A file: is a single item such as a document, letter, photo, spreadsheet, music track, video clip.
A folder:
is a storage space for several files.
Folders are usually yellow like this but some are yellow with an additional
special symbol; e.g., the
My Music
folder has a music note on its front surface.
Never try to delete or re-name folders which have pictures or symbols on
them
File and folder names:
The name can have up to 125 characters including spaces. The name
should be meaningful so that you can select the file/folder easily next time
you want to read it or edit it. For example:
Granny at Seaton 03-08-06
This tells enables you to find that photo of Granny taken at Seaton on 3rd
August 2006.
Important: Always use hyphens for dates. Never use the forbidden character /
Forbidden characters:
A file or folder name must not use the following characters
* / \ > < ? " : |
Renaming a folder or file: Right click the file or folder and then click Rename. The current name will be highlighted in blue. Don't delete the name, just type the new name then press the Enter key.
Start by exploring your hard drive. Double click the My Computer icon on the Desk top . (If My Computer is not on your Desktop find it on the Start button menu). Look for the item C:\ or Local Disk (C:) and click it with the RIGHT mouse button. Then click Properties . A picture of your hard drive will appear showing how much free space you have left. Click OK and close down the My Computer window.
Desktop.
Except for the folders
My Documents
,
My Pictures
and
My Music, never
put files or folders on the desktop.
The
Desktop
must be reserved strictly for program shortcuts and for shortcuts to
frequently used folders.
To create a new sub folder within a folder.
For example, in the family tree of folders shown above, there is folder called Personal. Inside that folder you could create a sub folder for Business letters and a sub folder for Family letters. To do this you would double click the My Documents icon on your Desktop. Double click the Personal folder to open it. Then on the top menu bar you would click File then New . Click Folder . A new folder will appear with the name New Folder . You would change that name by typing in the name of your new folder (in this example, Business ), then press the Enter key. Your new folder icon will not be in alphabetic order yet, so click View on the top menu bar and then click Arrange Icons by... Then click Name . The icons will now be in alphabetic order.
To put any business letters in the Business folder: Place the cursor on the icon of a business letter file, then by holding down the left mouse button, drag and drop the file onto the Business folder icon. Do this to each business letter file until all your business letters are tucked away in the Business folder. Now you could create a folder called Family and drag and drop all your family letters into the Family folder. Double click your new folders to open them and prove to yourself that the files have been put into the folders.
Saving to the appropriate folder: When you create a new file, always use File-->Save As... to name it and save it in the appropriate folder. In the Save As... window, click the little down arrow on the right of the Save in: field (at the top), then choose a folder to save your file in.
