How-To Guide
Auto-rename files the moment they land in your cloud folder
Connect your Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive folder — takes under 2 minutes. Set one naming rule. From then on, every uploaded file renames itself within 30 seconds. Originals are never touched.
Quick answer
Auto-rename files the moment they land in your cloud folder
- Connect your Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive folder — takes under 2 minutes with OAuth.
- Set a naming rule once: Auto mode or a custom pattern like "{date} - {vendor} - {amount}.pdf".
- Upload files as normal. Renamed copies appear in your folder within 30 seconds, originals untouched.
Renamed.to processes large batches of files using OCR + AI extraction with high accuracy on standard business documents.
The problem
Why files pile up with names like "scan001.pdf"
Cloud storage makes uploading frictionless — which is exactly the problem. When uploading is easy, naming gets skipped. Documents arrive from email attachments, scanner apps, and vendor portals with whatever name the sender chose. Within weeks, a shared Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive folder looks like an inbox nobody manages.
Inconsistent naming
The same vendor appears as "Acme", "ACME Corp", and "acme-invoice" depending on who uploaded the file. Search becomes guesswork.
Time lost to manual work
Renaming 50 invoices at month-end takes 45–90 minutes of focused attention. That time compounds — it never gets faster because the volume keeps growing.
Hard to audit
A file named "document_final_v2.pdf" tells you nothing about its date, vendor, or content. Auditors and teammates have to open every file to understand what it is.
The fix is not to rename files more carefully — it is to stop renaming files manually at all. Automatic renaming at upload time means every file gets a clean, consistent name before anyone even looks at it.
How it works
Four steps, set up in under 5 minutes
Connect once, configure a rule, then forget about it. Your upload workflow never changes — files just arrive with the right name.
Connect your cloud storage folder
Sign in and connect Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive using OAuth. Designate a watch folder — any file uploaded there is picked up automatically.
Security
Configure your naming rules
Use Auto mode (AI detects document type) or set a custom pattern with natural language field names.
{date} - {vendor} - {amount}.pdf2024-03-12 - Acme Corp - $3,240.00.pdfUpload files — they rename automatically
Drop files into your cloud folder as normal. Within seconds, OCR + AI extraction runs, and renamed files appear. High-confidence renames apply automatically; low-confidence files queue for one-click review.
Batch processing
Stay in control — undo any batch
Every rename is recorded with original name, new name, and confidence scores. Undo any batch with one click. Re-run folders with updated templates.
Before / After
What renaming looks like in practice
Real examples across document types. The original file is never modified — a renamed copy appears alongside it.
Before
After
scan001.pdf2024-03-12 - Acme Corp - Invoice 4821 - $3,240.00.pdfdownload (1).pdfSmith et al - 2024 - Attention Mechanisms in Transformers.pdfIMG_20240312.jpg2024-03-12 - Riverside LLC - NDA.pdfBOL_doc.pdfFedEx - 2024-03-12 - 776491823560 - POD.pdfdocument_final_v2.pdf2026-02-28 - Q1 Budget - Marketing Dept - v2.pdfUse cases
How different teams use automatic renaming
One naming rule per folder covers most workflows. Here are three common setups.
Accountant
Uploads client invoices to a shared Google Drive folder
{date} - {vendor} - Invoice {number} - ${amount}2024-03-12 - Acme Corp - Invoice 4821 - $3,240.00.pdfResearcher
Drops downloaded papers into a Dropbox research folder
{authors} - {year} - {title}Smith et al - 2024 - Attention Mechanisms in Transformers.pdfOperations team
Receives shipping documents from multiple carriers
{carrier} - {date} - {tracking} - {doc_type}FedEx - 2024-03-12 - 776491823560 - POD.pdfFile types
What file types work with automatic renaming?
Renamed.to handles any file that contains readable text — whether embedded digitally or extracted via OCR from a scan.
PDFs
Digital PDFs (text layer intact) and scanned PDFs. Scanned PDFs run through OCR before AI extraction. Multi-page PDFs are supported — AI reads the full document and picks the most relevant fields.
Images (JPG, PNG)
Photos of documents taken on a smartphone or flatbed scanner. 300 DPI or higher recommended for best OCR accuracy. Works for invoices, receipts, contracts, and handwritten notes with printed text.
Office documents
DOCX, XLSX, and similar formats. Text is extracted directly without OCR — faster and more accurate than scanned equivalents. Useful for contract drafts, reports, and structured data exports.
Note
Tips
Tips for best results
Small setup choices compound into large accuracy improvements over time.
Start with Auto mode, then refine
Keep watch folders single-purpose
Scan quality matters for images
Set a low confidence threshold for high-volume, uniform documents
Use the date prefix for easy sorting
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does automatic renaming work with Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive?
Yes. Renamed.to integrates directly with Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. Once connected, you designate a watch folder. Any file uploaded to that folder is picked up automatically — no manual steps required. The integration uses OAuth so your credentials stay with the cloud provider.
How quickly does a file get renamed after upload?
Most files are renamed within 10–30 seconds of upload. The watch folder polls for new files every few seconds. Once a file is detected, OCR and AI extraction run in parallel, and the renamed file appears in your folder before you have time to switch windows.
What happens to the original file?
The original file is never deleted or overwritten. Renamed.to processes files non-destructively — you can undo any batch with one click from the dashboard. Nothing is permanently lost.
Can I use different naming rules for different folders?
Yes. Each connected folder gets its own naming rule configuration. You can have one folder set up for invoices using a "{date} - {vendor} - {amount}" pattern, and another for research papers using "{author} - {year} - {title}". Rules are saved per folder and applied automatically.
What if the AI is not confident about a field it extracted?
Every rename includes a confidence score per extracted field. If confidence falls below your configured threshold (default: 85%), the file is flagged for manual review rather than renamed automatically. You review flagged files in a single approval queue — still far faster than renaming everything by hand.
Set it up once. Every upload renames itself.
Connect your Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive folder, write one naming rule, and walk away. First renames appear within 30 seconds of your first upload.
Free 50 docs/month · Originals never modified · Undo any batch instantly
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