Sunday, January 2, 2011

MEANINGLESS FILE NAMES: DON’T GET ME STARTED…

How many times have you received a file with a nonsensical name?  It’s usually sent to you by someone who doesn’t take the time to put much information in the email subject line, either.

Something like:
  • digitalimager@xyzncdksjhuhg.com_20101110_1030745*
  • or supercallifragillisticpro.doc
 What can it possibly be? 
  • A spec section from a consulting engineering firm?
  • A PDF including several spec sections?
  • A PDF including several drawings of the food service equipment for that cafeteria remodeling you’ve been working on?
  • The geotechnical report for your new hospital addition?
  • A manufacturer’s guide spec for a product you want to specify?
  • Meeting minutes for an upcoming project?
  • The Magna Carta?
Please have a little consideration for future users/readers of the document.  Choose a file name that reflects the contents of the document.  It’s not hard to rename a document, I promise.

If you don’t, I probably will, especially if the document is to become part of one of our Project Manuals.  Most of our Project Manuals are now being distributed in combined PDF form as well as hard copy.  We enable bookmarks in the combined PDF to make it easy to navigate through the document, so it’s important that each document have a name that makes sense, and that enables it to be put in proper order corresponding to the Table of Contents.

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