File Name Conventions with Dates

  • Thread starter Thread starter sunstarwu
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sunstarwu

Hi,

I can anyone explain why dates must be put in reverse order when naming
files such as YYYYMMDD? Just wanted to know the justification behind
this.

Thanks
Sunny
 
Hi,

I can anyone explain why dates must be put in reverse order when naming
files such as YYYYMMDD? Just wanted to know the justification behind
this.

Thanks
Sunny
Click to expand...

Says who? You can name a file DDMMYYYY if you prefer
it this way! The YYYYMMDD convention is useful for sorting,
that's about all.
 
Pegasus said:
Says who? You can name a file DDMMYYYY if you prefer
it this way! The YYYYMMDD convention is useful for sorting,
that's about all.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I can understand its useful for sorting if the
date is at the start of the file name but not if its anywhere else like
at the end. From general reading that Ive been doing I've always read
that dates should be listed in reverse order.

Regards
Sunny
 
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I can understand its useful for sorting if the
date is at the start of the file name but not if its anywhere else like
at the end. From general reading that Ive been doing I've always read
that dates should be listed in reverse order.

Regards
Sunny
Click to expand...

I suspect that this recommendation has its roots in the current
American habit of showing dates as MMDDYYYY, which is
quaint but lacks logical reasoning. Many other countries use
DDMMYYYY which has an obvious internal logic. YYYYMMDD
uses the same login but in reverse and is therefore easy to sort. The
recommendations you read are perhaps based on the idea of
having some internal logic ***and*** make the names easy to
sort.
 
I can anyone explain why dates must be put in reverse order when
naming files such as YYYYMMDD? Just wanted to know the justification
behind this.
Click to expand...


There are no such rules for naming files. You can call a file 20061211 or
2006-12-11 or 121106 or 11122006 or 12Dec2006, or any other variation you
choose.

However if you ever want to sort in date order, you won't be able to do so
correctly unless it is YYYYMMDD.
 
Hi,

I can anyone explain why dates must be put in reverse order when naming
files such as YYYYMMDD? Just wanted to know the justification behind
this.
Click to expand...

Name your files however you want.
 
If you want to sort a folder by date, click on the Date Created or Date
Modified header.

Sort in Explorer

In details view, by default Windows Explorer displays files and folders in
ascending order.

To sort items using a different column..

In the Contents pane, click the category that contains the items that you
want to sort.

To sort items in ascending or descending order, click the column heading,
notice which way the arrow is pointing.

On the View menu, point to Arrange Icons by |
Name, Size, Type, or Modified.

How To Arrange Files Using Folder Views in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306554

TweakUI tip
From the View Menu, select "Choose Details" to select which file properties
should be shown in the Explorer window. To sort by a file property, check
its name in the "Choose Details" in order to make that property available in
the "Arrange Icons by" menu.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

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