How to use the Project Resource Center

Important file naming conventions

While you may not give much thought to the names that you give to documents and files on your local desktop or laptop computer, the name can make a difference when sharing files over the Internet. For example, web servers are designed to treat files differently depending on the 3-letter file extension that a file uses. Some special punctuation characters that you might want to use are not valid characters on other operating systems, so users may not be able to share those files.

Follow these guidelines to avoid file name problems when sharing documents using the Project Resource Center.

1. The following characters may not be used in file names using Microsoft Windows:
     /     Slash or forward slash
     \     Back slash
     :     Colon
     *     Asterisk
     ?     Question mark
     "     Double-quote
     <     Less-than
     >     Greater-than
     |     Vertical bar or pipe symbol
   
   Additionally, these characters may cause problems to users on certain operating systems. Don't use these characters in file names:
     #     Pound sign
     $     Dollar sign
     '     Single quote
     `     Back single quote
     (     Left parenthesis
     )     Right parenthesis
   
   
2. In general, a good rule of thumb is never to use punctuation characters of any kind in file names, with the exception of the underscore character (_) or the hyphen character (-).
   
   
3. The proper file extension (such as .doc for Microsoft Word documents) must be used on every file. Web servers use this extension to classify the file so that it can be downloaded properly by other users. Most applications in Microsoft Windows append the proper file extension automatically, but some applications and other operating systems do not, so ensure that each file has the proper extension before you upload it.
   
   
4. Use brief file names. Some operating systems limit file names to 32 characters, which includes the trailing period and three-letter extension. This leaves 28 characters as the absolute maximum length you should use for file names.
   
   
5. Use descriptive but brief file names. Imagine the user's confusion if ten documents are each called "contract.doc". It's better if you make the file name suggestive of the document's content, and perhaps include a version number or date:
     Examples: DesignContract_v3.0.doc   2001-01-01_newyears_party.jpg