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 (e.g., Survey)
  • Conditions (e.g., 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 (e.g., &, *%#;()!@$^~'{}[]?<>)
• Use hyphens (-), underscores ( _ ), or camel case (FileName) to separate elements in a file name
• Dates should use consistent formatting (e.g., YYYYMMDD)
• Version numbers should have leading zeros to allow for multi-digit versions (e.g., v_05, v_023)

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.