Computers Are Your Future Twelfth Edition Spotlight 2: File Management Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1

File Management Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2

The Big Picture: Files, Folders, and Paths File o Named unit of related data stored in a computer o Includes properties Date of creation Last modification date Size Folders (directories); subfolders o Used to organize related files Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3

The Big Picture: Files, Folders, and Paths Drives o Storage devices Hard drive, CD & DVD drive, external & USB flash drive Drive letter—specific drive o Includes a letter, colon, and backslash o C:\ represents the hard drive o On a Mac, drives appear as icons Path o Sequence of directories to follow to locate a file C:\Classes\Homework#1\Homework#1_draft1.docx Top-level folder—“classes” Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 4

The Big Picture: Files, Folders, and Paths Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 5

The Big Picture: Files, Folders, and Paths File-naming conventions o File name identifies each unique file Before the period (“dot”): meaningful name After dot: extension o Three to five characters o Identifies the type of data the file contains Mac OS o Extensions not needed as files contain code representing application used Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 6

The Big Picture: Files, Folders, and Paths Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7

Managing Files Two ways to manage files o Use a file management utility Such as Windows Explorer o Perform management within the program itself Such as Word Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 8

Managing Files File management utilities o Windows Explorer Access through Start menu Windows 7 offers new features Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 9

Managing Files Windows Explorer in Windows 7 o Navigation pane—left side Navigate directly to specific folders or access a prior search May add folders to Favorite Links area o Content pane (file list)—right side Lists the selected folder’s subfolders and files Many views options are available o Details pane—bottom Provides thumbnail views Gives information about files and folders Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 10

Managing Files Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 11

Managing Files Windows 7 (con’t.) o Group option arranges files and folders o Specific folder contents display based on the selected column heading and filter Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 12

Managing Files Windows 7 (con’t.) o Address (breadcrumb) bar Reveals the route taken to reach file location May or may not match a file’s path name Enables easy movement from location to location Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 13

Managing Files Locating files and folders o Windows Explorer’s Search box Locates files based on search terms Saved search results are dynamic or refreshed whenever reopened Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 14

Managing Files Search filter Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 15

Managing Files Creating folders o Folder structure or directory structure Decide which drive will be used Right-click “New” and then “Folder” to create folder within a selected folder Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 16

Managing Files Transferring files o Copying: Creating duplicate files o Moving: Relocating files o Creating a shortcut: Making a pointer to the file without actually moving it Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 17

Managing Files Context-sensitive menu Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 18

Managing Files Backing up o Use “Save As” sequence to create intermediate copy o Use Windows Explorer to drag copy of file to USB or CD/DVD drive o Use backup software Getting help o Windows Explorer—get help button Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 19

Managing Files Managing files within programs Open files within an application Use File, Open Open files from a file management utility Such as Windows Explorer Perform other file management tasks Create folders Rename files Copy files Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 20

Managing Files Saving files o Transferring a file from RAM to permanent storage o Save versus Save As Save—writes over or replaces to the same storage device and folder with the same name Save As brings up dialog box so that the drive, path, and file name can be designated o Can be used to rename a file or save the file to another location Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 21

Managing Manage o Organize messages into folders o Sort messages in different ways: Date received Sender Recipient o Find or Search commands can be used to find specific messages Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 22

A Few Last Reminders File management concepts are basic but extremely helpful: o Plan and create folder structures carefully. o Name files in a way that they can be easily found. o Retrace steps when something does not work correctly. Read the manual. Follow directions carefully. o Make backups of files. o Ask for help when necessary. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 23

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 24