The Tedious Art of Naming Files
I want to talk about naming files. I realize this is not an exciting topic. I realize that most people have never spent more than a few seconds thinking about what to call a document before saving it. But I've spent a disproportionate amount of my working life dealing with the consequences of poor file naming, and I have opinions.
The fundamental problem is simple: a filename is the primary interface between you and your file. It's the thing you see in a directory listing, the thing you type or click to open the file, the thing that tells you — or fails to tell you — what's inside without opening it. A good filename is a tiny act of communication with your future self. A bad filename is a tiny act of sabotage.
I've seen it all. Files named "Document1.docx" sitting alongside "Document1 (2).docx" and "Document1 - Copy.docx." Entire project folders where every file is called some variation of "final" — "report_final.pdf," "report_final_v2.pdf," "report_FINAL_FINAL.pdf," "report_final_use_this_one.pdf." Screenshot files with names like "IMG_20XX0315_142337.jpg" that tell you nothing except when the screenshot was taken, assuming the device clock was set correctly, which it often wasn't.
Working in media archiving and document processing, I've had to impose naming conventions on collections that had none. This is delicate work. You're retroactively applying structure to something that grew organically, and there's always a tension between the convention you'd ideally use and the convention that's practical given the volume and variety of materials.
Over the years I've settled on a few principles that serve me well. They're not revolutionary. They're not even original. But I follow them consistently, which is more than most people do.
First: use lowercase and hyphens. No spaces, no underscores, no camelCase. This is partly a technical consideration — spaces in filenames cause problems in command-line environments and some older systems — but mostly an aesthetic one. Hyphens are visually clean and universally compatible. "quarterly-budget-review.pdf" is easier to read, type, and process than "Quarterly Budget Review.pdf" or "quarterly_budget_review.pdf."
Second: lead with the most important information. If the date matters, put it first in ISO format: "2XXX-03-meeting-notes.txt." If the project matters more than the date, lead with the project: "fieldwork-batch-07-raw-scans." The point is that when you're scanning a directory listing, the most useful information should be at the left edge where your eye hits first.
Third: be specific but not verbose. A filename should tell you what the file is, not narrate its entire history. "client-a-invoice-march.pdf" is good. "invoice-sent-to-client-a-for-march-consulting-work-revised-after-feedback.pdf" is too much. If you need that level of detail, put it in the file itself or in a companion notes file.
Fourth: avoid version numbers when possible. Instead of "proposal-v1.docx" and "proposal-v2.docx," use a version control system, or if that's overkill, at least use dates: "proposal-2XXX-01.docx" and "proposal-2XXX-03.docx." Version numbers tell you the order but not the timing, and they tend to proliferate in confusing ways.
Fifth: be consistent within a project. It almost doesn't matter what convention you choose as long as you stick with it. A folder where every file follows the same pattern is navigable even if the pattern isn't the one I would have chosen. A folder where every file uses a different convention is a headache regardless of how good any individual name might be.
I know this all sounds fussy. It is fussy. But I've lost count of the number of times good file naming has saved me significant time and frustration — finding the right version of a document in a large collection, writing scripts that can process files based on their names, simply being able to glance at a folder and understand what's in it without opening anything.
These aren't just my habits. During contract work I've helped several small organizations develop naming conventions for their document collections, and the feedback is always the same: "I can't believe how much easier this makes things." It's one of those improvements that seems trivial until you experience it, and then you wonder how you ever lived without it.
Name your files well. Your future self will thank you. So will anyone who ever has to work with your files after you.
— Kevin V.