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MIT Records Management Program: Creation

5 Tips for File Creation

File naming

  1. Be clear, concise, and consistent
  2. Use alphanumeric characters only; avoid special characters such as: ” *: < > ? / \ | [ ] & $ ; ,
  3. Use underscores (_) or hyphens (-) instead of spaces or full stops
  4. Include dates using the year-month-day format (e.g., 2022-06-24)
  5. Use version control to number drafts and revisions as part of the filename (e.g. v01)

File formats

These formats are compatible with long-term preservation:

  1. PDF/A for PDFs
  2. Excel for spreadsheets
  3. Word for text documents 
  4. TIFF and JPEG for images
  5. WAV and MPEG-4 for audio

Student Organizations

The MIT Student Organization Records Toolkit (SORT) provides best practices for organizing, storing, and preserving group records.

Researchers

Data Management Services provides guidance - including written resources, workshops, and consultations - to faculty and researchers who manage data.