file naming conventions

[eventide]

I'm thinking of renaming my image files to make a bit more sense- I had started with immediate family and left out surname as part of the file name. I want to add that in now that I am starting to add in extended family members.

My main goals are that I want to keep it simple and I would rather not create multiple image files for the same thing.

Any suggestions on how to name image files for a person where multiple people exist with the same name? So for example, I have 5 or so Charles Hendrickson's in my tree ( none with a middle name) and some I do not have birth dates for.

Also how do you suggest naming census images? My families on both sides all lived together sometimes on the same block. Should I add surnames to the files or just generalize the name?

Many thanks.

[Bob White]

Re: file naming conventions

I have a simple system that has served me well over the years.

My naming format is Name_When_What. And I always format the name with the last name first.

Examples:
DoeAlice_1963_Naturalization tells me that I have a copy of Alice's naturalization papers from the year 1963.
DoeGladys_1930_BerkeleyCA tells me that I have a census page from 1930 which includes Gladys.
DoeJuanita_1942_Engagement signifies information about Juanita's engagement to marry and is very likely a newspaper clipping.

Also, lastnamefirstname with no space assures that all items for one person will list together.

And these are filed in folders labeled by family last names. Neither of these would be in a folder named Doe as they are spouses of a blood relative.

In more responses to your question, you'll see some very good suggestions. It boils down to what is comfortable for you in your style of working.

[eventide]

Re: file naming conventions

Thanks Bob.

And I was planning on a variation of that - but stuck how to identify people with the same name that I don't have dates for. I suppose I could do something like below- although I had started using first name first or I don't see the reason for a file structure. Everything could be in one folder without the need to keep drilling down.

Hendrickson-Charles-01-photo.jpg
Hendrickson-Charles-02-photo.jpg
Hendrickson-Charles-03-photo.jpg
Hendrickson-Charles-04-photo.jpg

More importantly though if I am to remain consistent I don't know how to handle Census since in many cases I could have up tp 3-4 surnames and 15 people on one census page, which makes for a really long file name.

[Bob White]

Re: file naming conventions

Not necessary to have all those names in the file name. In such case, I just enter the family last name -- no first name. After all, the single copy of that census sheet is servicing multiple persons. If there is a second family on the same page, I duplicate the copy and name according to my system. Note: This happens only rarely but your mileage may vary compared to mine.

[kmgenealogy]

Re: file naming conventions

I'm thinking of renaming my image files to make a bit more sense- ...
Any suggestions on how to name image files for a person where multiple people exist with the same name? So for example, I have 5 or so Charles Hendrickson's in my tree ( none with a middle name) and some I do not have birth dates for.
...

You may wish to check out Ben Sayers' system. I've used it for many years. You may not wish to use the whole system, but he has a good naming system which could be adapted to your images. See genealogytools.com, go up to the top menu and click on "Start Here". Scroll down to "Setup Folders on Your Computer". Especially check out the video "Part 3-People". Although the videos are for an older OS on the Mac, the system works well with any OS, including Windows.

Hope this is helpful,
Kaye

[eventide]

Re: file naming conventions

Thanks all. I appreciate the feedback. I've been playing around for a few days to see what works and I think what it boils down to is a little bit of personal preference and and keeping consistent. I've modified how I was thinking I was going to do things but still experimenting until I get it right. Plus maybe I'll create a readme file to go along with it so if anyone besides me is ever interested they can follow along.

[JCraffey]

Re: file naming conventions

I’m used to working directly in ‘Finder’ and have a system of folders for my reunion activities. I wouldn’t be able to clearly help with setting up folders but I can offer a suggestion for file names for your pictures and documents.
As you have already mentioned – Consistency is the key.

