Guidelines For Naming Document

Document Control

Title Document Naming Guidelines

Prepared By Records Manager, December 2012
Approved By Head of Corporate Services Division
Date of Approval 24 January 2013
Version Number 1.0
Review Frequency Annually for the first 2 years, then every 2 years
Next Review Date January 2014

Status Control

Version Date Status Prepared by Reason for Amendment

1.0 24 January 2013 Final Ava Wieclawska

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1. Introduction and Purpose

1.1 National Records of Scotland (NRS) is committed to improving the way in which electronic
documents are managed and used throughout the organisation. A framework of guidelines to
support colleagues has been developed, in cooperation with all staff. These Document Naming
Guidelines are one element of the framework and should be followed by all staff when creating
and naming documents.

1.2 Naming documents consistently by following these clear and agreed guidelines can greatly
improve the storage and retrieval of information. Documents that are named coherently are
naturally easier to manage. By giving a document a consistent and logical description you will
make it easier to differentiate between similar documents at a glance and users will find it more
straightforward to browse and access information. Adhering to agreed conventions also makes
the naming of documents simpler as you do not have to reconsider the naming process each
time.

1.3 Further to this, these guidelines contain advice on version control which provides structure and
clarity during the process of creating, revising and publishing documents, particularly where
multiple individuals are involved. These controls clearly identify content which is finalised, issued
or published from that which has not yet reached this state.1

1.4 These guidelines should be applied to all electronic documents, irrespective of format or the filing
system in which they are held. However, for certain types of documents, including linked
spreadsheets and datasets, this will not be possible.

2. Version Control

2.1 These version control guidelines are to be followed when naming any documents that are likely to
go through a number of drafts before being approved as a final document, if there is a need to
retain some of all of those different drafts. For example, policy, procedure, guidance, reports.

2.2 They should also be used when naming documents that are likely to be reviewed on a regular
basis and result in amendments to the original document, if there is a need to retain some or all
of the different versions.

2.3 When naming such documents, place a version number at the end of the document title, prefixed
with the letter v, before the file extension. For example:

Version Control Guidelines v0.1.doc

Records Management Policy v1.0.doc
Visitor Statistics v2.0.xls

2.4 When numbering you can use ordinal numbers to reflect major changes (i.e. 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) and
decimal numbers (i.e. 1.1, 2.1, 3.1) to reflect minor changes in documents.

2.5 A major change to a document would include a significant redraft that changes the meaning or
emphasis of the document, an amalgamation of amendments, an annual update of a document,
a redesign of a database, or a new release of a publication. A minor change would constitute
redrafting work which does not change the meaning or emphasis of the document for example,
editing changes, stylistic adjustment. In these circumstances the ordinal number should remain
the same and the decimal number should be escalated to reflect the change. Please refer to the
table below for further information.

1
Please note that staff using the Version Control function in Quickr, do not need to add the version number to document names.
All staff without access to Quickr or who are not using this feature within Quickr, should follow the guidelines in Section 2.

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 Version Document State Example Document Name
Number (description, version number, file
extension)

v0.1 First Draft Records Management Policy v0.1.doc

v0.2 Second Draft - subsequent drafts will employ sequential Records Management Policy v0.2.doc
numbers after the point (v0.3, v0.4, etc)

v1.0 Published or Final Document Records Management Policy v1.0.doc

v1.1 First Revision subsequent minor revisions will employ Records Management Policy v1.1.doc
sequential numbering after the point (v1.2, v1.3, etc)

v2.0 Published Document this is called a major revision - Records Management Policy v2.0.doc
subsequent major revisions will employ sequential
numbering before the point (v3.0, v4.0, etc)

3. Naming Guidelines

3.1 A documents name should be a concise and meaningful description of its content or purpose. It
should help to both identify it with similar documents of a common type, and also to distinguish it
as unique amongst all other documents held in the same folder.

3.2 A document name should be made up of the following components, and in the following order2:

Reference, if appropriate a unique reference number, e.g. enquiry ref, project ref.

Description - the topic and subject matter;

Type, if appropriate - the document type, e.g. letter, report, minutes, etc. Not to be confused
with format e.g. Excel spreadsheet. Used to distinguish the document from others on the
same topic;

Date, if appropriate - the date of an event, meeting, etc3. Used to distinguish the document
from others on the same topic;

Version Number - used if there is a need to keep track of changes made to the document by
retaining copies of earlier versions. Not applicable to emails.

