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Windows Management

Class Description This is an introductory class for those who know how the basics of using a computer, but need help finding and organizing files of all sorts: pictures, documents, spreadsheets, music, videos, and more. Much of the lesson can be transferred to non‐Windows computers, but the focus is on Windows. Class Length One to one‐half (1½) hours. Introduction One of the most frustrating things about using a computer can be trying to a file you know was on your computer. That there are so many different locations for saving files doesn’t it easy. This class will look how you can organize your files in a way which works for you and how you can hard‐to‐find files. Objectives  Learn the meaning of ‘drive’, ‘folder’, and ‘’  Learn how to use Windows/ o How to select multiple files o How to files from one destination to another o How to copy files from one destination to another o How to move files to the Recycle Bin o How to permanently delete files  How to search for files  Acquire ideas for effective organization of files

This is a handout for you to keep. Please feel free to use it for taking notes.

1 * The ‘File Cabinets’ on Your Computer

Most find it easier to understand something new by relating it to something familiar. Perhaps the best familiar thing which can be related to digital files and folders is an office filing system: a file room with rows of file cabinets; each file with multiple drawers; each drawer with many hanging folders; one or more manila folders in each hanging folder; and inside the manila folders. * when using the Windows How does this work for a Windows‐based (Macs, too) computer? Think of the computer , we some- as the file room; various drives as rows of file cabinets; folders on a drive as an individ‐ times talk of ‘subfolders’, but ual file cabinet; a subfolder* as a file cabinet drawer; a sub‐subfolder* as a hanging don’t normally go beyond folder; a sub‐sub‐subfolder* as a ; a as piece(s) of . that. Most folders are subfolders of another folder. There are two important differences between an office filing system and a computer : (1) computer file systems have no practical limit to the number of organizing levels, whereas one does not normally put a manila folder inside a manila folder which is the lowest organizing level; and (2) in computer file systems, any organizing level can contain both files and a practically unlimited number of subfolders, whereas one normally places every piece of paper inside a manila folder (not in a hanging folder outside a manila folder, or in a file cabinet drawer outside a hanging folder, or between file cabinet drawers, etc.).

The Windows operating system includes an application for working with files and folders. In and before, it is called ‘Windows Explorer’. Beginning with , it is called ‘File Explorer’. There are some slight differences in Windows/File Explorer in different versions of Windows, but they all have the same basic purpose: to create, move, delete, and rename both files and folders — to manage files and folders.

The Windows operating system has Windows‐based computers use drives to organize files and assigns a letter to some special folders: some are for each (A‐Z, thus a limit of 26 drives). Typically, the letters ‘A’ and ‘B’ are content (Documents, Music, Pictures, reserved for floppy drives (rarely used today) and ‘C’ is reserved for the Videos, Downloads, etc.); others are Windows operating system. Other letters are used for additional hard drives, system folders (Desktop, Recycle Bin). network locations, removable storage (e.g. optical drives, ‘thumb’ drives, Tip: the more content (, not num- external ber of files) stored on the Desktop drives), etc. (including background images), the slower the computer will run.

There is no one way to organize files and folders.

Windows 7: Windows Explorer

You need to find a system which works for you. : File Explorer

2 * Every drive in Windows can contain one or more files and/or one or more folders. Every folder can contain one or more files and/or one or more (sub)folders. For file and folder names, Windows ignores letter case (most other operating systems are case sensitive, i.e. SAMPLE.TXT, Sample.TXT, and sample.TXT are different and can coexist in the same folder). All the names in a folder, files and sub‐folders, must be unique. Naming Rules & Restrictions

Don’t obsess over these rules. This section is for those wondering why Restrictions: Windows has several an error message appeared or a name was changed from what was typed and reserved characters which cannot be for those who want some nitty‐gritty details. used in the names of file or folders: < > (less than and greater than) The earliest versions of Windows used 8.3 (‘eight three’) : up to : (colon) eight characters, followed by a dot/period, then ending in a ‘file extension’ of " (double quote) / \ (forward slash and backslash) three or less characters, identifying the of file (applications normally add | (vertical bar or pipe) this automatically when saving files). Some (older) applications still use this ? ( question mark) format. * (asterisk) Neither a period nor a blank space File extensions may now exceed three characters. They are used by the may be used at the end of a file Windows operating system and by Windows/File Explorer to identify the type of name or folder name. A blank space file and the application associated with it and displays this by using an from cannot be used at the beginning of a the file’s application and (‘Details’ view only) to supply the information in the file name or folder name. File names may begin with a period, but folder ‘Type’ column (e.g. ‘ Worksheet’). The entire file name, including names may not. the dot/period and the file extension is limited to 255 characters. There are also reserved names: con prn aux nul com, followed by one digit, 1-9 lpt, followed by one digit, 1-9

