FILE MANAGEMENT (LISD) Revision by Jane Binford

Transcription

1 FILE MANAGEMENT (LISD) Revision by Jane Binford Overview of My Computer On your desktop is the icon called My Computer, which is where you view and manage files and folders. Common tasks of moving, copying, renaming, and browsing of files (documents) and folders take place here. You can tell when a disk drive is networked because its icon has a cable. Look at the icon in front of each Network Connection & notice the cable. They are different than the icon next to (C:). Please note (T:) This is the drive where Anita Fennell stores Benchmark Test Scores, etc. NEVER save to this drive. On (T:) the name of your school will be the first word of the title. This often causes confusion when someone is navigating to a folder that is named with your school name. What is a File? There are two types of files: program files and data files. A program file contains instructions to run a program, such as Microsoft Word. This type of file comes with the program when it is installed on your computer. A data file is a document you create while running the program, such as a memo when using Word. Most of the time we refer to our data files as documents. The term file and document is used interchangeably. Most of the time we refer to program files simply as programs or applications. Examples: Program File: Data File: Apple Works, FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Word & Inspiration are examples of program files. When you click on a program file icon you open a program or application. Spreadsheets, databases, graphics & documents are examples of data files

2 When you click on a data file icon in your (H:) you open a data file. There are three parts to a file: filename, file extension and file separator. The filename:! Can contain up to 255 characters, including spaces;! Can be mixed case (upper and lowercase letters);! Should be meaningful but short; and! Should not contain the characters / \ : *? < > The file extension:! Is usually 3 characters;! Is usually added to your filename automatically by the program you are using; and! Tells the computer which program to use when opening the file, thus creating an association: between your document and the program. The file separator:! Is a period (.), which separates the filename and file extension. For example, you create a letter using Microsoft Word. When you save the document with the name My letter to Sue, you will notice that Word adds a doc extension. The full name then would be My letter to Sue.doc. Depending on how your computer s folder options are set, you may not see the extension behind your file name. (See To View Extensions on Your Computer ) The association between the file & program also causes the document icon to have a certain appearance. Examples: Microsoft Word document Microsoft Excel document - 2 -

3 graphics file Notepad document Rename a Document To rename a document, select the document, and Right click and choose. Type in the new name. If the file name has an extension visible at the end (Example:.doc or.jpg), make sure to type the same extension otherwise you will get the following dialog box. You should click on the NO button. Then try renaming the document again, only this time with the file extension. When you rename a document, the contents of the document remain the same and only the name of the document is changed. To View Extensions on Your Computer: Dbl Click My Computer Dbl Click Your (H:) Drive (vclark on Newton) Click on View -> Folder Options to go to the Folder Options Window. Click on the View Tab. Your Folder Options Window may look slightly different than the picture. You may have a check by Do not show hidden or system files. The only item that I recommend you change is the one for Hide file extensions for known file types Uncheck to view extensions. Check to make them not be visible. Which view you choose is a personal preference. Many people prefer extensions to be hidden because of the Renaming Files problem mentioned above. What is a Folder? A folder allows you to organize your documents (files). When a program is installed on your computer, usually all the necessary files to use that program are stored in its own folder. You probably want to organize your own documents in folders. Remember not to store your files in program folders that are referring to folders on C: drive called Windows or Program Files. Also, do not save in My Documents. Many do on this on their home computer

4 Create a Folder in Your Home Directory (Special Note for Elementary Staff: Most computers on elementary campuses have a shortcut on the desktop called Your Folder. Instead of Steps 1 &2 you can Dbl Click on Your Folder and be immediately inside of Your H:Drive. Then go to Step 3.) 1. Dbl Click My Computer 2. Dbl Click Your Drive ( YOUR NAME on NEWTON\VOL1\STAFF (H:) 3. Choose 4. Name the folder. You can rename the folder the same way you rename a document (file). You can create a folder within a folder. Move a Document to a Folder Using Drag-and Drop Method To move a document into a folder, simply click on the document and then drag the document on top of the folder. Once the folder becomes dark in color (highlighted), release the mouse button. Open the folder to see if the document went inside. Copy a Document to Another Location Using Copy and Paste Method Sometimes there is a need to have the same document in two places on the same drive or in a different drive such as LISDComm. The Copy command from the Edit menu is used for duplication.! The first step is to select the document and choose Edit -> Copy! Move to another location, such as an open folder or other drive, and choose Edit -> Paste. Delete a Document There will be times when you will need to delete a document and/or folders. Simply select its icon, Right Click and select Delete. Caution: If you delete a folder, you are also deleting all of the files and/or folders that are inside that folder. Select Multiple Files In a window, you can select more than one document at a time.! If all the documents are next to one another, click and drag a rectangle around them. You will notice a dotted line as you move the mouse.! If the documents are not next to each other, then press the CTRL key and click on each item to be selected.! To select all files at once, choose Edit -> Select All. Once the files are selected you can drag them as a group to a folder or copy and paste them in a new location. Copy a Document to a Floppy Diskette If you need to copy a document to a floppy diskette, follow these instructions: 1. place a formatted diskette in you PC s diskette drive 2. select the document you want to copy - 4 -

5 3. choose File ->Send To -> 31/2 Floppy (A:) You will notice the light flash on the diskette drive while the document is being written to the diskette. Also notice an animated screen displaying what is happening. Once the light is off, you can remove the diskette from the drive by pressing the ejection button. Create a shortcut (icon) to a file or folder on your desktop 1. Dbl click My Computer (Elementary can double-click on Your Folder & go to Step 3) 2. Dbl click your drive 3. Select the file or folder 4. Right click and drag to Send To -> Desktop (create shortcut) Find a file or folder 1. Start, Find, Files or Folders 2. Type in the name or part of it 3. Check the Look In window for appropriate drive 4. Make sure Include Subfolders box is checked 5. Hit Enter or click on Find Now SPECIAL NOTES: 1. When moving a file or folder from another media location (example: A: drive to H: drive or H: drive to A: drive), the computer actually makes a copy of the original file or folder and places that copy in your other chosen area. The original copy remains in its original location. 2. When moving a file or folder from within the same drive (example: a location in the H: drive to another location in the H: drive), the original file or folder is no longer in the original location unless you actually copy & paste it in the new location. Sample file extensions and program associations: Microsoft Word Document = doc Microsoft Excel Document = xls Microsoft PowerPoint = ppt Microsoft Access = mdb Microsoft Works = wps Notepad = txt Graphic = jpg or gif Paint = bmp An executable file ends in exe (Use extreme caution in opening exe files from as they may contain a virus) Additional Elementary Programs: Kid Pix Deluxe = kpx Kidspiration = kid Inspiration = ins Type To Learn = ttl Hyper Studio = stk - 5 -

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