3.3 Following the basic Dos and Donts table below can help you ensure that your document names
are as useful as possible, giving you and your colleagues the best chance of finding them quickly
and easily.

DO DONT EXAMPLE
2
If it is necessary to arrange the documents by date insert the Date prior to the Description.
3
You can also add a creation date if it is the only component that you have to distinguish the document from others. It is usually
not necessary to include this in a title as it is captured automatically by the software application.

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 Avoid using punctuation where
possible
Use dashes (-) to separate
elements of a document name
Use spaces to delimit words in
a document name4
Use upper and lower case
consistently, with upper case at
the start of each word
Use abbreviations and
acronyms where possible
consistently and only when
universally recognised across
the organisation5
Where necessary, enter dates
consistently, using the
following format:
<YYYY-MM-DD>
<YYYY>
<YYYY-YYYY>
Where necessary, enter
personal names consistently,
using the following format:
<Surname><Forename><Title>,
each separated with spaces6
DO
Use descriptive, concise and
meaningful language
4
Unless you are uploading the document to a web based application. In these cases, you should use underscores to separate
elements of a document name. For example, Data_Protection_Policy.
5
Please refer to the commonly used and accepted Abbreviations and Acronyms for guidance.
6
If any of the components are unknown, follow the same format but without the unknown component. For example, Smith Mr or
Smith John.
Location:
Use the following characters
in document names: " ' / \ & +
# % *@ ~ <
Use other characters to
separate elements of a
document name
Use capital letters to separate
elements of a document name
Write full words in upper or
lower case
Use abbreviations and/or
acronyms that are unfamiliar
to others in the organisation
Use dates which do not add
value to the document name
(e.g. creation date)
Enter personal names
inconsistently
DONT
Use ambiguous words with
little or no meaning
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DO use Customer and
Stakeholder Relations
DONT use Customer &
Stakeholder Relations
DO use Senior Management Team
Minutes
DONT use Senior Management
Team (Minutes)
DO use Data Protection Policy
DONT use DataProtectionPolicy
DO use Staff Survey
DONT use STAFF SURVEY or
staff survey
DO use FOI Report or Freedom
of Information Report DO NOT
use both
DONT use unfamiliar acronyms
DO use 2012-11-23 Minutes -
Health and Safety Committee
DONT use 23/11/2012 Minutes -
Health and Safety Committee or
23.11.2012 Minutes - Health and
Safety Committee
DO use 2012-10-02 Enquiry
-Smith John Mr
DONT use 2012-10-02 Enquiry
-Mr John Smith or 2012-10-02
Enquiry - Smith Mr John
EXAMPLE
DO use Document Naming
Guidelines
DONT use Guidelines for the
Naming of Documents
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 Use consistent terminology
and elements when naming
documents of a similar purpose
or content
Use inconsistent terms and DO use 2012-03-25 Registration
elements when naming similar Enquiry and 2012-03-26
documents Registration Enquiry
DONT use both 2012-03-25
Registration Enquiry and then a
different format such as 2012-03-
26 Enquiry Registration

Include a brief subject of Use vague and obscure titles DO use Smith John Mr Request
correspondence and where for correspondence for Birth Details
necessary, a recipients name documents, including email
DONT use Birth Details Enquiry

Remove prefixes from email Save numerous email strings DO use 2012-04-28 Census
correspondence, e.g. RE, with the same title Report Comments
FWD
DONT use RE: Census Report

Insert full references or dates Use partial references or insert DO use NRS 004 Records
at the beginning of a document references at the end of a Management Consolidation
name7 document name Programme Project Initiation

DONT use NRS 4 Records

Management Consolidation
Programme Project Initiation

Other points to consider:

DO follow these guidelines when naming folders if they have not been named in accordance with Levels 1-3
of the Business Classification Scheme.

DO wherever possible; include the name of the document and the file path in a header or footer within the
document. This will make it easier for someone with a printed copy of a document to find the electronic
version.

DONT use terms to describe the documents format, e.g. email, spreadsheet, presentation this
information is already denoted by the three letter file extension, which appears at the end of the document
name.

DONT title folders or documents General or Miscellaneous or name them after someone (e.g. Johns
folder) as it can prove very difficult for you and your colleagues to locate information held in these folders and
documents.

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This is not necessary if the documents are held within a folder which has been named appropriately and contains the full
reference. For example, if there is a folder titled NRS 004 Records Management Consolidation Programme you do not need to
insert the same full reference at the start of each document within that folder.

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