Filenames: What Does ATECQ17867 Mean to Me?

Date: 07.11.2011

Filenames: What does ATECQ17867 mean to me?

When it is the name of a file I have been sent the answer is very little, and yet this is typical of the file name that my suppliers might use when sending a quotation or proposal to me. So what is wrong with it?

Well, consider what I'm going to do with it?

Assuming it is of value I will save it on our server in the appropriate location. I might come back to it in a couple of weeks time and without opening it I have no idea who it's from, or what it relates to.

Every organisation should have a convention for naming files so that:

• It is clear which organisation originated the document
• It is clear what type of document it is
• It is clear what contract or service it relates to
• Where a number of versions exist, it is easy to identify the most recent
• The file name is not excessively long (long file paths cause problems with windows, especially in file synchronisation)

There is a deeper problem here. Using your reference number and your customers name as a filename indicates a failure to think see things through your clients eyes or at the very least a missed opportunity.

If you are missing this trick, what else are you missing? The good news is that this is relatively easy to rectify, and that in doing so you will stand apart from the crowd as a business that actually thinks about things from their customers' standpoint.

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