Find Files Faster_ How to Organize Files and Folders

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Find Files Faster: How to Organize

Files and Folders

Chelsea Beck / March 1, 2016

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You're sitting at your desk, putting the ஼nishing touches on today’s big project, when ding! a message comes in from your boss: “Can you ஼nd that project we scrapped three years ago? You and John from UX worked on it, I think? We are thinking about picking it back up again.”

For me, requests like this always used to result in a moment of dread followed by a wasted day searching through old ஼les. That is, until I learned how to avoid all that stress and wasted time. How? With organized ஼le and folder structures.

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https://zapier.com/blog/organizefilesfolders/ 2/21 An Intro to Folder Structures

What Makes a Good Folder Structure? 4 E஼ective Folder Structures

What Makes a Good File Name? How to Quickly Find Files

An Intro to Folder Structures

Organizing ஼les on your computer is just like organizing anything else. Say you want to organize your clothes. You might sort each type of clothes into

separate stacks. Then you might pair the socks or group all the shirts by color. Or, you could throw everything into one drawer and hope you can ஼nd the right pair of socks when you need it. And that's how we typically treat our ஼les: we save ஼les randomly to our Desktop and Documents folders, then waste time searching for ஼les every day.

Folder structures can help, just like drawers and dividers can keep your

clothes organized. A folder structure is the way folders are organized on your computer. As folders are added over time, you can either keep them at the same level—like Folders 1, 2, and 3 in the chart below—or nest them within each other for a hierarchy—like Subfolders 1B and 1B-1 below. Nested folders generally make it easier to ஼nd speci஼c ஼les later, because you don’t have to sift through all your ஼les at once.

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Picture a ஼le cabinet, with three drawers, and several folders in each one— that's how this folder structure would look in real life. Here’s how that same folder structure would look on a computer if you view your ஼les and folders in List mode:

Folders and subfolders like these can keep your ஼les organized in a logical way. It’s easy to get into a trap of creating a subfolder for everything. If you have 15 subfolders under every folder, though, you might want to reconsider your strategy. At this point, subfolders stop being helpful and start causing work஼ow problems.

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What Makes a Good Folder Structure?

The best folder structure is the one that mimics the way you work. Do you plan important tasks by quarter? A new folder for each quarter's work might be good. Or do you work around projects? Consider new folders for each project. Browsing through your folders and ஼nding ஼les should be intuitive. If your method of organization is tedious, it’s going to be tough for the rest of your team to follow along. For company projects, pick something that works well for everyone in the team, since everyone may not search for a ஼le or folder in the same way you do. If you want to maintain your folder structure long-term, you’ll want to make sure everyone understands (and hopefully likes!) the system.

There’s no ஼le management silver bullet, but there are a few tricks to help your ஼le structure be successful. Here are some tips from digital asset management expert Edward Smith:

Create a template: Copy and paste it every time you start a new project or task. Or, even better: save yourself from the hassle of manually re-creating your structure over and over again by setting up a Zap to do it for you. Think of folder names as keywords: Keep in mind that you can search for ஼les using folder names; the more speci஼c, the more quickly you’ll ஼nd what you’re looking for.

Keep folders unique: Make sure there’s no overlap in what goes into your folders (e.g., there shouldn’t be two places you’re keeping invoices for the same project).

Make a cheat sheet: It’s OK if you don’t have every single folder

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4 E ective Folder Structures to Organize Files

The ஼rst step to building an e஼ective folder structure is ஼guring out your top-level folder. Do you want to simply make a new folder for every new project? Or perhaps you could organize by time, with folders and subfolders for each year and month? Maybe you work on a couple di஼erent types of projects, and could organize based on those types (e.g., copywriters might work on

advertisements, blogs, emails, and landing pages, while graphic designers may divide tasks by medium, like print or digital)?

Once you’ve worked out your top-level folder, it’s time to organize your subfolders. Here are some strategies I’ve used in the past:

1. “Working,” “ nal,” and “archive” subfolders

For this example, let’s assume the top-level folders have already been organized by year then project type. You can see from the screenshot that we’re looking at the year 2016, and the main projects are advertisements, blog posts, customer emails, and landing pages. Those are the four categories in which you’ll put your di஼erent projects or tasks.

Inside the "advertisements" folder, I have three tasks listed. Here’s where I put Edward Smith’s tips to use. For each task, I used the folder name to describe the due date (mmyy), type of project (pay per click or PPC, in this case), and

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the due date (mmyy), type of project (pay per click or PPC, in this case), and which product the task is focused on. These folder names act as both keyword tags and add an extra level of organization. If you sort the folders by name, they’ll automatically be ordered by date due then project type. If you search by product name or ad type, your folders should pop up easily.

