MLV Data Log File General Housekeeping
 

How do you guys keep your data log files organized in a meaningful way? Are there best practices to follow?

The default file naming convention, which uses a time and date stamp, is only so useful when you've got a lot of data log files and are trying to make sense of them after the fact. I make extensive use of notes in Tuner Studio but it seems there is no way to annotate a data log file within MLV directly while reviewing them.

I am running OS X so I go to Finder > Project > DataLogs > Right Click > Get Info > Comments and put my notes there. But it's not an easy way to search or find things later.

I name my maps "map1", "map2", etc. with either a notepad file or TS notes to keep track of changes. For each new saved map, I start a fresh datalog with the same name (map2.msq gets map2.msl). From there, you can open any datalog, find the corresponding MSQ, and then refer to your notes on what changes were in effect during that log.

I personally start with the suggested date stamp and then add notes about what is being tested.

At work when handle projects with lots of data files, we keep the naming consistent with a date/time stamp, and make a spreadsheet that details each run (IE: Miata_20170123). This allows you to give a lot more detail to describe the data log than annotating in the data file name.

If the number of data files is relatively low and there isn't a whole log of info necessary to describe them, then we do a date/time stamp followed by a bit of info. IE: Miata_20170123_VETuning