Naming a file sounds very basic but the importance of it cannot be ignored. In the old days when 99.99% of publishing related tasks were done on Apple computers with OS 9.x or less, the file names can be made up of just about any characters on the key boards. With the introduction of OSX.x and since most RIPs are PC based, certain characters in a file name can cause processing errors and other issues with file type recognition.
Recommended Naming Conventions
To make your life simple, follow the list of Do’s and Don’ts basics of file naming system.
Don’t use empty spaces in file or folder names. If desire, use Underscore (_) to replace empty space. Even though it’s OK to use it at workstation level, but because there are may chance that the files and folder may be used thru Internet, empty space can cause a lot of problems.
Don’t use special characters such as ,, ., #, @, (, ), /, \, ‘, “, $, %, &, *, …etc. They can cause the file name to be cut off by certain servers & back up software and causing file linking problems.
Don’t use anything foreign language other than English to name a file or folder. In an English operation system, characters such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean may not be recognized by the software. If characters other than English are used, we might not be able to tell which file to print and/or it might cause broken links of placed images.
Do use a combination of upper and lower case in long file and folder names. Cap every words in the file name. For example, instead of mediaselectionguide.pdf, use MediaSelectionGuide.pdf. Isn’t it easier to read?
Do use the underscore ( _ ) to replace an empty space. For example, Media_Selection_Guide.pdf.
Do use the file extension. For example, XXXX.eps, XXXX.ai, XXXX.qxd, XXXX.psd.