This week Google came out with a beta version of Google Desktop for Mac, and once again there’s a buzz around desktop search. Is Google Desktop Search for everyone? No. Each person’s digital file organization style is personal and unique. Have you ever sat down at someone else’s computer and tried looking for a file? Rarely can be done easily. As Macworld pointed out in a recent online article, document file organization strategies seem to fall into two camps: Organizers and Searchers. Google Desktop Search is a tool for the searchers that probably frustrates the organizer-types more than it helps.
It’s not about the application itself. It’s about knowing which file cataloging type suits your style, and choosing the best utility for your type so you’ll never say, “Where did I put that #@%^ file?!?!” again.
Organizers rely on a series of nested folders and careful document naming strategies to know where things are. If you are the type that believes that everything has a single place where it belongs, then this is the document cataloging style for you.
The key here is consistency. Whatever system you decide on for setting up and maintaining your virtual file cabinet, stick with it. Decide if you want your folders first organized by date, then by client. Or by client, then by date or category. There’s no right or wrong answer here. Also think about what will make sense to someone else with minimal explanation if you have to ask a family member or colleague to find a file on your computer.
Name your files carefully. I’ve found it best to include the date in all file names in YYMMDD format. This is helpful when you have multiple versions of the same document that you want to save. By using the YYMMDD format for the date after a description (ex: “Jones Contract 070405″), the files will be in chronological order when sorted alphabetically, as opposed to the more common M-D-YY which would put “Jones Contract 1-31-05″ after “Jones Contract 1-4-07.” Why sort by both date and name if you don’t have to?
Organizer-types often avoid desktop search tools. These utilities add an unnecessary layer when it’s just as easy to click on the right folder to find that file. They’re overkill when you know exactly where that file is and you just want to get at it faster. The easiest thing for Organizer-types to do is add an alias/shortcut of their documents folder to their Dock (Mac OS X) or TaskBar (Windows). This gives you easy access to your well-structured folders and files.
If you prefer keyboard shortcuts for handy access to your files, as well as the ability to control functions in other applications (such as launch a song in iTunes), then try launcher utilities like Quicksilver (Mac OS X, free), LaunchBar (Mac OS X, $19.95), or Approcket (Windows, $9).
Designate a drop box for files that you haven’t had a chance to catalog and deposit in its proper folder yet. Tell yourself that you won’t let that drop box get more than 10 files or so before you’ll make the time to file. This gives you the chance to decide if you really need to save that file at all. If your drop box is filled with files, then you may call yourself an Organizer-type, but you’re really a Searcher at heart.
Searchers throw everything in a large bucket and rely on content and keyword searches to retrieve what they’re looking for. Less folders, heavier reliance on desktop search tools like Google Desktop (now cross platform) Windows Desktop Search (Windows, also included in Vista), Copernic (Windows), X1 (Windows) or Apple’s built-in Spotlight.
These utilities have an uncanny ability to find just the right file with only a few words, thanks to their index that includes not just the name of the file and location but information about the file’s content as well. There are downsides… Indexing takes CPU and RAM, so an underpowered computer will feel a performance hit. You’re also relying on the technology to do what it says it will do. A corrupt index or otherwise malfunctioning utility and you may never see that contract again buried in the middle of thousands of other files.
Offload older files to external drives or CD media for archiving. What are the chances you’ll really need a document last modified in 2002, anyway?
Don’t rule out your email application’s ability to save attachments with its archive. This applies whether you use a web-based or desktop email application. If you save sent/received mail with attachments, then saving it to your hard drive is just needless duplication. Make sure you trust your chosen email storage system. Backup often! An email application’s ability to search for attachments is often more efficient than a computer’s ability to search for files. Gmail makes searching a breeze. Consider using Gmail as file storage and get easy file retrieval and extra hard drive space. Of course, if you use a web-based client think about how often you’ll need to get at your files when you’re offline.
Somewhere in the middle of the Organizer-type and the Searcher-type is the Tagger. Tags are still hot in web applications, but the concept hasn’t quite made it to the desktop file world. Tags let you group similar objects by single keywords. Should “coffee” be filed under “beverage” or “hot”? Organizer-types have to decide. Taggers can have it both ways. Tag2Find is a Windows application that applies the tagging methodology to desktop file organization. You have to make decisions at the time the file is created (or accept the application’s default guesses), but when you do, it can be a very efficient way of organizing your digital data and retrieving based on multiple concepts or categories, instead of just the words found in the file.
So what’s your digital organizational style? Organizer? Searcher? Tagger? Or something else? Any tips to share for keeping the file clutter under control?
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2007\/04\/05\/making-peace-with-your-digital-organizational-style\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_b1dacc5e9fbf204b8768dd542ed20fb6","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}