To avoid problems when working across different operating systems and with server synchronization, file and folder names should be kept as simple as possible.
|
Category |
Characters / Examples | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Letters and numbers |
A-Z, a-z, 0-9
|
✅ Allowed |
| Spaces, hyphens, underscores | Space, -, _
|
✅ Allowed |
| Umlauts and brackets | ä ö ü ß ( ) [ ] |
⚠️ Better to avoid |
| Other special characters |
& + # % '
|
⚠️ Better to avoid |
| Emojis | 🌊 |
⚠️ Avoid |
| Problematic characters |
/ \ : * ? " < > and the vertical bar (pipe) |
❌ Do not use |
Please keep file and folder names short and descriptive. Avoid unnecessarily long names and very deep folder structures.
Examples
Good:
Project North Sea 2026Marine Ecology GroupMeasurement-Data-2026-018.xlsx
Not ideal:
Project_Marine_Ökologie_(2026)Research & Development #2.docx
Do not use:
Project: North SeaMeasurement-Data/Belize.xlsx
Research Data
The names of project folders for research data follow this naming convention and are coordinated directly with the Research Data Service.