diff --git a/plugins/batchrename b/plugins/batchrename
index 23dc9a3f..b22b9ae2 100755
--- a/plugins/batchrename
+++ b/plugins/batchrename
@@ -42,14 +42,16 @@ while read -r num name; do
 		fi
 
 		printf "%s: unable to parse line, aborting\n" "$0"
+		exit 1
 	fi
 
 	# check if $num is an integer
 	if [ ! "$num" -eq "$num" ] 2> /dev/null; then
 		printf "%s: unable to parse line, aborting\n" "$0"
+		exit 1
 	fi
 
-	src=$(eval printf "%s" "\${$num}")
+	src=$(eval printf "%s" "\"\${$num}\"")
 
 	if [ -z "$src" ]; then
 		printf "%s: unknown item number %s\n" "$0" "$num" > /dev/stderr
@@ -65,14 +67,14 @@ while read -r num name; do
 			c=1
 			new_args=""
 			while [ $c -le $# ]; do
-				tmp=$(eval printf "%s" "\${$c}")
+				tmp=$(eval printf "%s" "\"\${$c}\"")
 				if [ "$c" -eq "$num" ]; then
 					new_args="$new_args ''"
 				else
 					if [ -z "$tmp" ]; then
 						tmp="''"
 					else
-						tmp=$(printf %s "$tmp" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
+						tmp=$(printf "%s" "$tmp" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
 					fi
 					new_args="$new_args $tmp"
 				fi
@@ -103,15 +105,15 @@ while read -r num name; do
 			c=1
 			new_args=""
 			while [ $c -le $# ]; do
-				item=$(eval printf "%s" "\${$c}")
+				item=$(eval printf "%s" "\"\${$c}\"")
 				if [ "$item" = "$name" ]; then
-					item=$(printf %s "$tmp" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
+					item=$(printf "%s" "$tmp" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
 					new_args="$new_args $item"
 				else
 					if [ -z "$item" ]; then
 						item="''"
 					else
-						item=$(printf %s "$item" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
+						item=$(printf "%s" "$item" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
 					fi
 					new_args="$new_args $item"
 				fi
@@ -134,11 +136,11 @@ while read -r num name; do
 				c=1
 				new_args=""
 				while [ $c -le $# ]; do
-					tmp=$(eval printf "\${$c}")
+					tmp=$(eval printf "\"\${$c}\"")
 					if [ -z "$tmp" ]; then
 						tmp="''"
 					else
-						tmp=$(printf "%s" "$tmp" | sed "s/^$src\(\$\|\/\)/$name\1/;s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
+						tmp=$(printf "%s" "$tmp" | sed "s|^$src\(\$\|\/\)|$name\1|;s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
 					fi
 					new_args="$new_args $tmp"
 					c=$((c+1))
@@ -153,14 +155,14 @@ while read -r num name; do
 	c=1
 	new_args=""
 	while [ $c -le $# ]; do
-		tmp=$(eval printf "%s" "\${$c}")
+		tmp=$(eval printf "%s" "\"\${$c}\"")
 		if [ "$c" -eq "$num" ]; then
 			new_args="$new_args ''"
 		else
 			if [ -z "$tmp" ]; then
 				tmp="''"
 			else
-				tmp=$(printf %s "$tmp" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
+				tmp=$(printf "%s" "$tmp" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;s/^\(.*\)$/'\1'/")
 			fi
 			new_args="$new_args $tmp"
 		fi
@@ -173,7 +175,7 @@ done <"$dst_file"
 c=1
 new_args=""
 while [ $c -le $# ]; do
-	tmp=$(eval printf "%s" "\${$c}")
+	tmp=$(eval printf "%s" "\"\${$c}\"")
 	if [ -n "$tmp" ]; then
 		rm -ri "$tmp"
 	fi