Been there... Done that... after a couple of years trying to make a logical file system for Poser files, I have come to the conclusion that there is NO ONE SINGLE method that works in all cases. So I have taken a different approach alltogether: I first started to build a database application that would allow me to search and locate any file (by author or confromer or item type etc), but I found that the data entry process was just too cumbersome to do on a regular basis. But the CONCEPT of a searchable database is still the most logical approach, and I have now found a SIMPLE system that gives me all the benefits of a searchable database with image thumbnails, product info, and paths to archive locations. Here is how it works: Each time you acquire a file (download a freebie or purchase it) be sure to also download the thumbnail (or product image) and name it EXACTLY THE SAME as the product ZIP or EXE (except with .jpg extension). Download BOTH the file and the image into the same "INCOMING" folder so that they will sort together. As you download, append the AUTHOR's NAME to the beginning OR end of the file (as your personal taste dictates) AND add any other identifying info to the filename (such as 4Victoria2 or 4MicCloPak2 or -C, -NC for commercial/non use), and be sure the associated image is identically named. You will end up with something like the following: MermaidDress-ISOP-4Victoria.jpg MermaidDress-ISOP-4Victoria.zip MermaidDress-ISOP-Texture01-by_Somebody-NC-.zip MermaidDress-ISOP-Texture01-by_Somebody-NC-.jpg Victoria2 PrincessAriana character - SomebodyElse-C-.exe Victoria2 PrincessAriana character - SomebodyElse-C-.jpg You get the idea... try to be consistent in your conventions and use - (hyphen) and _ (underscore) to make easier reading and sorting of the files. For example you will get better results searching for "-C-" when looking for commercial use files than if you search for "C" which will return hundreds of useless results. It is more important to include any sorting information you might need in the filename (like keywords in a database) than it is to worry about the sequence. Also I recommend using "4Victoria" to indiciate an original item that conforms to another item and "Victoria-" to indicate an add-on or supplement (such as a skin texture), character or pose file (without the 4). This also helps narrow searches later on. Also important is converting all archived files to conform to your standard. For example, use a batch rename program like TheRename and change all "Vic", "Vicky", "Vicky's" to a standard "Victoria-" - just doing this will make your files much easier to browse and search - don't use just "Vic" or any searches you do later on will include such things as "convict" and "victory" and a lot of other things that will clutter your search - use the full name. Alother example, try to standardize each author's name such as changing all "Phil-C", "Phil C", Phil_C to the same "PhilC" standard - likewise "DAZ", "Daz 3d", "DAZ-3D" references should be standardized to a single format. Sometimes we are in a hurry while doing a download session, so it is not convenient to do this file renaming at that time - NO PROBLEM - that is why we use an INCOMING folder, and don't mix new things in with other archives till they are renamed. Sometimes the information we might want to include in the filename is not available till we open the .ZIP and read the readme - NO PROBLEM - just be SURE to get an image or thumbnail and name it the same as the .ZIP (.exe .sit etc) and put them both in the "incoming" folder. Later we can go to the incoming folder and fix everything the way we want prior to merging the files in our archive. In the event that an image is not available, create a "NO_Image" file (or use the one above), and use that by naming it the same as the filename excepy that "-No_Image" is appended at the end. For example: Victoria2 PrincessAriana character - SomebodyElse-C-No_Image.jpg When you have a CD full of files ready to archive, check the names once more and be sure you have a .JPG - matching EACH file's name - even if it is a dummy "Filename-no_image.jpg" Burn your files (with images if you want to) onto a CD (I recommend always burning 2 identical CDs just to have a spare)- Give your CD a name like "Poser Files01". Then delete the object files from your HD but DO NOT delete the images. Instead create a Master folder called "ARCHIVES" and within that a new folder named EXACTLY the same as the CD was named ("Poser Files01" in this case) and move all the images into that folder. In this manner, you will have a picture file matching every filename in your collection and located in a folder with a name matching the CD archive. At any time you can use the "find files" feature on your computer and point it at the "ARCHIVE" master folder. Perform your search including subfolders (for example "PhilC") and you will generate a list of all files you currently have by PhilC (or whatever you search for) - plus images - and the folder name where the image is located will tell you which archive CD the actual file is on. Eventually you will have a corresponding image file for all of your archives on your HD - even if you have thousands of files representing many Gigabytes of data, just keeping the images on your HD will not burden most systems today, and you will have the equivalent of a searchable database at your fingertips that never needs updating and is always current. The key is in creating searchable filenames and making the corresponding images. This brings us back to the actual topic of the thread :-) file naming conventions for content creators. Although I don't think we will ever get everybody to agree on a single "best system", I would ask that people try to adhere to the following simple standards: 1) Authors: please include your name or identifier in the filename - I think most users would prefer at the END, but better at the beginning than not at all. 2) Please don't be afraid of long filenames - but remember that HTML ans some browsers will not always display blank spaces properly, so use - (hyphen) and _ (underscore) to separate parts of the filename. 3) Please try to include the conformer item (required item) if there is one - in the file name. For example: "GroundTexture-4TransPond_MenmeDeCaomh-byRS.zip" "Victoria3-Audry_texture-RS." "Michael2-ClothingPak1-byRonstuff" 4) Create the main thumbnail image or product image with EXACTLY the same filename as the product file. (I know this is not possible on files hosted on some sites which rename the files arbitrarily - but when it is possible, pleast try to do it). These are simple things to do, and allow a lot of freedom and flexibility, but if all content providers would at least do these 4 things, all of our lives would be much, much easier.