File naming that survives federation
A federation fails in a boring way: two files called GA-latest.dwg, one of them issued, one of them not. The folder path felt like a name. The receiving system kept the file name.
Agree seven fields, then stop
A pattern that travels: project, originator, volume or system, level or location, type, role, number. Example: PRJ-ABC-ZZ-01-DR-S-0001. ZZ means the field is deliberately unused. That is better than leaving it out, because dropping a field shifts every later code.
Keep status out of the name
Revision and suitability change more often than the container’s identity. Put them in metadata or in the revision field the CDE already has. A name that includes -REV-C-ISSUED creates a new container every time the drawing is touched.
Before the first upload
- Write the delimiter and the field order in the information standard.
- List originator codes. Do not let each company invent one on Monday.
- List type codes you will actually use. Drawing, model, schedule and report cover most early files.
- Run a sample name through the checker, then change the checker if the project standard differs.
The checker on this site tests one common pattern. If your execution plan uses a different order, the checker is wrong for that job until you treat it as a sample, not a rule.
Last checked 2 October 2026. Official requirements stay in ISO 19650 and the UK BIM Framework. This is original guidance.