My Digital Life, filing part 7: Naming ii) Coding File Typologies
Why a tropical paradise photo? To warm the soul but also because my coding system is called TROPIC
Several people, more organised and brighter than me, have trailed a path to super efficient and rich file naming that provides persistence over time and across systems. They have created a codified means of storing information in a filename.
What are these codes for?
At the highest level, these systems, which have substantial similarity, denote, with no more than three characters:
typology of the file (if talking about cars, not files, is it a sedan or a truck)
its source or author (eg my car or a hire car)
its broad subject or focus (eg color, make, leather trim)
easy to review and manage
allows rapid search based on tags
allows filtering of files across folders
meaningful across dimensions and traditional file hierarchies
create a code that could not be misunderstood as any other part of a filename
provide a robust and (relatively) easy metadata system.
unless you know what the codes stand for you are basically lost and they are meaningless
they introduce an extra element to the filename that, to be honest, are not essential
the overall speed benefit of code entry and searching vs eg use of a folder or tags is not 100% clear
My specific system comes next and below this I outline what some others have done.
I mapped out all the types of files I have, not based on content (this is for tags and folders), but type, and source.
I ended up with a two tier system: one letter and one number, six each.
I call it TROPIC as the acronym of the letters I use - catchy, huh?
This two character code can’t be confused with the title of a file
The letter represents the type - separating stories from letters from diary entries from random ideas. There are six types.
Numbers represent the source and subject: where I see files across two dimensions: by me vs by others; abstract vs practical vs work. This leads to six permutations - six numbers.
Each part of the code has consistency of meaning, no matter what it is paired with.
this is different to other systems (below)
this consistency of numbers as well as letters makes it easier to remember and use
I can therefore both search for files with the same letter or the same number code, which will yield sets of common files quickly and easily (such as searching for all abstract files created by me, filtering to only see my work files, or showing only communications I have from other people)
Tips for using this system
code based on how you will want to use the note or file in the future
use it for all of your documents, any download from others, but don’t use it for your photos or video collection
only use it for filenames, not folders too
use bulk renaming tools to add or change the codes
T R O P I C Thoughts Record Output Project Information Communication
by me by others about me, reflexive, internal OR abstract 1 3 not about me OR practical 2 4 work related 5 6
I won’t go into detail below about 5 and 6, as they are hopefully a bit simpler to understand.
Definition: Random ideas; things I want to remember or brainstorm; live, evolving and current.
T1 T2 T3 T4 random musing or idea, creative thoughts an action or idea, lists of places to go, plans for organising files (feeds into P2) musing opinion articles about personal issues, media or art crosses with I4 but also for opinion articles on practical matters like tech or hacks
Definition: Information and stats about objects, historical and true; static.
R1 R2 R3 R4 journal entries, health records, or other personal stats lists of personal effects, saved links test results from a doctor, or someone else’s personal information information about the world, such as photos, maps, history, Wikipedia (blends with I4)
Definition: Creations, pieces of work, stories, photos, presentations; works in progress and finished work.
O1 O2 O3 O4 stories, poems blog posts, presentations, articles other people’s stories, or reflections (Link to T3) Other people’s articles, presentations about the world, more likely to be R4 or I4
Definition: Specific to steps in a process, project management, tools to aid delivery such as spreadsheets and pitches, outlines; live and evolving.
P1 P2 P3 P4 personal project prep, e.g. for diary or travel plans project prep for blogs, financial planning the mirror of P1 just by someone else a mix of information and prep - things like exams, project guides, train timetables (blends with I4)
Definition: Information about the how rather than a record of the what in the world — ie more practically useful then historical
I1 I2 I3 I4 not really found a use for this yet personal recipe or guide to fixing something information on things like menus, health issues for me, or abstract issues like law, writing someone else’s recipe or hack or how to or lecture notes
Definition: Any two-way traffic of communication like letters, emails, applications, speeches. It excludes things like articles or blog entries
C1 C2 C3 C4 to friends and family from me to eg the bank from me to me from friends and family to me from eg the Bank
I have a large set of recipes — both from the web and family recipes — I can filter these out by looking for I4 or I2 respectively
I can find any speech, story, or poem I have written by searching for O1
If I want to find all the letters I have I can search for any C
If I wanted a list of every file not created by me, search for all 3s, 4s, 6s
Coding systems from others
I’ve been influenced or inspired by two main commentators: Amber V on Scriviner forums and Doug on www.dougist,com. I do not have enough brain or files to require the depth they use (it is great to have people who have a crazier system than me). So what did they do?
