Frequently
Asked QuestionsFile Management Basics
Table of Contents
- View File and Folder Lists
- File Name and Extensions
- Open a File or Folder
- Create a Folder
- Copy or Move a File or Folder
- Delete a File or Folder
- Restore a File or Folder
- Rename a File or Folder
- Save a File to the Network Drive
- Save a File to a Floppy Disk
- Finding a Lost File
- Assign Permissions
Associated Links
- File Storage Options
Network Storage - Shared Drives
- Mapping a Network Drive
- Access Network or Shared Drive Files From Home
When you use a program and save your work, or when you install a
program, you are creating files. In windows you can organize your
documents and programs to suit your preferences. You can store your
files in many locations on the hard drive, a network drive, a floppy
disk, and so on. You can store these files in folders, and you can
move, copy, rename, and even search for files and folders. Please see File Storage Options for recommendations on where you should save certain types of files.
Note: When using different word processors off campus
you should save your files in the RTF (Rich Text) format. These documents
will then open in Microsoft Word on your work computer.
View File and Folder Lists
Use either My Computer from the Windows desktop or Windows Explorer from the Start menu.
My Computer
Use My Computer if you prefer to view the contents of a single folder or drive.
- Double-click My Computer on your desktop --
available drives appear in a new window.
- Double-click a drive icon -- a window displays the folders contained on that drive. You can then double-click a folder to see the files it contains.
topWindows Explorer
If you prefer to look at your files in a hierarchical structure, use Windows Explorer. Instead of opening drives and folders in separate windows, you can browse through them in a single window.
- Right-click Start button in Windows Taskbar
- Left-click Explore
- In the left pane, click to highlight any folder on your hard drive
or a mapped drive. The contents of the folder or drive appear in
the right pane.
- You can use the View menu to change the appearance of the icons in the right half of the window.
File Name and Extensions
Note: File names in Windows can be up to 255 characters, including spaces. However, file names cannot contain any of the following characters:
\ / : * ? " < > !
Open a File or Folder
- On the desktop, double-click My Computer.
- Double-click the drive that contains the file or folder you want to open.
- Double-click the file or folder.
Create a Folder
- On the desktop, double-click My Computer.
- Double-click the disk drive or folder in which you want to create a folder.
- On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.
- Type a folder name in the New Folder box, and then press Enter.
The new folder will appear in the location you selected.
Copy or Move a File or Folder
When you create files and folders, you may want to copy or move them to another location. Unless you are an advanced user, you should avoiding copying program files and system files.
To Select
- On the desktop, double-click My Computer.
To select a single file/folder:
- Click on the file or folder name.
To select a group of files/folders that are adjacent to one another:
- Click on the first file/folder.
- Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the last file in the group.
To select randomly placed files/folder:
- Hold down the CTRL key and click on the various file/folder names.
To Copy
- Select Copy from the Edit menu,
or click the Copy button, or press Ctrl
+ C.
- Navigate to the destination Drive or Folder
- Select Paste from the Edit menu, or click Paste button, or Ctrl + V
To Move
- Select Cut from the Edit menu,
or click the Cut button (scissors icon), or Ctrl
+ X
- Navigate to the destination Drive or Folder
- Select Paste from the Edit menu, or click Paste button, or Ctrl + V
Delete a File or Folder
Whenever you delete a file, it is temporarily moved to the Recycle Bin on your desktop. If you change your mind, you can restore the file. However, when you empty the Recycle Bin, all of the items in it are permanently deleted from your computer.
To delete files and folders
- On the desktop, double-click My Computer.
- Select the file or folder you want to delete.
- On the File menu, click Delete.
- The Confirm File Delete dialog box appears, click Yes.
- The file is moved to the Recycle Bin.
To Permanently delete files and folders from the Recycle Bin
- On the desktop, double-click the Recycle Bin.
- On the File menu, click Empty Recycle Bin.
Restore a File or Folder
To Open the Recycle Bin
- Double-click the Recycle Bin icon on Windows Desktop.
- Select file(s) or folder(s) to be restored to original location.
- Select Restore from File menu.
Rename a File or Folder
- Double-click My Computer on Windows Desktop.
- Click to select file or folder.
- Click F2 function key or select Rename from the drop-down File menu - a box will surround the name and the insertion point will be flashing.
- Type the new name in the box & press Enter (typing replaces selection).
Save a File to the Network Drive
- In the program's File menu, click on Save As...
- Select your Network Drive from the dropdown list (highlighted in the image below)
- Double-click the destination folder to open it.
- Enter the document name
- Click the Save button.
Save a File to a Floppy Disk
- In the program's File menu, click on Save As...
- Select 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) from the dropdown list (see image above)
- Select the destination folder if applicable.
- Click the Save button.
Finding a Lost File
Use the Search tool:
- Go to Start --> Search --> For Files or Folders.
- Under Search for files and folders named: Type in the file name, OR what you think the file name may be, OR a part of the file name you can remember, OR use the wildcard character * and the file extension as an example *.jpg OR under Containing Text: try typing in anything you can remember about the text in the file. *Note - This only works for text or document files.
- Click the Search Now button and wait for the search results to appear. It may take a few minutes.
- The search results can be opened just as if you had found them in an Explorer window.
Assign Permissions
What does Permissions mean?
- Assigning permissions enables you to restrict actions taken on a file or folder by other users (read-only, modify, etc.)
How?
- Follow Shared Drive steps on the IT Employees Web page: Shared Drives.
- Or, submit a request to IT Helpdesk (ithelp@viu.ca)