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[Quixote]

IMHO this should be label as "Edit Tag" or "Edit Field" or something else besides "Rename".  "Rename" doesn't really describe what you are actual doing.

[MrC]

2nd'd.  I had the same thought just a few minutes ago when I right-clicked a field name.

[Matt]

We've gone back-and-forth on this through the years.

Rename (F2) is the standard name and shortcut used by Windows Explorer.

[sluizer]

2nd'd.  I had the same thought just a few minutes ago when I right-clicked a field name.

As a newbie, I had absolutely no idea what rename meant and kept looking for a way to edit those fields.  I finally figured it out.

IMO, just because Microsoft does something confusing doesn't mean that everyone else should jump on that train.

[MrC]

2nd'd.  I had the same thought just a few minutes ago when I right-clicked a field name.

Actually, I'm no longer sure we're talking about the same thing.  I was editing tags, accidentally clicked a field name, and it showed only a Rename menu.  What I recall at the time was wondering what would be renamed.  I'm not sure how I brought up that menu, but can't reproduce it now.  What did I do?

I don't see any problems with Rename in a file list item's context menu.  I think it is pretty clear, and standard.

[Vincent Kars]

If you want to change a file name in Win Explorer choose Rename
If you want to change a hyperlink in IE choose Rename
If you want to change a tag in WMP choose Edit

My impression, if it is an autonomous object (like a file or a link) it is Rename
If it the content of a object, one of the tags in a track, it is Edit

[Quixote]

In Windows Explorer you are always "renaming" the file "name". In Media Center you are typically "editing" the tag/field/property, not "renaming" the property.  [F2] is great though.

[gappie]

never noticed the difference. rename or edit. i use F2 a lot in mc and everything windows and it does what i expect. rename does edit the name, where edit does rename the tagvalue.. its a bit of a semantic space.. the result is the same.

[Vincent Kars]

Juliet:
"What's in a rename? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

[MusicHawk]

Jumping in (motive: a cleaner UI meets the needs of more users leading to more users), IMO...

F2=Rename of a data value in a view is the wrong term for the context within MC. F2 of a field in a view is an Edit. Because: Data gets added and edited. Entities get named and renamed.

It might be semi-clear that the value in the one field called Name (of a track) can be Renamed. (Same for the the field Filename, which is not routinely displayed in a view.) But Rename Genre? Rename Keywords? The user has to guess what this means. Who would say they are "renaming the Year" of a song?

Further confusion is that the same right-click usually also offers Rename, Move & Copy Files..., yet that's a Rename that does something completely different than Rename -- it actually Renames files.

In contrast, Rename doesn't rename the file, it only changes the data value of a particular field. To actually rename the file by editing in the view requires possibly two steps: Use Rename to change the data that feeds into the file-naming expression, then invoke Rename, Move & Copy Files... to rename the file. UI inconsistency...

Comparing, in Windows Explorer F2 renames a file. However, to EDIT the file's CONTENTS -- data -- requires a different choice, usually Edit (this varies depending on context and how Windows Explorer associates are configured; sometimes it's called Open). Windows Explorer's term Edit (Open) is identical in concept to editing the tag/field/data of a database record in MC. Explorer's term Rename has the same outcome as MC's Rename, Move & Copy (except cruder since it doesn't combine these into one step as MC does).

If MC's "Rename" gets renamed again, also considering renaming right-click "Tag" to "Tag Window..." or "Tag Action Window..." to be clear what happens -- it opens that window. Otherwise, the term Tag could be confused with Edit or even Rename. The ellipses signify that nothing happens to the data YET, it just takes the user to the next step/dialog/form.

Note: I like that F2 switches a view field to Edit mode, it's just the menu name "Rename" that is confusing.

[gappie]

i agree musichawk. edit is a better name.. now we should make that clear to microsoft also. they are editing the file name. and when said so in folderoptions even the file type... 

[rick.ca]

My, isn't this fun?

I must say, it took me some time to get used to how the term is used in MC. I agree with others—it's not the correct use of the term, and therefore an unnecessary impediment to new users understanding what should be a very simple thing.

I suppose any "object" can be "renamed," but a property or attribute of an object can only be "edited." In the context of MC, only things like files, playlists, views can be properly called objects. If MC were a relational database, the attributes of a file would be objects too and the term "rename" (and not "edit") would properly apply to them. But since MC is not and never will be a relational database—not to mention the mere mention of the R-word creates problems—it seems only fitting this be changed.

[Alex B]

A workaround would be to create a custom language file and "translate" only the Rename string.

For instance, change

Rename
#!

to

Rename
Edit Field Value

A custom language file can be used for personalizing any text in the user interface. More info: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=47409.msg325832#msg325832.

The downside is that the language file would need to be updated from time to time to contain the latest changes in the original language file.

[rick.ca]

Edit Field Value

The same term applies to objects, so I changed it to "Edit/Rename."