In this article, you will use LinkFixer Advanced to rename an image file and move it to a new server, directory or folder, without breaking any of the links in parent files that point to the image file.


Trial Note: In the trial version of LinkFixer Advanced, the Move/Rename function will process up to 500 links per day, and 5,000 links during the 21-day trial period


Tip: The “Rename” command can be used to move or rename parent files, links and child files whether or not they have been previously inoculated. As long as the links are healthy, you can use the “Move/Rename” command to move or rename links and files without breaking the links. You only need to use the “Inoculate” command before using the “Cure” command.


Let’s first take a quick look at a parent file that has a link to an image file.

  1. Open Windows Explorer.
  2. Navigate to the “XLSX 2010” folder, in the “LinkFixer Advanced” folder on your desktop.
  3. Open the “Excel2010 Questions File.xlsx” file. You can see that it contains a link to the LinkFixer Advanced logo image file “LinkFixer Advanced.bmp” and that the image file is displayed at the top of the spreadsheet as shown below.Note: Using the LinkFixer Advanced Move/Rename process, you can rename or move parent files, links or child files, in batch, without breaking links! Compare this to renaming or moving files using Windows Explorer, or some other manual method, that can result in broken links.

  4. Close this Excel workbook, and minimize Windows Explorer.
  5. On the LinkFixer Advanced home screen, click on the {Move/Rename} button.
  6. The “Select Folders” screen appears. Here we will select the files that are to be renamed or moved.
  7. Ensure that the “XLSX 2010” folder and the “XLS Moved” folder are selected.Note: If you have other files or folders selected from a previous run, use the {Clear File Selection} button located on the top-right to clean-up and reset your folder selection tree.
  8. Click “Select Files”. The “Select Files” screen appears. Select “Process all files in selected folders” option.
  9. Click “Select Links”, then select “Process all links in selected files”
  10. Click “Preview. The “Preview Selected Files” screen appears, as shown below.
  11. Click “Create Rules”. The “Create Rules” screen appears. Here you can add new rules to rename the selected files.
  12. Click the {Add} button to create a new rename rule. The “Define Rule” dialog box appears as shown below.
  13. Set the “Method” field to “Simple text substitution” and the “Component” field to “Folder”, as shown above.
  14. In the “From” field, type in the folder name “Images”. This is the name of the existing subfolder containing the “LinkFixer Advanced.bmp” logo image file. In the “To” field, type in “MovedImages”. “MovedImages” is the name of the new subfolder that the “LinkFixer Advanced.bmp” file will be moved to. For the purposes of this lesson, type in “Images” and “MovedImages” exactly as shown below.
  15. Click {OK} to save and close the “Define Rename Rule” dialog box.
  16. Next, we will add another rename rule that will rename “LinkFixer Advanced.bmp” to “LinkFixer.bmp”. Click the {Add} button to add a new rule. In the “Define Rule” dialog box, change the “Component” selection to “Basename”. Then, in the “From” field, type in “LinkFixer Advanced”, and in the “To” field type in “LinkFixer”. The “Define Rule” dialog box will appear as shown below.Note: These rename rules will be applied to all the links in all the files in the “XLSX 2010” directory.

  17. Click {OK} to save and close the “Define Rule” dialog box.
  18. In the “Create Rules” window, you will now see the two rename rules that you just added, as shown below.
  19. Click “Preview”. The “Preview Files to be Moved/Renamed” screen appears. In the “Before” row, you will see a list of the selected files and their links as they currently exist. In the “After” row, you will see the changes that will be made to the files and links as defined by the rename rules. The parts that will be modified are highlighted in yellow text. (Notice that in the “After” row, “Images” has been replaced by “Moved Images” and “LinkFixer Advanced” has been replaced with “LinkFixer”.) These changes will be made when we actually run the rename process in the next few steps.
  20. Click the {Process Files} button.
  21. Click the {Run} button to perform the Move/Rename process according to the defined rules for the selected files.
  22. By default, the following warning dialog is shown if you have not chosen a location to store backups. If you have already made backups of your files, you can select “Do not make automatic backups”, otherwise it is recommended that you can make backups of your production files before running any of LinkFixer Advanced modifying functions (such as Inoculate, Cure, Modify Links and so on). Click {OK}.
  23. When the processing is complete, the LinkFixer Advanced “Move/Rename Process Dashboard” window is displayed. You have successfully completed the Move/Rename process for all selected files!
  24. Click the {Summary} button below the progress bar to open the “Move/Rename Summary”. Notice that the report lists each parent file and its links, and how it shows which links were automatically modified to keep them functioning.
  25. After viewing your report, close it.
  26. Return to Windows Explorer. Open the “Excel2010 Questions File.xls” file and note that the LinkFixer Advanced logo still appears. This means that you have successfully moved and renamed the image file without breaking any of the links that point to the image file.
  27. Now, close Excel.