This guide assumes that you have some experience with the Windows environment. You should know how to open a program, create a document and save it. You should know what terms like window, cursor, double-click, right-click, menu, scrollbar, textbox, drop-down arrow mean. If you are just learning how to use a computer and are unfamiliar with these terms, you should study how to use the features of the Windows environment BEFORE completing this tutorial.
File management is an extremely important topic to understand when planning a website. You must store the files that you create for a website in an organized way. You must be able to refer to the path for where you have stored files. You need to be able to recognize how the path relates to the URL that is associated with files when you publish them to the Internet!
To Open Windows Explorer:
When Windows Explorer opens, it will display the storage locations available to you for the machine you are using. This will vary from machine to machine! Your display will NOT be exactly like the examples.
Windows Explorer also has several "views" available. The illustration above is viewing as "list" view.
You can try out the different "views" available by clicking on the views icon on the toolbar.
The window below this paragraph is viewing as "details" view and includes columns to show size of files, the type, and the date modified. Each of these columns can be used to arrange the listing of the contents. By default, the contents will be displayed in alphabetic order of what is in the name column. If you click on the column headings, you can change the order to be by size, type or date modified. When you have a large number of items on a storage device, this can be helpful to find what you are looking for.
If you experiment with the different views that are available, return to "list" view before continuing with this tutorial.
In the above example, the C: drive is selected in the left pane. If you are using a current version of Windows, you will see the label "Folders" above the left pane contents. Above the "Folders" label, you should see the Address textbox. The contents of the C: drive is shown in the right pane.
*If you do NOT see the (C:) drive listed in the left pane on your machine, use the scroll bar to see the top of the list. If you still do not see the (C:) drive listed after scrolling to the top of the list, make sure the box to the left of "My Computer" is displaying a minus sign ( - ). If it is displaying a plus sign (+), click on the plus sign to expand the listing for My Computer. The plus sign beside a storage device icon or a folder indicates that the list of storage devices has been "collapsed." You can "expand" the list to display the storage locations available by clicking on the plus sign. To collapse the list, click on the minus sign.*
When using Windows Explorer to view what you have stored, click on the name of your storage device in the left pane. In the window above, the C: drive has been chosen and the right pane is displaying the contents of the storage device. The folders represent storage locations that have been created to organize files as they are saved. Folders must be double-clicked to reveal what is stored inside of them.
When you are saving documents that you create with a computer, storage locations can be identified as "drives" and "folders." Drives refer to the hardware (equipment) that you are using. Folders refer to locations that you create on a storage device to organize your files. It is possible to save documents without creating folders, but it is a sloppy, inefficient way to use a computer. Not using folders to organize your work is like throwing documents into a filing cabinet without setting up folders first.
You need to recognize what storage devices you have available to you for the computer system you are using. This will be different depending on the machine. Below is a graphic displaying what is seen in the Windows Explorer window for a typical computer system. Windows Explorer uses the left pane of its window to display all of the storage devices that are available in a system.
In the window below, notice the C: drive has been selected. When a storage device is selected in the left pane, the contents of that drive are displayed in the right pane. (If you do not see storage devices listed in the left pane, click on the + sign that is to the left of the icon representing "My Computer.") The yellow folders on the right represent storage locations that have been created to organize the files/documents stored on the C: drive.
The most common storage device in a computer system is a permanent storage device located inside the system cabinet that is referred to as a "hard drive." It is typically labeled as the C: drive. On the machine setup shown above, the hard drive is labeled as "Local Disk (C:)" Yours may be called the local disk; it may have a different name; or it may not have a text label at all.
If you have an older system, it is also likely to have a storage device labeled (A:) that represents the 3 1/2 Floppy drive. These storage devices require the use of a 3 1/2 inch portable disk that typically stores approximately 1.44 MB (megabytes) of data. Although 1.44 MB of storage space can hold about 700 pages of text, it is surprising how quickly you can fill up the storage space on a floppy disk. These drives are being discontinued in many new machines because of the popularity of newer types of storage that have a higher capacity.
