Working with Droplets

Droplets are small, independent applications that automate common renaming tasks. You save your current settings into a droplet, and every time you drag files onto the droplet they are renamed according to those settings, for instance to make names Windows-safe before an upload or to number incoming scans.

Please note that while droplets have been a part of A Better Finder Rename for a long time, they have become harder to use with every release of macOS. Running independent, user-created mini-applications goes against the grain of what the operating system’s security mechanisms are trying to achieve, and each tightening has introduced new problems. On macOS 15 Sequoia and later, see Droplets in macOS 15 Sequoia or later before you rely on them.

For this reason we recommend presets to automate your renaming tasks: they do the same job from within the application and fit the current macOS far better.

Creating a droplet

1. Launch A Better Finder Rename and set up the action, or the actions of a multi-step rename, as you want them
2. Instead of clicking Perform Renames, click the Create Droplet… button
3. In the save dialog, give the droplet a meaningful name and click Save

Two settings in the General tab of the Settings window affect new droplets: Create "silent" droplets and Prevent user editing of droplets, see below.

Using a droplet

1. Select the files you want to rename in the Finder
2. Drag them onto the droplet’s icon

The droplet launches, applies the settings stored within it and renames the files. Unless it is a silent droplet, the usual confirmation dialog is shown first.

Editing a droplet

1. Double-click the droplet’s icon. It opens in editing mode
2. Change the settings as required
3. Click Save

Locking a droplet

If the people who use a droplet should not be able to change its settings, open the droplet in editing mode and tick Prevent droplet editing in the General tab of its Settings… window.

System administrators only: once locked, a droplet cannot be unlocked from its user interface. Edit the Root/Host Application Settings/global settings/lockedDroplet property in the Settings.plist file inside the Resources folder of the droplet bundle instead.

Further reading

• Silent droplets run without any dialogs, for automated workflows
• Droplets tips and tricks
• Droplets in macOS 15 Sequoia or later, including how to turn droplets into presets
• Migrating droplets from earlier versions