Naming Files - A System is the Key

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Moving (Sharing) Customizations in Microsoft Word
Global StyleSheet?
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Naming Files - A System is the Key
Posting tips in the Microsoft Word Forums
Getting rid of that (*)#"@^ paperclip! - Taming the Office Assistant
Page X of Y doesn't work in Microsoft Word!
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Naming Files in Windows

According to Ed Bott and Woody Leonhard the following are the requirements for Windows filenames:

  1. A filename may contain any alphanumeric character, including the letters A to Z and numbers from 0 to 9.
  2. The full filename (including drive letter, colon, backslashes, and folder names) may be as long as 255 characters.
  3. The filename itself may be as short as one character.
  4. The following special characters are allowed in a filename:
     $ % - _ @ ~ ` ' ! ( ) ^ # & + , ; = . [ ] { }
  5. Spaces are allowed in filenames.
  6. The following special characters are prohibited from being a part of a filename because they have special meanings to the operating system (DOS legacy for Windows):
    / \ | : * ? " < >
    You'll get an error message if you try to use one of them.
  7. Windows files (and Office files in particular) typically include an extension, which is added automatically by the program that created the file (such as .docx for files created by Word). However, an extension is not required by Windows, nor are extensions limited to four characters. Windows treats any characters following the last period in the filename as an extension.

Source: Special Edition Using Office 2000 by Ed Bott and Woody Leonhard., pp. 73-74 Que. (paraphrased slightly)

Although the above are requirements, here are some recommendations or notes:

  1. They recommend limiting the name of the file itself to about 40 characters so that you don't have trouble moving files with deeply nested folders. I recommend keeping folder names short.
  2. If you use a nonstandard extension you may have difficulty opening the file from Windows. In Microsoft Office programs files with nonstandard extensions will not appear in file dialog boxes unless you change the file type to All Files.
  3. Windows filenames are not case sensitive. MyFile.doc is treated the same as MYFILE.DOC and myfile.doc. However, if you are publishing to a web page, the web server may be using a different operating system that does pay attention to case.
  4. Word marks temporary files with a beginning tilde (~) character. Do not this as the beginning character for any file that will be used by any of the MS Office programs. I would recommend not using it at all as the start of a filename.
  5. If an application uses customary extensions (Word: docx, docm, dotx, dotm, doc, dot), I recommend not using those for your custom files. I recommend letting the application assign the extension.
  6. I often affix dates to file names, either at the beginning or end.
    When I do, I do it in numerical format starting with the year. YYYY-MM-DD, ie., 12-17-2020 for December 17, 2020.
    This makes it easy to sort files with similar names by date.
  7. You can use the allowed symbols as abbreviations. For instance I use @ to mean Letter or correspondence. (I started doing this in DOS when filenames were limited to eight characters plus a three-character extension.)

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Using Date Fields in Microsoft Word
Calculated Dates
Booklet Formatting and Printing in Microsoft Word
Changing the Default Font in Microsoft Word
Document linked to Printer in Microsoft Word
Fonts Missing from Menu in Microsoft Word
How can I get a different header / footer on the second page?
Heading? Header? Microsoft Word Help
More on Headers and Footers in Word
Letterhead
I want the filename in the footer of every document.
Margins Missing - White Space
Mapped Content Controls and Document Properties
Moving/Reorganizing Pages in Microsoft Word
Print Preview in Microsoft Word
Weird Lines and Borders
Macros and VBA
Malicious Macros vba in Microsoft Word
Master Documents Feature in Microsoft Word
A Back CoverPage in Microsoft Word
Normal Template in Microsoft Word - How to Open or Find the Normal Template
My docs open in the wrong program! Re-registering Word using the commandline.
Moving (Sharing) Customizations in Microsoft Word
Global StyleSheet?
MVP means?
Naming Files - A System is the Key
Posting tips in the Microsoft Word Forums
Getting rid of that (*)#"@^ paperclip! - Taming the Office Assistant
Page X of Y doesn't work in Microsoft Word!
Save Changes to the Global Template? Keeps Popping Up
Templates in Microsoft Word
Global Templates
Too Many Icons on the Taskbar in Microsoft Word 2000
Getting Rid of the Web Toolbar in Microsoft Word
Word for Word Perfect Users
Favorite Documents Menu
Work Menu in Microsoft Word
Spell Check Dialog Instead of Editor
Templates Menu in Microsoft Word
What books have been recommended about Microsoft Word?
Where can I find more templates?
Word Links

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