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File-storage-policies.md

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File storage policies

We store a lot of data for projects and proposals. Following these policies will eliminated duplicated and inaccessible data. In this document the word job refers to either a project or a proposal.

  1. Don't duplicate a project or proposals folder into another project. Instead you may link to it or include a README.txt file that discusses things users of the new job folder should know about, including previous referenced jobs.

  2. Don't unzip files from clients into a subfolder of a proposal or project folder. This creates very deep file paths. Unzip only the files you need and be conscientious about where you put them. This likely would including renaming files and folders. If you unzip an entire zip file, delete the zip file afterward so the data isn't being duplicated.

  3. Make paths (filenames + folder names) as short as possible, and never over 255 characters deep. Paths deeper than 255 characters experience many issues in Windows including the inability to be renamed, deleted, copied, moved, or even backed up. You can help yourself by using abbreviations or short names, especially higher up the job file. For example, CA Office Files is an unnecessarily long folder name. Instead use CA. Another simple trick is to not use a word in a subfolder name if the same word is already included in the parent. For example, if you have a folder called Invoices, instead of naming a subfolder 2020 Invoices, just call the subfolder 2020

  4. Don't store anything in more than one place. This is a generic version of policy 1. If you need a reference, use a link or a README file that explains the location of the file. This also means don't version files by creating XYZ.dwg and XYZ FINAL.dwg or XYZ 2.dwg, XYZ 3.dwg etc. Instead just edit your files and rely on versioned backups. If you need to temporarily do something like this to try new versions, clean up after yourself.

  5. Don't backup your computer or OneDrive to a job folder. Creating a folder like XXX C Drive inside the project folder is not correct. Backup up to or work from your assigned OneDrive instead. If you're working off of your personal OneDrive, copy only the things you need back to the job folder.