Idaho Redneck
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: file on desktop accidentally got renamed

I have lots of files on my desktop.  I just noticed that one of them accidentally got renamed to "k" sometime in the past.  I assume it was an accident where I thought I was typing inside an app, but was instead was renaming the file.

 

How do I go back to the original name?  I don't remember what the original name was, and it is important to find out.  I could theoretically go back to Time Machine, but is there a faster way than comparing all the current file names with all the old file names?  I am always changing them around, so it will take a lot of sleuthing to figure it out that way.  It seems like there should be a quicker way.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Dec 19, 2015 9:43 PM

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Idaho Redneck

Q: file on desktop accidentally got renamed

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  • by Niel,Helpful

    Niel Niel Dec 19, 2015 10:27 PM in response to Idaho Redneck
    Level 10 (312,625 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 19, 2015 10:27 PM in response to Idaho Redneck

    Select it, choose Get Info from the File menu, find its creation date, and compare the backups immediately before and after that date.

     

    (137365)

  • by Idaho Redneck,

    Idaho Redneck Idaho Redneck Dec 19, 2015 10:30 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 19, 2015 10:30 PM in response to Niel

    If I did regular Time Machine backups, then you are right.  But my backups are so scattered with so much changing between them, that although that would narrow down the search (thank you), it would still take a bit of sleuthing.  I'll do it if I must, but I'd rather learn a quicker way since this does happen from time to time.

  • by BobHarris,

    BobHarris BobHarris Dec 20, 2015 8:18 AM in response to Idaho Redneck
    Level 6 (19,410 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 20, 2015 8:18 AM in response to Idaho Redneck

    There is no memory of the previous name kept in the Finder, nor in the file system.  Your backups are the only place the original name is remembered.

     

    If you can access the backups from a terminal session, you could get a chsum of 'k' and then cksum the desktop files on the backup and find the file that has the same cksum value as 'k'

    cksum $HOME/Desktop/k

    find /Volumes/your/path/to/the/backup/Desktop -depth 1 -print0 | xargs -0 cksum