Files, Folders, and Drives, Oh My

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Files, Folders, and Drives, Oh My!

• Palatine Public Library
• 2009

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Introduction

• Files, Folders, and Drives are your computers
  tools for storing and organizing information.
• Analogy
• File a piece of paper
• Folder a manila file folder
• Drive a file cabinet
• You can create as many files and folders as the
  memory (space) on your drives allows.

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What Is a File?

• A collection of information that the computer
  keeps together as one object.
• Examples
• a Word document
• an Excel spreadsheet
• a picture from your digital camera
• this PowerPoint presentation

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Three Categories of Files

• Program files These are the instructions that
  tell the computer how to run software (also
  called applications).
• Support files Additional information that the
  computer needs, like what an icon looks like or
  how to play a sound.
• Files we create The ones we manage most often.
  These are the only kinds of files we will
  discuss here.

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File Types

• There are several different types of files that
  you can create, e.g. Word documents, Excel
  spreadsheets, JPEGs, etc.
• The type is usually determined by the program you
  are using when you create a file.
• You have to use the appropriate program to open a
  file.

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File Extensions

• Represented by the letters following a period
  after the file name.
• Most often seen in email attachments these days.
• Example In myresume.doc,
• myresume is the file name
• doc is the file extension, indicating that its a
  Word Document.

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What Is a Folder?

• Like a file folder in a cabinet, a folder on your
  computer is a container for files, and sometimes
  other folders.
• A folders purpose is purely organizational.
  There is no information in a folder that is not a
  file or another folder.
• You can create and delete as many folders as the
  space on your computer allows.

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What Is a Drive?

• A drive is a storage space that holds
  files and folders. Its the file cabinet
  in our analogy.
• Often, a drive refers to both the drive and its
  disk, tape, or chip.
• The disk, tape, or chip holds the information.
• The drive holds, protects, reads, and writes to
  it.
• Drives are indicated on your computer by letters
  of the alphabet followed by a colon. Examples are
  A and C (There is never a B drive).

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File Sizes

• 1 bit
• x 8 1 byte
• x 1000 1 kilobyte (kb)
• x 1000 1 megabyte (MB)
• x 1000 1 gigabyte (GB)
• x 1000 1 terabyte (TB)

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Types of Drives

• Hard Drive
• Usually internal (inside your computer) but it
  can be external. Its a sealed drive with a fixed
  disk.
• C is always your internal hard drive.
  An additional external drive will
  be assigned another letter.

External Hard Drive
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Types of Drives

• Hard Drive cont.
• Primary drive It stores all of your program and
  system files in addition to files you create and
  save to the hard drive.
• Your largest drive (usually), measured in
  gigabytes (GB). At this time, theyre usually
  between 40 GB and 500 GB.

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Types of Drives

• Portable Storage
• 3 ½ Floppy Drive and Disk
• A
• 1.4 MB
• On its way to extinction.
• Optical Drive and CD or DVD
• usually D
• 700 MB for CDs
• 1.4 - 4.7 GB for DVDs

3 ½ Floppy Disk
CDs / DVDs
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Types of Drives

• Portable Storage cont.
• Flash Drive, Jump Drive,
  Memory Stick, USB Drive, etc.
• usually E
• 32 MB 16 GB
• connects via a USB port
• Zip Drive and Disk
• Not as common as they used to be
• Various sizes, up to 750 MB

Flash Drive
Zip Drive
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A File Tree Grows in Your Computer

• File Tree
• Illustrates the file hierarchy of your computer.
• Root Drive
• The master folder of any drive.
• You cannot create nor delete this folder.
• Branches
• The sub-folders and files that sprout from the
  root drive

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Example of a File Tree

• Double click on any drive or folder to show its
  contents.
• Double click on a file to open it.
• You can also click once on the and symbols to
  show and hide content.

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My Computer

• An evolved version of the File Tree,
  My Computer is Windows way to view and manage
  your files, folders, and drives.
• To access
• click on the Start button
• Click on My Computer (see next slide)
• You can toggle between this view and a
  traditional file tree by clicking on the
  Folders button in the toolbar.

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My Computer

• The first page displays all the drives currently
  installed on your system as well as installed
  hardware.
• To view the content of any drive, simply double
  click on the icon or name.
• To move back to a previous folder
  or drive, click once on the
  Up icon in the toolbar.
• You can also use the Back button
  as if you were in a browser.

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My Computer Views

• You may want to change views, i.e. how you view a
  list of files and folders.
• To do this, click once on the Views icon to see a
  drop-down menu of
  options.
• Simply click on the option
  you chose.

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Creating Folders

• There are a few ways to create a folder.
• While viewing the drive or folder in which you
  wish to create a new folder, you can either
• Click on the New Folder
  icon in the left-hand pane.
• Right-click on any blank space and select New gt
  Folder from the pop-up menu.

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Deleting Folders and Files

• Again, we have a few options for deleting folders
  and files. You can
• Select the folder or file you want to delete by
  clicking on it once. Then click
  Delete from the left-hand pane.
• Or right-click on the item and select Delete from
  the pop-up menu.
• Windows will always ask you if you are certain
  you wish to delete the item.

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The Recycle Bin

• Deleted items are always sent to the
  Recycle Bin, represented on your
  desktop by a wastebasket icon.
• You can retrieve items from the
  Recycle Bin.
• Opening the Recycle Bin icon with a double-click.
  
• Click on the item you wish to retrieve.
• Select Restore from the pop-up menu. Windows
  will then place it in the last folder you had it.

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The Recycle Bin

• To permanently remove items in your Recycle Bin
  from your computer, right-click on the icon and
  chose Empty Recycle Bin from the pop-up menu.
• IMPORTANT!
• You cannot retrieve deleted items from portable
  storage devices. These items are not sent to the
  Recycle Bin. They are permanently removed from
  the drive when you confirm deletion.

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Copying and Moving Items

• You can copy and move files and folders as you
  please.
• You can use your Cut, Copy, and Paste functions
  to move items.
• Click once on the item you wish to copy.
• Select Copy from the Edit menu.
• Go to the new location.
• Select Paste from the Edit Menu.

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Copying and Moving Items

• You can also use the options Copy this file and
  Move this file provided for you in
  the left-hand pane when in My
  Documents.
• When you click on one of these, a dialog box will
  appear asking you to select the new location (see
  next slide).

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Copying and Moving Items
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Renaming Files and Folders

• You can use the option on the left-hand pane
  while in My Documents to
  Rename this file/folder.
• You can also right-click on the item and chose
  the Rename option from the pop-up menu.
• You could also click once on the item, pause, and
  click again (this is not a double-click).
• All of these option will highlight the name and
  allow you to type directly over it.

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The End

• Now lets practice!