File Naming Standards

The College of NSM receives documents from 6 academic departments and several units, so standardization in naming files is critical for operational efficiency and our ability to find those files later. Below are some file naming standards that will assist the college to process documents with efficiency and to maintain an effective file management system.

File Name Tips

When submitting electronic documents to the college, please use the following best practices. This will minimize problems we sometimes encounter when trying to open or transfer the files.

1. Avoid using periods (.), commas (,) and other special characters in the file name (/ \:*?”( )< >[ ] $ & , etc). Dashes (-) and underlines (_) are the only allowable exception.

2. Do not use spaces. Use only dashes (file-name), underlines (file_name), or camel case capital letters (FileName).

3. Keep it short and descriptive, no more than 25 characters in length. Long file names do not work well with some software.

4. Good format for dates is the year followed by month and day: YYYYMMDD or YYYY-MM-DD.

5. Use version numbers, such as v01, v02, v03 for multiple versions of the same file name.

File Name Format

Dept Abbreviation + Form Name + Vendor Name or Last Name of an Individual + Document # or Date

Examples of document names:

· SoleSource-Nikon-Req13233

· Contract-BioRad-2015

· FinanceAccess-Williams-20150901

· HRMSAccess-Williams-20150901

· CampusSolutionsAccess-Williams-20150901

· RTB-ThomasIDC-20150925 (RTB = Request to Budget)

· H1B-Williams-20150915

· GiftCardRequest-REU-20150915

· CCAction-WilliamsStartup (CC Action refers to Cost Center Action form)

· KeyRequest-Thomas-20150905

When saving the college-signed version of the documents the college adds the department abbreviation to the beginning of the file name. Example: CHEM-SoleSource-Nikon-Req13233

Department Abbreviations

BIO - Biology & Biochemistry
CHEM - Chemistry
COSC - Computer Science
CNRCS - Center for Nuclear Receptors & Cell Signaling
DEAN - NSM Dean's Office
EAS - Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
MATH - Mathematics
PHYS - PHYSICS

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