IT Professionals

Keep Your Word Documents Organized

Posted by on Sep 22, 2008 | 3 Comments

Folders on your computer serve the same function as file folders in your filing cabinet – to organize your files so they are easy to find. A well thought out folder structure can save you a lot of time when it comes to finding specific files.

There are different ways of organizing your folders. I usually recommend grouping files by topic. For example, if you have a series of files related to a specific Sales Figures, group all these files into a single folder (hopefully a folder named after the topics). If you need to locate a specific file related to the topic, you know exactly which folder to look in.

Organizing files by topic may not work for everyone. If you are struggling with how to organize your files, here are a few tips you can follow to:.

  • However you group your files, always make sure that you give folders very concise names. Names such as Folder 1, Stuff, Miscellaneous, etc., will not be very useful.
  • Consider how you work. Are the majority of your files project-based, topic-based, function-based, etc.? I can guarantee that grouping files to match the way you work will make files easier to find.
  • Create sub-folders within main folders. For example, you may create main folders based on topics and then create sub-folders to further organize files. For example, you may create folders based on the current year with the Sales Figures folder. Keep in mind that too many levels of sub-folders can make searching for files more difficult. Therefore, I recommend no more three levels of sub-folders.
  • Also, consider how you search for files. If you typically search for files based on specific categories or criteria, consider building these into the folder structure.
  • pesach2

    Your organisation of folders is a logical extension of standard office procedure. However although it may be relatively easy to find a specific folder it is often the need to find a specific file. I find that a useful tip is to tag the date of creating the file as the end of the file name. A search for the date the file was created is often the quickest way to find it.

  • http://www.wpbranham.com W P Branham Jr

    The one thing i miss from my PC days, besides ACDSee, is the hierarchy structure of folders in explorer. Is there any way to get FINDER to list folders within folder at the top of the list rather than by name?

    i would be so thrilled!

  • Kevin

    Personally – I find the advent of products such as Google Desktop and Windows Desktop Search negates the necessity to create multiple folders. Meta-data and search applications are the way to go these days.