Module Five: Files and Folders

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1 Module Five: Files and Folders In this module we will learn how information is stored on the computer. This information is called data. Data could be the things that the computer needs to operate or the documents you have created. The applications we looked at in the last two modules are another example of data stored on the computer. Topics Computer Drives Saving your Work Organizing Your Computer Exercises 5A Create and Save a Document 5B Save Changes to a File 5C Create a Folder 5D Move a File into a Folder 5E Delete a File and Folder Objectives At the end of this module you will be able to: 1. Identify the fixed and portable computer drives 2. Save a document 3. Create a folder 4. Move a file into a folder 5. Delete a file or folder Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

Computer Drives In the last two modules we created documents but did not save them. Before we learn how to save a document it may be helpful to understand where they are stored on the computer.

2 Computer Drives In the last two modules we created documents but did not save them. Before we learn how to save a document it may be helpful to understand where they are stored on the computer. Data is stored on the computer on drives. The main computer drive is called the Hard Disk Drive; it is made up of stacks of rotating magnetically coated disks. The data is stored on these disks in a digital format. The Hard Disk Drive is permanently installed inside the computer s System Unit. Other drives on the computer provide portable data storage. They are referred to as Removable Storage. Data is stored on CDs or DVDs that can be moved from one computer to another. These CDs and DVDs are very similar to the music and video CDs and DVDs you are already familiar with. Drives are named with letters. The Hard Disk Drive is normally called the C drive. Removable Storage drives are labeled starting with the letter D. To look at the drives on your computer: 1. Click on the Start Button (found on the left side of the Task Bar). 2. Select Computer from the Start Menu. Figure 1 Start Button Figure 2 Select Computer Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

3 The Window below is displayed. Figure 3 Computer Drives In the picture above, we see this computer has two drives: Hard Disk Drive (C:) DVD Drive (D:) More data can be stored on the Hard Disk Drive than on any Removable Storage drive. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

Saving Your Work When a document is saved it is placed on a computer drive. This allows you to later retrieve the document. This is a lot like placing a copy of a letter in a filing cabinet.

4 Saving Your Work When a document is saved it is placed on a computer drive. This allows you to later retrieve the document. This is a lot like placing a copy of a letter in a filing cabinet. If we shut down the computer without saving a document all of our work is lost. When you save a text document, by default it is saved it in the Documents Library on the computer. Think of a Library as a drawer in a file cabinet. Windows makes use of Libraries to allow us to more easily find a saved document. Libraries reside on the computer s Hard Disk Drive. There are three main Libraries on your computer: Documents Where text documents are saved Pictures Where pictures are saved Music Where music files are saved We can see these Libraries if we open the Start Menu. Libraries Figure 4 Libraries Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

5 Saving a Document After you have created a document it is a good idea to save it so your work is not lost. To save a document you are working on: 1. Click on the office button (found at the top left coroner of the Word ribbon). This opens the Office Menu. 2. Click on Save As and Word Document. Figure 5 Office Button Figure 6 Office Menu Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

6 This opens the Save As dialog window. Figure 7 Save As Dialog Window Notice that Windows has decided that since the file is a Word Document it should be saved in the Documents Library. 3. Type in a file name and click on Save. Figure 8 Saved Document Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

7 This document is now a file saved on the computer. To find this file later, we would go to the Documents Library and look for the file named Vacation Letter. A double left click will open the document. Figure 9 Documents Library Exercise 5A Creating and Saving a Document In this exercise you will create and save a document. Later in this module you will find and open this document. 1. Open Microsoft Word. If you are unsure as to how to do this, ask your instructor for help or consult Module 3 page Type a grocery store shopping list. Make this a bulleted list. Remember to add bread and milk. 3. Use the Office Button and the Save As option to save this shopping list as a Word Document. 4. Name the document (write down the name for later reference). 5. Click Save. 6. In which Library was this document saved? 7. Click the X on the top right of the window to close the file. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

8 Save As vs. Save You may have noticed that when you clicked the Office Button there were two saving options, Save and Save As. The first time you save a document it doesn t matter which one you choose. Both will bring up the Save As dialog window where you name the file. Figure 10 Save As Dialog Window The Save option is used to save changes made to the original file. If we need to make changes to our Vacation Letter we would: 1. Click on the Start Button. Figure 11 Start Button Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

9 2. Click to open the Documents Library. 3. Locate the Vacation Letter file. Figure 12 Documents Library 4. Double click on it to open the file. Figure 13 Vacation Letter File Figure 14 Vacation Letter Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

10 5. Make the changes to the letter. Figure 15 Vacation Letter Changed 6. Save the changes using the Office Button Save option. Figure 15 Save Option Using the Save option we are not presented with the Save As dialog window. The file name and location are not changed. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

11 There is another way to save changes to an existing file. At the top of the Word Window just to the right of the Office Button is the Quick Access Toolbar. We looked at this toolbar in Module 3. Figure 16 Quick Access Toolbar The first item on the left side of the Quick Access Toolbar is the Save icon. Clicking on this icon performs the same function as the Office Button Save option. It is a good idea to save often when working on a document. There are a number of things that could cause a window or your computer to shutdown. If you save often you only loose the work done after the last save. So just like voting in Chicago Save and Save often! Exercise 5B Save Changes to a File This exercise will use the grocery list file you created in the first exercise. 1. Locate and open your grocery list file in the Documents Library (hopefully you wrote down the file name). 2. Add two items to the list. 3. Use the Office Button Save option to save the file. 4. Add another item to the list. 5. Use the Save icon on the Quick Access Toolbar to save the change. 6. Close this file. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

Organizing Your Computer If you saved every document you create as a file in the Documents Library it would not take very long before it would be cluttered with files.