Most new machines have at least one CD or DVD drive. The letter associated with these "optical type" storage devices varies but the icon beside the drive usually includes a tiny CD above the box representing the drive. In the machine setup above, you can see that the CD drive is labeled (F:).
Some machines have zip drives available. These require special portable disks that are thicker than floppy disks and are capable of storing 100 - 250MB depending on the drive being used. On the machine setup above, there is a 100MB zip drive available and it is labeled as the Iomega Zip 100 (H:) drive.
If you are using a USB storage device, the icon/label and storage device letter may not appear in the Windows Explorer window unless you have the device plugged into the USB port. On the machine setup above, the USB storage device is represented by the icon named "Removable Disk (I:)".
The most popular portable storage used by students is currently the USB storage device that is called different names depending on who is selling it...you may see them advertised as jump drives or flash drives, but they are all designed to plug into the USB port on your computer. The USB port on new machines is typically visible and easily accessible on the front of the machine. On older machines, you may have to look in the back of your machine to locate the USB port. For these machines, it is possible to get an "extension cord" that makes it easier to plug in your storage device. The average USB storage device stores 256 or 512MB and sells for approximately $15 - $30. It is possible to buy them with much more storage space, but they are also quite a bit more expensive. Most students find the 256 or 512 MB drives to be sufficient storage space. They are often on sale with instant savings and rebates at stores that sell computer equipment like Circuit City, Office Max, Office Depot and department stores like Target and Walmart. They come in different shapes and sizes, but are typically about the size of a slim cigarette lighter. Two popular models are shown below.
If you are using a lab at Parkland, you should NOT use the C: drive. You should always bring a portable storage device. Choose either the floppy disk drive (A:) or the drive for the USB storage device. (It is often the F: drive on campus). You will have to bring your own storage device with you. Be careful to remove it from the machine when you leave the lab! Reminder: When using a portable storage device, it is VERY IMPORTANT to close all files that you have saved to your device and the programs that were using the files BEFORE you remove the device from the machine. For example: Suppose that you sit down at a computer, open the Word program, type a research paper and save it to your floppy disk. BEFORE you remove the floppy disk from the machine, it is important to close the research paper file you created and close the Word program. THEN remove your floppy disk.
When creating documents with a computer, you need to know how to organize your files. Using Windows Explorer you can create named storage locations referred to as "folders."
Before creating a folder, you must select where you want the folder to be created. If you are using one of Parkland's labs, you must bring your own storage device. If you are using your own home computer, you may use the C: hard drive of your machine. Files stored on the hard drive will not be "portable" files, however. They will be stored on the storage device that is inside your system cabinet. If you want to be able to take your files with you, a portable storage device must be used.
In the Windows Explorer window:
Summary of steps to create a new folder:
Click on location to create folder >> File menu >> New >> Folder >> Type appropriate name >> Enter
When you are ready to save the file:
Click on the File menu >> Choose Save As
In the top part of the Save As dialog box, choose your storage device. You may need to click on the drop down list arrow to the right of the Save in: text box to see the listing of storage devices available for you to use. When you see your storage device listed, click on it to select it. When it is selected, it should show up named in the Save in: text box.
In the Save As dialog box, double-click on the folder icon to open it. When it is opened, it should show up named in the Save in: text box.
Now that you have set the storage device and the folder that you want to use, you need to give the file a name. In the lower part of the Save As dialog box, click in the File Name text box. Type the filename in the File name text box and then click on Save.
After saving the file, go back to Windows Explorer. (If you closed Windows Explorer, you will need to open it again. Right-click on the Start button and choose Explore.) Click on the icon for your storage device. In the left pane, click on the icon for the folder to open it. The right pane should display that the folder has your file inside of it.
You can see the "path" to the file listed in the Address textbox above the left pane.
The letter in the path represents the storage device. The folder name and the name of the storage device are separated by a backslash \.
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/docs/fms/pc/home.html
When you arrive at the File Management website, click on the link to "Organizing Files and Folders." Also visit the link to "Saving and Protecting Your Data," and read the sections labeled "Storage Locations" and "Options and Guidelines for Saving Data."