SPOILER ALERT:
Before reading this, you should complete the Google Form found in Critical Thinking Scenario – Create a Nested Folder Structure – Part 1. You can't really learn how to use your critical thinking skills if you simply look at the answers first, right? 😉
Scenario: Remember, our task is to create a nested folder structure for seven (7) custodians now and approximately 20 custodians in total.
User Poll: I am curious. After you read through the options below that I came up with, scroll back up to this section and let me know which option(s) you would choose for yourself, or if you came up with another option of your own.
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Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong answer here. That's the thing, there are always multiple ways to provide a solution. Here are the options I came up with:
Option 1: Create the folders and subfolders manually
Pros:
- We can get started right away.
- There is no learning curve.
- After the folder structure has been created, we can make a duplicate copy of it and use it as a template (see option 2).
Cons:
- Leaves room for human error (typos, forgetting a folder, folders named inconsistently, etc.).
- This option may take the longest amount of time if there are numerous parent folders.
Video Tutorial:
Option 2: Copy an existing folder structure template and then add/remove folders/subfolders to customize for this usage
Pros:
- This assumes that a folder structure previously exists that is similar to this current need.
- It is a good start, depending on how much adding/removing we would have to do manually.
Cons:
- We would not have a record of what was originally created for this usage (in case we might need this folder structure again). Although, I guess we could create a new template of this empty folder structure before we begin adding documents to it.
Video Tutorial:
Option 3: Use the macro-enabled Excel workbook provided by LitSuppGuru
Pros:
- It might be easier to visualize how the overall folder structure will look by using an Excel worksheet.
- An Excel worksheet provides an opportunity to “make edits” and “recreate” the folder structure easily if someone changes their mind while the folders are still empty.
- An Excel worksheet provides a record of the folder structure as it was created that day (in case someone on the legal team starts editing/moving/deleting the folder structure on the server; it happens all the time).
- If this is not the first time using this macro-enabled workbook, then we can easily copy a previous version of the workbook that contains a similar folder structure and then add/remove folders/subfolders within the Excel worksheet for this usage.
Cons:
- How comfortable are we using a macro-enabled Excel workbook?
- If this is the first time using this macro-enabled workbook, we will need to create the folder structure in Excel as the first step.
Video Tutorial:
Option 4: Use the batch file template provided by LitSuppGuru
Pros:
- It might be easier to visualize how the overall folder structure will look by using a text editor.
- A batch file provides an opportunity to “make edits” and “recreate” the folder creation easily if someone changes their mind while the folders are still empty.
- A batch file provides a record of the folder structure as it was created that day (in case someone on the legal team starts editing/moving/deleting the folder structure on the server; it happens all the time).
- If this is not the first time using this batch file template, then we can easily copy a previous version of the batch file that contains a similar folder structure and then add/remove folders/subfolders within the batch file for this usage.
Cons:
- How comfortable are we using a text editor and creating a batch file?
- If this is the first time using this batch file template, we will need to create the folder structure in the batch file as the first step.
Video Tutorial:
Option 5: Combine option 2 and option 3
Pros:
- Use option 3 (macro-enabled Excel workbook) to create several parent folder variations
- Use a variation of option 2; duplicate some of the new parent folders and then edit the parent folder name manually
Cons:
- Some of the work needs to be done manually, but not all of it.
FYI, I pulled together a zip file with a bundle of free resources that contains:
- A PDF worksheet that includes Part 1 and 2 of this discussion.
- A copy of the macro-enabled workbook I used.
- A copy of the batch file I used.
- All of the video tutorials.
If you're interested, click the image below.
Amy, your teaching style is the best! It’s like…. walking by a bakery and smelling your favorite pastry… who in their right mind could walk by without wanting to indulge, beg for the recipe, go home and make a whole batch! Your ability and knowledge makes me hungry for more and, most importantly, enables me to bake it myself!!! For people like me, who realllllly want (or need) to learn, this world is a better place because of you!!
Wow, Rebecca, what a great smelling review! Ha! Thanks for recognizing my true goal of empowering others to be self-sufficient.
Very good Amy. A suggestion would be that there not be space characters in any of the folder names, instead use an underscore “_” or hypen “-“. Reason being that its easy to break a command line batch process when there are space characters in the path.
Its an interesting conversation when inevitably a lawyer deletes something from the folder structure.
Excellent advice Matthew. In my experience, the legal team struggles to understand why we techies think it is important to name folders and files a certain way with regard to punctuation and sort order. So I tend to not force the issue if they insist on staying in their comfort zone. We pick our battles, right?
And yes, inevitably, they will inadvertently mess up all the hard work of lit support or the paralegal by editing the folder structure afterwards. In fact, I have known some paralegals that starting storing their case related folder structures underneath their “home drive user folder” that only they have access to, in an effort to maintain control. I understand the impulse, but it becomes a nightmare to have disparate server locations for client documents.
Hah – I’m still in long term therapy on the home drive folder thing, so really can’t talk about it…..
On a similar theme, we manage shared network folders on a large and long running matter that are offline copies of a sharepoint structure, which in turn is synched to ipads and tablets.
We have a series of hyperlinked documents – say an affidavit or expert report – that cross references to folders and files in other areas, and so it is a delight when someone ‘tidies up’ in the network drive without telling you, then gets cranky when this isn’t synched to sharepoint / tablet – as the network drive is the staging area, so then we overwrite sharepoint naively thinking that we just need a simple update, and then realise that everything is fubar, and so you’re staring down the barrel of 2-3 days to fix it all – reason being that the person who tidied up can no longer remember what they changed and so you have to test each hyperlink and audit everything.
Not quite the same level of love that I have for Excel files in ediscovery, but close enough.
Back to therapy.
Matthew
Oh my goodness, that is such a good example of what really happens in the world of storing client documents on a server. Too funny. But not in real life.
Well it is certainly funny in real life, just funnier if it happens to someone else.
Elise,
Hopefully you received my email in response to your question.
Amy