File names – why length matters

Back in the pre-internet age (the 1980s to be exact) I had a job temping in the management offices of a local manufacturer.  The room was furnished with a series of large, dark grey metal filing cabinets and, on the desk, there lay 3 bluff cardboard folders overflowing with paperwork.

It turned out that their regular secretary had not been able to keep up with the filing requirements for the 3 managers; the folders contained documents waiting to join their companions in the filing cabinets, each page helpfully labelled with a file/subject reference number.  The naming system was not uniform across the managers, but each set appeared to be very effective in its own way for locating the desired papers after a swift search.  In effect, each engineer had invented his own Dewey Decimal Classification to categorize his work.

When filing was physical – slotting pieces of paper into the correct folder in the appropriate cabinet – there was really no limit on the length of the file name.  You would get into the habit of including wordy data – addresses/names/dates – to identify each case.

As office admin moved into the digital world, administrators naturally took their trusted systems with them.  But what was fine in a real-world situation could become at best cumbersome on a computer and at worst could cause the system to break.

Can it really be that serious?  Yes, just one example is Sharepoint refusing to open long-named files.

What’s the problem with long file names?

• In the first place, with IT on your side, your file name does not need to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to identifying something unique. Design your naming conventions with brevity in mind from the get-go.
• Remember that when totting up the character tally, it’s not just the file itself but the whole sub-folder structure above it that counts – the entire file path. Are your files nested within a cluster of folders?  Are so many layers really necessary?
• Even if your main system accepts long names, you may get caught out by other software: Datto Workplace has no limit itself, but Windows directory paths have a maximum size of 255 as do Mac file names.
• You could also encounter difficulties if you use special characters. They may simply not be recognized or allowed in certain programs, or they could actively have a specific meaning.  Our client management system, for example, treats “&” as a wild card for searches in some places and it is simply not possible to search for a client name containing an ampersand.
• The longer the file name is, the more chance of mis-spelling or transposing elements.
• It is also highly likely that many more staff members will have access to your documentation system than the few personnel using the metal filing cabinets. The naming conventions need to be consistent and understandable for the whole team.

The moral of the story: give some thought to your file names and the way the documents will be grouped.  Keep them short and sweet. Your computer systems will thank you!