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I have many files in many directories all with the same filename pattern. I want to rename them by replacing a substring with another, e.g. bla_A.mat to bla_B.mat.

I know I can do this quite easily in a directory using wdired mode and replace-string. How can I do that same operation recursively on all my directories?

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Here's one way to do this with dired:

  1. M-xfind-name-dired RET select the top-level directory where all such files exist, RET bla-*.mat.
  2. t will mark all files in the buffer.
  3. %R \(.*\)_A\.mat RET \1_B.mat RET.

More on renaming files: https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Transforming-File-Names.html#Transforming-File-Names

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    Worked great thanks - I actually used wdired after step 1 so I check I hadn't screwed up first.
    – jarmond
    Mar 20, 2015 at 11:50
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    C-u s R RET in the dired buffer lists all files recursively also.
    – politza
    Mar 20, 2015 at 22:20

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