Renaming Picture Files

I'm not sure where to post this question, so, if necessary, please move it to the appropriate forum.

I have a large (2,000) picture file in which each picture's name is similar to this example:

_MG_4530 Johnson, Alex house.JPG

Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can strip the _MG_4530 part off of the name, leaving the picture to be called Johnson, Alex house.JPG? That way, I can alphabetize the files and find them more quickly.

Eventually, the names will be part of a database used by novices unfamiliar with PS and such, so adding the info to the metadata tags doesn't seem to be the answer.

I know that I can manually rename each file. I've been doing that , but I wonder if someone has a more efficient way.

Thanks.

Mike

Do you have Digital Photo Pro or Photoshop?

How about if you select all the photos in the file, right-click on the first one and select rename. Rename it to whatever you want to and it should do the whole lot (I think).
You can also use various programs to batch edit - I sometimes use Google's free Picasa2 software for batch renaming.

I have both DPP and PS CS3.

I use A Better Finder Renamer on my Mac. It's a GREAT utility specifically designed for this. You create a "rule" that does the renaming and save it as a droplet. Then you can drop groups of files on the droplet and all are renamed in one step.

I took another look at your question and then I realized that neither Adobe Bridge or DPP have batch renaming functions that are robust enough to do what you want.

As I understand it, you would like to remove the first 9 characters of every file name in a folder. The only two solutions I can think of is a Windows/Javascript script or a specailized renaming utility which in most cases will cost you a small sum of money.

I have to go out for a while but when I get back I'll e-mail you a solution.

Great! on the solution, and I'll check on the Mac program to see whether they offer a PC version. Thanks.
Mike

If you're on a PC, then try out
http://www.bulkrenameu​tility.co.uk/Main_Intr​o.php

It's free and works great. You can easily remove the first X characters or in the middle or end or etc. It's very powerful and easy to use.

I have a ulitity called Total Commander. It has a renaming function that is just great. You can use multiple ranges inside a file name. To do what you are asking in this case would be a breeze. It is not free but if this is a one time hit you could always do it in the evaluation period.

It is a double paned file manager in its purest form but has so many other funcitons that its price is very justifiable in my opinion. I use it ftp files, synchronize files across multiple drives, etc. It is very customizable and I have assigned different colors to different file types so that you can pick them out easily.

I use this freeware "ReNamer" from this site http://www.den4b.com/ very flexible and give you a preview of the file name before batch rename it!

Thanks to all for saving me mucho time and effort. What makes this forum such a great value.