FILE MANAGEMENT 1

- An Introduction (Windows XP)

Finding Files

/ Computers, even new ones, contain a great many files and folders. Different types of files could be: a program, a word-processed document, a graphic, a spreadsheet, a database, etc. Folders are a collection of files kept together for a common purpose. A disk drive is a storage area where files and folders are stored. The main drives are like large tree branches with smaller branches being folders and files being leaves.
Sometimes it is necessary to move or delete files or folders. The easiest way of doing this is in Windows rather than in Word or Excel. There are two ways of looking at the files and folders on your computer: one view is through My Computer and the other is through Windows Explorer.

My Computer

To access My Computer in Windows XP, click on the Start button and then My Computer. At MALS you will see a list of the drives on your computer: Floppy A is for floppy disks, Data D which is a back-up drive for your computer. Any CD-ROM or DVD drives will take the next free letters: E, F or G. Your home computer may look slightly different. To look at files on any drive, double click on the relevant icon or picture. As a learner at MALS you will also see a Network Drive, sometimes called Disconnected Network Drive (V). /
When you open a drive you will see a list of file names as well as yellow folders. You can change the amount of information you see about each file or folder by clicking on the Views button on the toolbar. The options are Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons, List and Details (see below).
/ The Thumbnail view allows you to see a preview of images or photos in a folder. The Details view gives the time and date when each file was last saved.
/ When using Windows programs such as Word and Excel, whenever you try to save a file, the first option is to save to the My Documents folder. To navigate to the My Documents folder when in My Computer view, click on My Documents in the menu bar at the left hand side of the page. To access the My Documents folder when you first switch on the computer, click on Start and then My Documents.
Whenever you click on a folder in My Computer, the contents of the folder are displayed in a new window. When moving or copying files and folders in Windows, it is usually easier to use the Windows Explorer view. /

Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer can be accessed in the following ways:
  • Right click on Start, then left click on Explore
  • Hold down the Windows key on the keyboard  and press E
  • Click on Start and My Computer. Click on the Folders icon on the toolbar
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  • Click on Start, All Programs, Accessories and Windows Explorer.

The Explorer view is divided into two window panes. Each one can be scrolled independently.
  1. The Folders pane on the left-hand side shows the entire file structure of the computer and removable storage devices in a ‘tree’ view. Any drive or folder with a plus sign (+) next to it means that there are other folders (sub-folders) which can be opened. Click on the plus sign (+) to expand the list, and on the minus (–) to collapse the list.
  1. The Contents pane on the right-hand side shows the contents of the folder selected in the folders pane which is on the left-hand side.

Click here to see a short video clip of how to access Windows Explorer via My Computer and then different views
Please note, this video clip is best viewed in Full Screen mode. /
Common File Extensions
Every file saved has a name and an extension of 3 or 4 letters after a full stop which identifies which type of file it is. This tells the computer which program to use to open that file. Below is a list of the most common ones and the icons used to represent some types of files
Software application program: .exe
Graphics: .bmp, .gif, .tif, .jpg
Microsoft Word document: .doc
Rich text format document: .rtf
Unformatted text document: .txt
Microsoft spreadsheet: .xls
Microsoft database: .dbs / Sound file: .wav, .mp3, .midi
Video file: .avi, .mpeg, .mp4
Adobe Acrobat file: .pdf
Web page: .htm, .html, .asp,
Temporary file: .tmp
Compressed file: .zip, .rar
/ An Excel spreadsheet / / A Word document
/ A PowerPoint presentation / / An Adobe Acrobat file
/ A web page / / A compressed file
Searching for a Lost File /
If you save a file on your computer but cannot find it again, Windows has a built-in Search facility to help you find it. You can search for types of file, eg documents, images, music, etc, or search all files and folders by name. Then you can narrow down the search by using advanced options, such as the date it was modified or its size. To do this click on Start and Search, and then the type of file you are searching for. /
/ The advanced options can be displayed by clicking on Use Advanced Search Options. It is then possible to use even more advanced options if necessary.