Organizing Information
Watch Organize It: Find Information (9 minutes).
File Structure
The top level folder should reflect the main department functions. At the second level, create folders separated by years, projects, or other defining topics.
Documents are more likely to be misfiled or lost when you go deeper than three levels of folders.
File Naming
Be consistent with file name formation. Include terms that will help you search and locate the file later. Do not create a miscellaneous folder or folders with employee names or computing ids. Document your file naming conventions and share them widely.
Metadata
Metadata is a set of data that describes and gives information about other data.
Metadata can be searched on and will help you locate files. Mirror the data from file name and add keywords and tags. As with naming, be consistent with use of fields.
