You could possibly use a simple "COPY ?*.* *.*" to drop the first character of the filename, but the various ways that different versions of DOS handle long filenames makes it risky - especially without knowing what version Gene is working with - and his examples are "longs." It would also require separating the 5 char, 6 char, and 7 char prefixed files for separate processing.

The script is not really difficult to build in Word, even if there are several steps to it. The keys are generating the list of files, and then putting the new names next to the old ones. It is a lot easier to manipulate in tables, and I tried to include the "hints" (^t, ^p esp.) that might not be common "tip of the fingers."

John