excel for mac 2011 concatenate with underscore

Some crap like FILE1.XLS. Long filename support at the command line is crap.

For some reason, many years ago I started to put underscores in file names containing dates, like this: 20061223pdb weeklytimesheet.xls 20061223tjd weeklytimesheet.xls instead of just naming them like this: 20061223pdb weeklytimesheet.xls 20061223tjd weeklytimesheet.xls the belief being that the underscore will allow for more accurate sorting (and easier finding) of the files in Windows Explorer.

I dont know where I got the underscore-is-better notion, but Ive done it forever; a coworker challenged me on it today, and I had no concrete reason why it would be better.

Is there an actual reason why adding an underscore is better, or is it just a stylistic habit I acquired.

Note that batch files will need extra quoting of file arguments if there are spaces in them.

It wont have much effect on sorting unless you are doing something cunning that relies on.

Basically, what you are doing is just as random and arbitrary as using a space.

If the dates can vary in length, then the underscore could serve a purpose.

It may be slightly easier to read the filenames with the underscore.

The spaces are the hassle, as you end up having to use quote marks in a command line to refer to them.

If youre working on files that might end up passing through a whole lot of different machines and operating systems (such as a production pipeline), its still a useful thing to do.

The question is whether he should use an underscore rather then an empty string between a date and someones initials.

It seems easier to scan to me, but why not just use a space and be consistent, like this: 20061223 pdb weeklytimesheet.xls Actually what you should do is use an Access database for this stuff.

Or use dashes. Dont use spaces.

PM on December 21, 2006.

CamelCase is another option--better for readability but not good for searching, because the words cant be parsed automatically.

Personally I would go for: 20061223-pdb-weekly-time-sheet.xls posted by flug at 5:33 PM on December 21, 2006.

The only advantage I can see to the is that it can be used to delimate the date part of a file name.

It would need to be at the beggining of the file name to be of any real help sorting files.

Unless you have muliple copies of files with the same name created on different dates.

I would suggest adopting a different standard, such as network username, or (what we do) staff ID.

Makes it easier to work with later as well if you can key everything against a unique ID.

Re: basic database normalization) posted by SirStan at 5:59 PM on December 21, 2006.

You have to use the shortened version, which you wont know without using DIR command with whatever forgotten switch exposes them.

Some crap like FILE1.XLS.

Long filename support at the command line is crap.

Excel For Mac 2011 Concatenate With Underscore