Through trial and error as my files grew I’ve been doing the following:
I begin with the word ‘Pic’ to group all People pictures. Then use the Last name for sorting. As my files grew with more generations I went back and included the birth year, which proved to be invaluable, to keep my sanity with so many people with the same names. For multiple photo’s of the same person I just include a number or description.
Example:
Pic Logan_James Logan b1783
Pic Logan_James Logan b1783 1
Pic Logan_James Logan b1783 age 15

I always use the woman’s maiden name to align with the Reunion people list for searching.
Example: Pic Moran_Agnes Moran b1943
And sometimes include the woman’s married name as an added identifier.
Example: Pic Moran_Agnes Moran Smith b1943

For other pics/documents I have names like:
Death Logan_James Logan b1783 cert (for death certificate)
Death Logan_James Logan b1783 obit (for the obituary)
Death Logan_James Logan b1783 stone (for the gravestone pics)
Death Logan_James Logan b1783 news (for a death related news article)

Other files begin with keywords such as: Birth, Marriage, Census, etc.
The underscore is not necessary but that’s how I started so I just kept it.

Good Luck.

[Lynda]

Re: file naming conventions

I have used the following to name my image source files ever since I customized my sources. All image source files are in the Reunion media folder, with a subfolder for each century - no further subfolders. Each file is named "year type LASTNAME firstname [source number] for all types except marriage, which are "year type LASTNAME LASTNAME [source number]. I have over 2500 files named this way. The source number guarantees that each name is unique, even if I have dozens of 1881 uk census files for SMITH John. The files automatically sort by date, which I have found makes it easy to find them. e.g, all 1881 censuses group together, then I can scan for the last name I want. Also, picking out the source file to attach to a source is easy in the Finder dialog. The date and source number show up even if the window is squashed. The file name is the same as the List ID in the source fields, so after I fill out the fields, I just copy and paste the List ID field to the image file and add the source number. This also allows the sources list in Reunion sort by date/name to match the files in Finder.

[gathompson56]

Re: file naming conventions

I concur with Kaye, watch Ben Sayers videos for file and folder naming. Those videos are also posted on YouTube.

I am using the date, SURNAME, first name convention. census are filed by head of household.

Reviewing Ben’s videos a few weeks back he reminded me of using alias if more than one person appears in a document.

So back I went to all of those old census documents, created an alias “file” for each additional person, then moved those alias “files” to the other family members. Doing that gives me a full listing of documents in each person folder without ballooning my storage. And the alias “files” work well when linking from within Reunion.

I like the SURNAME-SURNAME convention for marriage records. Back to my files I go.

[kmgenealogy]

Re: file naming conventions

...Reviewing Ben’s videos a few weeks back he reminded me of using alias if more than one person appears in a document.

So back I went to all of those old census documents, created an alias “file” for each additional person, then moved those alias “files” to the other family members. Doing that gives me a full listing of documents in each person folder without ballooning my storage. And the alias “files” work well when linking from within Reunion...

Be careful with aliases! I'm starting to notice that many alias links no longer work after I update to a new Mac OS! So, I now use "duplicate". I have a much higher capacity of memory than was available when Ben developed his system. So far, I'm okay.

Regards,
Kaye

[gathompson56]

Re: file naming conventions

Be careful with aliases! I'm starting to notice that many alias links no longer work after I update to a new Mac OS! So, I now use "duplicate". I have a much higher capacity of memory than was available when Ben developed his system. So far, I'm okay.

Regards,
Kaye

Thanks Kaye. Did you ever figure out why your aliases were lost? Was there a pattern to the losses?

Grant

[kmgenealogy]

Re: file naming conventions

Thanks Kaye. Did you ever figure out why your aliases were lost? Was there a pattern to the losses?

Grant

Hi Grant,
No, didn't take the time to look. I have a lot of them. I just leave them, until I come across one. Then I change it to a duplicate from the original.
Kaye

[Bob French]

Re: file naming conventions

Be careful with aliases! I'm starting to notice that many alias links no longer work after I update to a new Mac OS!

I’ve used aliases on macOS for many years without problems. That’s not to say that problems can’t occur, however.

For those who may not be familiar with them, an alias in macOS is a small file that points to another file. As long as the original file the alias points to remains available, the alias will find it. It doesn’t matter if the original file has been moved or renamed, as long as the original file is available, the alias will find it.

Here’s a much better explanation than I’m able to give.

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/mac-platform/articles/3920.aspx

Bob