphical-interface file manager that replaced
the long-gone Xtree file manager, to correct problems you describe. You
can check it out at www.ztree.com; they do have a 30 day trial period if
you don't want to buy it !

Dean...

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Gary - I think the one you need is Delete Invalid File, below, but give
all three a try.

Sometimes you will find files which you are unable to delete because they
are in use. A program called Copylock, here,
http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=misc#CopyLock can aid in the process of
"replacing, moving, renaming or deleting one or many files which are
currently in use (e.g. system files like comctl32.dll, or virus/trojan
files.)"

Another is Killbox, here: http://www.downloads.subratam.org/KillBox.zip

A third which is a bit different but often useful is Delete Invalid File,
here: http://www.purgeie.com/delinv.htm which handles invalid/UNC
file/folder name deleting, rather than the in use problem.

 

[Gary]

Thanks for the suggestions, Jim. Your suggestions aim to remove
files, which is the last thing I want to do. The invalid characters
in the file names probably come from users from one OS posting to
newsgroups which are downloadable from other OSs. So I could get
files with accented characters, double quotes, etc. I want to keep
the files, but need to make the names more compatible with my OS
(Windows), or make them universally acceptable.

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Gary - Sorry - I misunderstood and thought you wanted to get rid of them.