Here is my attempt at a summary, but principally see the Scrivener forums.
Use the file system as an archival engine, based on utterly portable principles - i.e. not app or system specific.
Map out all of the different categories and types before setting up the system, has meant his system has stood the test of time.
Cross-linkages are in patterns rather than explicit double-token or binding-token usage, because this is lower maintenance, and does not require anticipation of future linkages. [I don’t get this but included here as it sounds fancy] He has embedded mathematical relationships between the numbers to provide secondary and tertiary meanings. This allows the archive to literally blossom outward like a crystallising pool of water, governed by internal physical models. Extremely low maintenance and nearly entirely retroactively manifesting. [he doesn’t provide examples, so not really clear how this works]
He uses a strict four-code system, after reading an insightful blog on physical index card filing and the Noguchi filing method.
Don’t take the meanings litereally — define the system by what they will represent to you in the future, not what they are right now.
Record is everything taken down and recorded.
Communication is self-explanatory.
Manifestation mainly creative pursuits, but can also address expositions that go beyond mere record or information.
Information is mostly documentation, either generated or collected.
Beneath that there is a strict three-level depth restriction. Nothing can be less or more. Something must have a super-category, a minor-category, and a topic or key.
To only have two numbers and to keep super-types as much in dichotomy as possible to reduce complexity.
And finally, the most specific category which is also the most prone to proliferation is written down as a word, not a number
Super-cats are internal or external (I observe and record psychology or dreams into Internal, for example, but observe and record events into External)
The minor-category allows for division of the super-category into logical parts. One of the above examples: {R2.1.Dream} is Record-2(Internal)-1(Observation)-Dream. Some branches might only have one super or minor category in them at the moment, but that is fine as it enforces a rigid structure that reduces the proliferation of hair-splitting
Dougist and FSIM (File System Infobase Manager)
For full details see his main article on this.
Use the filesystem for all metadata and info storage of items
Keep an equivalent level of abstraction thoroughout the coding system
Predominance of chronology to the retrieval of information - but can’t rely on the system not changing created dates etc.
The system has to accessible from multiple axes, one of which needs to be chronological, and it needs to be robust enough to be application independent
Use the file name for these codes because you can use the same system for all your files and because you can use a bulk file renamer to do all the coding for you.
090608-W2-File System Philosophy.rtf
His system is more like mine in that it is one letter followed by one number
Letter Meaning Explanation 1 2 3 4 6 R record just personal recording. Ideas; observations; people watching; basically anything you might put in a diary diary action, todo development T thoughts something that intends to “become” something goes in thoughts snips, fiction Observations, Non- Fiction processes and procedures life ideas, dreams N Notes very similar to Record, except it is material that I have collected as opposed to produced research Book notes Processes reference Quote C Communications Forums, emails, letters to friends, blog posts, tech support, and other things like that Private Public Meetings (Large or small, conferences, includes phone call notes) Work submitted for review W Writings Thoughts that have grown, matured and been awarded a drivers license. This is my work of creation Fiction Essays and Non-Fiction Writing about my writing. P Projects Transformational efforts, that can have notes, thoughts and records Active Projects Finished Projects
The other axis is Contextual and is File Folders. I will discuss folders in more detail in a future post.
Folder Explanation Journal Just like a paper one, a chronological list of items. Created from a smart folder that gets every code above Topics A vast sea of labels in sub-folders, roughly mirroring a library catalogue system. Few of these are in current use for a project. When does an item end up in Topics and not Journal? The parallel question in a paper based system would be, when would you copy out your journal notes and file them with torn out articles in manilla folder. Projects The main difference between Projects and Research is the transformative nature of the work occurring; sequential steps to get something done. Sub-folders are by year, because Projects are (should be) time bound with beginnings and ends Writing Writings are different, somewhat timeless and un-categorizable. My writing folder is a special case; a combination of Journal, Research and Project. Groupings by my Fiction vs Essays, WIP vs Published, a few topical smart folders, mostly in support of potential writing projects. Organizer This folder tells me where to go. It is a series of subfolders on my current contexts, like Writing Projects, Current Projects. The idea here these folder holds aliases to the data files in the rest of the database. The key is that these aliases are to current work. I once used flags and labels for this function, but I found that what I wanted to see was that I had a current project called “Develop Community of Writers”, not the 34 files associated with organizing a reading in February.
