Unless you place your faith in internal search engine software or document databases to track your work, consider a relatively low-tech enhancement to your work methods. I promise it will pay big dividends.
Consider how you name your files and folders. Have you missed an opportunity to clear the clutter and make your work more accessible? When you look at file names within a folder, do they sing out to you with sweet meaningfulness, or are they a cacophonous jumble of confusing heiroglyphics?
The eye likes symmetry. The mind loves order. When you create files and they pile upon one another over time, does their accumulation reflect a master plan or a disaster unplanned? When you view your list of files, is your eye happy, your mind content?
Basically, filenaming is an unrecognized art. Most of us are left to our own devices to figure it out. The good news: with some thought, you can be the artist of a system which will resonate with function.
Let's start by considering the basis upon which files should be ordered. I will jump to the punchline and say it out loud: chronologically. To order files chronologically, have the filename start with a datestamp prefix such as YYYYMMDD- or YYMMDD. If you do this, your files will always sort themselves chronologically and you will have no trouble finding the latest and greatest work within a folder.
What you do following the datestamp prefix depends upon how the file will be used. If the file travels to someone else as an email attachment and then returns back to you after some sort of review, I recommend having the second portion of your filename be a locator.
The locator can be a 3-5 character abbreviation which will give you a solid hint about where the file needs to be refiled upon its return. You develop the locator so that you and others in your group recognize it as an abbreviation for a project. When they see the datestamp prefix and locator, they will already have much information about the contents of the file.
After entering the datestamp prefix and locator, now you can write a nice, meaty descriptive text (descriptor). Use as many characters as you like, just beware that beyond a certain length, the filename will be truncated during display, and you will lose, rather than gain information. Consider 30 characters to be a maximum filename size.
Subtracting 7 characters for the date stamp and 3-5 characters for the locator, this gives you 18-20 characters to tell your story. The way to know if you are doing a bad job with descriptors, is when you see the identical descriptor in multiple files. Don't repeat descriptive text unless you specifically want to highlight the similarity between the two files.
Tip: NO spaces in names of files or folders. Spaces are not FTP-friendly and you may be FTP-ing sooner than you think.
Tip: NO unnecessary capital letters and DEFINITELY NO TEXT WITH ALL CAPS. It's not only irritating, but it also takes away a useful tool, that of using upper and lower case text for better conveying your message.
Tip: Find a style and stick with it. For example, if you like the looks of hyphens separating datestamp, locators and descriptors, then do it that way every time. If using underscore between words in the descriptor feels right, then make it a habit. Even artists can have discipline, you know.
Tip: Use language to the greatest extent possible. In other words, use words more than acronyms. Cutsey corporate acronyms, after the first dozen or so, get pretty boring.
Examples of good file names:
050727-par-FieldTesting.doc
2004-o4-21-oak-Access_to_site.xls
Bad file names:
article.doc (too vague - what article? )
Work Project.xls (too general - what work project? when? )
Copyright 2005 Mark Meshulam
A versatile denizen of Northbrook, IL, USA, Mr. Meshulam is an owner of a productivity software company (http://www.poingo.com), a construction company (http://www.poingo.com), and a document scanning/reprographics company (http://www.poingo.com). His software product Poingo Email Printer has a feature which adds timestamps to filenames.
Wood Dale Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareFile Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a protocol that is part... Read More
I recently took a good look at what was keeping... Read More
It's free, it comes with Windows and it's used by... Read More
Not so many years ago, homes across the country watched... Read More
I have a love-hate relationship with my computer.In fact, often... Read More
iPod users start to get the picture and it's turning... Read More
Projectors have come a long way in the past few... Read More
If you are a building a website or a forum,... Read More
PDA Medical BenefitsIf you are concerned about your medical history,... Read More
Yes, it's true. You may have inadvertently invited a spy... Read More
System File Checker is a great utility that is typically... Read More
Has This Ever Happened To You? OK.. it's Friday night,... Read More
You will need the following:1. 1.44MB FDD (floppy)2. NVFLASH utility... Read More
Have you ever thought about building your own computer system?... Read More
When studying for your Cisco CCNA, CCNP, or CCIE exam,... Read More
JPEG, GIFF/JIFF, BMP, and TIFF are the most commonly used... Read More
How long do you think DVDs have around? 20 years?... Read More
The following practice, if done regularly, may help you to... Read More
Flash mp3 players come with an exciting array of features,... Read More
Computers are available in different shapes, sizes and weights, due... Read More
Stop Getting LostOne of the greatest uses for a pocket... Read More
MP3 players are everywhere! It seems that the number of... Read More
Cisco Certification: Taking Your First Certification ExamYou've studied hard; you've... Read More
Freezing is also known as crashing or hanging. It's frustrating.... Read More
Upgrading your processor will always speed up your computer, but... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..I recently took a good look at what was keeping... Read More
We all enjoy our favorite screensavers but in the same... Read More
How long do you think DVDs have around? 20 years?... Read More
Stop Getting LostOne of the greatest uses for a pocket... Read More
You???ve studied hard; you???ve practiced your configurations; you???ve used your... Read More
Plasma and LCD TVs are the latest trend in home... Read More
Tip #1. Do a Google search. Don't be to general... Read More
Good Morning Mr. Sampson. Please type in you Personal Identification... Read More
You probably heard of the new Firefox browser version 1.0... Read More
Computers are available in different shapes, sizes and weights, due... Read More
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a protocol that is part... Read More
Computer related terminology could sometimes be daunting to newcomers. These... Read More
While most small businesses really do need to find a... Read More
Want to save money while promoting your web-based business? Of... Read More
The technological horizon has always got something new to offer,... Read More
You have your television and home theater receiver; you just... Read More
Webmasters usually sit at their computers much longer in a... Read More
When you turn on your computer, does it act like... Read More
Yes, it's true. You may have inadvertently invited a spy... Read More
Since the DOS days, batch files have been one of... Read More
Spyware is the software that collects information about your online... Read More
Tech support tells me to type 'regedt32' as opposed to... Read More
Introduction In this article I will clearly spell out the... Read More
It's free, it comes with Windows and it's used by... Read More
We have just entered the time of year that most... Read More
Personal Technology |