So you want to know about the rules of the road? To keep things in line and hopefully keep my sanity, we have to have some naming conventions. The following are what we use. The hope is that by looking at the file name, you can find out a lot about the picture. By looking at the spreadsheet, we can get more information. There should also be information in the metadata inside the picture.
- No spaces to be used. Use underscores “_” in place of spaces. Use “__” to delineate fields. Use dashes “-“ within fields for sub-delineation.
- All files are assumed to be ORIGINAL. If edited, place the original file in a sub-directory marked “Originals”
- File naming convention:
SURNAME__FirstName__Year__Event__Location__Description.ext - Any field that is not known, enter an abbreviation of the field name (i.e. Event, Loc, Desc)
- For families, use “Family” as ‘FirstName”
- If only the year is known, YYYY; If month is known, YYYYMMxx; If the exact date is known, YYYYMMDD; If date is approximate, cYYYY
- Nicknames should be avoided; Put in XXXXXXXX if used
- If there are multiple pictures that should have the same name, add “-###” to the end of the file, starting with “-001”. Versions of the exact same picture (i.e. – multiple pictures of the same group photo taken to see ‘which is best’) can add “x” to the end (“-012a”, “-012b”, etc.)
- Married and name changes – Use Birth Surname and add married name(s) after first name. (i.e. – “JONES__Mary__SMITH-JENKINS-BENNING__etc.”; “SCHMIDT__Johannes__aka_SMITH__John__etc.”
Picture Information
- Pictures follow the naming convention above
- Pictures of unknown people should have “Unknown” in place of the missing entry. (i.e. – “UNKNOWN__Female__c1925__Possible_SMITH_Edna.png”; “SMITH__Family__c1950__Reunion__Loc__Unkn_Indiv.png”)
- Pictures should be saved as PNG. Convert non-PNG to PNG and save originals in the “ORIGINALS” folder
- Picture information should be loaded into the PNG as metadata. A matching TXT, RTF, or DOCX file using the same file name as the PNG can be used for explanations. (TXT is preferred) This is especially good for use in sharing. A spreadsheet with file name and info should be kept for the formal listing.
- For pictures of groups, use the standard naming convention with the main person’s surname (either because they are most prominent, or because it is an event for them) and “Group” as the given name. “Family”, “Descendants of xxx”, etc. are also fine to use.
