Electronic Document Filing Guidelines
(Where do I store my files & what should I name them?)

Overview

LFCDS employees work collaboratively on projects and therefore require storage space for their shared documents. Such documents may include word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, or Web documents. In addition, employees have personal work files they would not want to share. This guideline outlines:

The three major locations where you can store files, which documents should be in which locations, and which locations are regularly backed up by the IT Department

What a roaming profile is

The relationship between the terms "intranet" and "file share"

The top-level organization and naming conventions of the employee shared filing system

Where You Should Store Files

Note: Some of these locations have disk quota restrictions limiting how much storage space each person is allocated. Click here for more information and the default limits.

My Documents (Home Drive, T: Drive, etc.)
(Backed Up)

Each LFCDS user has a private My Documents folder only accessible by that user, analogous to a locked file drawer in one's private desk. All non-shared work documents must be saved in the My Documents folder. Personal documents may also be stored in the My Documents folder, with the exception of large multi-media files. The My Documents folder is stored on a file server and backed up onto a tape backup.

Items that others may need access to should not be stored in My Documents, but in a Network File Share, as outlined below.

Tablet PC/Laptop users: Your My Documents folder is made available offline so that your private documents are accessible when you are not connected the LFCDS computer network. Offline Files synchronizes between the network and your mobile computer when you log on & off. You will see a progress bar during synchronization. If you receive errors, write down the message and contact the IT Service Center for assistance.

Network File Shares (S: Drive)
(Backed Up)

File Shares, analogous to public file cabinets, provide shared storage for documents that may need to be accessed by more than one person. Users have permission to read and write to the different areas of a File Share as appropriate to their positions. Both employees and students each have their own respective file shares mapped to their S: drive. Faculty can access the Student Share by going to their P: drive. All shared documents should be stored within these folders, which are stored on a file server and backed onto a tape backup.

The chart at the end of this document outlines the top-level folders of the Employee File Share and explains the conventions you should keep in mind when naming your shared documents.

Local Hard Drive
(Not Backed Up)

This is the physical disk that is inside your assigned computer and is usually labeled as your C: drive. This drive contains your Operating System (Microsoft Windows), Program Files, a copy of your roaming profile, and any other files you may have saved to it. This is where you should store personal collections of multimedia files (including, but not limited to audio, video, and graphic files). If you choose to save personal files to the local hard drive, all computers provided to employees have a folder called @Personal that is ideal for such files.

Your local hard drive does not get backed up as files on the network are, so make sure you create regular backups of any important files. A good way to do this is to burn the files to a recordable CD using Windows Explorer. Alternatively, you can use a USB flash drive to store a copy of the files.

Important Note About Your Desktop: Items you place on your computer Desktop are only stored on your computer's hard drive and thus are not backed up. Therefore it is best not to save files there, but to place any important files into your My Documents folder or in a Network File Share. Any large media files should be saved to your Local Hard Drive. A good use for the desktop is to create shortcuts to files or applications that you use often (Right-Click -> Send To -> Desktop).

Your Roaming Profile

Each LFCDS user has a Microsoft Windows user account that makes use of roaming profiles. A Roaming Profile is used to preserve a user's personal settings and present the user with an identical environment on any computer the user logs on to. This means that a user can use computer "A", make changes to their settings, log off computer "A", log on to another computer "B", and have the exact settings he/she had on computer "A". When you log on to a computer, a copy of your profile is copied to the computer from the network and you will see a dialog that says "loading personal settings." When you log off of a computer, any changes you made are copied back to the network and you will see a dialog that says "saving personal settings." Because of this, it is best practice to log off of one machine before logging on to another, though multiple logons are possible. As long as you are properly saving your Roaming Profile back to the network, it is stored on a file server and backed up from this network storage onto a tape backup.

Intranet

"Intranet" is a term that refers to network resources (documents, databases, etc.) that are delivered using Internet/World Wide Web standards (such as HTML Web pages) but that are only available within ("intra") an organization, unlike normal Internet resources which are available among ("inter") organizations.

Employee File Share Organizational Information

Naming Conventions

Naming documents with clear, descriptive folder and file names helps identify the contents of the documents easily. The following naming conventions are recommended:

Group related documents together using folders.

Use names descriptive of the content of the folder or document.

