Name Files with Spaces or with Underscores?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rin Tin^2
  • Start date Start date
R

Rin Tin^2

What's the convention now? In Windows XP, do we still need to compose
file names with _, so that "latest model.xls" becomes
latest_model.xls? Is this even necessary? If not, why are people
still nameing files with the underscore.?

I notice that in naming workbook tabs, this may be necessary if you're
for example using the indirect function. But do we still need to do
this for file names in XP and beyond? Thanks.
 
Not really an Excel issue.

If you have a space in a filename or folder name you must use double quotes when
referencing these names in paths.

"C:\my folder\another folder\file name.xls"

as opposed to C:\my_folder\another_folder\file_name.xls

That's about the only reason I could think of off the top of my head.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP
 
Not really an Excel issue.

If you have a space in a filename or folder name you must use double quotes
when
referencing these names in paths.

"C:\my folder\another folder\file name.xls"

as opposed to C:\my_folder\another_folder\file_name.xls

That's about the only reason I could think of off the top of my head.
Click to expand...

Linux file systems tend to use the underscore rather than the space, so I go
with _ for all file names ... in case. :)
If you want to use names in mail merges, you have to use plant_num or
similar instead of 'plant num' as word won't read the bit after the space.

That said, if you never want to send files to linux users, it probably
doesn't matter ... and yes, they'll probnably sigh gently and cope anyway :)
 
I've been doing it for so long that it is second-nature for me to use
underscores rather than spaces. In Excel if you have spaces in sheet
names then you have to enclose the name with apostrophes when you
refer to it in a formula. Also, if you have a column header like "Cost
Centre" and use Insert | Name | Create to use this as a named range,
then Excel will automatically change the space to an underscore for
the actual name.

Hope this helps.

Pete
 
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