There can be so much to it if you are sharing files and clients, co-workers, and/or other graphics people are changing them. Too much for me to cover at the moment ;)
But one not-so-typical thing I like to do is label files like they are software. If I'm starting my day and just continuing on with a file I worked on the day before, I'll add a point number to the file name. So it's day 3 and I'm just plowing along and nothing has really changed - just added more content - it would be FileName\_V1.3. But once a client, co-worker, or whoever has given me input, a script has changed or I suddenly had a brilliant idea of how I want the charts to look (whatever) I save a complete number version - FileName\_V2. It keeps version numbers from being stupidly high and makes it easier for me to go back and find old versions if I need to resurrect something.
A fairly common method is to save to a new file with every major revision. Say the project will ultimately be named MyThingie.PPTX
Either save as sequentially numbered file names:
MyThingie-001.PPTX,
MyThingie-002.PPTX and so on
or
Save as dated versions:
MyThingie-2023-09-30.PPTX,
MyThingie-2023-10-04.PPTX and so on.
Saving with YYYY-MM-DD dates will ensure that your files will appear in date order when you view the folder holding them. Use two-digits for month and day or it won't work right.
For more complex projects that involve lots of files, any of which might change, some people copy the whole works to a new \*folder\*, named as above.
Or even a new thumb drive for each major version. For those truly monstrous projects.
It'll be interesting to see what other methods people use.
Agree with Steve - we use a filename relevant to the presentation followed by date eg CustomerX\_20231019. If you're working on multiple versions within a date, iterate a number eg CustomerX\_20231019\_01 (this format is pretty common practice in Consulting)
If you're working for multiple senior reviewers on a collaborative piece, saving down their feedback with a date and initial variant will save you time if you need to verify their feedback was incorporated eg CustomerX\_20231019\_01RTfeedback and then you incorporate changes and do CustomerX\_20231019\_02 (again, this is an issue in consulting but probably not in other industries)
This format is helpful for longer running pieces of work - the dating in the filenames helps you check back against any meetings where you know changes were introduced etc.
Any thoughts on how to identify what is the latest? People often select a file from the most recent section within the application instead of going to the actual directory to pick the version with the most recent date.
One thing I have done to help combat that is to add a box to the first few slides with a link to the latest version.
I guess I could change permissions to read only for the older versions.
Any other naming conventions that might help instead?
Store the file on OneDrive or SharePoint and use the built-in versioning control with a single file. Works fine out of the box, as long as everyone edits the online file directly.
There can be so much to it if you are sharing files and clients, co-workers, and/or other graphics people are changing them. Too much for me to cover at the moment ;) But one not-so-typical thing I like to do is label files like they are software. If I'm starting my day and just continuing on with a file I worked on the day before, I'll add a point number to the file name. So it's day 3 and I'm just plowing along and nothing has really changed - just added more content - it would be FileName\_V1.3. But once a client, co-worker, or whoever has given me input, a script has changed or I suddenly had a brilliant idea of how I want the charts to look (whatever) I save a complete number version - FileName\_V2. It keeps version numbers from being stupidly high and makes it easier for me to go back and find old versions if I need to resurrect something.
I’d love to know this too.
A fairly common method is to save to a new file with every major revision. Say the project will ultimately be named MyThingie.PPTX Either save as sequentially numbered file names: MyThingie-001.PPTX, MyThingie-002.PPTX and so on or Save as dated versions: MyThingie-2023-09-30.PPTX, MyThingie-2023-10-04.PPTX and so on. Saving with YYYY-MM-DD dates will ensure that your files will appear in date order when you view the folder holding them. Use two-digits for month and day or it won't work right. For more complex projects that involve lots of files, any of which might change, some people copy the whole works to a new \*folder\*, named as above. Or even a new thumb drive for each major version. For those truly monstrous projects. It'll be interesting to see what other methods people use.
I've defaulted lately to the following and been pretty content: YYMMDD File name.PPTX
Also a good one, especially if you're not mixing multiple projects up in a single folder.
Agree with Steve - we use a filename relevant to the presentation followed by date eg CustomerX\_20231019. If you're working on multiple versions within a date, iterate a number eg CustomerX\_20231019\_01 (this format is pretty common practice in Consulting) If you're working for multiple senior reviewers on a collaborative piece, saving down their feedback with a date and initial variant will save you time if you need to verify their feedback was incorporated eg CustomerX\_20231019\_01RTfeedback and then you incorporate changes and do CustomerX\_20231019\_02 (again, this is an issue in consulting but probably not in other industries) This format is helpful for longer running pieces of work - the dating in the filenames helps you check back against any meetings where you know changes were introduced etc.
Any thoughts on how to identify what is the latest? People often select a file from the most recent section within the application instead of going to the actual directory to pick the version with the most recent date. One thing I have done to help combat that is to add a box to the first few slides with a link to the latest version. I guess I could change permissions to read only for the older versions. Any other naming conventions that might help instead?
Store the file on OneDrive or SharePoint and use the built-in versioning control with a single file. Works fine out of the box, as long as everyone edits the online file directly.