Going digital is easy, but your files may be pretty chaotic if you don’t properly manage them. Perhaps it will be challenging for some who have many files in their archive. Without a proper document management scheme, you can expect to lose your way when the time to retrieve a particular file comes.
Just like how you manage print materials in the office before the arrival of COVID-19, it is also necessary to sort out your documents. For instance, you may have many Word files in your storage that have different file names. It’s easy to get dizzy from seeing files that are unorderly. Try doing these five file hacks to improve your document management.
Convert Word to PDF
If you’ve finished your file today and plan to store it for future use, then you wouldn’t want any changes to happen to the file. It will be quite a headache if the formatting changes. To prevent that, you can try converting Word to PDF. Doing this will ensure that your file keeps its integrity even after quite a long time has passed.
Why would changes appear on your Word file, anyway? The answer is pretty simple: technology constantly changes. The version of your computer might affect how your Word file would appear. Now, it wasn’t as baffling, was it? To do the conversion, you can simply look for a converter online.
We recommend using Gogo PDF to do the job with regards to this. It has tight security and can quickly finish the task. What makes it more impressive is its compatibility with almost every operating system and web browser. It is a web-based service, and all you have to do is connect to the Internet. Here’s how you can use the said conversion tool.
- Visit Gogo PDF.
- Select and upload the file that you wish to convert.
- Gogo PDF will automatically scan and render a PDF version of your file.
- Download, save, and share!
Use a file naming scheme
Having a systematic and logical file naming scheme is an excellent way to sort your files. It will be a big boon for you when you need a specific file. For instance, you can try naming your files like “YYYY-MM-DD_Category_Name.” By doing this, you can just search for the date or category of your file. Easy-peasy!
Let’s say that you already converted the Word files you plan to store to PDF. You can rename them to your preferred file naming scheme. Pick one that you will easily remember. It would be impressive to look at, considering how orderly your files would appear.
Organize your folders
Organizing where you store your files is another essential thing to do. You may try having a root folder or simply a main folder. Inside that, you can create folders that will serve as categories for your files. You can repeat the steps to create more subcategories inside. This way, it would be easy to follow the file paths of your PDFs.
Back them up online
Cloud storage is on fire nowadays because of its convenience. It allows people to store their files online, which they can access anywhere they log in to their accounts. To ensure that you have a copy of your files, back them up in some online storage you have. This way, even if problems occur with your computer, you can have peace of mind knowing that you have copies of your documents. Make it a habit, mainly if you deal with important information.
File sharing
If you have pending Word files you need to collaborate with others, you can let them stay as Word files until you finish the job. You can use software applications that enable teams to collaborate in real-time. Of course, to make sure that the work is finalized and remains precisely as what you finished, you can convert it to PDF.
Converting it to PDF and sending the file to someone would also increase their level of trust in you. That’s because they can rest assured that the file remains the same, considering the ability of PDFs to preserve formatting. Impressive, right?
The takeaway
Indeed, working and studying in the contemporary scenario is done online. Students may have many projects and papers that they need to make. On the other hand, it’s even more difficult for professionals who deal with contracts and business papers day and night. To save time and effort in rummaging through your archive for a specific file when you need it, you can start drafting up a file management scheme today.
It makes your storage more orderly and less chaotic. One of the steps that you can take is to convert your Word files into PDF. This ensures that no changes will happen to your file even if you update your software applications or even change devices. What are you waiting for? Try these five simple file hacks to boost your document management now!