Rename Columns

Give your columns better names. Columns you do not touch stay as they are.

What it does

Rename Columns changes the name of one or more columns. The values do not change. The column order does not change. Columns without a rename row keep their old names.

Rename a column

  1. Type rename in the Search transforms box, in the Pipeline panel.
  2. Click Rename Columns. The panel opens below the grid.
  3. Find the Rename section. It starts with one empty row.
  4. Open the Choose column... dropdown. Select the column to rename.
  5. Type the new name in the box on the right of the arrow.
  6. Click Apply.

Rename several columns in one step

Click Add rename below the last row. A new empty row appears. Fill it in the same way.

  • Each dropdown hides the columns that other rows already use.
  • Add rename switches off when every column has a row.
  • Click the x at the end of a row to remove that row. The x appears once you have two rows or more.

A contacts file from a CRM often needs this. In one step you can rename FIRST NAME to first_name, E-Mail to email and Cust Ref to customer_ref.

Name clashes

Two columns cannot share a name. The panel checks this while you type.

  • A clashing name box turns red at once.
  • Hover over the red box. A tip names the column that you clash with.
  • The check covers columns that you are not renaming.
  • Fix the name before you click Apply. A clash stops the step.

Rows that the step ignores

  • Rows with no column selected.
  • Rows with an empty new name.
  • Rows where the new name is the same as the old name.

Every row can fall into one of these groups. Apply then asks you for at least one rename.

For SQL users

The step lists every column. Only the renamed ones get an AS clause:

SELECT "contact_id", "FIRST NAME" AS "first_name", "E-Mail" AS "email", "city" FROM "contacts"
Try Rename Columns with sample data →

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