For example, an outline of a speech to be given to the rotary club is better titled 2004-08-03 Speech to Lake Forest Lions Club.doc than Speech.doc.

Use title case (capitalize all important words) when entering the name.

Enter dates YYYY-MM-DD (the ISO 8601 standard) to allow for sorting.

For example, if saving meeting minutes by their date, enter in 2000-08-03 not 8-3-2000, as the computer will not sort the latter by date properly.

Pad numbers to allow for sorting, both in dates and in other numeric sequences.

For example, if numbering sequential documents, pad with zeroes "01" "02", etc., as the computer will put "10" before "9" but after "09".

Top Level Folder Chart

Key:

Folder Structure: The hierarchy of directories within which subdirectories & files will be placed in accordance with the Electronic Filing Guidelines

Read: The group of employees who can read (but not add/modify/delete) the contents of the folder, with the exception of any contained PRIVATE folder which remains inaccessible

Write + Private Folder Read: The group of employees who can read & add/modify/delete contents of the folder as well as read & add/modify/delete contents of any contained PRIVATE folder

Owner: The individual(s) who have permission to change permissions of the folder (though IT may actually administer privileges) & are charged with organizing the subfolders, weeding out outdated files, determining folder storage guidelines, etc.

Purge: Schedule & mechanism by which files will be sorted for weeding

Notes: Suggested contents, subfolders, or other notations.

Folder Structure

Read

Write + @Private Folder Read

Owner

Notes

Purge

* SHARED

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

-

-

* ACADEMICS

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

-

-

* GRADE LEVEL

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

-

-

* Grade 1st Step

Employees

1st Step Tchrs., LS Head

Dir. of 1st Step

Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade PS

Employees

PS Tchrs., LS Head
Grade PS Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade JK

Employees

JK Tchrs., LS Head
Grade JK Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade SK

Employees

SK Tchrs., LS Head
Grade SK Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade 1

Employees

1^st Gr. Tchrs., LS Head
Grade 1 Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade 2

Employees

2^nd Gr. Tchrs., LS Head
Grade 2 Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade 3

Employees

3^rd Gr. Tchrs., LS Head
Grade 3 Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade 4

Employees

4^th Gr. Tchrs., LS Head
Grade 4 Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade 5

Employees

5^th Gr. Tchrs., US Head
Grade 5 Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade 6

Employees

6^th Gr. Tchrs., US Head
Grade 6 Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade 7

Employees

7^th Gr. Tchrs., US Head
Grade 7 Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Grade 8

Employees

8^th Gr. Tchrs., US Head
Grade 8 Team Lead
Grade-level shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* DISCIPLINE

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

-

* @Cross-Disciplinary Curriculum
Employees Div. Heads Asst. HoLS Curriculum mapping resources Manual Annually

* @Curriculum Mapping
Employees Div. Heads Asst. HoLS

* Educational Technology

Employees

ITLT

Tech. Curr. Coordinator

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* English

Employees

English Tchrs., Div. Heads

English Chair

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Fine Arts

Employees

Fine Arts Tchrs., Div. Heads

FA Chair

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Foreign Language

Employees

Foreign Lang. Tchrs., Div. Heads

FL Chair

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Information Literacy

Employees

ITLT

Librarian, Tech. Curr. Coordinator

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Language Arts

Employees

LA Tchrs., Div. Heads

LA Chair

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Mathematics

Employees

Math Tchrs., Div. Heads

Math Chair

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Physical Education

Employees

PE Tchrs., Div. Heads

Dir. Of Athletics

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Science

Employees

Science Tchrs., Div. Heads

Science Chair

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* Social Studies

Employees

SS Tchrs.

SS Chair

Discipline shared curriculum & resources

Manual Annually

* DIVISION

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

-

-

* Lower School

Employees

Head of LS

LS Head

Division-wide shared standards, policies, & resources

Manual Annually

* Upper School

Employees

Head of US

US Head

Division-wide shared standards, policies, & resources

Manual Annually

* SUPPORT SERVICES

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

-

-

* Advising

Employees

Advisors

US Head

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Counseling

Employees

Psychologist

Psychologist

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Extended School

Employees

ES Tchrs.

Dir. Of ES

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Learning Development

Employees

LD Tchrs.

