FileNames

One of the several topics this course is about is managing and developing projects. A critical skill that goes along with your working life as a writer is managing and keeping track of different files, and different versions of different files. It does little good for you to have revised a document carefully if you deliver the wrong one, or can't find the best version of something later, or can't find previous versions of a document to show a change was considered, etc.

While there are different ways of "versioning", as the computer programmers like to say it, the simplest way is to take care in naming your files, set up conventions, keep old versions, and stay consistent. For this course, follow these guidelines:

• Begin w/a shortened title: Introduction Memo => IM.doc or IntroMemo.doc
• Your name:
• Always include the file extension: IntroMemo.doc
  • Microsoft Word: .doc (avoid the 2007 office format .docx, as it is not compatible with any computer not up to that version yet)
  • Rich Text File: .rtf
  • Plain Text File: .txt
  • HTML: .html (or .htm)
  • PowerPoint: .ppt
  • Acrobat: .pdf (these are commonly called "pdf files"-- the acronyn stands for "portable document format")
• Include a version number or letter: Intro_Memo_a.doc
• Don't use spaces--web servers don't like them--use the underscore: Intro_Memo.doc