E023

Document Naming Guidelines

January 2013

NRS

Document Naming Guidelines

E023

Document Control

Title
Prepared By
Approved By
Date of Approval
Version Number
Review Frequency
Next Review Date

Document Naming Guidelines

Records Manager, December 2012
Head of Corporate Services Division
24 January 2013
1.0
Annually for the first 2 years, then every 2 years
January 2014

Status Control

Version
1.0

Location:

Date
24 January 2013

Status
Final

Prepared by
Ava Wieclawska

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Reason for Amendment

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Document Naming Guidelines

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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

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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the same and the decimal number should be escalated to reflect the change. Please refer to the
table below for further information.
Version
Number

Document State

Example Document Name

(description, version number, file
extension)

v0.1

First Draft

Records Management Policy v0.1.doc

v0.2

Second Draft - subsequent drafts will employ sequential

numbers after the point (v0.3, v0.4, etc)

Records Management Policy v0.2.doc

v1.0

Published or Final Document

Records Management Policy v1.0.doc

v1.1

First Revision subsequent minor revisions will employ

sequential numbering after the point (v1.2, v1.3, etc)

Records Management Policy v1.1.doc

v2.0

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

Records Management Policy v2.0.doc

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.

If it is necessary to arrange the documents by date insert the Date prior to the Description.
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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3.3

Document Naming Guidelines

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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

Avoid using punctuation where

possible

Use the following characters

in document names: " ' / \ & +
# % *@ ~ <

EXAMPLE
DO use Customer and
Stakeholder Relations
DONT use Customer &
Stakeholder Relations

Use dashes (-) to separate

elements of a document name

Use other characters to

separate elements of a
document name

DO use Senior Management Team

Minutes
DONT use Senior Management
Team (Minutes)

Use spaces to delimit words in

a document name4

Use capital letters to separate

elements of a document name

DO use Data Protection Policy

DONT use DataProtectionPolicy

Use upper and lower case

consistently, with upper case at
the start of each word

Write full words in upper or

lower case

Use abbreviations and

acronyms where possible
consistently and only when
universally recognised across
the organisation5

Use abbreviations and/or

acronyms that are unfamiliar
to others in the organisation

Where necessary, enter dates

consistently, using the
following format:

Use dates which do not add

value to the document name
(e.g. creation date)

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

<YYYY-MM-DD>
<YYYY>
<YYYY-YYYY>
Where necessary, enter
personal names consistently,
using the following format:

DO use Staff Survey

Enter personal names

inconsistently

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

<Surname><Forename><Title>,
each separated with spaces6

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.

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DO
Use descriptive, concise and
meaningful language

DONT
Use ambiguous words with
little or no meaning

E023

EXAMPLE
DO use Document Naming
Guidelines
DONT use Guidelines for the
Naming of Documents

Use consistent terminology

and elements when naming
documents of a similar purpose
or content

Use inconsistent terms and

elements when naming similar
documents

DO use 2012-03-25 Registration

Enquiry and 2012-03-26
Registration Enquiry
DONT use both 2012-03-25
Registration Enquiry and then a
different format such as 2012-0326 Enquiry Registration

Include a brief subject of

correspondence and where
necessary, a recipients name

Use vague and obscure titles

for correspondence
documents, including email

DO use Smith John Mr Request

for Birth Details
DONT use Birth Details Enquiry

Remove prefixes from email

correspondence, e.g. RE,
FWD

Save numerous email strings

with the same title

DO use 2012-04-28 Census

Report Comments
DONT use RE: Census Report

Insert full references or dates

at the beginning of a document
name7

Use partial references or insert

references at the end of a
document name

DO use NRS 004 Records

Management Consolidation
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.

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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