File formats and organization
File naming
Consider creating a readme.txt file, in your project's main file folder, that explains your file naming convention, as well as any abbreviations or codes.
Best practices
Common elements in folder or file names:
- Project or experiment name or acronym
- File creator's name/initials
- Date
- Version number
- Data characteristics. For example:
- Location/spatial coordinates
- Type of data (eg. Survey)
- Conditions (eg. Lab instrument, Solvent, Temperature, etc.)
Rules of thumb for file names:
- Keep file names as short as possible while including all necessary information.
- Do not use spaces, full stops (.), or special characters (eg. &, *%#;()!@$^~'{}[]?<>)
- Use hyphens (-), underscores ( _ ), or camel case (FileName) to separate elements in a file name
- Dates should use consistent formatting (eg. YYYYMMDD)
- Version numbers should have leading zeros to allow for multi-digit versions (eg. v_05, v_023)
| Examples of useful file names | Examples of poor file names |
|---|---|
| FG1_CONS_20100212.rtf interview transcript of the first focus group with consumers, that took place on 12 February 2010 |
|
| Int024_AP_20080605.doc interview with participant 024, interviewed by Anne Parsons on 5 June 2008 |
Focus group consumers 12 Feb?.doc |
| BDHSurveyProcedures_v04.pdf version 4 of the survey procedures for the British Dental Health Survey |
Health&Safety Procedures1 |
Source: UK Data Service
File renaming
Software is available for batch renaming multiple files using an automated process. Example software include Renamer (Mac) or Bulk Rename Utility (Windows). Find out more.
