File Management

File management involves the method used in naming, storing and handling of files. Proper file management is important as it helps computer users to easily retrieve any information needed as long as it was stored properly in the computer. Rules used to save files It is important to save work that one is working on and the rules for saving are; use the Save As command which are under the file menu to communicate to the computer as to which file need to be saved. Clicking on the File will bring down the menu and then click on Save As pops up its dialog box.

Then the computer is ‘told’ the name of the file to save and named according to what it contains. In naming the files, use only letters and or numbers but not punctuations or periods. Example of a good named file is; 2009 Taxes for George Bush. File extension is a type of information that provides more aspects of data and is used to relate how data is stored in the file. The file extension thus indicates the kind of file one is dealing with e.

g. .exe means it’s an executable file while .html means it’s a web page. File path A file path is described as the exact location of a file as it is stored in a series of unique location in the computer directory and its file name. The file; C:Documents and settingsShirleyMy Documentsx.

doc means that the file is stored in my computer local dis C, in the local disc C it is further stored in the my documents and settings folder. The name Shirley is a folder created on the my documents folder and further the My Documents is the file name in the Shirley folder. x.doc means that the file is a Microsoft word document which is a type of file extension.

Hence the Microsoft word document information is stored in drive C under the folders Document and settings and into the Shirley folder under the file name My Documents. Using My Computer and Windows Explorer to view filesFrom Windows 95 onwards, there has been a Windows Explorer that provides a graphical user to access the file systems in stored in the computer. It presents the user with interface items like the taskbar on the monitor when accessing a document. It offers fast, an easy way of viewing, copying, moving and deleting folders and files found in the hard disk of the computer. For XP and Windows 2000 operating system, it can be accessed by clicking the Windows start button and selecting programs and then clicking on the Accessories button then clicking on the Windows Explorer. For Windows Vista and 7, this can be got by clicking on the Windows logo in the task bar and then clicking Computer from the available menu.

(Great Planes Model (2009). When opening a Windows Explorer, two sections appear; the left and right pane. The left pane called a ‘tree’ because of its appearance shows the drives and folders. The ‘trees’ driives have a small [+] symbol and by clicking them they show all the folders stored in, the folders may further have the [+] sign meaning that there are more subfolders in them. Clicking them will reveal the folders and the sign changes to [-] which when clicked will hide the subfolders or folders.

The right pane show all the folders, files and subfolders that are currently being viewed. To open a file, point the cursor of the mouse onto the file and double click it. Then on the left pane, search for the file you want to open and click the [+] sign which will reveal the contents of the folder. To open the folder, simply click on it to reveal its contents. If a file, double click to open it.

Move/ copy fileTo move or copy a file involves using the mouse to drag it to wherever desired location. To move a file, locate it in the right pane and then scroll it in the left pane so that the target location appears click and hold the file and drag it to the desired location. To delete a folder or file, click the desired file and right click the mouse. On the options choose “delete” and click on it. The folder/file will be deleted and can be recovered from the “dust bin”. To rename a file, click on the folder/file name twice.

Then insert the correct name of the file/folder and save it. People lose files for various reasons among them being that they accidently delete the files without knowing, another reason can be storing files without proper naming procedure thus not being able to retrieve them.