# The recomended structure for filenames in JD **URL:** \ **Category:** Workbook/Workshop\ **Created:** [April 21, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376 "2024-04-21T21:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jeff-LovettSundries](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/user_avatar/forum.johnnydecimal.com/jeff-lovettsundries/32/1198_2.png) [@Jeff-LovettSundries](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/u/Jeff-LovettSundries)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376/21 "2025-02-19T13:39:16Z")
@Kelso thanks for the compliments! I’ve been using this convention for a while in my personal files. I made one slight change in my model though. I removed the space following dashes in folders and file names. This seems to make it easier to visually find things as well as easier to search. For instance searching for `-Model` will return all of the model files, where as just searching for `Model` would also return one of the reference articles. In this case it’s not a big deal, but it’s been really helpful when searching through larger parts of my system. I think this is actually in the JD Workbook. I’m on a PC and us OneCommander as my file browser which lets me sort files and folders together which helps more and conceptually fits with the way I want to organize things. Here is an example from my personal projects folder: ```auto p35.154 Stirling Engine -Machining p35.154 -BOM.gsheet p35.154 -Model -HSM TCross -v14.20250202-144101.FCBak p35.154 -Model -HSM TCross -v14.FCStd p35.154 -Model Image -Assembly Isometric -t.svg p35.154 -Model Image -Assembly Isometric.svg p35.154 -Model Image -Assembly Side 1 -t.svg p35.154 -Model Image -Assembly Side 1.svg p35.154 -Model Image -Assembly Side 2 -t.svg p35.154 -Model Image -Assembly Side 2.svg p35.154 -Model Image -Assembly Top Transparent -t.svg p35.154 -Model Image -Assembly Top Transparent.svg p35.154 -Notes -Drawing Standards -v01.md p35.154 -Prints -Sterling Engine -rev01.pdf p35.154 -Prints -Sterling Engine -rev02.pdf p35.154 -Reference -3d Model.pdf p35.154 -Reference -Alternative Model Stirling_60.pdf p35.154 -Reference -Horizontal Stirling Engine -Terry Cross -HSM 2005-12.pdf p35.154 Ω Obsolete [DIR] ``` It’s hard for me to always take the time to do it right, but when I do it’s super helpful. (I’m always better at designing systems than following rules 🤷) In an ideal world I could set file naming structures and limitations in the OS to ensure that I follow the rules. ---
**Author:** ![johnnydecimal](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/user_avatar/forum.johnnydecimal.com/johnnydecimal/32/1759_2.png) [@johnnydecimal](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/u/johnnydecimal)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376/22 "2025-02-19T20:47:32Z")
Oh I like that little adjustment. You’re basically making yourself tags _embedded in the file name_. That’s nice… **Patterns**. They’re so important and you can do so much with so little if you just take note of patterns in life. ---
**Author:** ![Tjoenk](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/user_avatar/forum.johnnydecimal.com/tjoenk/32/1156_2.png) [@Tjoenk](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/u/Tjoenk)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376/23 "2025-03-11T22:31:26Z")
I have had a lot of fun renaming files and folders with the app [Bulk Rename Utility](https://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/) (windows). This could probably do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![hans](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/user_avatar/forum.johnnydecimal.com/hans/32/719_2.png) [@hans](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/u/hans)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 10:36am UTC](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376/24 "2025-03-12T10:36:57Z")
> [@Tjoenk](#): > > with the app [Bulk Rename Utility](https://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/)… This kind of tool allows a really quick hierarchical naming workflow. e.g, categorizing the photos from Susie and Frank’s Wedding Day: 1. first, select all the photos, and bulk rename them to `YYYY-MM-DD Susie and Frank Wedding .JPG`. 2. then, select a subset, and bulk append, e.g. `Ceremony`, then another subset, `Leaving the Chapel`, another `Lunch`, etc. The cool thing is that you don’t _have_ to subclassify everything. They will all show up in a search for the main event. But you can go as deep as you want, and the bulk rename tool lets you select precisely the largest set to give a shared name to, making for a very fast classification process. On Linux I use `ranger` which has this, and `massren` as a standalone tool (which I plug into the `geeqie` photo manager for photos specifically). [filetags](https://github.com/novoid/filetags/) by Karl Voit is designed for this kind of workflow more generally, i.e. tagging all your files in the way @Jeff-LovettSundries\[1\] demonstrates. I haven’t used it and don’t know the status, but from the Github page it looks like it’s getting updates and is used by a fair number of people. * * * 1. Yay for FreeCAD! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff-LovettSundries](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/user_avatar/forum.johnnydecimal.com/jeff-lovettsundries/32/1198_2.png) [@Jeff-LovettSundries](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/u/Jeff-LovettSundries)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 3:03pm UTC](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376/25 "2025-03-12T15:03:57Z")
I’m a huge fan of Bulk Rename Utility. I’m not savvy enough for any command line shenanigans, but this app makes me feel like a super hero. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff-LovettSundries](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/user_avatar/forum.johnnydecimal.com/jeff-lovettsundries/32/1198_2.png) [@Jeff-LovettSundries](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/u/Jeff-LovettSundries)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376/26 "2025-03-12T15:05:48Z")
I’ll have to check out filetags. Thanks for sharing. There are always more tools for these tasks, but what I really love about JD and this process is developing philosophies and standards to follow. ---
**Author:** ![trintera](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/user_avatar/forum.johnnydecimal.com/trintera/32/999_2.png) [@trintera](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/u/trintera)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 2:12pm UTC](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376/27 "2026-03-07T14:12:35Z")
> [@Tjoenk](#): > > the app [Bulk Rename Utility](https://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/) (windows) For us macOS users, I have been using [NameChanger](https://mrrsoftware.com/namechanger/) for a long time. You can download and install manually or use `brew install --cask namechanger`. 💪 [Previous page](https://forum.johnnydecimal.com/t/the-recomended-structure-for-filenames-in-jd/1376.md?page=1)