Bit Literacy - Mark Hurst [50]
The file system is also valuable because it allows users direct access to their files, with minimal distractions from tools or companies that may want to mediate that access. The bit-literate filing scheme described below gives you full control over how your bits are stored and organized. All file systems work in more or less the same way, so if you ever have to switch machines or operating systems, your bits will be organized in a way that transfers anywhere. With bit literacy, in other words, you’re free. Free to choose whatever is the best technology at any one moment, free to work effectively and efficiently with bits of all kinds at all times, and free from the constraints of any operating system, application, or technology company.
But there’s a cost. Organizing files properly requires a small amount of discipline, though only the smallest possible amount to get the job done. Here, as in other areas, bit literacy follows Occam’s razor: things should go as far as they need to, but no further.37 In fact, most files can fit within a simple two-level storage system, not unlike what’s described in the “managing photos” chapter. It’s easy to set up.
The parent folder
First, identify (or create) the “parent folder” that will serve as the top level of the storage hierarchy. (This will contain all of your files that are not already handled by another tool like iPhoto, iTunes, or the e-mail program.) Depending on the operating system, your personal preferences, and—if you’re in an office environment—the policies of the IT team, there are many different ways to create or identify the parent folder. In Windows, the My Documents folder is a good choice. On a Mac, the user’s Home folder or Documents folder can serve as the parent folder. (Some Mac users may prefer to put the parent folder on the top level of the hard drive, available by double-clicking the hard drive icon on the desktop.) You may also want to maintain a separate parent folder for personal files; we’ll return to that idea, but for now we’ll focus on the parent folder, which contains all work-related files.
Inside the parent folder are two levels of storage. Here’s what the hierarchy looks like:
Parent folder Level 1: Project folders and category folders (described in detail below), but no files Level 2: Properly named files and optional sub-folders (also described below)
For example, a parent folder named Documents might look like this:
The parent folder should contain folders only, no files. Each folder should have a simple and descriptive name referring to a project or general file category.
The project folder
Each project folder should be named after a client (“Acme Industries”) or a general project (“Bit Literacy book”) and should contain properly named files related to that project. It may also contain some sub-folders. For example, the Acme Industries project folder might look like this:
When creating a project folder, the user must decide whether it will be a place to store files related to the project, or the only place. This usually means deciding where to store project-related e-mails, often the most important bitstream in a project. Should they stay in the e-mail program itself, or should the user save them to the project folder in the file system? (Saving e-mails to the file system is easy: in most e-mail programs there is a “Save As” option under the File menu, which saves the e-mail as an ASCII (.txt) file. The user just needs to name the file properly and navigate to the correct project folder before clicking Save.38)
Whether for short-term convenience or because of a lack of training, many users keep all their project e-mails in the e-mail program, either in an e-mail folder or (unfortunately) piled up in the inbox. This can create problems. The bits are susceptible to loss if the e-mail program crashes, and until then they’re “locked in”: it’s harder to take the bits with you if you ever want to change e-mail programs. While there usually exists some way to export e-mails into competing