Inside the “0116 PPC product x” folder is where you’ll ஼nd all the working, ஼nal, and archive ஼les that have to do with January 2016 pay per click ads focused on product X.

Here’s how the working/஼nal/archive system should work:

Working: Anything you’re currently working on. In this example, this folder might contain any ad copy, banner designs, or targeting information for the January PPC campaign that hasn’t yet been ஼nalized. This is also a good place to keep native or source ஼les.

Final: Anything ready for public consumption. Don’t put ஼les into the ஼nal folder until they’ve been completely approved and no more changes will be

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made to them. In this example, the ஼nal folder would only contain ads ready to be posted live.

Archive: Anything that doesn’t ஼t into your working or ஼nal folder. Put your notes, brainstorms, research, and other miscellaneous info in here. Any false starts can be dropped in here too if you change direction mid-project. A false start, in this case, might be an ad concept you started working on but later got scrapped completely. Don’t clutter up your working folders with ஼les that will never be considered “஼nal;” throw them in the archive instead.

This folder structure is particularly useful if you’re working on a project with multiple pieces. In this example, you’d most likely be creating more than one PPC ad at once. This system also works well for teams working on a project where several people are working on the same deliverable. The person who writes and designs the ads, in this instance, likely won't also post the ads. If that’s the case, the person posting the ad will know when ஼les are ready to go live by checking the ஼nal folder. They won’t have to ask the ad creator whether they’re ready or not, saving everyone time.

Putting it all together, here’s what you’re full structure should look like:

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2. “To review” and “from review” subfolders

This strategy starts with the same top-level folders as the example above, but instead focuses on keeping all the versions of a ஼le intact. For example, in the "blog posts" folder, I saved three di஼erent posts. These posts are arranged by publish date (mmyy) and named by post topic, rather than by blog post title since titles often change.

Within the “0216 topic a” folder, the “to review/from review” folder structure comes into play. This structure works really well with ஼les that will be going through many rounds of edits. I used this folder structure while working in publishing to keep track of all the rounds of editing, typesetting, and proo஼ng that goes into a ஼nished book.

I keep track of each draft of the blog post by saving it to either a “to review” or “from review” folder, meaning that the draft was last edited by me (“to review”) or by my editor (“from review”). This helps eliminate confusion around the draft number (I edited the blog post three times, but my editor edited twice). I’ve also named every ஼le in this folder with “v1” or “v2” according to version.

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I’ve also named every ஼le in this folder with “v1” or “v2” according to version.

Here’s how this structure works:

01 - draft (to review): By default, your ஼rst draft won’t have been reviewed by anyone yet. Whatever you’re working on (blog post, graphic design project, documentation, etc.), put your ஼rst draft in this folder. Name your ஼le with a v1 at the end, so anyone who comes across the ஼le later will be able to tell it’s a ஼rst draft. When you’re ready, send that draft to whoever has to review it.

02 - rst edit (from review): When your editors send their feedback on that draft, put it in this folder. Keep the ஼le name the same, but add the initials of the editor onto the end. In this example, I’m using my own initials: topic-a-blog-text-v1-CNB means that CNB has edited version 1 of this draft. Don’t do anything else with the ஼le; leave it as is, with every edit intact. By doing this, you’ll always have a record of what edits were

requested, by whom, and you’ll be able to cross reference to make sure every edit was incorporated into the second draft.

03 - second draft (to review): Copy and paste the ஼le from the “02 - ஼rst edit (from review)” folder into this folder. Change the ஼le name to include

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edit (from review)” folder into this folder. Change the ஼le name to include v2 on the end and remove the initials. This will become your second draft. Open the ஼le, make your edits, and send your ஼le back out for review. 04 - second edit (from review): This folder functions the same way as the “02 - ஼rst edit (from review)” folder. Because the number of reviews and drafts your ஼le goes through can vary, repeat this folder structure as many times as necessary.

05 - nal version (sent to publish): When edits are complete, put your ஼nal draft here. Looking back on your folders later, this will help quickly ஼nd the ஼nal version of the ஼le.

z - archive: You can put all the ஼les that didn’t ஼t into the above subfolders here.

If you haven't already saved earlier versions of your ஼les, you can restore recent previous versions of ஼les in Dropbox, OS X, Windows and more.

