Overview

This guidance outlines a simple set of principles for naming files and resources uploaded to Learning Space. Following these principles will help make your content more accessible and easier to navigate, creating a better experience for all students, including those with additional access needs.

Contents

File naming

A file name is the principal identifier for a file. A good file name gives information about what the file is about, making it easier to browse files more efficiently. This is especially useful for students when files have been downloaded from Learning Space to their devices.

Consistent file naming helps you quickly locate, identify, and manage files, making it easier to find resources both on your device and within Learning Space.

File naming tips

There are no perfect file naming conventions but following the advice below ensures that you develop a meaningful and accessible file naming convention system for your files.

  • Use consistent and descriptive naming conventions for your files.
  • Include the module code and academic year in the file name (e.g. ACT101 Find your voice lecture 23-24.pdf).
  • Avoid generic file names (e.g. Week 1 lecture.pdf).
  • Avoid overly long file names (e.g. ACT101 Find your voice lecture slides Study Block 1 23-24.pdf).
  • Do not use emojis.
  • Do not use special characters and punctuation marks such as ~ ! | @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) ` ; : < > ? . , [ ] { } ' " (e.g. ACT101 *Find your voice: lecture <23-24>.pdf).
  • Do no use Unicode characters such as mathematical notations, miscellaneous symbols or pictographs such as ✔ ✤ ☀ ⚠ (e.g. ACT101 ✤ Find your voice: lecture - 23-24 ✔.pdf).
  • Do not start or end your file names with hyphens or underscores (e.g._ACT101 Find your voice lecture 23-24-.pdf)
  • Do not include the file type in the naming convention (e.g. ACT101 Find your voice lecture PowerPoint presentation 23-24.ppt)
  • Avoid unnecessary repetition in the file title by including the file type in the name (e.g. ACT101 Find your voice lecture PowerPoint presentation 23-24.ppt).

Benefits to using a consistent file naming convention

Consistent and logical file names make it easier to distinguish between similar files and resources at a glance. During content creation, clear naming conventions can help prevent files from being accidentally deleted, duplicated, or overwritten.


Using agreed naming conventions also supports collaboration. In shared file storage areas, meaningful and consistent file names make it easier for colleagues to locate, identify, and manage resources. Adopting a standard approach to file naming helps everyone work more efficiently by removing the need to decide on a new naming format each time a file or resource is created for Learning Space.

File names and accessibility

Students may download files and resources from Learning Space to use with assistive technologies such as screen readers and text-to-speech software. For these users, the file name is often the first piece of information they encounter. A clear and descriptive file name helps students understand the purpose and content of a resource before opening it, making it easier to locate and identify the materials they need.

An accessible file name serves two primary purposes for users of assistive technologies:

  • Conveys the purpose or intent of the file or resource.
  • Distinguishes the file or resource from other elements on a page in Learning Space.

Emojis, Special characters, Unicode and screen readers 

As mentioned above, avoid using emojis, special characters or Unicode in file titles as they are not compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers. These characters are either ignored or not interpreted as intended by the screen reader.

An emoji is a pictogram embedded in text to provide an emotional cue to add to the text.

Special characters represent something other than a letter or number e.g.! *$.

Unicode is an international encoding standard which includes alphabet characters and symbols from every language in the world e.g. Ω Ψ. Unicode can be used to write mathematical notation formulas and also includes a series of miscellaneous symbols and pictographs e.g. ✔ ✤

Unicode can be added from a device’s Character Map or by copying and pasting a character into a file title. Although they may look visually appealing to include in file titles, Unicode characters are inaccessible to screen reader users.


Depending on settings, a screen reader may skip these characters entirely or read something irrelevant or confusing to the user. Mathematical symbols used to form the word ‘PART 1’ for example would be read aloud letter-by-letter. The P would be read aloud as “mathematical bold script P, then mathematical bold script A” etc. rather than being read aloud as ‘Part 1’. This experience can leave student users feeling confused and they are often left guessing what the intended file title was.

An example of th partial use Unicode charcaters in a file title which spell the word 'Part 1'.

For an example of what using Unicode sounds like in practice when read-aloud, see a post from Kent C. Dodds which includes the audio produced by a screen reader when it’s faced with these types of characters.


Tick Mark iconTip: For further reading on the topic view guidance: How special characters and symbols affect screen reader accessibility.

Conclusion

Remember that the key to effective file naming is being consistent, descriptive and avoid using special characters. Applying these rules will ensure that that your files and resources are more accessible, creating an improved user experience for you and your students.


Further support

For further support on Learning Space, or to report any issues with this guide, please get in touch with the Digital Learning Team via dlsupport@falmouth.ac.uk. Alternatively, please refer to the numerous help guides found on our Knowledge Base. 

View the Accessibility Statement for all of our support guides.