12 Organizing Your Computer If you saved every document you create as a file in the Documents Library it would not take very long before it would be cluttered with files. This would make it difficult to find the file you want to work on. An easy way to organize the files would be to some way group them together. If we go back to our example of a file cabinet we see that files, or documents, are grouped together in folders placed in the file drawers. Figure 17 File Folders Folders can be created in the Documents Library. Folders give us a way to organize our files. You can create as many folders as you want. Creating Folders To create a folder in the Documents Library: 1. Use the Start Button to open the Start Menu. Figure 18 Start Menu Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

2. Click on Documents to open the Documents Library. 3.

Figure 19 Documents Library. Figure 20 New Folder 4.

Do not click the mouse, just type a name for the folder.

13 2. Click on Documents to open the Documents Library. 3. Click on New Folder to create a new folder. Figure 19 Documents Library. Figure 20 New Folder 4. Notice that the New Folder is selected (highlighted). Do not click the mouse, just type a name for the folder. Figure 21 Vacation Material Folder Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

Exercise 5C Create a New Folder In this exercise you will create a folder in the Documents Library. 1. Open the Documents Library. 2. Click on New Folder. 3. Name this folder Grocery Lists. 4.

14 Exercise 5C Create a New Folder In this exercise you will create a folder in the Documents Library. 1. Open the Documents Library. 2. Click on New Folder. 3. Name this folder Grocery Lists. 4. Close the Documents Library. Placing Files in a Folder The new folder is created; all we need to do now is place files in the folder. To do this we will use our mouse and the drag-and-drop skills we learned in Module 2. To place a file in a folder: 1. Open the Documents Library. Figure 22 Documents Library 2. Click and hold the left mouse button on the file we want to move into the folder. Figure 23 Selecting File to be Moved Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

15 3. Drag the file into the folder. Release the mouse button to drop it into the folder. 4. Do this for any other files we wish to place in the folder. 5. Double click on the folder to display its contents. Figure 24 Contents of the Vacation Material Folder Reading the path displayed at the top of the window we can see that we are in Libraries Documents library the Vacation Material folder. Contained in the Vacation Material folder are two files named Vacation Letter and Things to do in France. As new files are created, they can be placed in the folder. This gives us a way to easily find any files related to our vacation. Exercise 5D Moving a File to a Folder In this exercise you will move the file you created into the folder you created. 1. Open the Documents Library. 2. Locate your grocery list file. 3. Use a mouse drag-and-drop to move it into the Grocery Lists folder. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

If they are no longer needed they can be deleted freeing up space for new files. To delete a file: 1. Open the Documents Library 2.

16 Deleting Files and Folders It is a good idea to periodically do some housekeeping on your computer. Files and folders take up space on the computer Hard Disk Drive. If they are no longer needed they can be deleted freeing up space for new files. To delete a file: 1. Open the Documents Library 2. Locate the file you want to delete. 3. Left click to select it. Figure 25 Select File to be Deleted 4. Right click on the file. This will bring up a popup menu. Figure 26 Pop Up Menu Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

It has been placed in the Recycle Bin. This same procedure can be used to delete a folder.

17 5. Click on Delete. You will be asked to verify that you want to delete the file. Figure 27 Verify Delete 6. Click Yes if you are sure that you want to delete the file. The file is no longer in the Vacation Material folder. It has been placed in the Recycle Bin. This same procedure can be used to delete a folder. Figure 28 Delete a Folder Caution: When you delete a folder that contains files, the files are also deleted. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

Figure 29 Recycle Bin Figure 30 Contents of Recycle Bin In this example we see two items in the Recycle Bin.

18 Recycle Bin The files and folders you delete have not been permanently removed from the Hard Disk Drive. They are first moved to the Recycle Bin. The icon for the Recycle Bin can be found on the desktop. Double click on the icon to open the Recycle Bin. Figure 29 Recycle Bin Figure 30 Contents of Recycle Bin In this example we see two items in the Recycle Bin. Click on Empty the Recycle Bin to permanently remove the items from the computer. If the items were deleted in error they can be restored to their original location by clicking Restore all items. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

19 If only one item was deleted in error it can be restored by selecting it with a single left click, and clicking Restore this item. Figure 31 Restore an Item Exercise 5E Delete Files and Folders In this exercise you will delete the file and folder you have just created. In this exercise you will move the file you created into the folder you created. 1. Open the Documents Library. 2. Locate the grocery list file you created. 3. Delete this file. 4. Locate the folder named Grocery Lists. 5. Delete this folder. 6. Open the Recycle Bin. 7. Empty the Recycle Bin. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

20 Module Review In this module you learned how to: Identify the fixed and portable computer drives Save a document Create a folder Move a file into a folder Delete a file or folder Homework This homework will reinforce the skills you have obtained in this module. Your instructor will review this exercise at the beginning of your next class meeting. 1. Open Microsoft Word. 2. Write a letter to your child s teacher giving permission for them to attend next week s field trip to the zoo. 3. Save this document naming the file Field Trip Letter. 4. Create a folder in the Document Library named School Letters. 5. Move the Field Trip Letter file into the School Letters folder. 6. Delete the Field Trip Letter file. 7. Delete the School Letters folder. 8. Empty the Recycle Bin. Version 2.0 Page Peoples Resource Center

To complete this project, you will need the following folder:

To complete this project, you will need the following folder: = CHAPTER 1 Windows 7 More Skills 12 Use Libraries to Organize Files A library is a collection of files and folders stored in different locations on your computer that can be viewed as a single folder.