Good folder and file names,

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When you create files an’ folders, it’s a smart idea to give ‘em names that actually tell ya what they hold. This is mighty important when we’re workin’ on all them subjects at IM. Trust me, partner, y’all won’t want be sittin’ here in a year with no clue where NUTHIN’ on yer computer is hide out at.

What’ll a good folder name mean?

Take a look at these folder names:

📁 stuff
📁 project
📁 new folder
📁 asdf
  1. What do they tell ya about what’s inside ‘em folders?
    Not much… gotta open ‘em up to see what’s in there
  2. Does it work?
    Yeah, she works just fine… But ain’t no help to y’all on yer own.
  3. Can we do better than that?
    Ain’t a doubt about it!

A Better Solution:

📁 Hero Website
📁 Interview Task
📁 Python Calculator
📁 Photoshop Poster

Here it’s a whole lot easier to figure out what’s in them folders without havin’ to open ‘em up first.

“This is a problem for future me” 🔮

A good name should still make sense if you open the project again in a year. “Project” might seem clear right now. But, come next year, you could have 40 different projects on your hands!

Task 1 - Which name is the best one?

You’ve whipped up a website about your favorite game.

Which of these folder names think fits the bill just right?

- 📁 website
- 📁 school assignment
- 📁 Website about Minecraft
- 📁 things
- 📁 Web Project 1

Answer on:

  1. Which name would ya pick?
  2. Why so?
  3. Any other names that’d work too?

Is there always one right answer?

Nope!

The most important thing is that the name is clear and makes sense to those who’ll be usin’ them files.

Renaminin’ files an’ folders ✏️

Y’all ain’t never had a time where ya gave a file or folder a bad name once (or maybe y’all already done that). Lucky for us, we can just change the name.

It’s as easy as right-clickin’ on the file or folder an’ pickin’ Rename.

Trick!

You can also select the file or folder and press:

  • F2 if you’re on Windows.
  • Enter if you’re on Mac.

Tip

Renaminin’ a file or folder don’t change what’s inside it.

You’re just changin’ its name.

Task 2 - Give Folders Better Names

Find a folder in your documents directory that might have a poor name an’ try to rename it!

Important! Two things can’t have the same name

Inside one folder, two things cannot have an exactly identical name.

So you ain’t allowed to have this:

📁 Web Development
├── 📁 Hero Website
└── 📁 Hero Website ❌

If ya try to make or name something that already exists in the same folder, the machine’ll ask ya to pick a different name.

This applies to both files and folders.

But what about files that look like they have the same name?

These two files actually have different names:

📄 image.png
📄 image.jpg

.png and .jpg are part of the file name. This is called an file extension.

Trick: Show file extensions 👀

To actually see the whole filename it’s smart to turn on display of file extensions.

That way, for example, you’ll see:

📄 picture.png
📄 report.docx
📄 webpage.html

in place of just:

📄 picture
📄 report
📄 webpage
  1. Open up File Explorer, partner.
  2. Tap on View up top there.
  3. Pick yourself a nice Show option.
  4. Check off that box for File name extensions, alright?

Now them file endings like .png, .docx an’ .html oughta show themselves proper.

  1. Open up yer Finder, partner.
  2. Hit that Finder → Settings button at the top of the screen.
  3. Head over to Advanced.
  4. Check off that box for Show all filename extensions.

Don’t delete the file extension!

When file extensions are visible they also become part of the name you see when you rename a file.

If the file is named:

bilde.png

you can fine change bilde to something else, but make sure that .png still stands at the end.

The file extension tells the computer what kind of file it is.

Task 4 - Why? 🤔

Answer with your own words to the questions below:

  1. Why is it smart to use clear names for files and folders?
  2. How can a name like project work just fine right now but become a problem later on?
  3. How can good file and folder names make it easier to collaborate with others?
  4. What do you reckon might happen if a big project has hundreds of files with poor names?
Example Answer Key

These are examples of answers. You don’t need to have written exactly the same thing.

1. Clear names make it easier for me to find what I’m lookin’ for without havin’ to open up every file and folder.

2. Right now, I might know which project I mean, but later on, I could have a whole lot o’ different projects an’ not remember which is which.

3. Folks can figure out what’s in the files an’ where to find things without havin’ to ask me.

4. It gets hard to find the right file, an’ it’s easyer to use the wrong one, lose track o’ things, or end up doin’ work all over again.