Naming Convention Setup

How to complete Naming Convention Setup

This kills the 'Final_v2_FINAL_real' problem by committing to one consistent file-naming pattern, anchored on ISO dates (YYYY-MM-DD) that sort chronologically on their own. The result is files you can find by typing, sorted correctly without opening a single one.

1. Decide a simple pattern and write it down, e.g. YYYY-MM-DD_project_description, lowercase, hyphens or underscores instead of spaces
2. Always lead with the date in YYYY-MM-DD form so alphabetical sort equals date sort
3. Replace version words like 'final' and 'v2' with the date you saved it, or a clean v01/v02 sequence if you truly need versions
4. Rename a current active folder of files to the new pattern as your first real pass
5. Bulk-rename old messy folders with a batch tool when you have time, and don't block on perfection

Tips

• Avoid spaces, slashes, and special characters: they break links, scripts, and some sync clients
• Keep descriptions short but searchable; the name should tell you the contents without opening it
• ISO dates only: 06-17-2026 and 17-06-2026 both sort wrong and reintroduce ambiguity

What counts as done

You can sort any folder by name and get correct chronological order, and find files by typing a date or keyword instead of opening them.