File Naming Guidelines for your External Hard Drives

In Backup & Archiving Workflow by joseph gilbertLeave a Comment

Easily find and retrieve data from your external hard drive with these file naming tips.

Those of us who utilize external hard drive storage for work or personal use often have countless files on each external drive. It can be difficult to keep everything organized but developing an effective and consistent file naming system can maximize your efficiency and productivity by eliminating the time spent searching for files.

No one can tell you what file naming system will work best for you, so we’re offering some expert tips on file naming to help you develop a system that you can easily use on a day-to-day basis and recommend to others. Here are some file naming guidelines to get you started.

Guidelines for Effective File Naming on Your External Hard Drive

Format is Key

There are countless formats you could choose to use for your external hard drive file naming system, but Stanford University Libraries suggests the following format: YYYYMMDD or YYMMDD. For example:

  • 160301
  • 20160301

We prefer the latter format because if your external hard drive storage includes data from a span of multiple years or decades, things could get confusing. For instance, does the “16” at the beginning of your file name dictate a file from 2016 or 1916? Data archiving that spans multiple generations will likely include historical files so consider the vast range of dates before choosing a format. Remember, you want your file naming system to be as simple as possible for quick retrieval of data.

Use Alternatives for Spaces

Using spaces in file names are typically not a good idea because some software won’t recognize the file name. Instead, try using dashes, underscores or capital letters to separate words within your file names on your external hard drive. Here are a few examples:

  • saturn_photo_shoot
  • SaturnPhotoShoot
  • saturn-photo-shoot

There are several ways you can differentiate between words in a file name if you feel it would be easiest to understand, but you don’t even have to if you choose not to. You can simply name your file “saturnphotoshoot” although most people find that to be more confusing.

Avoid Using Special Characters

Special characters like * ^ % @ # $ ! don’t mix well with file names. These characters are not recognized by some software systems and can cause unneeded frustration and problems. Stay far away from these characters and you can be sure that your file names will resonate well with any program you choose to use.

Keep File Names Short

Not only are shorter file names easier to look at in an overview of your external hard drive, but long file names aren’t always accepted by all programs and software. As a general rule of thumb, try to keep your file names under 31 characters for optimal data archiving.

Too Many Sub Folders Can Get Messy

The organized professionals of the world LOVE sub folders. And why shouldn’t they? They’re great! But when you start getting six, seven or eight folders deep, you need to reconsider your filing structure. HowToArchive suggests not getting any deeper than 5 folders and if you feel like your organization needs it, you may need to reconsider the file naming system you’re currently using for your external hard drives.

Avoid Duplicate File Names

While it’s not usually recommended, many professionals may feel the need to reuse file names. If you have several versions of the same file, consider using “v” or “V” followed by a number at the end of the file name. This will help to differentiate between the different versions. Here are a few examples to illustrate this idea:

  • 20160301_SaturnVideo_v01
  • 20160301_SaturnVideo_v02

Be Consistent

If multiple people are adding files to an external hard drive, make sure they all understand your file naming system and are actively using it. If they aren’t, your drive will get really messy – really fast.

We hope these guidelines will help you get started with an organized file naming system and if you have any tips of your own, feel free to share them in the comments! Otherwise, browse our website for addition tips on data archiving, external hard drive storage, or tech reviews.