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The Bard once wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet). The same question could be asked of filenames, and the answer to the question is also "sweet" but not unless certain conditions are met.

Filenames, of course, are necessary. It doesn't matter what software your using, you'll have to create a unique filename for every document you create. You might be able to get away with using the default filename, "untitled," but only once. And, over time, years in fact, you may find that how you constructed that filename, and where you put it, is of utmost importance in being able to find it later.

You have two choices in creating filename: ease and comfort or sheer torture. An example will suffice. I come from the field of journalism so that's where this example applies. Hypothetically, I teach a course, Journalism 101. I create a new Powerpoint file on interviewing techniques. Strapped for a filename and in a hurry to get to my next class, I simply give the new file the name "journ1.pptx" and dump it in the "My Documents" folder. First, though, I'll put it on my jump drive and take it to the classroom computer to present it. Life is good.

A year later when I'm supposed to teach the class again, I've got two dozen Powerpoints, each one titled "journ1, journ2, journ3, journ-n..." Where's my file on "interviewing techniques"? I could do a document search and use keywords, but then wait while the computer churns and churns looking in every folder I've ever created. That's the torturous route.

Here is an easier route to take. Since the subject of the Powerpoint file is "interviewing techniques", how about incorporating that into the filename? I like to use what's called "camelCase" filename creation. For this example, I will use the filename "interviewingTechniques.pptx". It's one word, and the first letter is in lowercase. But the first letter of the second part is in upper case. "camelCase" is easier to read because you can "see the hump" of the camel-- that capital letter. I might even want to precede the Powerpoint filename with the course number if my intention is to gather files, at-a-glance, for a particular course, (e.g., "journ101InterviewingTechniques.pptx") . Tip: Be consistent!

A filename created in this fashion is far easier to identify for its content than otherwise. You can immediately discern something about the content from the filenames, even if the file was created five years ago.

Taking the easy way out actually makes sense when it comes to filenaming conventions. I hope these tips are helpful.