Even though a lateral file cabinet is easy to put together, there are a few things you should think about before you start filing. Even though a lateral file cabinet gives you more options than a vertical file cabinet, you will still need to think about how to organize your documents to meet your needs.
Put the cabinet where you want your papers to be. You can put files in a lateral file cabinet so that they face left, right, or the front.
Putting things in file cabinets is a great way to keep things in order. Files can be even more organized if they are hung in a filing cabinet with hanging folders. Most drawers in a file cabinet have bars on the sides that can be used to hang papers. Hanging folders keep all of the files standing up so that papers don’t fall out and get lost. To make it easier to find information, hanging files slide along the bars in file drawers.
FileRail.com would like to give you some tips on how to choose the file bars or hanging file rails that your metal, wooden, or vertical file cabinet needs. Please read on or watch the helpful video that follows.
With railings, you can make the size of the cabinet bigger. This is done by putting your dangling files in the order that their names tell you to. In other words, it puts your papers in order from the front to the back.
Most lateral files and vertical files can be used with hanging folders. This kind of folder has hooks on both ends made of metal or plastic, and it hangs from a rail in a filing cabinet.
The wide but shallow drawers of a lateral file make it a good choice for filing a lot of papers. Because lateral files have short drawer extensions, they are great for hallways and other places where a lot of filing needs to be done in a small space. Most lateral files are between 32″ and 36″ wide, which is big enough to hold letter- and legal-sized papers that can be put back to front or side by side. Most units with two drawers are thin enough to fit under a work surface. There can be as few as two drawers or as many as seven drawers in a lateral file.
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How does the lateral filing system work?
When documents are added to a file from the side, the identifying tab is put on the side of the file. To remove the document, just grab it by the edges and sides. This type of file system is better because it takes up less space.
What’s the difference between a vertical file cabinet and a lateral file cabinet?
Folders in lateral storage systems are lined up along the front of the drawer, so the depth of a lateral storage cabinet is usually the same as the length of a normal storage folder. In vertical storage systems, the folders are in the same plane as the front of the drawer.
What are the problems with the side-by-side filing system?
It might not be a good idea to use lateral files. With lateral files, you have to look at the files from the side, which may make you stand in an odd way. In a normal file cabinet, the folders face out. Also, lateral files are big and hard to move, especially when they are full of papers.
What’s it like to use a lateral file?
Labels on the side edges of lateral files help people find them. Lateral files are organized horizontally instead of vertically and can be put on open shelving systems instead of in drawers. Files are pulled into and out of the shelves by their edges.
How do you keep files in a filing cabinet standing up straight?
The best place to keep and sort your papers is in a file cabinet. You can keep your files standing up in the cabinet by putting them in folders or dividers. Labels are another way to divide the sections.
How do you keep files that are hanging from moving?
When Mike opened a filing drawer, folders on hangers would move back and forth. Mike came up with a simple, useful solution: he put a few basic binder clips on the folder rails in his drawer. Now, the files he wants to keep in the drawer are no longer affected by momentum.
How are filing cabinets organized by the alphabet?
Files should be put in the cabinet from front to back in alphabetical order, starting with the letter “A.”
A vertical file cabinet or a lateral file cabinet?
Vertical file cabinets do not contain as many documents as lateral file cabinets. Even though vertical file cabinets are popular because they take up less wall space, most documents are kept in lateral file cabinets.
How many papers can fit into a lateral file cabinet?
Most two-drawer units are thin enough to fit under a desk, but lateral files can have as few as two drawers or as many as seven.
What does a lateral cabinet look like?
In the UK, these drawers are called “side filers,” and they stick out from the long side of a lateral file cabinet at different lengths. There are also files that hang from shelves.
What exactly is a vertical filing cabinet used for?
Vertical filing cabinets are easy to use and have two to ten drawers for storing files, documents, letters, and other things. The files are easy to get to because they face the front of the drawer, and the drawers can hold a lot of things because they are wider and deeper.
What’s the difference between filing up and down and filing left to right?
In a horizontal filing system, files or folders are kept in horizontal drawers that are “sleeping.” Horizontal filing is another name for flat filing. Vertical filing is the way of putting folders in a drawer so that they stand up on top of each other.