Renaming Uploaded Files

Files.com can automatically rename files as they are uploaded. This allows you to enforce naming conventions, remove unwanted text from filenames, or generate standardized names for files arriving from different sources.

Configure this using the Rename Uploaded Files Folder Setting. When enabled, Files.com modifies the filename during the upload process before the file becomes available in the destination folder.

Renaming uploaded files helps organizations maintain consistent naming standards, simplify downstream processing, and remove unwanted elements like vendor prefixes, timestamps, or system-generated identifiers.

You can specify whether renaming actions are applied recursively (includes subfolders) or only to the selected folder.

Rename Pattern

You can define a rename pattern that determines the final filename. The pattern can include static text along with tokens that represent values for components of the original filename, folder path, or time units.

For example, the pattern report-%Y-%m-%d-%Fp would rename an uploaded file named invoice.csv to report-2026-03-05-invoice.csv .

This allows administrators to standardize filenames and embed useful metadata.

Supported Patterns

Supported patterns to automatically rename the files upon upload are:

Replace Text in Filename

The Replace Text in Filename option allows you to replace specific text within the uploaded filename before the file is saved.

Files.com searches the filename for the specified text and replaces it with the replacement value.

If the replacement value is left blank, the matching text is removed from the filename entirely.

This feature is useful when files arrive from external systems that include prefixes, suffixes, or formatting that you want to remove or standardize.

Using Replace Text with Rename Patterns

If both Replace Text in Filename and a Rename Pattern are configured, Files.com applies the rename pattern first and then performs the text replacement on the resulting filename.

This allows administrators to combine structured naming patterns with targeted cleanup of unwanted text.

WebDAV Related Issues for Rename Uploaded Files

WebDAV isn't consistently implemented across clients and we have found that some WebDAV clients do not perform atomic uploads. This causes the Rename Uploaded Files feature to receive partially uploaded files rather than the complete file, causing data loss and zero byte files.

We strongly recommend using our Desktop App on desktop computers, rather than the built-in WebDAV client, so that partial data isn't uploaded into folders that have Folder Settings configured for them.