File Naming and Folder Structure

Consistent naming and folder conventions across all district SharePoint sites.

Why this matters

The district has over twenty committee and program sites on SharePoint. When files are named consistently and stored in the right place, any member can find what they need on any site without asking. It also means files sort correctly by date, show up in search results, and make sense months or years later.

File naming format

All files uploaded to SharePoint should follow this pattern:

The date comes first so files sort chronologically. Use a space-dash-space to separate the date from the title.

Rules

• Date first, always. Use the format YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2026-06-15). This ensures files sort in date order regardless of how SharePoint displays them.
• Use plain English for the title. Write it as you would say it. Capitalise the first letter of each major word.
• No special characters. Avoid # % & { } \ / ! @ < > in file names. These cause issues in SharePoint and OneDrive.
• No version numbers in file names. SharePoint has built-in version history. Upload the new version to the same file rather than creating "Document v2", "Document v3", etc.
• Keep it concise. The file name should make sense at a glance without opening the file.

Examples

Meeting documents

Meeting documents follow the same date-first format, with the meeting name included. These are the most common files uploaded to SharePoint and consistency here makes a big difference.

Agendas

Minutes

Reports tabled at a meeting

Board papers

The District Board site has a Papers subfolder within each meeting year for formal board papers and proposals.

Standard folder structure

Most committee and program sites follow a standard folder template. The exact folders may differ slightly between sites depending on their needs, but the general pattern is the same.

Standard folders

Inside the Meetings folder

The Meetings folder is organised by Rotary year, and each year contains subfolders for different document types:

The District Board site also includes a Papers subfolder inside each meeting year for formal board papers and proposals.

District Board and Operations

The Board and Operations sites follow the standard structure with some additions specific to their work.

District Board

District Operations

Rotary year folders

The Rotary year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Year folders use the format YYYY-YY:

• 2024-25 covers July 2024 to June 2025
• 2025-26 covers July 2025 to June 2026
• 2026-27 covers July 2026 to June 2027

When the new Rotary year begins on 1 July, new year folders will be created on each site. Continue using the current year's folder until then.