module two: files and folders · files and folders may be displayed in many ways, including: icons...

Windows Fundamentals Student Guide Module 2: Files and Folders

Version 3.1 Page 2.1 ©1998-2012 Peoples Resource Center

All rights reserved.

Module Two: Files and Folders

In Module Two we will begin working with files and folders.

Topics

Computer Drives

Files

Folders

Viewing Files and Folders

Exercises

2A – Identify Computer Drives

2B – Viewing Files and Folders

2C – File and Folder Views

2D – Create a New File

Objectives

At the end of this module you will be able to:

1. Create a file

2. Save a file

3. Use the Save As function to save a file to a new location


Version 3.1 .2 ©1998-2012 Peoples Resource Center


Computer Drives

Information is stored on the computer on drives. Drives can be permanently fixed in the

computer or portable. Fixed drives are called Hard Drives; portable drives are referred to as

Removable Storage. Drives are named with letters. A typical naming arrangement is shown in

the graphic below.

Use the Computer option on the right side of the Windows Start menu to identify what fixed and

portable drives are active on your computer.

Figure 2.1 Computer Drives

In the graphic above, we see that this computer has three active drives. The Hard Disk Drive,

designated as the C drive, is fixed. The D drive is the computer’s DVD drive. The removable

Disk, the E drive, is a USB flash drive. The capacity and space availability for the C and E drives

are displayed. This information is not shown for the DVD drive because it does not have a disk

currently installed.

USB flash drives will be covered in another module.




Exercise 2A – Identifying Computer Drives

In this exercise you will practice identifying the drives on a computer.

1. Select the Computer option on the right side of the Windows Start menu.

2. How many drives are connected to this computer?

3. What is the name of the permanent drive?

4. What is the capacity and available space of the permanent drive?

5. Are there any removable storage drives? What are their names?




Files

Think of a file as a document stored on a computer. Paper documents are stored in folders

placed in the drawers of a file cabinet. In much the same way, computer files are stored in

folders placed in storage locations on the computer.

Figure 2.2 File Cabinet

There are basically two types of files:

Those you create

Those used by computer programs

In this module we will be looking only at files that you create.

File Names

A file is identified by a name and file extension. The name and extension are separated by a dot. For example:

Resume.docx

The file name can contain up to 260 characters. The name helps you identify the file’s contents.

File extensions are typically three characters long and identify the file type. Below are some file

extensions you may commonly see:

bmp Graphic

docx Microsoft Word Document

exe Program File

gif Image

jpg Image

xlsx Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

Files can be created, modified, renamed or deleted. We will look at creating files in this module.

An upcoming module will address modifying, renaming and deleting files.




Folders

A folder is a place to store a file. Folders make it easier to locate files. By creating a folder

named Recipes we now have a place to store all of our favorite recipes. If we are looking for

Mom’s apple pie recipe this would be the logical place to look. Just like in a file cabinet, a folder

can be placed in a folder. It would then be referred to as a sub folder in computer terms.

Use Windows Explorer to view the files and folders stored on your computer. To access

Windows Explorer, locate and click on its icon found on the Windows taskbar. The icon looks

like a stack of manila file folders.

Figure 2.3 Windows Explorer Icon

Clicking on the Windows Explorer icon opens Explorer.

Figure 2.4 Windows Explorer

Explorer opens with a view of the Libraries folder. In the example above there are four libraries,

Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos. It is easy to imagine what types of files each would

contain.

Libraries will be discussed in detail in the next module, for now just consider a library as a place

where files and folders can be found.




Viewing Files and Folders

Now that we know where files and folders are stored, let’s see how they may be presented to

us.

Files and folders are stored on the hard disk drives and portable storage devices in a

hierarchical manner. Looking at the C drive, typically the primary drive, of this computer we see

how Windows has arranged the folders and files.

Figure 2.5 C Drive Folders

On the right side of this graphic you see the folders stored on the C drive of this computer. This

display shows folders only; we will look at files soon. Notice the column headings, Name, Date

Modified, Type and Size. By default Windows sorts folders and files alphabetically by Name.

You can change this arrangement by clicking on any of the other column headings. A single

click on the Name heading sorts in an A-Z order, click again on the name heading and it

reverses to Z-A listing. The other column headings work in a like manner.




