I’ve decided to offer some bite-size Quick Tips every now and again that might help you in organizing your genealogy research. I’m going to kick it off with one of my favorite tips; it’s the best habit I’ve developed when it comes to my genealogy research.
Rename your document as soon as you download it
If you’ve ever downloaded a document from FamilySearch or Ancestry, you’re familiar with the outrageously long alphanumeric file name that comes with the file. My suggestion is to develop a file-naming protocol and immediately change the filename so that you won’t lose the document on your hard drive. Ideally, you’d process the document (i.e. enter information from it into your genealogy software and create a source citation) right away. But if the file has to languish for awhile, if you change the filename you’ll at least be able to tell at a glance what it is.
The protocol that works for me is Year Type of Document-Ancestor Name-Locality.ext.
So, for example, the death certificate for one of my second greatgrandfathers is named 1936 Death Certificate-John D. Jeffries-Rockville Bates Missouri.jpg.
That works for me–you may have one that works better for you. But the point is to have an easy-to-remember protocol that gives you an informative file name. Then rename a document the moment you download. Bonus tip: Once downloaded, move the renamed into an appropriate folder. (Mine goes into a folder called Surnames.)
Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash
I use last name, first name (b or d year), document type.ext. That way, all the documents pertaining to that person are together.
That’s excellent, Steve. Thanks for sharing. I have a folder for each ancestor, so all the documents for an individual stay together there and because I start the filename with the year of the document, they’re all in chronological order when the documents are sorted alphabetically. The important thing is to have a system that works for you!
I agree — might as well give it a useful name while I’m looking at it and thinking about it. Two quick tips of my own:
(1) In my browser’s settings/preferences, I set it to prompt me for a name whenever I download a file, so I won’t forget or procrastinate.
(2) Once a month, I back up my bookmarks/favorites and contacts (“address book”) to disk files before running my regular back-up. I used to assume that those were being saved somewhere accessible for me, but I’ve been burned.
Thanks for adding your tips, Marian! I didn’t even know that a prompt like that was an option! Good to know. And now I’m going to go check and make sure my address book is being backed up in my automatic backups. Thanks so much!
Great first tip! The document naming convention I use is SURNAME, fname, (birth year), document type.ext. I have so many ancestors with the same darn name, this helps me know at a glance who I’m dealing with and keeps them grouped together.
That’s my convention too. Way too many same names!
I hear you on the same names! I have individual folders for each ancestor and I put (YOB-YOD) in the folder name. That’s worked well for me. Thanks for sharing, Susan!
I Adopted your naming protocol a couple of years ago and it works really well. Now you’ve given me an equally good tip that will help me avoid all those times when I KNOW I downloaded a file but can’t find it because it doesn’t have a meaningful name.
Yay! Glad I could be helpful!
I was just listening to Amy Johnson Crow’s podcast on my walk where you were her guest. I think I’ll adopt your file naming protocol. Mine, currently, is SURNAME, year, type of document.ext. What you said, and I’ve heard this before, is to start with year, that way you can see ‘gaps’ and files are in chronilogical order. I have a definite backlog of scanning, filing, etc. Also going to adopt your timer method of setting aside just 5 minutes to work on organizing. I don’t seem to be making progress and I am overwhelmed with paper.
Starting the filename with the year works really well for me. And the timer is my best friend and one of my biggest tools for getting past overwhelm. I hope it works for you, Carol!
I use the last name first method. Also, on the document I always put a text note on the of the document. More than once, I could not remember what site I pulled the document from.
That’s a great idea, Jerry. I do the same thing, but behind the scenes, so to speak. I put the source citation (which includes the URL) in the Comments area of the Get Info screen for the file. If I don’t create a source citation immediately, I try to remember to put the URL there. (I blogged about that here: https://organizeyourfamilyhistory.com/quick-tip-1-rename-your-document-as-soon-as-you-download-it/)
I’ve used your naming convention Janine since I found this site a couple of years ago. The whole naming & filing system was a gamechanger for me! My tip when downloading is that I have a folder called ‘To Process’ where I can put things I’m not going to process right away.
I’m so glad my naming convention has helped you, Susan! Thanks for sharing your great tip. My fear is that I’d be afraid to look in the To Process folder! 🙂