I’m doing enough drafting of shop drawings so that I feel the need for a formal method of file naming to keep up with all of them along with revisions. Anyone know of a “simple” system or method that they have found to work well? So far, I’ve tried to name things with a short project name along with a date code and sometimes a time code. It works but can get confusing if there are too many changes over time.
I’m a one man shop without a document control team. so it needs to be simple.
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Well this is big topic and one that doesn’t really come up here ever, I can only imagine the religious debates that would happen.
But in short the thing to try to do is NOT embed a bunch of information in the file names, as what the files represent changes over time and no one has the discipline to maintain that. Ideally the names would just be arbitrary numbers, with a database to mange it. I’m not “there” far as doing that for my files, but I do it for my project folders, I have some code in a little database make the folders and for a particular client it also stores a bunch of product info for various purposes, including listing all the official revisions. The actual files inside are more “freeform,” “whatevername + IncrementalSave number.3dm” but at least they’re in well-organized ‘buckets.’
I’m not real big on databases, although I started learning .NET MAUI and did a simple program with a simple data base. Maybe I’ll look into that. Thanks.
Heck I just used Access, it’s still kind of unbeatable for these sorts of little tasks.
Okay. I don’t have access to Access and don’t feel like supporting MS. BUT I do have LibreOffice which does have data base ability. Looking at a book on data bases, it looks like I need to spend some thought about the parts of a project if I want to enclose all the data I have on it. Some projects can have multiple parts. eg. One project recently had two gates as well as two 3D cast iron drawings I had to send off to a foundry. There were many notes, sketches, and specs that I received over the course of over a year. I had been thinking of doing all that in html because these things tend to be a linear progression.
Hi, @Joe4. Having setup and maintained office standards for small, medium, and large offices, including working for myself as a solo designer & fabricator and being a professor, there’s no perfect or single solution. Large databases can be a hassle, but I’ve used them. I’ll offer 4 types of file naming schemes, all of which can be swapped out with a project number and database (or not). Folder naming is also important. Maybe this is where you can use a project # and short description? There are also ISO standards for specific industries, e.g. ISO 19650-1:2018 - Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) — Information management using building information modelling — Part 1: Concepts and principles. Just offering some thoughts.
Date-Based
Useful for chronological organization, iterations, and tracking changes
Format : ProjectNameOrNumber_YYYYMMDD_Version.3dm
Example: OfficeBuilding_20241025_v01.3dm
Example: 00854_20241025_v01.3dm
Stage-Based
Useful for understanding a file’s purpose or phase, including communicating project status
Format : ProjectNameOrNumber_Stage_Version.3dm
Example: FurnitureDesign_Concept_v01.3dm
Client-Based
Useful for working with multiple clients/projects at the same time, easier to search
Format : ClientName_ProjectNameOrNumber_Scope_Version.3dm
Example: SmithArchitects_HouseRenovation_FloorPlan_v01.3dm
At school, I prefer my students do the following:
Class-Based
Useful for keeping separate classes organized but also grouped together, easier to search
Format : ClassAbbreviation_Semester_Assignment_LastNameFirstInitial_Version.3dm
Example: ARCH515_F24_A01_FuchsS_v01.3dm
NOTE: The order of the specific categories of information is up to you, obviously. You can always mix & match categories, including adding a short description at the end. For student work, I prefer to have assignments listed together which is why I put the assignment ## before the last name.
DON’T FORGET: Rhino’s Notes Panel is a good place to put useful information, too!
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Thanks. I’ve been doing something similar, usually using abbreviations of client or project name with a date code. This discussion has been good. It has made me think more about what I’m trying to accomplish. I think I see my way now. Thanks everyone.
Joe
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