3. “Year” or “client” folders

If your Desktop houses hundreds of ஼les, all related to work for just a few clients, creating folders for each client might be your best bet. Or if you have an overwhelming number of receipts for business expenses, sorting them in folders by year or month could be the simple structure you need. More folders aren’t always better! However simple, ஼nd a system that works for you, and then stick with it. Consistency is what will help you stay organized in the long run.

4. Tagging

Instead of—or in addition to—folder structures, try tagging ஼les. The bene஼t of tagging is the ability to add multiple tags to a ஼le, such as tagging an invoice

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for Client XYZ with an "invoice" tag and a “Client XYZ” tag. Then you can see all invoices together or all ஼les related to “Client XYZ” together, depending on your query.

Academic and researcher William Gunn points out the convenience of tagging on the Mendeley blog: "With tags, you don’t have to pick an organization

scheme up front." Answering questions such as “Will year go underneath or on top of department?” become unnecessary because you can add both “year” and “department” tags to the ஼le, and still easily ஼nd it. For example, if you’re working on a report for the logistics department that covers all orders made in May 2015. You could store the report within a folder structure like this:

Or you could simply add “department,” “report type,” and “date” tags to the ஼le and avoid folders altogether, like this:

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So when you want to ஼nd this ஼le again, you can search for it by tags:

The key to tagging is to tag every new ஼le immediately and consistently. Without a folder structure to fall back on, tags are all that’s keeping your ஼les from getting lost in chaos.

Tags work on any ஼le on a Mac running OS X Mavericks or newer. On a Windows PC, tags are supported on some ஼le types, and can be added in a comma-separated list via the ஼le properties pane. Check this guide for more info on tagging in Windows.

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Once you've decided on a folder (or tagging) structure, it's time to start using it. Eventually, you might want to go back and organize your old ஼les according to your new structure, but for now, start fresh with the ஼les you are working on today.

If you sync your ஼les with OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive, you can use Zapier to automatically creating your folder structure. The ஼rst step to using Zapier, in this case, is deciding when you will need new folders created. If you make them every time new projects start, set up a Zap to watch your

project management app for a new project. Or, if you want new folders

created every month or week, use Zapier's Schedule tool to create folders on a certain date.

Tweet after every Formsite form submission Use this Zap

Create new Box folders every month Use this Zap

powered by

Then, connect your ஼le sync app, and have Zapier make a new folder. You can then add more steps to your Zap, and have it make as many subfolders as you need—and can even have it copy default ஼les into the folders.

For example, if customers sign up for your service with a Wufoo form, Zapier will add their data to Pipedrive CRM, then create a new project folder in Box along with any subfolders you use in your folder structure. If you need to save contracts, templates, or other documents to that folder, Zapier will copy them to the folder, too.

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Make Folder Structure for Client Projects

Whenever a new client signs up for your service, log the details in Pipedrive, setup default folders for the project in Box, then copy your contract and other standard ஼les into those folders.

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Or if you want to make new monthly folders in Dropbox. Start your Zap with the Schedule app, choosing the day and time for it to run. Then, set up the folder structure you need for your month's work.

Make New Dropbox Folders Every Month

Start your new month's work with the same folder structure automatically, with a Zap that runs on the same time each month and creates the same structure of folders in Dropbox.

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Here are some other Zaps to help you get started. Then you can add extra steps to the Zap for each additional folder your structure needs.

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Create Google Drive folders for new

Producteev projects Use this Zap

Add new les in a SugarSync folder to

OneDrive Use this Zap

Create Box folders from Wufoo form entries Use this Zap

Copy new Dropbox les in a directory to

another Dropbox directory or account Use this Zap

See more Dropbox integrations powered by

How to Make Great File Names

Organizing your folder structure is only half the battle. Keeping your computer organized will also require tidying up your ஼le names.

Files are made up of two components: the name (whatever you decide to call it) and the ஼le extension (the type of ஼le, like .mp3 or .docx ). You typically don't

need to worry about ஼le extensions; they're set by the programs you use, and typically hidden by default on most computers. But you should take control of the ஼le name. The best ஼le name is one that explains what’s in the ஼le, without you having to open it.

For that reason, writer and editor Jill Du஼y recommends making sure each ஼le name is:

Unique: It’s impossible to tell what’s in a ஼le if you have many with the same name.

Indicative of what the le contains: Is your ஼le an annual report?

