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Standard Naming Convention

The standard naming convention was developed to help departments create consistent and meaningful file and document titles for their records. The best practices outlined in this guide are explained in greater detail and supported by practical examples. For more information please consult The Standard Naming Convention for Electronic Records. 

File Naming Best Practices:

1. Keep file names short, but meaningful.
2. Avoid unneccessary repetition and redundancy in file names and file paths. 
3. Use capital letters to differentiate between words, not spaces and underscores. 
4. When including a number in a file name always give it as a two-digit number i.e. 01-00, unless it is a year.
5. If using a date in the file name always state the date 'back to front', and use four digit years, two digit months and two digit days: YYYYMMDD or YYYYMM or YYYY or YYYY-YYYY. 
6. When including a personal name in a file name give the surname first followed by the initials.
7. Avoid using common words such as 'draft' or 'letter' at the start of file names.
8. Order the elements in a file name in the most appropriate way to retrieve the record. 
9. The file names of records relating to recurring events should include the date and a description of the event.
10. The file names of correspondence should include the name of the correspondent an indication of the subject, the date of the correspondence and whether it is incoming or outgoing correspondence.
11. The file name of an email attachements shouid include the name of the correspondent, an indication of the subject, the date of the correspondence, whether it is incoming or outgoing correspondence 'attach', and the attachment number. 
12. The version number of a record should be indicated in its file name by the inclusion of 'V' followed by a two digit number and, where applicable, 'Draft'.