Dir. Of LD

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Library

Employees

Librarian, Asst. Librarian

Librarian

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Secondary School Placement

Employees

Dir. of SSP

Dir. Of SSP

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* SPECIALTY AREAS

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

-

-

* Community Service

Employees

Community Service Coord.

Community Service Coordinator

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Interscholastic Athletics

Employees

Coaches

Dir. Of Athletics

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Outdoor Education

Employees

OE Coord.

OE Coordinator

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Student Advisory Board

Employees

SAB Advisors

SAB Coordinator

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Student Publications

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Literary Magazine

Employees

Literary Magazine Publishers

Literary Magazine Publishers

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Some Times

Employees

Some Times Publishers

Some Times Publishers

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Publishing Center

Employees

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Yearbook

Employees

Yearbook Advisor

Yearbook Advisor

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Summer Camp

Employees

Summer Camp Directors

Summer Camp Directors

Summer Programs shared resources

Manual Annually

* PROGRAM

Employees

-
LS Head, US Head
Academic & Faculty Programs

Manual Annually

* SUPPORT

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

-

-

* Administration

Employees

Admin. Team, Asst. to HoS

HoS

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Admission

Employees

Admission

Dir. Of Admission

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Business

Employees

Business

Business Mgr.

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Communications

Employees

Comm. Spec.

Comm. Spec.

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Development

Employees

Development

Dir. Of Development

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Food Service

Employees

Food Service

Food Service Mgr.

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Health Services

Employees

Nurse

Nurse

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Information Technology

Employees

IT

Dir. Of IT

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Main Office

Employees

Receptionist, AA to LS/US Head, AA to HoS Admission AA

HoS (via IT)

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* Maintenance

Employees

Maintenance

Dir. Of Maintenance

Departmental shared documents & resources

Manual Annually

* ALL SCHOOL

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

All-school committees & resources

-

* Budget

Employees

Employees

Business Mgr.

Budget Information

Manual Annually

* Emergency Announcements

Employees

IT

Dir. Of IT

Recorded emergency annoucement audio files

Manual Annually

* Employee Benefits

Employees

Business

Business Mgr.

Employment Benefit Docs

Manual Annually

* Events
Employees Administration, Admin. Asst., Communications, Admission AA to HoS Annual event planning checklists & setup forms Manual Annually

* Floor Plans

Employees

IT

Dir. Of IT

As-builts & evactuation plans

Manual Annually

* Forms

Employees

AA to HoS, AA to US/LS Head, Controller

AA to HoS

LFCDS forms

Manual Annually

* ISACS Reaccreditation Self-Study

Employees

Employees

HoS

Area shared resources

Manual Annually

* Logos

Employees

Comm. Spec.

Comm. Spec.

LFCDS logos

Manual Annually

* Personnel Handbook

Employees

Business

Business Mgr.

Personnel Handbook

Manual Annually

* Photographs

Employees

Employees

Comm. Spec.

School-contributed photo archive; Organize in folders named YYYY-MM-DD Event Title

Contributors & DoC archive to CD annually

* Professional Developmnet

Employees

-

HoS (via IT)

Professional development documentss & resources

-

* RESOURCES

Employees

HoS

Professional development resources

Manual Annually

* SHARING

Employees

Employees

HoS

Professional development shared documents

Manual Annually

* Division Heads

Employees

Div. Heads, Hos

HoS

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Faculty-Cross-Divisional

Employees

HoS

HoS

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Faculty-Lower School

Employees

LS Head

LS Head

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Faculty-Upper School

Employees

US Head

US Head

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Staff-Administration

Employees

HoS

HoS

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Staff-Business

Employees

Business Mgr.

Business Mgr.

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Staff-Development

Employees

Dir. of Development

Dir. of Development

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Staff-Food Service

Employees

Food Service Mgr.

Food Service Mgr.

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Staff-Information Technology

Employees

Dir. of IT

Dir. of IT

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* Staff-Maintenance

Employees

Dir. of Maintenance

Dir. of Maintenance

Departmental professional development

Manual Annually

* TEMPORARY

Employees

Employees

IT

User-created temporary folders for transferring files or short-term projects outside of existing structure

Scripted 60 day delete

* SCANS

Employees

Employees

IT

Multi-Function printer scans

Scripted 60 day delete

* ARCHIVE

Employees

Employees

IT

Items no longer of immediate use, but that should be retained long-term for reference.

IT archive to tape

IT Service Center