1 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Using Windows Explorer  “File Manager” was a much better name Presented at The Villages Computer Club - February 6 By Bobbie Seabolt

2 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 What are Folders? Files?  Think of a filing cabinet sitting next to your desk.  Inside that filing cabinet you have folders – possibly hanging folders  Inside each folder you have papers – documents, pictures, etc.

3 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009

4 Filing Cabinet on Your Computer  Using Windows Explorer to locate your documents is an efficient method – more so than using a program, such as Excel or Word.

5 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 The Reason Why?  Excel only looks (by default) for files that end in.xls. Word only looks for files that end in.doc etc.  So if the file you are looking for is a Word document and you are looking thru Excel, you won't find it.

6 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 How Do You Find Windows Explorer?  The easiest way is to HOLD the Windows key (that's the one that has the little 'flag' on it) and tap the "e" key.

7 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 This is how Vista opens up Click here

8 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Folders Files Vista view

9 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Viewing ICONS Windows XP view – no detail

10 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Windows XP view - Viewing DETAILS

11 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Change View From ICON to DETAIL (Vista view)  On the Toolbar, click on Views  Click on Details

12 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Save the View  On the Toolbar, click on Organize  Click on Folder & Search Options

13 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Save the View  At the top of the next screen, click on View  Uncheck “Hide extensions…”  Click Apply to Folders

14 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Next Message:  “Set all the folders on your computer to match the current folder's view settings (except for toolbars and folder tasks)?  Changes will occur the next time you open them"  Choose Yes

15 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Why Uncheck Extensions? This shows two files called “setup.” Sometimes there are even more duplicates.

16 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Create a New Folder (Vista view)  Click once on the folder for which you want to create a new “sub-folder”  Click File, click New and NAME the folder right away

17 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Move a Folder? (Vista view)  RIGHTclick/HOLD on “Golf Jokes” in the right screen  DRAG to “Humor” on the left screen.  Let go.

18 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 Move a Folder (2) (Vista view)  RIGHTclick allows you to make a choice  Copy here  Move here  Create shortcut here  Cancel (That’s for when you almost move it to the wrong place)

19 The Villages Computer Club - February 2009 The Moral of the Story? Know where your files go Know where to locate them when you need them Know how to manipulate them