Organising your files

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Organising files consists in categorising them in such a way as to make them easier to find, and prevent risks of information loss. Some tips can help you anticipate such risks.

It is easier to organise files if you establish a naming rule. This rule may be drawn up personally or with others for joint projects. It needs to be as rational and simple as possible to facilitate its implementation. File naming provides a way of guaranteeing better homogeneity among file titles, making them easier to find.

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Some principles for drawing up a naming rule
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  • opt for a brief name with easily recognisable abbreviations, placing the most important component first

  • separate words using a capital or underscore “_”, without any space

  • avoid special characters (accents, symbols) which are not always compatible from one operating system to another and may cause display problems

  • indicate dates using a standardised form AAAAMMJJ (year-month-date), enabling you to arrange documents in chronological order

  • indicate the file version in the title (V01, V02, etc.).

While the purpose of organising files is to permanently protect the intelligibility and readability of information produced and collected, two other aspects need taking into account : data documentation and the choice of file format. It is recommended that you privilege open file formats (which are more stable and thus last longer) and that you plan regular device migration to counter risks of obsolescence.