File Management
Hard disk drives have become very large in recent years and are capable of holding millions of data files created by computer applications installed on the computer
As a result, a method of organising these files is essential.
Windows uses folders to achieve this
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Filenames are made up of two parts |
Filenames are made up of two parts:
The document name - can be up to 256 characters long, including spaces
The file extension - determined by the application being used
Typical File Types
Organising Files
The management of computer files and paper files has much in common. If all the paper documents accrued in a house or business were stored in a single drawer without using paper folders, it would soon become impossible to find anything
A well organised house will have some filing system to segregate electric bills from telephone bills and from bank statements etc. Files on a computer should be managed in a similar fashion
A good practice is to use a Personal Folder to organise files
This is the equivalent of a filing cabinet in paper filing, it can be created in the My Documents folder or in the C: Drive of the computer
This folder is the Root Folder of the filing system
Subfolders can then be created for subject areas etc
Within these, further subfolders can be used to organise the files within each subject. An example is shown below:
Create a Root folder in My Document
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Create a Root folder in My Document |
Create Subfolders within the root folder for subject areas etc
Create further subfolders within the subject area folder
Continue the process until the required level of organisation achieved
This organisation will make files easier to find and backing up your files will involve copying the root folder to the backup device
Creating Folders
Folders can be created by a number of methods:
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Creating Folders |
Method 1:
Browse to where you want to create the folder
Click the File menu, choose New and then Folder.
The folder is created
Type a name for the folder and press Return or click away from the folder to complete
Method 2:
Browse to where you want to create the folder
Right-click within the window choose New and then Folder
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Method 2 Creating Folders |
Complete as for method 1
Method 3:
A folder can be created while saving a file in a computer application
In Word 2007, click the Office button and choose Save As and Word Document
Browse to the required folder and click the Create New Folder button
Name the folder and Double-click it to open it. Save the file in the new folder
Managing Files and Folders
Files and Folders can be Selected, Copied, Pasted, Moved, Renamed and Deleted
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Managing Files and Folders |
Selecting Files
To select a single file, just click it. It changes colour on selection
To select consecutive files, click the first file, hold down the Shift key and select the last file. The files in between are automatically selected
To select non-consecutive files, hold down the Alt key and select the files in turn
To select all the files in a folder, click the Edit command and choose Select All
Note: The above procedures apply equally to groups of folders.
Copy and Paste Files
First select the required file/s. Then right-click the files and choose Copy. The files are copied an area of memory called the Clipboard
Browse to the destination folder, right-click it and choose Paste
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Copy and Paste Files |
Moving Files
The procedure is similar to copy and paste except that instead of choosing Copy, you choose Cut
Rename Files
Files must be renamed individually
To rename a file, right-click it and choose Rename
Type the new name and press Return or click away from the file
Deleting Files
Select the files to be deleted. Right-click any selected file and choose delete from the menu. Click the Yes button in the dialog box
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Deleting Files |
The Recycle Bin
Files and folders deleted from the computer are placed in the recycle bin. They are not lost until the recycle bin is emptied
In the example below, the folder is right-clicked and Delete is chosen
The folder is sent to the recycle bin and the bin icon changes from empty to full
To Undelete the folder, right-click the recycle bin and choose Open
From the Edit menu, choose Undo Delete to restore the folder to it’s original location. The recycle bin icon changes back to empty
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