Please create good file names

Proper file naming standards are crucial for shared digital projects to ensure files are easily located, understood, and managed by all team members. Consistent, descriptive naming prevents version control errors, minimizes time wasted searching for documents, and fosters efficient collaboration, avoiding the chaos of disorganized, ambiguous file labels. 2020-01-24 ResourceSpace

Whether you recognize your class work as part of a shared project or not, if you are asked to submit your work via CANVAS, our Learning Management System, you are. For DrD’s classes, what does a good filename look like?

Please stop and think about how you name files when you are sharing files with your faculty.

For starters, in any class you are likely to take with us, there will be more than just you in the class.

At a minimum, you need to name files so that there is no confusion about who the file belongs to. Every semester I get files from students that lack identifying names in the file name. Even worse, these files sometimes come with no identifiers in the document itself! This leads to confusion and extra work for faculty, and there’s simply no reason for this. Nor should you think this is just a “Dohm thing.” All faculty who allow you to turn things in via email attachment, Google Drive, or other sharing platforms, we all run into these issues.

So, now that my rant is done, what am I asking you to do? Well, follow some basic advice.

First, when the assignment calls for pdf files, please do as instructed. Far too often instructors receive PowerPoint files or Word documents instead of the requested pdf. It is straight-forward to convert your document into a pdf — just ask Google/the Internet to help.

Second, get into the habit of NEVER submitting default file names like Screenshot 2026-03-12 at 12.32.32 PM.png — the default naming scheme on a macOS for a screenshot image.

The instructor shouldn’t have to spell out how to name files every time there is an assignment. If, for example, the assignment is “Exam 1,” you can’t send the instructor a file name Exam 1.pdf and expect that you’ve done your job correctly.

Third, what needs to be included in a file name? Think of how a file name is to be used by the person you are sending the file to.  At a glance, the person should be able to identify who you are and what the file is about. Considering our “Exam 1” again, if Joe Key is going to send me a file, then Joe could name the file

joe key exam 1.pdf

This is the bare minimum of required elements. Consider the faculty you are working with: Are they teaching multiple classes? So help out by including the course name or identification. At a minimum then, the file name becomes

BI308L joe key exam 1.pdf

Background

It is essential for project management — especially if others are involved — to pay attention to file naming conventions for the project. Even if a project has just one participant, chances are the project will include multiple files; following a set convention of naming files provides organization to the diversity of files and allows project participants to find and identify files.

A file naming convention addresses how files are related to each other while also how each provides different information.

Examples of poor file naming include*:

1. My document
2. Exam 1.pdf
3. IMG_4999.jpg
4. Project.docx
5. Screen Shot 2023-01-31 at 6:21.42 PM.png
6. Screenshot.jpg

*over my years of teaching and working with projects I’ve received these and many other files from students

For this set of instructions we’ll assume that participants are students, participating in a class digital project. Please stop and think about how you name files when you are sharing files with your faculty.

For starters, in any class you are likely to take with faculty, there will be more than just you in the class, e.g., multiple participants each producing and sharing files.

At a minimum, you need to name files so that there is no confusion about who the file belongs to. Every semester I get files from students that lack identifying names in the file name. Even worse, these files sometimes come with no identifiers in the document itself! This leads to confusion and extra work for faculty, and there’s simply no reason for this. Nor should you think this is just a “Dohm thing.” All faculty who allow you to turn things in via email attachment, Google Drive, or other sharing platforms, we all run into these issues.

So, now that my rant is done, what am I asking you to do? Well, follow some basic advice, even if the instructor provides no guidance or naming convention, by following file naming best practices, your efforts will be appreciated.

First, make sure the file is in the correct format, as evidenced by the file name extension. When I ask for pdf files, please do as I ask. Far too often I get sent PowerPoint files (.pptx) or Word documents (.docx), not pdfs.

Second, I shouldn’t have to spell out how to name files every time there is an assignment. Filename conventions are established at the start of the project and it is a requirement that we all adhere to these standards. If, for example, the assignment is “Exam 1,” you can’t send a file named “Exam 1.pdf”to the instructor and expect that you’ve done your job correctly.

Third, what needs to be included in a file name? Think of how a file name is to be used by the person you are sending the file to.  At a glance, the person should be able to identify who you are and what the file is about. Considering our “Exam 1.pdf” again, if Joe Key is going to send me a file, then Joe could name the file

joe key exam 1.pdf

This is the bare minimum of required descriptive elements (also called metadata). Consider the faculty you are working with: Are they teaching multiple classes? So help out by including the course name or identification. And, when numbers are used like exam 1, it is good to add a zero prefix (see below). In general, spaces in file names are a bad idea (see below).  With these additional considerations, to fix the file name example, all Joe would need to do is

bi308_exam01_joe_key.pdf

This filename would work. Any variant of this filename would work, provided that the order of elements are agreed upon, i.e., a filename convention has been set. Acceptable alternatives might include

joekey_exam01_BI308.pdf (as long as no one else has the name key)

exam01_bi308_joe_key.pdf

and so on.

Note that if a filename convention exists for the course, eg, bi308_exam01_joe_key.pdf.

File naming best practices

Some guidance, drawn from multiple sources.

Stop adding space in filenames

And finally, while spaces in filenames improves readability for us, they are bad form. Operating systems use spaces to separate commands; thus, it shouldn’t be a surprise to you that sometimes spaces in filenames can lead to problems. Perhaps you’ve seen this when you’ve downloaded a file from the Internet (or just internet) and you found “%20”; that’s how many web servers handle spaces in filenames. Proper URL addresses cannot have spaces, only characters in the name (see nice summary of this at ThoughtCo: How to Name HTML Files).

So, do better.

Instead of spaces, use a dash or hyphen (-), or an underscore (_), even “camel type” to help make your filename readable by machine and human. Examples are

Guidelines and best practices.

Unsurprisingly, the Smithsonian Libraries has something to say about this topic. I summarized their recommendations (link to pdf file).

1. File Naming Rules

• Be Descriptive: Make names meaningful so you know the content without opening it.
• Use Standard Dates: Use the YYYYMMDD format (e.g., 20261019) to auto-sort files chronologically.
• Track Versions Clearly: Add _v1, _v2, _draft, or _final to the end of your filename.
• Never Start With Status: Do not start a filename with “draft” or “final”.
• Keep It Short: Try to limit your filename to 25 characters or fewer.
• Never Change Extensions: Keep the original file extension (like .docx, .pdf, .py) exactly as it is.

2. Formatting for Computers

• No Spaces or Punctuation: Avoid spaces, tabs, periods, or commas inside your filename.
• Separate With Underscores or CamelCase: Use my_homework_file.docx or myHomeworkFile.docx. Pick one style and stay consistent.
• Pad Your Numbers: If you have numbered steps or files, use leading zeros (e.g., _01, _02 instead of _1, _2) so they sort in the correct order.

3. Folder Organization

• Stay Consistent: Build a folder layout that makes perfect sense to someone else looking at your work.
• Group by Logic: Organize your folders by Class, Semester, or Project Name.
• Don’t Rely Only on Folders: If a file gets dragged out of its folder, it loses its context. Ensure the filename itself still tells you what the file is.

/MD