A file-naming system you can trust

The filename should answer four questions

This method separates two kinds of files. A file received from someone else is an original record. A document you create is a working document with a version lifecycle. Never apply the drafting workflow to received originals.

The examples in this guide are light case-file artefacts from the fictional world of Ash v Machine. No knowledge of the story is needed to use the method.

Never overwrite anything received

Keep the sender’s original filename, including any document-system reference, timestamp or machine-generated identifier. The name may form part of the document’s provenance and may be the reference used by the sender later.

If a received document later becomes an exhibit, make a copy and add the exhibit reference as a prefix. Do not replace the original name.

Start every dated file with YYMMDD_

For documents you create, the filename begins with the six-digit date printed on the face of the document, followed immediately by an underscore.

The format is always:

For correspondence, use the date by which the document will be identified later: “the letter dated 25 December 2026”. Drafting may begin earlier, but the face date controls the filename.

Versions go at the end

Draft in Word. Begin with an unsuffixed working master, then create numbered versions as the document develops.

When the last version is complete, update the unsuffixed working master that you created so it contains the completed text:

The numbered versions remain as drafting history. The unsuffixed authored master is the current completed Word document.

Status and permission markers go at the front

A prefix changes the way you treat a file without changing its underlying name.

This keeps the document recognisable while making its status visible at a glance. It also groups similarly tagged files when a folder is sorted by name.

The practical rule is:

Useful prefixes may include:

• [SEALED] for the court-sealed copy;
• [SIGNED] for an executed copy;
• [HOLD] for something prepared but not authorised to send;
• [UNVERIFIED] for working material containing unchecked facts or citations;
• [RESTRICTED] as an internal warning where use is constrained.

Work in Word; produce the PDF at the last step

The editable Word document remains the authored master. When the text is complete, print or export it to PDF as the delivery copy.

Printing to PDF can reduce the editing history and personal metadata carried by a Word file, but it is not a guarantee that the PDF contains no metadata. Check the PDF’s properties, filename, pages, comments and redactions before sending it.

Organise by matter, fight and status

Under pressure, the active unit of work is usually a motion, complaint, mediation or hearing—not a document type. Keep the material needed for one fight together, then use shallow status folders where a document moves through a process.

This makes the folder answer the practical question: “Which copy did the court receive?” It also avoids distributing one task across separate correspondence, affidavit, evidence and orders trees.

The method at a glance

• Never alter or overwrite a file received from someone else.
• Preserve machine-generated and document-system filenames.
• Start every dated file you create with YYMMDD_.
• Use the date printed on the face of correspondence.
• Draft in Word and add _v1, _v2 and later versions at the end.
• Return completed text to the unsuffixed authored master.
• Put status and permission markers at the front.
• Use neutral descriptions rather than arguments in evidence filenames.
• Produce the PDF only at the final delivery stage.
• Inspect the PDF and retain the exact copy sent or filed.
• Organise folders by matter, fight and workflow status.