When you open the file storage on your computer what do you see? Can you easily identify the file you need? Can you tell from the file name what the file is without opening it or whether it is the latest version of your file? If the answers to these questions are no, then you need to be using file naming conventions.
What is a file naming convention
A File Naming Convention (FNC) is a system for naming files and folders in a way that describes what they contain, enabling you to stay organised and quickly identify your files by using elements such as the date the document was created, author’s name, project name, file version and document type.
Messy file naming often stems from the fact that there are no file naming and storage policies within an organisation. As such employees do what they think is best and file naming becomes a free for all. If on opening your file storage you see endless files titled ‘untitled’ or ‘draft’, files with titles such as ‘file 1’, files that are named inconsistently — some say containing spaces, some with capitals, some with punctuation, some with dates, some without dates and images and documents mixed together, this is not productive due to the length of time you will spend searching for what you want. Random file naming also makes it difficult for teams to work collaboratively.
Why use file naming conventions
Good file names provide useful clues to what a file is without the need to open it, as the file name describes at a glance, what the document is about, making it easier to browse files efficiently. File names also assist with storing files in a logical organised manner. While computers add basic information and properties to a file, such as the file type, date of creation and modification, this is not reliable data management and it is much better practice to record such information in the file name.
Aside from being easier on the eye a consistent file naming format brings other benefits such as:
- A simplified search
You may not know the whole name of a document but knowing at least one of its elements will narrow down the search results. - Provides assurance
File naming conventions provide assurance that the correct file is retrieved and cannot be confused with other documents. - Identifies the file
There may be a time when you need to move files around but good file naming practice means files can be moved and the descriptive file name remains intact. - Everyone benefits
Naming folders and files in a consistent, logical and predictable way means information may be located, identified and retrieved, quickly and easily by everyone who need access to the files.
File naming best practices
- Know yourself
There is no one size fits all guide for file naming, how you name your files depends on the way you work, so you need to order the elements that make up your file names in the way most suited to your business. Before you decide on a file naming convention, reflect how you work with your information – what is significant to your business and what is most likely to be searched for, say a date, customer name, description or document type. - Be consistent
A file naming convention breaks down if not followed consistently. Be sure that everyone who works with files in your organisation understands a file naming convention is in place and how to apply it. - Be concise
Avoid very long file names, instead create short meaningful names which provide a clear idea of the file content. Provide sufficient information to avoid ambiguous search results but not so much as to make yourself unnecessary work when naming files or little or no benefit at retrieval time. - Be clear
Avoid vague, unhelpful terms such as ‘miscellaneous’, ‘draft’ or ‘my files’ to make it easier to search for files. - Group assets
Group assets of the same type such as documents, images or videos together in named folders. This will ensure that if you are searching for a document you don’t have to wade through a whole load of images to find it and so on. - Create sub folders
Once you have grouped your assets by type, create sub folders, for example within your documents folder you may want to create folders for invoices, timesheets or purchase orders and within your images folder you may want to have folders for images you use in print, on your website and on social media. Note that while grouping assets and creating folders is a useful way to save files, having too many folders can create additional problems — complex folder structures require extra browsing when storing and retrieving files, so group assets and create sub folders but keep things simple. - Avoid abbreviations
When using abbreviations ask yourself would a colleague or new starter understand what they mean. If you do use them make sure they are meaningful. This is particularly important for records which have to be kept for a long period of time as the meaning of the abbreviation may fall out of use over time. - Avoid capital letters
Capital letters are not accessible to people with visual impairments but a long list of file names in capital letters is not easy on the eye for anyone. - Use back to front date formatting
Include the date (or at least the year) of the file creation and use the format YYYY-MM-DD to organise files chronologically. Using a ‘back to front’ format with the year first (always given as a four digit number), followed by the month and the day (always given as two digit numbers) ensures the chronological order of the files is maintained when the file names are listed in a file directory. - Use two number date formatting
For numbers 0-9, always use a minimum of two digit numbers to ensure correct numerical order (e.g. 01, 02, 03.) This may not seem important but if you go past nine files, you will find yourself going back and re-numbering files once you reach ten, so better to get your numbering right from the get go. - Avoid using non-alphanumeric characters
Non-alphanumeric characters such as * : \ / < > | ” ? [ ] ; = + & ? ! £ $ , .spaces and dots can cause various problems. Even if your operating system allows you to save a file with alphanumeric characters you may encounter difficulties if you try to transport the file to another operating system, for example the file may not be recognised, or if you send it to someone else they may not be able to open it. Some software packages have difficulty recognising file names with alphanumeric characters and file names containing alphanumeric characters can crash computer systems. - Separate file name elements
Underscores (_) are the most visually appealing character to separate elements in a file name. This is known as delimiting and refers to something which indicates the beginning or end of a character string, word, or data item, for example invoice_the_language_company.pdf. The hyphen (-) is another common word delimiter, for example invoice-the-language-company.pdf. Capitalising words, for example InvoiceTheLanguageCompany.pdf within a file name is another method of differentiating words but is harder to read. - Using personal names in file names
If it is appropriate to include a personal name, for example if the file is a piece of correspondence, it should be given as family name first followed by initials for example Abram_T_L. Having the family name first will ensure that files are sorted in alphabetical order. - Using event names in file names
The file names of records relating to recurring events should include the date and a description of the event. The file names of records relating to recurring events for example meeting minutes and weekly, monthly or annual reports should include both the date and the event name or event description, for example 2024_11_18_annual_report. - Version numbers
The version number of a file can be recorded in a file name by the inclusion of ‘V’ followed by the version number (e.g. V01, V03 etc.). However versioning is now enabled automatically in many systems, meaning it may be unnecessary to duplicate this information in the file name itself. - Use the document footer to save file name and path information
A document footer can be used to save the file name and path where a document is stored, for example D://invoices/2024/2024_05_10_grosvenor_architects.pdf. This way if you have the printed document but are unable to find it on your computer the document footer will enable you to navigate your way to it.
Putting it all together
While It is good practice to adopt file naming conventions from the start of an organisation, it may be that you have inherited a file naming system that does not work. If this is the case start when you can.
File naming conventions can be started by anyone within an organisation but if many people need to be convinced of the need for file naming conventions, this needs to be communicated from the highest authority within the organisation, so they can instil to all participants that electronic files are:
- information assets that are the property of the organisation
- shareable resources which many people need to be able to access
- critical components to operations that affect productivity and profitability.
Once the file naming and storage policies are finalised, they should be documented and made available to all who need to use the files. If people continue to stray and the policy is not adhered to, semi-automated structured file naming and storage software can be used to help enforce and monitor adherence to naming and storage policies.
In conclusion it doesn’t matter which specific conventions are best for your company. What’s important is sticking to the same pattern so that dates, document versions, or any other pertinent data is clearly recognisable to all who need it.
Further information and sources
- Accountex: How to create successful file naming conventions
- Glasgow Caledonian University: File naming conventions
- Harvard University: File naming conventions
- ResourceSpace: Best practices for building file naming conventions
- UK Data Service: How to best keep track of your data files
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