Filing Conventions

A naming convention must be followed for folders and files in Box/CES IT/Files to keep documents organized, consistent, and findable.

Folders

Folders should be named for the author or sender of the file or both. The author may be an individual or an organization. If you are unsure which to store it in, store a copy in both. If it does not have an individual author, such as a user guide or an invoice, store it in the organization subfolder. If it was in correspondence with a specific person, store it in the individual subfolder.

Organizations

Name organization folders exactly as written by the organization. Always use title case unless the brand specifically uses another capitalization style, for example, "LaserTech". Separate "The" from the beginning of the name and move it to the end, for example, "Support Group, The". If the document is from a department of a larger organization, save it in the larger organization's folder. If the document is from an independent unit of an organization, such as Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, store it in a folder for the unit.

Governments

If the organization is a state government, name the folder with "State of" and the name of the state, followed by a comma and the department or agency, for example, "State of California, Department of Motor Vehicles." If the organization is a local government, write "County of" or "City of" and the local government's name, followed by a comma and the department or agency. If the organization is a country government, name the folder with the country's full name, followed by a comma and the department or agency, for example, "United States of America, Department of Education."

Individuals

Name individual folders with last name followed by a comma and then the first name. If there is a middle name or initial, put it after the first name without a comma, for example, "Stevens, Peter A.". If the last name includes a short word such as "De" or "Van", include it in before the last name, for example, "Van Staalduinen, Briitta".

Date

Write all dates in ISO 8601 format at the beginning of the file name so that they sort by date when sorted alphabetically.

If there is a date on the document, use that date. If the document only specifies a month and a year, use the first date of that month. If the document has no date but pertains to a period of time, use the last date of that period of time. Otherwise, use the date the document was saved.

Title

If the document has a title, put the written title after the date. If there is no title, write a brief descriptor after the date. Use title case, except where a brand name is stylized, e.g. iPhone. If more than one document with the same title exists for the same day, add a number at the end to indicate the order.