The recomended structure for filenames in JD

10-19 Concepts 14 Build your system
1

Hi there!
In would like to ask you for an advice, how to name each file to get the simple, consistent and structured system for file names.

e.g. filename_version_date

Looking forward for your advice.

Mike

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2

Hi Mike.

Using the JD ID in the file name

Sometimes I find it useful to use the Johnny.Decimal ID in the filename. In these situations:

  1. When the file will be distributed. Now the JD ID is encoded in the file name itself; very useful when that file makes its way back to you.
  2. When you access this file via your systemā€™s File > Recent list. I find it helpful to have this list show the JD ID of the file, so now itā€™s less important what that file is named.

There will be other situations; up to you to decide.

In this case, I find the JD ID is the most important thing and other details become less relevant. So hereā€™s a real-life example:

  • D85.43.11 Area complete template.mindnode

Using a date in the file name

Generally I use dates for static documents: my electricity bill, say. Itā€™s April 2024ā€™s bill and thatā€™ll never change.

In this case the date is always first and in the ISO 8601 format.

  • 2024-04-22 Red Energy electricity bill.pdf

Iā€™ll generally rename the file because the file you get from your electricity providerā€™s portal will be called something like ā€¦ well, let me see what I got mailed recently ā€¦ yep, 765670_A215.pdf.

I donā€™t use dates to indicate currency

For me, the current version of a document is the one in the folder. It doesnā€™t need a date.

But then if I archive off a copy, Iā€™ll create a subfolder archive and the file goes in there with the date as above.

Some people ā€“ hi, @LucyDecimal :wave: ā€“ prefer the date in the file name at all times. Totally up to you.

Version numbers

Similarly I find manually adding version numbers to file names to be inconsistent and not worth the bother.

You either have a version control system, or you donā€™t. Iā€™ve never seen manual version control ā€“ that table at the front of a document at work where youā€™re supposed to update when you make a change ā€“ Iā€™ve never seen that work. Donā€™t bother.

The date, as described above, is sufficient and more reliable for tracking of older versions.

If you distribute a document, you may want to add the date to its file name for this reason. In this case, as this is for tracking and not sorting, Iā€™d do this:

  • D85.43.11 Area complete template 2024-04-22.mindnode

General file naming

Otherwise, if you just have a file with a name, just give it a nice sensible name; whatever makes sense to you.

I tend to find people strive for really short file names. Why? Computer words are free.[1] Be descriptive; help future you.

  1. Unless youā€™re at work and Microsoft limits what you can type. Sucks to be you. :wink: ā†©ļøŽ

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3

I spent some time thinking about this a few months back, when I was reorganizing some shared stuff.

Figured I could share in case it helps someone. :man_shrugging:

I came up with the following scheme: YYYY-MM-DD_DocumentTitle_Subtitle_Version_Metadata.FileExtension.

  • All is optional, except title.
  • Date is used only when the document is related to a time or period. (For instance, electricity bill for a given month or invoice on a given date)
  • Version is used only for exported versions. (PDFs)
  • Metadata is any treatment the file has been given that differentiates it from original or copies.

As en example, if we had a board meeting today and the minutes of meeting was written tomorrow, the following files would (eventually) be generate:

  • 2024-04-28_BoardMeeting_MoM.docx
  • 2024-04-28_BoardMeeting_MoM_240429.pdf
  • 2024-04-28_BoardMeeting_MoM_240429_Signed.pdf

These are essentially the same document, but in different forms.
You could put many MoM in a single folder and they would group automatically.

If the document is revised, each version is kept as a PDF and can be held separately. (We write the version number inside the document and use todays date as number)

We can easily find the version we need; the working document, or the scanned signed copy.

We always treat the original file (the editable) as dirty, meaning it can be either a draft or released version but you cannot really tell.

Hope that helps someone! :blush:

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4

Hi @johnnydecimal ! Thanks for your insights, you helped me. I like the rules reagarding the version number and date in the filename.

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5

Hi @osau ! Many thanks also for your example. I am curious more about the version name, whatā€™s the ā€œalgorithmā€ behind? Version is derived from the shorten format of the date? I usually add version number as e.g. ā€œ2024-04-28_BoardMeeting_MoM_v01.pdfā€

6

Exactly, I use YYMMDD for versioning, but only for derivatives. (Export) Johnny explained this perfectly above. I rarely distribute the original file. Usually a PDF or other format suitable for viewing and archiving.

7

With respect to date formats, why would one not use:

YYYYMMDD 20240625

And instead use:

YYYY-MM-DD 2024-06-25

The 2nd option has more typing and the 1st option is equally easily found and sorted by a computer.

I have been using the first option for years and renaming all my files would be an incredible burden.

Also, if I were to use a version number at the end of the file, I would not use a v, I would just use a 2 digit but usually 3 digit code like the following (000- 999):

20240625_Project_A_Report_003.docx

8

For many people, I expect YYYY-MM-DD is more human-readable, but if the other works for you I canā€™t see any reason to change.

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9

The first isnā€™t just a little more readable: itā€™s much more readable. And thatā€™s important.

Hereā€™s the trick: donā€™t be typing these dates out by hand. Find yourself some software ā€” I use Alfredā€™s ā€˜snippetsā€™ feature, but there are dozens of things that do this ā€” and set it up to insert the date for you.

For example, anywhere in my system I can type ;;jpdate and Iā€™ll get 2024-06-25.

