PXLtools — Tool guide

Batch Renamer — rename hierarchies, fast

Rename a whole hierarchy in one pass. Batch Renamer composes new names from a prefix, base name and suffix, adds zero-padded sequential numbers, and does scene-wide find-and-replace — namespace-aware, undo-wrapped, deepest-child-first so nothing collides. For one object or a hundred, your naming convention applied consistently every time.

Maya v1.1.5
Batch Renamer interface preview

The interface

01

Overview

Batch Renamer renames a selected hierarchy in a single operation. It builds each new name from an optional prefix, a base name (or the original name kept as-is), and an optional suffix, then appends a zero-padded sequential number when you want one. A separate Search & Replace pass swaps text in existing names across the selection.

It is namespace-aware, wraps every change in an undo chunk, and renames deepest-child-first so parent renames never break the paths beneath them. It shares the same UI kit as the rest of PXLtools and auto-updates automatically on launch.

02

Requirements

  • Autodesk Maya 2025
  • Python 3

Tested on:

  • Autodesk Maya 2025

Newer releases generally work, but these are the versions every release is actually tested against. If something behaves oddly on a newer host, that is worth reporting.

Network access

PXLtools needs outbound HTTPS (TCP 443) to www.pxlmentor.com and objects.githubusercontent.com for licensing and updates. On a studio or corporate machine, check this before you install — see Troubleshooting.

Maya 2025 already includes PySide6. You do not install it, you do not pip anything, you do not touch your Python environment.

03

Availability

Batch Renamer is free on the PXLmentor store. Claim it there and you are emailed your licence key and a single INSTALL.py: drag that file into a Maya viewport (or paste the one line from the email into Nuke's Script Editor) and the toolkit installs itself, this tool included. Get it free on the store.

04

Using Batch Renamer

Two independent tools in one window: a RENAME composer and a SEARCH & REPLACE pass.

Batch Renamer interface: RENAME section with Prefix, Base Name and Suffix fields, an Add Sequential Numbers checkbox with Start and Padding spin-boxes, a Rename Selected Hierarchy button, and a collapsed Search & Replace section
Batch Renamer — the full interface

Rename a hierarchy

  1. Select objects in the scene. Pick the top of the hierarchy you want renamed.
  2. Compose the name. Fill any of Prefix (optional), Base Name (leave empty to keep the original names), and Suffix (optional). The output order is prefix + base + suffix + number.
  3. Add numbering (optional). Tick Add Sequential Numbers, then set Start (default 1) and Padding (default 3, e.g. 001, 002…).
  4. Rename. Press Rename Selected Hierarchy. The status line confirms the result; the whole rename is a single undo step.

Search & replace

  1. Open the SEARCH & REPLACE section.
  2. Enter the text to Find and the text to Replace With.
  3. Press Search and Replace to swap it across the selected names.

Tip: Reset All Fields clears everything back to defaults. Names are sanitised to valid Maya identifiers (non-alphanumeric characters become underscores), so you never end up with an illegal name.

05

Troubleshooting

The install fails, or the tool says it cannot reach pxlmentor.com.

This is a firewall almost every time, not a broken installer — and it is very common on studio and corporate machines. PXLtools needs outbound HTTPS on TCP 443 to two hosts:

Send this to your IT team

www.pxlmentor.com  (TCP 443) — licence checks, update checks, downloads
objects.githubusercontent.com  (TCP 443) — the actual file download

Both hosts, not just the first. The download is handed off to a signed link on objects.githubusercontent.com, so a rule that allows pxlmentor.com but blocks the second host lets the version check succeed and then fails the download.

A certificate error instead means your network is inspecting HTTPS traffic (Zscaler, Netskope, a corporate SSL appliance) — that needs an SSL-inspection exception for those hosts, not a port opening.

The installer writes full details to ~/Documents/PXLtools/install_failure.log. Email it to support@pxlmentor.com and I will tell you which case it is. If your IT will not budge, ask for the offline package.

Nothing renamed.

Select the objects in the scene first — Batch Renamer acts on the current selection (and its hierarchy).

My names came out with underscores I did not type.

Names are sanitised to valid Maya identifiers: spaces and other illegal characters are replaced with underscores so Maya accepts them.

A name could not start with a number.

Maya node names cannot begin with a digit. Add a prefix (or a base name) so the result starts with a letter; the tool warns and continues on the rest.

I want to undo a big rename.

Each rename pass is wrapped in a single undo chunk — one Ctrl+Z reverts the whole operation.