29% of people say they use cloud storage for online documents. This number isn’t entirely accurate, though, because many people use cloud options and don’t realize it. Which person are you, the one who uses it or doesn’t?
You may be wondering how a cloud solution could help with organizing documents digitally. There are many ways to save old files in the cloud! Keep reading for our top tips on how to organize documents online.
Create a System for Organizing Documents and Stick to It
The first and most important step to getting organized is to create a system. You want to make a plan about how you will organize documents before you get started. Have you ever searched hours for a file that was put in the wrong folder and labeled incorrectly?
We’ve all been there. Creating a system and sticking to it will help with storing documents.
Name and Date Files
You need to determine how you want to name files and put a date in the title. This will help with version control, so you know what can be deleted. Finding documents will be SO much easier with a specific naming system in place.
Standardize Documents
Before moving files to the cloud, you may want to convert to PDF or put them into zip files to compress the size. Software constantly changes and updates, so this will help with future compatibility issues.
Check out this tutorial on how to c# convert HTML to PDF.
Label Folders and Create Sub-Folders
You should create main folders and then sub-folders within your cloud storage. This will help to sort documents more accurately so they are easier to find. For example, if you want to keep everything from 2020 in one file, you would need many sub-folders.
First, you’d create a sub-folder for each month of 2020. Then within those folders, you would create more. This way you can save documents based on projects or events for easier accessibility.
Sort Photos With Keywords
Photos that aren’t saved with some sort of keyword about what they are from are a nightmare to search through! When you create a folder of photographs, go through and put a short keyword to let you know what it is so you don’t spend hours searching for one specific event.
Declutter
It’s a good idea to assess your system every few months once it’s put into place and declutter old software and files. There are a few questions to ask when searching through documents:
- Are there any outdated documents that are no longer relevant?
- What files can be removed?
- Do you have duplicates?
You can condense and consolidate this way to make your system more efficient.
Get More Document Organization Ideas
This article explained how to set up a system that will help you with organizing documents digitally. We hope it inspired you to make a plan and get started with your own files!
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