To avoid problems with files that will be transferred across computing platforms, name files with only the letters of the Latin alphabet and the numerals 0 through 9. Avoid punctuation marks (other than hyphens or underscores), accented vowels, other special characters or non-standard characters such as \:/*<>. Limit the full name (including extension) to 31 characters or less for files on a network or removable media. Keep names to 11 characters or less (including their three-letter file extensions) when burning to CDR, in case a recipient’s computer doesn’t support long filenames. Use a single "." (period) between the file name and the file extension.
Do not duplicate file names. Multiple files with the same name cause problems for computers and people alike. A newer file might automatically overwrite an older file if they have the same name. Including the numeric date as part of the name is an excellent way to avoid duplicate names. For the complete guide to file naming protocol, see the Controlled Vocabulary website.