Tips for creating smart, intuitive file names for your digital asset management system.

1. File Naming Tips for Digital Asset Management Systems
Your digital asset management (DAM) system may be home to thousands of different
types of assets: Video, photographs, logos, illustrations, audio, presentations, and more.
All are unique, and they must be easily searchable, and convertible to alternative
formats. They should also be quickly transferrable to both internal and third-party users,
regardless of computer environment. Key to this entire process are smart, intuitive file
names. They can be number-, date-, or subject-based, but they should all adhere to a few
simple guidelines.
At a minimum, file names should be:
• Unique - Providing distinct identification for a file (this also prevents inadvertent
overwriting)
• Clean - Short in length, and free from unusual characters and symbols
• Platform-agnostic - They can be received from, sent to, or used by a variety of
other computer systems
• Content-indicative – Including a 3-4 character extension denoting the type of
content in the file
But all this raises a question. If you receive a file from another organization, user, or
platform, should you immediately rename it for use in your DAM system? In order to
standardize your filenames, yes—but consider retaining the original file name as
metadata attached to the file, so that the previous owner can still locate it using the
original name.
With the little forethought and some crisp filenames, your DAM can continue to easily
and efficiently manage all of your digital assets as your organization grows, regardless of
the origin or destination of the files. Add in some custom scripting for automatic
metadata application, and you can create anything from assets ready in real-time for
specific channels to automatic archival and rights-management workflows. The
possibilities are endless with the right naming and metadata conventions.
About IO Integration
IO Integration is a global leader in marketing technology and provides brand
management software and digital asset management solutions that help companies easily
and efficiently share, manage, and control digital assets for the world’s top brands,
agencies, and publishers.