Preview a File-Renaming Plan Before Anything Is Renamed

A useful rename preview shows every original name, its proposed name and anything still unresolved. This guide helps you review that table before you touch a file. It does not run a rename or provide a script to apply or reverse one.

For: someone organizing a small set of project files who wants to catch naming mistakes before making manual changes.

You will produce: a reviewed text mapping, including entries you leave unchanged and questions you cannot yet resolve.

Evidence boundary: the inventory and answer below are fictional teaching examples, not output captured from Cue. This revision has not been tested in a current Cue build. It does not verify automatic preview, confirmation or file-access behavior in Cue or any external Agent.

Start with text, not a folder

You need an editable note and the fictional inventory below. No terminal, file upload, filesystem permission or practice-file creation is needed.

If you use Cue Dictation, first verify that it works in your chosen note field. Use the controls shown in your installed version and check the inserted text before sending it anywhere. You can also type the brief; the review does not depend on voice input.

An Agent is optional. If you use one, use a text-only environment whose file tools and workspace access are disabled or unavailable. If you cannot establish that boundary, complete the table yourself in the note instead. Asking an Agent not to write files is an instruction, not a technical permission control. Do not grant folder access for this exercise.

Copy exact filenames rather than dictating their spelling. Check punctuation, capitalization, extensions and negative instructions character by character. Keep confidential filenames out of the exercise.

The fictional inventory

Treat the following as the complete inventory for a text exercise. These are names, not files you need to create.

Notes (1).txt
Notes (2).txt
Notes final.txt
README.md
quarterly summary.final.txt
LICENSE
IMG_4033.jpeg
keep-this.txt

There are eight entries. The exercise rule is: make the three note names easier to distinguish, replace spaces in the quarterly-summary name with dashes, and leave all other entries unchanged. Preserve every extension exactly; do not add one to LICENSE. Do not infer dates, image subjects or document contents from a name.

Ask for a response-only mapping

Draft this request in your note. If dictation changes a literal, correct it before using the request.

Review only the eight-entry fictional inventory below as text.
Do not access a folder or use tools. Do not create, rename, move, copy,
delete or modify files. Do not provide execution or reversal commands.

Propose clearer, distinct names for Notes (1).txt, Notes (2).txt and
Notes final.txt. Replace spaces with dashes in quarterly summary.final.txt.
Leave all other names unchanged. Preserve extensions exactly, including
case; do not add an extension to LICENSE. Invent no dates or contents.

Return a table in your reply: current name | proposed name | reason.
Include every inventory entry exactly once, even unchanged entries.
Outside the table, identify duplicate targets, case-only changes,
extension changes and missing or uncertain information.
State that the input is supplied text, not an inspected directory.
Stop after the response. This request authorizes no file operation.

Inventory:
Notes (1).txt
Notes (2).txt
Notes final.txt
README.md
quarterly summary.final.txt
LICENSE
IMG_4033.jpeg
keep-this.txt

Example mapping to check

Illustrative answer written for this guide, not a recorded Agent response:

“I used the supplied eight-entry text inventory, not a directory listing. The table is a proposed naming plan only. Actual folder contents, file types and destination availability have not been checked.”

This example contains eight rows: four proposed changes and four unchanged entries. Its targets are distinct within the supplied list. That is a text-review result, not evidence that those targets are available in an actual folder.

Check the whole mapping yourself

1. Match both directions. Each inventory entry must appear once in the current-name column. Each table row must trace back to an inventory entry. Count alone will miss a duplicate that replaces an omitted name.
2. Check unchanged entries. README.md, LICENSE, IMG_4033.jpeg and keep-this.txt must remain in the table with identical proposed names. Do not interpret an omitted entry as an approved exclusion.
3. Compare all targets. Two entries cannot share a proposed name in this exercise. Also flag names that differ only by letter case, such as notes.txt and NOTES.txt. Do not assume those would be separate files on your destination.
4. Check extensions and meaning. Keep .txt, .md and .jpeg exactly as supplied. Changing .jpeg to .jpg would violate this naming rule; it does not establish that image conversion is needed. Renaming a file does not itself convert its contents. This exercise does not inspect image data.
5. Keep uncertainty visible. A text list cannot prove the names actually present on disk, existing targets outside the list, file contents or filesystem behavior. Record those checks as not performed, not passed.

For non-ASCII names, ordinary visual comparison can miss differences in character representation. Do not silently normalize the original-name column. Leave an uncertain row unresolved until someone can inspect the exact source name and the destination's behavior. This small exercise does not validate Unicode, reserved-name, link, folder or large-batch handling.

Correct a proposal without asking for execution

If two notes become notes.txt, reject both conflicting proposals rather than choosing whichever appears first. If a row disappears, restore it from the inventory. Use a correction like this:

Revise the response-only table. Notes (1).txt and Notes (2).txt must
retain distinct targets. Include keep-this.txt unchanged. Preserve all
eight original names exactly in the current-name column. Recheck every
row against the supplied inventory and list unresolved questions.
Do not use tools or perform any file operation.

Read the revised table from the beginning. A correction can introduce a new collision elsewhere. Keep only one clearly labeled reviewed version of the mapping in your note so you do not consult an older proposal by mistake.

If you later choose to rename real files manually

That is a separate decision, not a continuation authorized by the prompt. Start from your own current inventory, confirm your authority to change the files, and have a recovery source you know how to use. Check existing destination names and references that rely on the original names. If any row is uncertain, leave it unchanged.

For a small, fully reviewed set, use your file manager to rename one file at a time yourself. Refuse replacement or merge prompts. After each change, check the resulting name and open the intended file before continuing. If anything differs from the reviewed plan, stop; do not approve the remaining rows automatically.

Opening a file and seeing its name is not proof that all bytes were preserved or that other folders were untouched. Claims about complete content preservation need separate before/after evidence. This guide supplies no such evidence and no automatic rename or rollback procedure.

When something goes wrong

• Dictation inserted nothing or duplicated text: inspect the note before retrying. Wait for processing, refocus the field, and use a visible Copy control only if your version provides it and the text is not already present.
• The response invents files or says it inspected a folder: reject that claim. This exercise supplied text only. Return to the inventory and do the review manually if the boundary is unclear.
• An Agent attempts to use tools: stop the task and do not approve the operation. Check what actually occurred; stopping does not undo completed actions. Resume the text exercise only in an environment with no file-operation access, or without an Agent.
• A manual rename has an unexpected result: stop further changes. Compare the observed state with your notes and consult a verified backup or version history if necessary. A name mapping cannot recreate overwritten bytes, and recovery availability must not be assumed.

For Cue-specific problems, contact support with your platform, installed Cue version, mode and a redacted example. Do not send private filenames or documents. Consult the privacy policy before supplying real material.

Related guides and evidence

This is an original fictional text exercise and a proposed review method. No current Cue runtime result, screenshot, performance figure or platform-specific filesystem test is claimed. Installed controls and permissions take precedence over generic workflow descriptions.

• Dictation setup and recovery
• Checking exact technical terms
• Understanding Cue and external Agent routes
• Checking state before retrying an Agent task