How to Name Files So You Find Them in 5 Seconds a Year Later

You know the drill: "contract_final.pdf", "contract_final2.pdf", "contract_FINAL_really.pdf". A month later you have no idea which one counts. The fix isn't a better folder, it's a better name.

The formula that works

YYYY-MM-DD_project_description_v01.ext

For example: `2026-10-13_flat-london_lease-agreement_v02.pdf`

- Date first, in YYYY-MM-DD: files sort themselves chronologically.

- Project or client: one search word pulls up everything related.

- Version v01, v02 instead of "final". The leading zero keeps the order right past v10.

What to avoid

- Spaces and accents. Some systems, email clients and websites turn them into `%20` or garbage. Use hyphens and underscores.

- **The characters / \ : * ? " < > |**. Windows won't allow them in a name.

- Very long names. Stay under 60 characters; Windows paths have a length limit.

Rename old files in bulk

No need to do it by hand. On Windows, select the files and press F2; on Mac, right-click → Rename. And if your cleanup turns up files in the wrong format (HEIC, DOCX, huge PDFs), convert them on the spot with FileTools, free in your browser.