Everything you wanted to know about organizing, but were afraid to ask 5

[whyun]

There was a thread about how to manage job related material collected over time, whether it be hard copies or computer files. I would like to get some input from others regarding organization of computer files (especially pdf's), specifically, directory naming convention and topic categories.

I have main directories for construction materials such as steel, concrete, masonry, wood; other main directories are general, codes, manuf_catalogs, articles. Then within appropriate main directories, I have subdirectories such as AISC, AWS, ACI, ICC-ER, Hilti, etc. These subdirectories are further divided into SteelTips, SMRF, Conc_anchorage, etc. Problem is, when there is an article that may belong to more than one sub-topic, I have trouble deciding where to put it.

Some general info as to preferences, tips, suggestions on how to name directories, kinds of main topics and subtopics would be helpful in adopting new ideas to make my library evolve. My computer literacy is only slightly above average (among engineers), below average if you count engineers younger than 30.

 

[KENAT]

One way I've seen people do it is not to have any real file structure, just one big file.

They then have an excell sheet with the file name, Title/Description and you can obviously add columns with different attributes. You can then sort but these different attributes to find what you want.

For instance if you filed scanned or word copies of letters like this you could have to, from & date as different columns (a bit like with emails in outlook).

Of course someone might try selling you PDM/PLM for this but I'm not sure that's what you want.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[jmw]

You don't have to use MS explorer, I understand there are some free download explorers and file search engines that are said to be much better. Does anyone have any personal preferences/recommendations?

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[Gymmeh]

I have something like what KENAT Said,

In my Engineering Log I have an exel file with: Job name, date, PO#/serial#, and then key words.

Then in excel just ctrl+F and type any key word. and it will bring up the file name.

If your really spiffy with excel, you can link the file in excel so then you can open the pdf, word, xl, .m, .dwg file directly.
Here is how
Create a link to an existing document
1. Click in the worksheet where you want to place the linked object (linked object: An object that is created in a source file and inserted into a destination file, while maintaining a connection between the two files. The linked object in the destination file can be updated when the source file is updated.).
2. On the Insert menu, click Object.
3. Click the Create from File tab.
4. In the File name box, type the name of the file, or click Browse to select from a list.
5. Select the Link to file check box.
6. To display the content, clear the Display as icon check box.
If you want to display as an icon, select the Display as icon check box.

 

[monkeydog]

When I have "Cross-Category" documents, I will put the document in the "folder" that it best fits in, then create shortcuts for other related folders.

 

[Ashereng]

I try to not use acronyms, because I tend to forget them. I just try to use short descriptions.

I also divide up the hard drive into more diretories (this helps with the 256 char issue of accessing files).

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[MadMango]

jmw, I use

http://www.explorerxp.com/

at home instead of Windows Explorer, much faster and less lag.

I also use Google Desktop Search, it seems much faster and less of a resource hog than what MicroSoft offers.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[bvanhiel]

You could set up a company wiki. Not too terribly difficult and if you have multiple users a great deal of content and links can be added quickly. We've got one we set up earlier this year with 10 users and I've been very impressed. Wiki's allow you to tag in multiple categories and do searches.

-b

 

[whyun]

Creating and keeping up with the database in Excel is an Excel-lent idea. The columns with various attributes (main category column, sub category column and so on) will work much better than fiddling with directory structures.

 

[PatCouture]

I'm with MadMango on using Google Desktop search really fast and powerfull and he also search inside the files for specific words.

Patrick

 

[HgTX]

I vote with MonkeyDog on using shortcuts to create the appearance of a file being in multiple directories.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[whyun]

When you have those shortcuts in multiple directories, then archive the "Library" (say in the C Drive) into an external hard drive (say G drive), do the shortcuts still work from the external hard drive? What I am asking is, if you click a shortcut from the G drive, will the link be re-mapped to the file in the G drive or will it look for the file in the original location in the C drive?

 

[KENAT]

I'd expect the link to get broken, assuming you just cut & pasted or drag and dropped the files.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[HgTX]

Shortcuts do break when you move files. There's probably a way around it but I don't know it.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[SomptingGuy]

If you use Linux (or any other UNIX flavour) you can use hard links rather than soft links so that the same file really is in multiple places. Maybe M$ has something similar?

- Steve

 

[Gymmeh]

SG, if you have two of the same files in different locations in linux and you update one file, will it automatically update the otherfile?

 

[SomptingGuy]

Yes. The file's data exist on a disk. The filename you see in a directory is a reference to the file's data. There can be multiple references to it. Try this:

% echo hello > a.txt
% ln a.txt b.txt
% echo silor >> b.txt
% cat a.txt

There is only one actual file. If you list the directory contents:

% ls -l

you'll see a value of 2 after the permission bits for each link to the file. This tells you that the file (or link) isn't unique. It can be confusing if you don't know what you are doing.

- Steve

 

[SomptingGuy]

Gymmeh, the wikipedia entry explains it better than I can:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_link

- Steve

 

[Gymmeh]

Brilliant!

 

[BillBirch]

I notice that the new Microsoft Office suite has the ability to assign tags to all documents, not just photos, so I guess that feature could be used in Windows Explorer.