When uploading files into Energy.gov's content management system (CMS), follow these guidelines for naming files on Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy websites. File names should:
- Describe the file's content clearly, using keywords when possible but avoiding making names excessively long or convoluted (e.g., for a report titled "Hydropower Opportunities for Research and Development in Alaska," name the file "hydropower-research-opportunities-alaska.pdf" and not "hydropower-research-report_wpto-eere-2023_final-v2.pdf").
- Include the date of when the filed was revised or updated at the end of the file if frequently altered (e.g., "eere-wind-report_2023-03.pdf"). Annual reports should also contain the year in the file name to avoid confusion.
- Not contain uppercase letters, spaces, or special characters (e.g., "&" or "$"), only using letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens (in place of spaces).
When adding the file into the CMS, enter a name in the Name field that properly describes the content. This will help make the file more easily searchable in the CMS. If uploading a PDF or native file, use the same document title as you entered in the file properties field (see Web Requirements and Best Practices for PDFs).
Link Text
Use "link text" to give your files descriptive names. Without link text, your files will be listed by their file names. To edit a file’s link text:
- Upload a PDF to a download page, click "Edit Media" if the file has already been uploaded, or if editing media via a page, click on the pencil icon next to the media block, then click "Configure."
- Enter a descriptive file name in the box labeled "Description," or, if editing on a page, click the "Edit" button under the uploaded media, and enter the desired display name in the "Description" box to use alternative text in place of the uploaded file name. (Be aware that using this method will change the display name for all instances of the linked file.)
This example shows how link text can be used:
The first document link contains the file's name within the CMS displayed as the link text. Although the second link includes proper file naming conventions, it should also include a unique name to make it searchable within the CMS and external search engines.
If you would like to link a file across several different pages, consider linking to the file's media page or directly linking to the document within the page text. If using a direct document URL link, keep in mind that the URL link will be need to be updated every time the file is updated or the link will break.