Spaces in File Names??

In the 21st-century - especially when running Mountain Lion - is it a big deal anymore if you have *spaces* in your Directory Names and File Names??

For example...

Code:

[COLOR="Red"][b]/[/b][/COLOR]MUSIC COLLECTION

[COLOR="Red"][b]/[/b][/COLOR]MUSIC COLLECTION[COLOR="Red"][b]/[/b][/COLOR]Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III - That's the Way.mp3

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

So my days of doing this are unnecessary...

Code:

/MUSIC[COLOR="Red"][b]_[/b][/COLOR]COLLECTION/LedZeppelin[COLOR="Red"][b]_[/b][/COLOR]LedZeppelinIII[COLOR="Red"][b]_[/b][/COLOR]That'sTheWay.mp3

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

I feel kinda nervous switching.

Maybe I'm "old fashioned"?! *LOL*

Which do you think is easier to read and work with in general?

(I'm a programmer at heart, so I tend to like things more "structured" and "logical" versus "pretty"...)


*********
BTW, the purpose for this thread is because I am *finally* migrating data over to my now 9-month old "new" MBP, and I figured, "Hey, now is a great time to re-organize your data!!!"

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

Guess I am stuck in the past?!

What about things like apostrophe's...

Code:

That's the Way.mp3

And are there any other characters - on a U.S. keyboard - that I would want to stay away from?

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

See, here is where I disagree - and don't feel "stuck in the past" as some are trying to paint me...


I have (and always will) build as much "metadata" into my file names as possible.

(This is sure to start a battle!!)


Why?

Because when your iTunes database pukes, you're screwed. Whereas I am at far less risk of losing this...


My Original Style:

Code:

LedZeppelin_HousesOfTheHoly_01_TheSongRemainsTheSame.mp3

LedZeppelin_HousesOfTheHoly_06_D'yerMak'er.mp3

LedZeppelin_HousesOfTheHoly_08_TheOcean.mp3

Possible Modified Style: (Based on advice above)

Code:

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy - 01 - The Song Remains the Same.mp3

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy - 06 - D'yer Mak'er.mp3

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy - 08 - The Ocean.mp3

Of course, these are just made up music examples.

Most of my data is business related, and might look like this...

Code:

debbie_resume_2013-12-01.doc

ACME_Ecommerce_ProjectCharter_v07.doc

DoubleDee_Budget_2013_v03_final.xls

REFERENCE_OS-X_How-To-Set-Up-File-Vault-on-Your-Mac.pdf

ARTICLE_International_Nelson-Mandela-and-His-Lasting-Legacy.html

and so on...

Because of how I typically name my files, you could take every file on my hard-drive, dump them all into one Folder, and 90% of them would sort into groups that would be *self-identifying*! (Minus working documents like "untitled.txt")


As I see it, whenever someone looks at one of my files, they instantly know what it is without ever having to open it.

(That is *very* powerful - particularly in the work environment where you are working with lots of people... )

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

Whether I follow the conventions above depends of different factors, including:

- How "deep" is the data?

- How important is it?

- How many versions are there?

- How dynamic is it? (e.g. Photos, where I shoot 100 to keep just 2)

- Is it "One Off" or part of a "Collection" (e.g. Complaint to local store vs Annual Budgets)

​

For my music collection, it seems prudent to have the File Name include the Artist+Album+TrackNo+SongName, because it would be catastrophic if things got copied into the wrong directories - happens more than you think when using the Touch Pad - and then you would have to open up/listen to every file to figure out what it was and where it went?!

By contrast, while the same logic should apply to my Photography Collection, the fact is that my photos are Too Large in Number, and Too Dynamic to keep up with such a filing scheme.

So in that case, I just come up with a comprehensive Directory Structure, and hope I don't misplace "dsc012345.jpeg" !!

(Although, for photos that I want to keep forever, I do tend to rename them like... "PHOTO_2013_Arizona_GrandCanyon_SouthRim_Sunset_05.jpeg")


I'm sure this entire topic is highly debatable, but my larger concern was just making sure that by introducing SPACES or SPECIAL CHARACTERS (e.g. apostrophe) that I wouldn't be causing heartaches down the road on either my MacBook Pro, or if I ever have to share data with a Windows user.

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

Yeah, well no real worries there.

For me, this is the character set I try to stay with...

Code:

space (new addition)
a-z A-Z
0-9
~
( )
-
_
+
'
.
& (maybe)
$ (maybe)
% (maybe)

Typically all I need is A-Z, 0-9, -, _

I'm clearly behind the times...

I'm still a "CD gal" because I like to truly own my own music!!

As far as .mp3's go, that is all from radio shows I record online.

Occasionally I will edit out just a song like the ones mentioned above. (As a reminder that I should buy the album!)

I've had that happen back in my Windows XP days when I had a hard-drive crash of when I was transferring 100's of GB's of data and things hiccuped?!

Maybe some day I'll catch up with the Digital Music scene and try that...

Yep.

See above.

I *think* that I do that now.

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

I can see your point, but for me, this style is better...

Code:

debbie_resume_2013-12-01.doc

OffTheRecord_2013-12-08.mp3

It accomplishes what you are stressing, but it also groups things by Subject/Topic which is my point.

In the above examples, I would argue that the "dominant" trait is that it is "Debbie's Resume" or the radio show "Off The Record". (My point.)

Then, the second most important things is likely *when* it happened. (Your point.)


Of course with your example, it depends how you answer this...

Do you have *several* documents that pertain to *one* Conference?

If so, then your style works better...

Code:

2013-10-13 IACS Board Minutes
2013-10-13 IACS Commitee Minutes

2013-11-04 IACS Board Minutes
2013-11-04 IACS Commitee Minutes

2013-12-15 IACS Board Minutes
2013-12-15 IACS Commitee Minutes

But as I was thinking, if you want to see all of the "Board Minutes" as a group, and all of the "Committee Minutes" as a group, then this style is better...

Code:

IACS Board Minutes 2013-10-13
IACS Board Minutes 2013-11-04
IACS Board Minutes 2013-12-15

IACS Committee Minutes 2013-10-13
IACS Committee Minutes 2013-11-04
IACS Committee Minutes 2013-12-15

Of course any of these approaches is better than what most people do which is...

Code:

Minutes 1.doc
minutes 02.doc
Bd Minutes-3.doc
Committe Minutes 1.doc
Minutes Nov 2013.doc
and so on...

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

As a former colleague used to say, "I think we have violent agreement here!!"

Good idea. I may have to look into that more...

Thank you, but I didn't know I left?!


(BTW, thanks for the "geeky" conversation today, guys. I miss the days when that was a more common occurrence on the Internet...)

Sincerely,


Debbie

 

Glad someone missed me - even though I have been around!

Nah, but now that you are back talking to me, you *are* hanging with the "wrong crowd"!!

Sincerely,


Debbie