Best practices for file naming conventions
Review the following file naming recommendations:
- Work out and agree on file naming conventions early on in a project to avoid renaming files again and again.
- Align your file naming with your team's or company's existing file-naming conventions.
- Ensure that your file names are meaningful; consider including information like project name and anything else that will help you quickly identify (and use) the file for the right purpose.
- Include the date and version number in file names; common formats are YYYYMMDD for dates and v## for versions (or revisions).
- Create a text file as a sample file with content that describes (breaks down) the file naming convention and a file name that applies it.
- Avoid spaces and special characters in file names. Instead, use dashes, underscores, or capital letters. Spaces and special characters can cause errors in some applications.
Best practices for keeping files organized
Remember these tips for staying organized as you work with files:
- Create folders and subfolders in a logical hierarchy so related files are stored together.
- Separate ongoing from completed work so your current project files are easier to find. Archive older files in a separate folder, or in an external storage location.
- If your files aren't automatically backed up, manually back them up often to avoid losing important work.