Date Sorted

Figure 2.6 C Drive Folders Date Sorted

The graphic above shows the same folders now sorted by Date Modified. Now let’s will look at

the way Windows displays folders and files.

Figure 2.7 C Drive Folders and Files

Above we see a display of both folders and files. Note that by default Windows displays folders

first, and then files. For the files there is now an entry in the Size column.




Size Sorted

Click on the Size column heading to sort by size.

Figure 2.8 C Drive Folders and Files Size Sorted

When sorted by size Windows now places the files in descending order with the largest

displayed first. Click the Size heading again to display the smallest files first.

Figure 2.9 C Drive Folders and Files Size Sorted, Smallest First




Exercise 2B – Viewing Files and Folders

This exercise provides practice in using Windows Explorer to view files and folders.

1. Click on the Windows Explorer icon found on the Windows task bar (hint it looks like a

stack of file folders).

2. Open the Documents Library.

3. Click on the Change Your View Icon (top right side of window). Select Details to display

the file and folder details.

4. Sort the information presented, by Name, then Date, then Type and finally by Size.

File and Folder Views

Files and folders may be displayed in many ways, including:

Icons

List

Details

Tiles

Content

Use the More Options button on the window toolbar to select a view.

Figure 2.10 View Options




Icons

Icons (small, medium, large or extra large) and title are displayed for each folder or file.

List

List displays the same information as Small Icons but in columns instead of rows.

Details

Details displays a list of files and folders with a small icon with the name, date modified, type

and size.

Tiles

Tiles displays a medium size icon for folders with folder name and type. For files the file name,

type and size are displayed.

Content

Folder name, date and icon are displayed for folders. Displayed for files are an icon, file name,

type and size.

Exercise 2C – File and Folder Views

In this exercise you will practice changing the way files and folders are displayed on Windows

Explorer.

1. Open Windows Explorer


3. Click on the More options drop down to the right of the Change Your View Icon.

4. Select some of the choices and observe the changes in the way files and folders are

displayed.




Creating Files

There are many ways to create a new file. In this module we will not be going into the benefits

or attributes of the various applications that may be used to create documents. That material is

the topic of the Applications Module. We will be creating files so that we can work with them.

Some of the places a file can be created are:

In a Library

On the Desktop

While working in an Application

Libraries will be discussed in the next module, for now just consider a library as a place where

files can be found.

Creating a file in the Documents Library

To create a text file in the Documents library:

1. Use the Start menu to open the Documents Library (Hint: right side of Start menu)

2. Right click on a blank spot where the documents are filed

3. On the drop down menu that appears, select New

4. Select from the items on the New menu – for this example we will select Text Document

Figure 2.11 New File

5. A new file is created with a default name

Figure 12 New Text Document




6. Type in the file name and hit Enter

Figure 2.13 New File

To begin using this file, double click on the file name.

Creating Files on the Desktop

Follow the same procedure to create a file while on the desktop.

Figure 2.14 New File on Desktop

If you plan to access a file often, you might want to create the file on the desktop.




Creating Files while working in an Application

We can also create a file by accessing an application or program directly. This is probably the

most common way of creating a file. To do this:

1. Find and open the application on the Windows Start menu – for this example we will

continue with a text document

Figure 2.15 New Text Document

2. Use File dropdown Save As option to name the file and determine where it will be

located (The last folder used is the default)

Figure 2.16 Named Text Document




Exercise 2D – Create a New File

This exercise will give you practice in creating a file in an application.

1. Use the Start menu All Programs option to open the Notepad application (Hint – it’s

found in the Accessories folder). Notepad is a word processing application used to

create text documents.

2. Use Notepad to write a letter to a friend telling them what you have learned in class

today.

3. Use the File option Save As to save this file.

4. Name the file Letter about class.

5. Save this file in the Documents library (Windows should select Documents by default).

Module Summary

In this module you learned how to:

Create a file

Save a file

Use the Save As function to save a file to a new location

Homework

This assignment will help you strengthen the skills learned in this module.

1. Select Computer from the Start menu.

2. What are the names of the drives on your computer?

3. Are any of these drives removable storage?

4. Open Windows Explorer (hint see page 2.5).


6. Open one of the folders in this library.

7. What files are in this folder?

8. Sort the files by date.