Imagine hiking without signs—no markers, no directions—just guessing which turn leads where. You wouldn’t get far.
Now imagine being deep in your work and needing that one document from two months ago. You think it’s in the shared drive, maybe under “Meetings,” but which one? Now you’re scrolling through a dozen files named “Notes,” “Draft2,” or worse… “Untitled.” Sound familiar?
That’s why this week’s trail marker is RCC’s official file naming conventions.
These simple practices make it easier to stay on track—whether retrieving meeting minutes, sharing drafts, or organizing shared files. When documents are named clearly and consistently, teams reduce confusion, improve collaboration and avoid those “final_final2_revisedNEW” moments we’ve all seen.
These conventions are:
- Adapted from trusted sources like Harvard, York University and the Oregon State Archives.
- Tailored for everyday RCC use—practical and easy to understand.
- Simple to learn, follow and teach.
Start marking your digital trail
RCC has created three quick tools to support consistent file naming. Note that you must be logged in to your RCC Microsoft account to access these links:
Guide – Naming Conventions
An overview of RCC’s file naming formula, when to use dates or versions and how to keep files clear and consistent.
Guide – Archiving
Best practices for moving outdated drafts, finals and working documents into an Archive folder to keep shared spaces clean and current.
1-Pager – Naming Tips & Examples
A quick reference with file naming DOs and DON’Ts, plus real-world examples you can copy and adapt.
Like trail markers, naming conventions:
- Help everyone know what they’re looking at and where they are.
- Create consistency across shared drives, Teams pages and departments.
- Make version control and searching easy and intuitive.
For more information please contact Cara Lumpkin on Teams or by phone at 541-956-7394.