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Underscores in File names
I’m looking for some documentation to support my position in a “difference of opinion” between me and an editor at my office. She claims that using underscores in file names is not allowed when editing on Avid. I don’t know the specific machine/Avid platform she is using but I was contending that underscores are about as basic of a naming convention as possible and should work no matter the platform.
We use PCs and Macs here so I have been developing a naming convention for GFX files that need to go to both avid and PC. Underscores have ALWAYS worked in the past – but they never do when she takes the files. She claims that when she changes the name to remove the underscore – it suddenly works.
Anyone know of documentation I could turn to so I can tell her that there is nothing wrong with using the underscore? Right now she has me creating alternate filenames for her edits and I don’t have time to deal with it!
Appreciate any help that someone could offer!
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3 Replies
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I don’t know about cross platform, but on the PC I ALWAYS use underscores. I use them in sequence names, bin names and project names – NEVER a problem. We’ve got some Mac guys at work – I’ll ask them and post back.
Jon
“Jamming our heads full of figures and angles
And telling us stuff that we already know”Willie The Wandering Gypsy & Me
Billy Joe Shaver -
Jason –
I’ve talked to my ‘Mac’ guy – he knows of no prohibition on using underscores in file names. In fact, using underscores instead of spaces is the safest way to deliver a product for the web, especiallly when you have to put a workorder number in the title.
As for documentation, I checked my “Missing Manual for OS X” book (kinda’ like a dummies book) and there is no prohibition on underscores in the file naming convention. I suspect your editor may be working on knowledge gained from the days of ‘Mac and PC shall never talk to each other’.
As far as documentation, I googled “underscores in avid mac files” and found this:
https://ace-filmeditors.org/blog/2004/12/avid-film-media-composer-112-tips
It talks about an old Avid system (v11 on Meridian) but it carries directly forward to the current generation of editors.
Finally, naming conventions are dictated by the OS, not the application (generally speaking).
Jon
“Jamming our heads full of figures and angles
And telling us stuff that we already know”Willie The Wandering Gypsy & Me
Billy Joe Shaver -
You certainly can use underscores in file names – filenames are a function of the OS, not the Avid software anyway.
It is actually recommended by Avid that you use underscores in Workspace names when using Unity in a Mac environment.
Is your co-worker on the PC and you on the Mac or vice versa?
If she is on the PC then she should be aware that files created on a Mac will appear to show two instances of the same file one named “filename.mov” and another file named “._filename.mov” The one with the “._” is unreadable to the PC and may be what she’s doing. I’ve never tried it, but I’d imagine that removing the ._ in the filename would allow it to work correctly. But, in truth the correct file should be there and she should just ignore the ._ files.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire)
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