This is a short follow-up video by How To Archive, a YouTube channel run by a documentary filmmaker who shares advice about archiving and file organization. The video is part 2 of a series on what he calls the “world’s best file naming system” and leans more into personal anecdotes and some background philosophy than step-by-step instructions.
Steps to follow (if any)
- Use a date format at the beginning of your filename:
yyyymmdd - Add relevant keywords like the subject’s last name and first name (e.g.
20180917_martin_steve.jpg)
Advice (things to do and not do that were not said in the steps)
- Use full year format (
yyyy) instead ofyy, especially if you’ve worked before the year 2000 - Consistent naming helps not only you but others who may need to find the file later
- Even if files are shared or moved to different drives, date-first naming will keep them in natural order
You can watch the original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8ebaYk0OkA (uploaded Sep 17, 2018). It’s a light follow-up to Part 1, more conversational than instructional, but still has a couple of solid reminders.