File Naming Convention

Using a consistent file naming pattern prevents duplicate processing and makes it easy to identify files at a glance.

Recommended Format

[Year]-[Month]-[Day]-[Hour]-[Min]_[Agency]_[UploadTemplate].[ext]

Example

2024-01-15-09-30_CountyA_Hearings.csv

Segment	Value	Purpose
2024-01-15-09-30	Date and time	Ensures uniqueness across exports and makes files sortable by date.
CountyA	Agency identifier	Identifies which agency the data belongs to.
Hearings	Upload Template name	Identifies the type of data in the file.
.csv	File extension	Indicates the file format.

Duplicate Prevention

eCourtDate tracks which files have already been uploaded. During Auto-Sync, previously uploaded files are automatically skipped. Including a timestamp in the filename guarantees that each export produces a unique name, even if the same data type is exported multiple times per day.

Keyword and Blockword Filters

SFTP Profiles use two filters to control which files they pick up from a source directory:

Keyword (Include Filter)

Only files whose name contains the keyword are processed by the profile. For example, a profile with the keyword hearing matches:

• 2024-01-15-09-30_CountyA_Hearings.csv
• hearing-data-export.txt

But does not match:

• 2024-01-15-09-30_CountyA_Payments.csv

Blockword (Exclude Filter)

Files whose name contains the blockword are skipped, even if they also match the keyword. This is useful for excluding test files, partial exports, or other unwanted data. For example, a blockword of test skips:

• 2024-01-15-hearing-test.csv
• test-hearing-data.csv

Supported Extensions

Extension	Format
.txt	Plain text (recommended)
.csv	Comma-separated values
.xlsx	Microsoft Excel workbook

See Upload Templates for details on delimiters and field mapping.

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Need help? Contact the eCourtDate team at help@ecourtdate.com.