Getting your files organized before sending them our way makes a big difference in how smoothly your project goes—and helps us get everything just right. This guide walks you through how to set up a master folder, organize multiple versions, name your files clearly, and even control how they appear on your flash drives. A few simple steps now can save a lot of time (and confusion) later.
Organizing the Data Masters on Your Computer
A little structure goes a long way—setting up folders for each version helps us get your custom USBs loaded just the way you need.
Help us Get it Right and Place Each Version in its own Folder
- Create a folder on your computer that will store all of the files on your custom USB drive(s).
- This example uses a master folder or root folder called, “My Flash Drive Files”.
- If you have data for multiple versions, place each version of the data in its own folder.
Naming Your Files
A clear, clean, file name sets you up for success — avoiding a few tricky characters helps everything run smoothly on our end.
Avoid Quotes, Double Quotes & Backticks
- When naming files, it’s advisable to avoid certain special characters, even if the file system supports them.
- Avoid using quotes( ‘ ), double quotes( ” ) or backticks( ` ) in the name of your files or folders.
Be Descriptive
- Give your files a name that describes its contents.
- Avoid using generic names like “document” or “file”.
Keep it Short
- Long file names are difficult to read and make it harder to navigate your files.
- Try to keep your file names concise and to the point.
Use Title Case
- In title case, first letters of most words are capitalized, excluding small words like and, the, or, but, for, etc.
- It is commonly used to make text easier to read.
- Example:
This is my Introduction.pdf
Title Case is the Best Case for Readability.Docx
Controlling the Order of Your Files
Want your files to show up in just the right order? A few quick naming tweaks can help keep things neat, organized, and easy for your users to navigate.
- You can attempt to control the display order of your files by naming them to include a numerical prefix.
- Computers sort their files by name by default, but a user can change that setting.
- The only way to guarantee the order that your files will appear to the end user is to create a menu of files.
Tutorial Complete
And that’s how you get your data ready for the best possible results. We hope this guide saves you time and helps you avoid some of the common headaches that can come with organizing and preparing files for EveryUSB. Got questions? Please contact a salesperson at 866-458-8415 if you would like more information about the Launch Menu or anything else. We are here to help!