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8/21/2016 Find Files Faster: How to Organize Files and Folders

Research? A to-do list? Put that information in the ஼le name. Consider what recipients’ ஼rst reactions will be if you email a ஼le to them; best to keep all the identifying information right in the ஼le name, so anyone receiving the ஼le is clear about what’s in it.

In line with your business structure: This goes right along with your folder structure. Does your business think of tasks based on which client they’re for or what month something is due?

Scannable: Make sure anyone who quickly glances at the ஼le will

understand its name. Don’t use any abbreviations that aren’t common knowledge or long streams of letters and numbers without any delineation between them. Including spaces doesn’t always work, but you can use underscores, hyphens, or camel case to make your ஼le names easier on the eyes. Here's an example:

Beyond making your ஼le names unique, scannable, and easily understood, the

Stanford University Libraries recommends these tips for good ஼le names: Dates: Always write dates in yyyymmdd or yymmdd format, so your ஼les will

naturally fall in chronological order. This rule is useful, but it’s not hard and fast. In my examples above, I used mmyy because the folders were already organized by year making month the most important descriptor.

Length: Be aware that some software programs have character limits on ஼le names. Include only necessary information in your names, and cut anything super஼uous (e.g., words like “a,” “and,” or “the”).

Special characters: Not every program will accept or understand special characters, so avoid using any of these in ஼le names:

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~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) ` ; < > ? , [ ] { } ' " | .

Sequential les: If you’re naming ஼les that go in an order, use leading zeros (01, 02, 03 instead of 1, 2, 3). This ensures your ஼les (or folders) will stay lined up how you want them too.

Keep in mind, you don’t have to use all of these rules. Purdue University Libraries has a few tips to make sure you’re getting the most of whatever ஼le naming convention you ultimately decide on:

Find balance: Only you can decide what’s too much or too little in a name. Document your system: Create a cheat sheet of any abbreviations you’ll often use or any rules you may forget.

Start general then get speci c: Since your ஼lenames will naturally be sorted from whatever you type ஼rst, start with the most general

components (year, department, client, etc.) then move onto the speci஼cs (project title, ID, version, etc.). A general rule of thumb is whatever you want to see ஼rst, write ஼rst.

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Spotlight in OS X can ñnd ñles, emails, web searches and more

Finding ஼les is much easier with a folder structure. Plus, with well-named ஼les and folders, your computer's search will be an even better tool for ஼nding ஼les. Your new names and folders should be easy to ஼nd in seconds.

On a Mac, Spotlight lets you search through your ஼les and emails and preview them to make sure you found what you are looking for. Click the search button in your menu bar (or press CMD+Space), then type in the ஼le or folder name you're looking for. On an iPad or iPhone, just pull down on your homescreen for a simpli஼ed Spotlight search to look through emails, notes, and apps on the go—or use the search tool inside the Dropbox or Google Drive app on any phone to ஼nd synced ஼les.

On a PC running Windows Vista, 7, or 8.1, there's a search box in the Start Menu to look for ஼les and folders. In Windows 10, there's a Cortana search button next to the Start button, which can search for ஼les and folders—and can also look up the weather or search the web.

If you want more tools to dig deeper in your folders or launch speci஼c programs automatically, there's also third-party search apps. Alfred is a

popular and powerful search tool for Mac, while Launchy is a common pick for Windows searching.

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Zapier can search for ñles and folders in Box automatically

You can also search for ஼les inside apps themselves. Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box let you search through synced ஼les and folders, while Zapier can

search inside many of your productivity apps. Zaps can search for speci஼c ஼les and folders in Box—perhaps to ஼nd a client's folder—and then save ஼les from other apps into that folder to help keep everything organized automatically.

Save Payment Info to Client's Box Folder

Whenever a payment is submitted through Freshbooks, have Zapier ஼nd the client's folder in Box then save the payment info there.

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Get Your Files Organized Today

If your ஼les and folders are already disorganized—it will take forever to clean up. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your new ஼le structure. So start

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up. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your new ஼le structure. So start out with this month's ஼les, for example. Then save every new ஼le according to that folder structure.

Consider archiving all old ஼les by moving them into an "Old Files" or "Archive" folder. Anything you can’t see yourself needing again, throw it in there. When you have time, you can go through this “Archive” folder and store ஼les using the same folder structure you've already started using for new ஼les.

What folder structure do you use to keep your ñles organized? We'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

Using Dropbox to organize your ஼les? Check out these 12 Hidden Dropbox Features for more ways to organize and quickly ஼nd ஼les whenever you need them.

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