Pusey Library – Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138 | T: 617.495.5961 | F: 617.495.8011 | archives_rms@harvard.edu

Naming Conventions

General Concepts

Create names that will allow useful sorting

all words and symbols are considered

numbers come before letters

Symbols

symbols should either be spelled out or have a standard substitution

many symbols are either not allowed in file/folder names or can cause problems

o Windows XP

not allowed - \/:*?”<>|

file/folder names cannot begin or end with a space or a dot

o Macintosh OS X

not allowed - :

file/folder names cannot begin with dots

/ is sometimes allowed

o iSites & iCommons toolkit

not allowed - !~@$%^&*()+=?><|*+,-#,/’”:;

- and _ can be used, but not at the beginning of a name

Additional Hints

Spaces, though allowed, should be avoided

can break links to documents

Abbreviations should be avoided

FAS and FacultyOfArtsAndSciences are not the same thing to a computer

can be used if there is agreement that the abbreviation will be the official term

Dates

for proper sorting, date order should be year_month_day, using numbers for months

o 20050215_RMPolicy.doc

o RMPolicy_rev2005-02-08.doc

can be used to tell when to delete a file/folder or send it to the Archives

Use easy to read names

RecordsManagementPolicy.doc

o to most operating systems, this is the same as recordsmanagementpolicy.doc, but much easier for people to read

records_management_policy.doc

Keep names as short as possible

short names are easier to scan

TheOneAboutTheExcitingNewRecordsManagementPolicy.doc is a bit long

there may be limits to the length of the filepath

there are limits on the size of file and folder names

o Windows, OS X, and Linux all limit names to 255 characters

Pusey Library – Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138 | T: 617.495.5961 | F: 617.495.8011 | archives_rms@harvard.edu

Consider putting the initials of the author in the filename

HowToFile2008-09-01_sk.doc

works for a single author or reviewer

identifies the author without opening the document

more reliable than an application’s author property

Version Control

Used for tracking the progress of a work in progress

Revision dates

o RMPolicy_rev2008-07-31.doc

Revision numbers

o use enough digits to ensure a good sort

o RMPolicy_rev01.doc

o RMPolicy01.doc

Use the header or footer to provide date or version information

o avoid dates that are automatically changed by the system as these are updated whenever the file is opened

whether changes are made or not

o file paths can also be a useful part of a document

Sample Naming Conventions

1. Do not put spaces in file or folder names. 2. Unless otherwise specified or indicated, use lower-case letters. 3. When a name has more than one word, start each word with an upper-case letter. In some cases, an underscore may be

appropriate. 4. No non-alphabetic characters are allowed except for hyphens (-) and underscores ( _ ). 5. Dates should be in the format year-month-day. Example: 2005-05-18 6. Capitalize folder titles.

Examples of Filenames (sorted by filename)

77556.txt 77556Order.txt 77557Order.txt 77558.txt 77558Order.txt 77559.txt ABCsOfFilingV01.ppt ABCsOfFilingV02.ppt ABCsOfFilingV03.ppt

Agenda2009-02-02.doc Agenda2009-06-13.doc Agenda2009-08-08.doc Agenda2009-10-10.doc Agenda2009-12-12.doc Agenda2010-04-10.doc Agenda2010-08-14.doc Agenda2011-02-12.doc Agenda2011-04-09.doc

AgendaItem2001-02.doc ServerCleanup.txt StatusOf_A-V_Materials.doc Vote1851.doc Vote1939.doc Vote1951.doc Vote1988.doc Vote1989.doc Vote1995.doc

Examples with Full File Path

G:\Archives\RM\Administration\Procedures\HowToDoStuff\DataEntry_Office.doc G:\Archives\RM\Administration\Policies\UniversityPolicies\Vote1995.doc G:\Archives\RM\RecordsScheduling\GRS\MuseumSchedule\Correspondence\GeneralLetterIntroducingProject.doc U:\user\arvel\Documents\ARMA-TF\ConversionCriteria-ConsolidatedDraft2011-09-11_sk.doc

REVISED 7/9/2012