Server file and document organisation.

[BGARK]

We have around 12 PC terminals with network access to a main file server.

Over time it has become a bit disorganised, with files being saved or duplicated in random places. up to around 1TB of data.

My plan is to go back to basics if possible and create a new folder structure that our team should find easy to follow.

Such as top level folders, random example of how it might look:

- Customers (contents A-Z)
- Products (contents A-Z)
- Sales (price lists, marketing info etc)

We also save a great deal of media files and graphics for clients, ie brand logos etc.

If anyone has any tips on organisation this it would be good to know before we get started.

Thanks.

[TwistingMyMelon]

First off https://windirstat.info/ is a great programfor visualising how your current files look and for finding hidden huge files and directories

Second are you backing up all core files, so you can get to them quickly, ideally with multiple options?

I would take a backup of how things are before you start, it is very easy to lose files

Its also bearing in mind that with multiple folders it is possible to hit the Windows file name limit of circa 250 characters

Your organisation sounds good, I would consider archiving off anything old or not in use

[WinstonWolf]

Robocopy is your friend when it comes to performing the moves. You can do a pre-copy so the majority of files are in place and then re-run it when you want to make the final cutover. Brilliant if you want to work during daylight hours

[BGARK]

TwistingMyMelon said:

First off https://windirstat.info/ is a great programfor visualising how your current files look and for finding hidden huge files and directories

Second are you backing up all core files, so you can get to them quickly, ideally with multiple options?

I would take a backup of how things are before you start, it is very easy to lose files

Its also bearing in mind that with multiple folders it is possible to hit the Windows file name limit of circa 250 characters

Your organisation sounds good, I would consider archiving off anything old or not in use

Thanks for the comments, I actually plan on copying the files from our server to a new NAS and using that, also backed up to dropbox. After which I will bin the server.

So during the "copy" phase we are still working as normal. Although I will probably let run over a weekend.