Rename List Workflow, Shape Keys, and Select Mode

Rename List Workflow

(Inspired by Spreadsheet Batch Renamer by Bookyakuno)

The Rename List Workflow lets you create a list of names, edit it outside Blender, then apply the edited list back to your objects.

Type / , /? , /e , or /i while objects are selected to show the workflow buttons. In No Selection Mode, type / or /? to show the scene-wide workflow.

The workflow has four actions:

• Create File: Create a temporary rename list file and open it in your editor.
• Copy List: Copy the current rename list to the clipboard.
• Apply File: Apply edited names from the temporary rename list file.
• Paste List: Apply edited names from the clipboard.

In selection mode, RIn.Rename only shows targets that make sense for the current context:

• Selected Objects is shown when objects are selected.
• Bones is shown when an armature is active.
• Shape Keys is shown when the active mesh has shape keys.

In No Selection Mode, the workflow stays focused on scene-wide targets such as All Objects and Materials.

The rename list can use CSV or a plain text list depending on your preferences.

In the Preferences, you can set which application to open the .csv file with. If you leave it blank, it will open the exported .csv file with the default application set by the operating system.

RIn.Rename Preferences > Open CSV with: setting

What is CSV? (Comma-separated values)

from Wikipedia:

Comma-separated values (CSV) is a text file format that uses commas to separate values, and newlines to separate records.

A CSV file stores tabular data (numbers and text) in plain text, where each line of the file typically represents one data record.

Each record consists of the same number of fields, and these are separated by commas in the CSV file.

Example:
created from All Objects using CSV format.

[------------------------------Scene Collection------------------------------]
[------------------------------Axe------------------------------]
[------------------------------CAGE------------------------------]
cube_CAGE,cube_CAGE
pyramid_CAGE,pyramid_CAGE
sphere_CAGE,sphere_CAGE
[------------------------------Collection------------------------------]
Light,Light
Camera,Camera
[------------------------------HI------------------------------]
cube_HI,cube_HI
pyramid_HI,pyramid_HI
sphere_HI,sphere_HI
[------------------------------LO------------------------------]
cube_LO,cube_LO
sphere_LO,sphere_LO
pyramid_LO,pyramid_LO

Example:
created from Selected Objects using CSV format.

cube_CAGE,cube_CAGE
pyramid_CAGE,pyramid_CAGE
cube_LO,cube_LO
cube_HI,cube_HI

Warning

Please do not change the names in the first column. The addon works by finding the object names listed there and renaming them to the corresponding names in the second column. If you edit the first column, the addon won’t be able to find the objects

Bones & Shape Keys

Bones and Shape Keys are available from the Rename List Workflow only when they are relevant to the current selection.

• Select an armature to show the Bones rename list actions.
• Select a mesh with shape keys to show the Shape Keys rename list actions.

Shapes Keys

To rename shape keys, you must have exactly one object selected.

Then, type /sk: followed by the desired command.

Supported Shape Keys commands

1. old_text/new_text (Search and Replace)
   
2. $ , $* , @
   
3. Text transformations commands like /up , /lo , /title , etc
   

Example:

1. /sk:old_text/new_text
   
2. /sk:prefix_$_suffix
   
3. All Text transformation commands like /sk:/up , /sk:/lo , /sk:/title , etc
   

Select Mode

Select Mode is activated when you run RinRename with no objects selected.

In this mode, you can select objects using regular expressions—any object whose name matches your pattern will be automatically selected.

Note: I’m still exploring the direction of Select Mode, and what to do when nothing is selected. This is still under consideration as I’m focusing on other renaming features. Got thoughts? I’d love to hear them!

Help Commands

/ and /?

Displays a quick reference list of available tokens and commands.

In selection mode, this view also shows smart contextual actions, such as Object Name to Data Name, Show / Hide Viewport Names, and the Rename List Workflow.

In No Selection Mode, this view shows scene-wide actions and the Rename List Workflow for targets such as All Objects and Materials.

Handy if you forget a token or want to see what’s available.