Who is the crazy one?

[china mom]

I know, that this might get moved to the controversial board because it is a pretty hot topic but here we go.

When filing numerically, do you go straight left to right with the newest files on the right or are you a crazy psycho?

I am sharing filed with another person and all of the files were moved to a new location so the files have just been set up again...by the other person. The files are all police reports and the format is year-sequential number For example 24-12345.

Here is how she set the files up - from left to right and then top to bottom.

24-1, 24-2, 24-3, 24-5, 23-1, 23-2, 23-3, 23-4, 22-1, 22-2, 22-3, 22-4 etc, all the way back to 1985. 2024 cases are in the upper right corner and 1985, the lower left. The cases within the year run left to right but the years run right to left.

I never trained in filing or clerical skills but did used to manage a police records office and we went straight left to right but we did put the older years on the bottom to make the files easier to access.

Tell me I'm not crazy.

 

[Christine]

I don't do much filing anymore because we are all electronic but I would have always gone to left to right.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I know, that this might get moved to the controversial board because it is a pretty hot topic but here we go.

When filing numerically, do you go straight left to right with the newest files on the right or are you a crazy psycho?

I am sharing filed with another person and all of the files were moved to a new location so the files have just been set up again...by the other person. The files are all police reports and the format is year-sequential number For example 24-12345.

Here is how she set the files up - from left to right and then top to bottom.

24-1, 24-2, 24-3, 24-5, 23-1, 23-2, 23-3, 23-4, 22-1, 22-2, 22-3, 22-4 etc, all the way back to 1985. 2024 cases are in the upper right corner and 1985, the lower left. The cases within the year run left to right but the years run right to left.

I never trained in filing or clerical skills but did used to manage a police records office and we went straight left to right but we did put the older years on the bottom to make the files easier to access.

Tell me I'm not crazy.

Are you speaking of lateral filing and not vertical filing?

Like Christine mentioned above, before I retired, office was all digital. But before that, if using lateral with paper files, left to right.

 

[china mom]

I don't do much filing anymore because we are all electronic but I would have always gone to left to right.

Thank you!

 

[china mom]

Are you speaking of lateral filing and not vertical filing?

Like Christine mentioned above, before I retired, office was all digital. But before that, if using lateral with paper files, left to right.

yes, lateral with the numbers on the end of the folders, not the top, like I have seen in medical offices.

I have just convinced the higher ups to convert all of the mid 2022 to current to digital in our new system. The ones from before that can't be entered into our legacy system so I'm stuck with them.

 

[ronandannette]

Definitely left-to-right, smallest to largest numbers. If the system is alpha-numeric, then it's A-smallest-to-largest number, B-smallest-to-largest number, etc. Anything else makes absolutely no sense.

 

[tvguy]

Never seen left to right filing. Always front to back.

 

[Christine]

Never seen left to right filing. Always front to back.

We always had those large filing cabinets where the file folders sit sideway along a very LONG horizontal drawer. In those situations, it's left to right. No way to file front to back.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Never seen left to right filing. Always front to back.

Speaking of lateral files here, not vertical.

 

[tvguy]

Speaking of lateral files here, not vertical.

View attachment 846157

Everywhere I worked we use front to back files for files. We used lateral files for office supplies and working in a TV station, videotapes, not files.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Everywhere I worked we use front to back files for files. We used lateral files for office supplies and working in a TV station, videotapes, not files.
View attachment 846171

Well per usual, your experience differs from the rest of us. I've only had lateral files in any office I've ever worked in. And I've never seen a filing cabinet of any type used for office supplies. We had a supply closet.

 

[tvguy]

Well per usual, your experience differs from the rest of us. I've only had lateral files in any office I've ever worked in. And I've never seen a filing cabinet of any type used for office supplies. We had a supply closet.

Yup. Different experiences are what make the DIS interesting. My last employer had a supply closet too in the business office. But our building was two blocks long, and we were on the opposite end. So to avoid a 4 block walk every department kept supplies in their area. Plus, the business office is only open 9 to 5 Monday through Friday. The rest of the building is 24/7/365 so if you need a pen at 2 am on a Saturday morning, the business office isn't an option.

 

[Christine]

Everywhere I worked we use front to back files for files. We used lateral files for office supplies and working in a TV station, videotapes, not files.
View attachment 846171

Our office went to lateral files probably in 2012 when we got new office furniture. We have no more file cabinets like the one above. Not sure why the changeover--I think the lateral file cabinets (while longer) don't stick out as much into walkways. We do use some of our lateral drawers from storing junk too!

 

[tvguy]

Our office went to lateral files probably in 2012 when we got new office furniture. We have no more file cabinets like the one above. Not sure why the changeover--I think the lateral file cabinets (while longer) don't stick out as much into walkways. We do use some of our lateral drawers from storing junk too!

We tended to use shorter 2 or 3 drawer file cabinets that fit under desks. Kind of a good use of what might otherwise be dead space.

 

[sam_gordon]

I know, that this might get moved to the controversial board because it is a pretty hot topic but here we go.

When filing numerically, do you go straight left to right with the newest files on the right or are you a crazy psycho?

I am sharing filed with another person and all of the files were moved to a new location so the files have just been set up again...by the other person. The files are all police reports and the format is year-sequential number For example 24-12345.

Here is how she set the files up - from left to right and then top to bottom.

24-1, 24-2, 24-3, 24-5, 23-1, 23-2, 23-3, 23-4, 22-1, 22-2, 22-3, 22-4 etc, all the way back to 1985. 2024 cases are in the upper right corner and 1985, the lower left. The cases within the year run left to right but the years run right to left.

I never trained in filing or clerical skills but did used to manage a police records office and we went straight left to right but we did put the older years on the bottom to make the files easier to access.

Tell me I'm not crazy.

Are you talking about a cabinet(s) like what Dan Murphy posted or like tvguy posted?

My brain would expect the lower numbers on the left, and increment to the right. BUT, you don't know how much space you need for a given year. So if 2022 takes up a drawer and a half, where do you put the first file for 2023? And the second? Etc. Or at the end of the year, do you move files to "fill" drawers?

Interesting thought.

 

[GM24]

When I retired, in 2018, we were using both horizontal and vertical file cabinets. Filing was done front to back and left to right depending on what type of file cabinet was being used. Office supplies went anywhere we had room for them - supply cabinets and/or file drawers.