Document Best Practices for Organizing Content with and in Spaces

[tbsbdr]

Description

With the introduction of Spaceswe should provide clear guidelines for folder and content organization. Unlike the Personal section, where yolo ad-hoc structures were common, Spaces must support multiple users and scale cleanly over time. Poor structure will quickly lead to confusion and inefficiency.

Value

• Supports long-term maintainability of Spaces
• Unleash the power of Spaces
• Provide confidence on how to use Spaces properly

Request

Create a set of best practices and practical tips for organizing content with and within a Space.
For example:

• Refer to existing folder structuring standards
• Naming conventions for folders and files
• Recommended folder structures for different use cases (examples for families, Clubs "Vereine", companies, public agencies, schools, kindergarden, universities, research institutions etc.)
• Guidelines for ownership, access control, and archiving
• Do’s and don’ts based on common pitfalls
• A short, shareable guide or template for new Spaces

[Svanvith]

https://docs.opencloud.eu/docs/user/spaces/best-practice

[tbsbdr]

this needs a rework + better visibility eg. via a blogbpost

@Svanvith

could you please rework rework:

The core idea is simple:

1. Keep folder structures flat
Use a maximum folder depth of ~3 levels. Don’t encode all the context into the folder hierarchy!

2. Make filenames speaking and self-containing
A filename should remain meaningful even when the file is taken outside its original folder, e.g. when it is sent via email, downloaded, moved, or shared.

The principle is:

Context (folder-structure) should be additive, not essential.

Bad: 👎

Customers/
  Acme/
    Contracts/
      2026/
        Final/
          contract.pdf

The filename is essentially meaningless without the path.

Good: 🫰

Customers/
  Acme/
    Contracts/
      Acme - Service Agreement - 2026.pdf

Now the file remains identifiable when it is:

• returned by search / shown in a recent-files list
• attached to an email / downloaded
• moved to another folder

I think this could make a good blog post and guide, potentially as a reworked and more visible version of the existing “How to use Spaces” guide.

[Svanvith]

@tbsbdr #1104