Working with Files and Folders

If you're like most computer users, you probably save a lot of information on your computer. After some time, your collection of files can get very large, disorganized, and seemingly unmanageable. Well, a great way to organize your files is to create and use folders. Making folders is very easy. You can create folders on the desktop, in My Computer and in Windows Explorer.

1. Right-click your mouse in a dead zone (a place on the screen that is empty).
2. Click on New.
3. Click on Folder.
4. A new folder will appear on your screen. You should then type a name for your folder.

You can put things in the appropriate folder when you save them. If you save something in the wrong place just use My Computer of Windows Explorer to drag and drop the file into the correct folder.

If you have trouble finding a file, then there are a few tools to help you look for it. People who aren’t very technical often choose to use the Find option in the Start menu. This is definitely the easiest way. To use this function:

1. Click on Start.
2. Click on Find.
3. Click on Files or Folders.
4. In the box entitled “named”, type in the name of the file you are looking for.

If you are not sure of the exact name you saved it under, there are some search options available. To bring up all saved documents in a particular program, simply type an asteric (*) followed by a period (.) and the designation for the program. For example, *.wpd will bring up all Word Perfect files while *.doc will bring up all Microsoft Word files. You can also search for a file by using a portion of the filename. For example, let’s say that you know you put the word family in the title somewhere. You could do a search with *family or family*. The computer will then look for all files containing the word family somewhere in the title. You also have the option of searching in different areas of your computer by clicking on the look in box. If you think you have saved the file in a particular place, you could choose that location’s name, C:\My Documents for example, rather than checking your whole computer.

If you are more technically inclined, you may prefer to look for files by using Windows Explorer. Although this is a little more complicated, it does give you more control over the search. To open Windows Explorer:

1. Click on Start. 2.
2. Click on Programs. 3.
3. Click on Windows Explorer and you will see a new window open that lists all of the files in your computer. This layout is often referred to as the “Tree Structure”.

In the picture to the right you will see two columns. The column on the left shows you all of the folders that are currently accessible by your computer, while the column on the right shows you the contents of the folder you have selected. This example is showing the contents for the {C:} or hard drive. If we were looking for a document called “Find a Document”, you can see that we have found it on the C drive.

You can then change the location of the file in Windows Explorer. You would simply click on the file and drag it into the correct folder. Once you have done this, the file will disappear from your screen. You can then open the new folder by clicking on it’s name in the left hand column and make sure that the file you have just moved is showing in the right hand column.

You will also notice in this picture that there are plus (+ ) and minus (–) signs. A folder will display a plus sign when there are more folders inside it that currently aren't visible. If you click on a folder with a plus sign, you will see the left hand column grow and the subdirectories (subfolders) will be shown. When a folder shows a minus sign, that means that you can see all of its subdirectories. If you click on the folders with a minus sign, the subdirectories will disappear.

As you can see, working with files and folders isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Good luck and good hunting!