Universal File Naming Convention

Jackhansonc

Hi, there,

One thing I still yet figure out is how to name my files.

On macOS, it's not that a big problem as I have DevonThink 3 Pro, tags and smart folders that help me retrieve files. But whenever I don't have access to macOS and look through my long list of files in my external SSD, it was so painful. Currently, I only add a timebase UID to the end of all my files. And my file name is already long and lasting.

Is there any suggestion on how to better name my files, making it friendly to both windows, iOS and macOS?

Sascha

My personal convention:

1. Images: Date + telling title (e.g. "2023-11-06-flow-extended-version.jpg")
2. For any source: first author + year. (e.g. "brainiac2000").

The later allows to point to the source from anywhere, it is unique (mostly. If an author published more than one source the year I append a letter -> "brainiac2000b") and very easy. The name is identical with the citekey for the source in my bibliographical managament. So, I don't care about where I stored it. When I see a reference to a source from anywhere in any app, the system search is enough to produce the source.

Will

I'm no expert. You are naming the file in the most compatible, OS-independent way by including a timestamp in the name.

When I'm on a platform outside my ZK and looking for a file, I utilize the OS search functions. Search skills pay back substantial time savings. Different applications on different platforms have different search quirks. Finding a tolerable compromise can be challenging. On iOS, I use 1Writer. I can't help with Linux, UNIX, and Windows as I'm currently taking a break from them.

ctietze

@Jackhansonc What kind of 'pain' do you have with the existing file naming scheme? The file names being long ought not to be the main problem, I'd wager, because when you find what you're looking for easily, length shouldn't matter.

Also, what kind of files are we talking about? Invoices and bills, just notes and attachments?

mlbrandt

I'm on a Mac as well. I've been through a lot of iterations to try to keep the power of the analogue ZK system while living in my (almost) fully digital world. I'm now using my Google drive to create a digital ZK.

Here is where I've landed (for now!)

1. I made a spreadsheet with 4 digit numbers for all academic fields of study. (from here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_academic_disciplines). I'm embarrassed I can't find the reference for where I got this idea... but I'll keep looking!
2. Each "card" is on a page saved in my Google drive - labelled with the 4 digit based location and a title.
3. As I get new ideas and make new notes, I "file" the new "card" (i.e. Google doc) next to the one that is most like it.
4. There is a separate folder in the ZK for literature notes, too.

A couple of other details. You'll see from the examples that I link to notes that are related to the idea that are in other sections of my ZK.

I keep all my references in Zotero. In the notes they are referenced as (author, year)

I hope that helps! I'd love to hear from others, too....!

Jackhansonc

@ctietze said:
@Jackhansonc What kind of 'pain' do you have with the existing file naming scheme? The file names being long ought not to be the main problem, I'd wager, because when you find what you're looking for easily, length shouldn't matter.

Also, what kind of files are we talking about? Invoices and bills, just notes and attachments?

Hi ctieze, please let me elaborate.

I'm a university staff. I manage thousands of students each year. I need to document the language test report and other documents for each of these students. And I also need to write documents regarding the policy of the university. There are many crossovers between student documents and official policies. And since each of them often needs to modify. You can imagine the sheer pain of looking through all these files.

Sascha

@Jackhansonc said:

@ctietze said:
@Jackhansonc What kind of 'pain' do you have with the existing file naming scheme? The file names being long ought not to be the main problem, I'd wager, because when you find what you're looking for easily, length shouldn't matter.

Also, what kind of files are we talking about? Invoices and bills, just notes and attachments?

Hi ctieze, please let me elaborate.

I'm a university staff. I manage thousands of students each year. I need to document the language test report and other documents for each of these students. And I also need to write documents regarding the policy of the university. There are many crossovers between student documents and official policies. And since each of them often needs to modify. You can imagine the sheer pain of looking through all these files.

It sounds like you could perhaps benefit from software that allows for transclusion.

erikh

What @Sascha said: you need a database approach, rather than a list of files.
In my experience the problem is usually not your own file naming, but that of other people (99% of who are sloppy in it - we are not, of course, because even the idea of having a ZK means we have structured, orderly minds And even if you rename files you receive to your own convention, then the original owner will not be able to find or refer to it anymore. Or, if the file is collaborative, they will reverse the file name to their previous conventions.

Andy

@erikh said:

What @Sascha said: you need a database approach, rather than a list of files.

@Jackhansonc said in the original post that he already uses DevonThink (a document database) on his Mac, about which he has no complaints. If I understand correctly, he's saying that the problem occurs when he needs to navigate files without access to his DevonThink database on his Mac. It may be that he just needs to put more, and more structured, information in the filename, essentially treating the filename as a complete database record. (But his description of the problem is so vague that it's hard to identify exactly what could help him.)

@Jackhansonc: Perhaps take a look at Seth Brown's 2011 blog posts on naming and searching files: Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 explains the descriptors that Brown uses in filenames (ID string/timestamp, tokens, keys, and file extension), and part 2 shows how he searches files. Brown claims: "I hope the above search methods and the importance of developing a unified file naming system for your digital files are obvious. Once you have developed a trusted file naming system you will never be unable to locate files again."