That weird string is because:

  • I never normally type ;; so all of my snippets start with that. This way nothing ā€˜expandsā€™ unexpectedly.
  • jpdate stands for ā€˜Japanese date formatā€™, as when I set this up a decade+ ago Iā€™d heard that this is the format that they use.

Similarly ;;jptime puts in a full time stamp.

Downside: doesnā€™t work on iOS. :confused:

I have been using the first option for years and renaming all my files would be an incredible burden.

If itā€™s been working for you for ages, thatā€™s great. But for new people, starting this habit today: use the dashes. Trust me.

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10

Thank you for the replies.

Much appreciated and experience trumps many opinions about issues.

Would anybody have a script that is able to search every file wilth the date format yyyymmdd in the front of the file name and convert the first 8 characters to the date format yyyy-mm-dd so that I can deal with this issue?

I also use software that hates spaces in file names and folder names. ESRI arcgis.

Do I just use the underscore in file names and folders that the particular software would access?

So in general spaces are preferred over underscores?

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11

If youā€™re used to yyyymmdd Iā€™m not saying itā€™s wrong.

Because you will be able to change them with a script ā€¦ problem is, how confident are you in that script? Do you really want to run it over all of your files? Thatā€™d make me really nervous.

You could do it folder-by-folder I guess and eyeball the results. ChatGPT gives me a plausible looking bash script that uses regex.

But donā€™t just be running that! Do like a hundred backups, etc.

Do I just use the underscore in file names and folders that the particular software would access?

So in general spaces are preferred over underscores?

I use spaces everywhere. If you donā€™t primarily conduct your work at the CLI, spaces are the right choice. Computers handle spaces. Itā€™s just another character.

If you do do a lot at the CLI, having to constantly\ escape\ every\ space gets boring, so I understand why those people use underscores.

And if you have specific software that canā€™t handle spaces, then thereā€™s probably not much you can do about that.

12

Hi all,

I work as an Engineering Information Management professional and Iā€™m really enjoying learning the JD system.

Some tips for naming files appended to the JD number I can offer are:
File Type - File Description

So in my professional world examples would be:
SPECIFICATION - DELIVERABLE IDENTIFICATION.pdf
SPECIFICATION - REFERENCE DATA.xlsx
CLASS LIBRARY - EQUIPMENT.xlsx
CLASS LIBRARY - DOCUMENT.xlsx

In my personal world examples would be:
NAME - Driving License - UK.pdf
NAME - Driving License - NZ.pdf
NAME - Driving License - AU.pdf
UK2017-18 - Tax Return.pdf
UK2019-20 - Fluor P45.pdf

Everything lines up nicely when sorted alphabetically and you can spot a naming error a mile off.

Hope this helps,
Mark

13

Hi! Welcome.

This is great advice and speaks to something at the very core of Johnny.Decimal:

CONSISTENCY

At the end of the day, it doesnā€™t really matter what you pick. Pick what works for you. Pick what you like the look of. Whatever tickles your neat bone.

BUT. BE. CONSISTENT.

When I had an IT job, I judged people if their file systems looked like this. And some did, believe me.

Job applications/
ā”œā”€ā”€ Application for Bob Bobson.doc
ā”œā”€ā”€ Jones, John - application.doc
ā”œā”€ā”€ Susan Smith application.doc
ā””ā”€ā”€ xavier aardvark- application.doc

Dashes! No dashes! Surname, Firstname. The other way. Neither way. AARRRHHGHGHHHH!

And people would say, but those were the file names I got sentā€™.

And I would say, I donā€™t care! Rename them, or what youā€™re showing me is that you have no attention to detail, and that I canā€™t trust you.

2 Likes
14

;;metoo

I use the ;; in TextExpander as there will be no other instance where Iā€™ll ever, purposely, type ;;

I havenā€™t set up the auto date snippet yet in TEā€¦ but now Iā€™m really curious and will be doing some deep diving today ā€” and need to get TE syncā€™d across all my devices. So far I only use it on my Mac, but having it do the same repeatable tasks on my iPad and iPhone would be, well, priceless!

Edit: my new date snippet works like a charm in TextExpander (on my Mac) but now Iā€™m trying to figure out why the snippets donā€™t work on my iPad :person_shrugging:ā€” weird, cuz this is where I created it!

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15

How does TE work on iOS, is it a separate keyboard?

16

HI Johnny
No its just an app ā€“ one that I believe is available through the website, or via SetApp if you belong to that service.

Where StreamDeck and all its incarnations are primarily HW devices, TextExpander is a software app that you can, or should be able to, use across all your Mac devices. In the busiest time of our business cycle(s) I use it a lot for things like: email signatures; email contact enquiries; customer tips regarding payment methods, shipping methods, ordering instructions ā€“ all of which are available by simply pressing ;;andwhatevermytwotofourdigit code is for what would normally be minutes of typing.

each week TE send me an email with how much time I have saved by using the app ā€“ and it often shows literally hours of time saved!

17

So how does it work on iOS? Iā€™m sitting on my iPad now ā€” how do I get a date out of TE? Do I have to switch to it?

Edit: I realise Iā€™m perfectly capable of looking this up for myself. :rofl:

18

truthfully I use it exclusively on my Mac these daysā€¦ and not recently on my old iPad Pro ā€¦ but just bought a new iPad Air and was looking to install it on that iPad but canā€™t get into my account. I was about to test it on the new iPad that has a working keyboard, cuz my old iPad Pro keyboard died in 2019, so havenā€™t used it much for any degree of typing.

Now Iā€™m curious to find out if my new iPad/keyboard will work with TE.