- PC SOFTWARE -

Files management is probably one of the most important parts of operating a PC - and something a lot of people have a tough time understanding.  Knowing where all of your stuff is can prove invaluable in so many areas I won't begin to list them.  Most important of all is knowing where all the files you have created (your "Personal Files") are located and how to manipulate them.  If you can visualize the filing system on your hard drive as a big filing cabinet (your `root' or `C:' drive) with a lot of drawers (`directories' or `folders'), and the drawers containing other folders which contain documents (`files'), you are on your way.

What you are looking at below is a "screen shot" of some of the folders and files on my personal hard drive (using the "Windows Explorer" files management program).  With this program (open by going to "Start-Programs-Windows Explorer") you can copy, move, rename, delete, etc. any file or folder on your computer.  You can also use it to open any applications program simply by clicking on the file you want to edit and letting the "association" feature seek out the right program and start it running.  I very seldom turn on my computer without making at least one visit to my software via the Windows Explorer.

ORGANIZING YOUR DATA:  After you have created a new document and hit your "save" button, your system, by default, takes you to a folder called "My Documents" (`2' in the demo above) and asks you to give it a name and location.  Naming the file should be a simple process - but you also have to open the folder you want to save it in.  Unique locations (sub-folders) can be created for this purpose in the Explorer by highlighting the `parent' folder (`My Documents' in this case), going to "file-new-folder".  The `new folder' will appear at the bottom of your left screen in "edit mode", and you can name it whatever is appropriate (like I have done above with "Word", "Excel", etc.).  After you have done this you can create additional sub-folders (example: click on the new folder "Word" and repeat the process adding sub-folders called, "personal", "business", etc.).  Then you will have a place to put your files where you can find them later.

MANIPULATING YOUR DATA:  Let's start with the most common function, "Copying" a file.  Say I wanted to take the Word document (3) in the right screen above and copy it onto a floppy disk.  First, after I had opened `Explorer', I would click on "C:\" (1) so I could see all the first-level folders on my hard drive.  Next, I would click on "My Documents" (2) to open the contents of the folder in the right screen (and sub-folders below it in the left screen).  Then would point to the source file (3) with my mouse, click my right mouse button, and select "copy".  Finally, I would point to the target location (4), right click, and select "paste".  The file will then be copied to the blank floppy in the A:\ drive (4).  This is but one of the many things you can do in Explorer by first `opening' folders on the left until you see the folder or file on the right that you want to manipulate, point to the file or folder on the right, right click on your mouse, and select the action you want to perform.

SELECTING MULTIPLE FILES:  All files (and sub-folders) in a folder can be selected (tagged) at the same time by hitting "ctrl-a".   A range of files can be selected by highlighting a file at one end of the range, holding down your "shift" key, and clicking on the file at the other end of the range.  Files can be selected at random by holding down your "ctrl" key and clicking individually on the files you want to manipulate.  After the desired files are selected, `right click' on any one that is highlighted and select the action you want to perform.

FOLDER PROPERTIES:  Another thing I have found very useful with the `right-click on a folder trick' is to view "properties" and check the total size (in bytes) of the folder (and all sub-folders) - and the total number of files it contains.