Using Windows/File Explorer

Windows/File Explorer can be launched by clicking on the folder in the (circled at right). It can also be launched by clicking the Start and start typing windows explorer (Windows 7 and earlier) or file explorer (Windows 8 and later) until the name appears in the and then clicking on the name with the mouse or, after ensuring the name is highlighted, pressing the J key; or by using the keyboard i+e (hold the down, press e, then release both keys).

3 *

Windows Explorer (Windows 7) ① Navigation pane ⑦ Search ② Back & forward buttons ⑧ Details pane ③ ⑨ Preview pane ④ ⑩ Display options ⑤ File list ⑪ Preview pane toggle ⑥ Column headings

Windows/File Explorer Layouts

File Explorer (Windows 8 and later) ① Navigation pane ⑥ Column headings

② Back, forward, & up buttons ⑦ ③ ⑧ Status bar ④ Address bar ⑨ Preview OR ⑤ File list Details pane

4 * Views The previous page showed the ‘Details’ view for both. It shows only information about the files and folders.

The ‘Extra large icons’ (not shown), ‘Large icons’ (left, top), and ‘Medium icons’ (right, top) are similar; ‘Small icons’ (left, middle) loses the thumbnail icon, but a large thumbnail can be displayed in the ‘Details pane’. The ‘Tiles’ view (right, middle) has both thumbnail icons and some information about the file.

The ‘List’ view (left, bottom) is good for seeing a lot of items. The ‘Content’ view (right, bottom) contains a more information than the ‘Tiles’ view, but displays fewer items.

5 * Navigation pane – used to access hard drives, ‘libraries’ (Windows 7 only), folders, devices & drives attached to your PC, saved searches. The Favorites (Windows 7, shortcuts can be renamed) or Quick access (Windows 10, shortcuts can not be renamed)) section works like a web browser’s bookmarks and will jump to a saved folder. Any item displayed in the Navigation pane can be a target for moving/copying files to a specific location. To add an item to Favorites/Quick access, go to the location, then right click on Favorites/ Quick access to a :

Then left click on ‘Add current location to Favorites’ (Windows 7) or ‘Pin current folder to Quick access’ (Windows 10).

Back, forward, (up) buttons – used much like a web browser to go back to previous location, to move forward after having gone back to previous location and (not in Windows 7) to go to the folder containing the current folder.

Toolbar / Ribbon – used to access frequently needed functions. The two principal ribbons in File Explorer are HOME (top) and VIEW (lower):

In Windows, the path is the Address bar – shows current location; can be used for navigation: type the path into the field drive letter, a colon, a back- slash, the name of the folder File list – the list of files in the current folder; using the Display options (Windows 7) or with a backslash at the end VIEW ribbon (Windows 8 and later), the view can be changed (see previous page) (repeated as necessary for additional folders).

Column headings (Detail view only) – can be used to quickly items by any of the C:\Users\John\Documents\ column headers; one click will sort in one direction (e.g. 0‐9, A‐Z; oldest to newest; might be the path for John’s smallest to largest) and a second click will sort in reverse order (e.g. Z‐A, 9‐0; ‘’ folder. In newest to oldest; largest to smallest). this example, ‘Documents’ is a subfolder of the ‘John’ Search box – Used to find files and folders; as soon as text is entered, the search begins; folder, which is a subfolder of if the box is clicked, Windows 7 will display additional search options (varies by type the ‘Users’ folder, which is on of folder) to limit the number of files or folders found. the ‘C’ drive.

In Windows 8 and later, a Search Tools ribbon will appear from where you can set options:

6 * Details pane – used to see common properties about the file such as dimensions of pictures, , author information, etc.

Status bar – used to see total number of items in a location or the number of selected items and their size

Preview pane – used to get a preview of a file such as a thumbnail of a picture or the text in a file – without opening the file’s application

Display options (Windows 7) – opens a menu to select the desired view; beginning with Windows 8, this is controlled via the VIEW ribbon

Preview pane toggle (Windows 7) – toggles on/off the Preview pane on the right side of the ; begin‐ ning with Windows 8, this is controlled with the VIEW ribbon Selecting Items A single item in the file list can be selected by clicking on it with the mouse pointer. Performing a click‐and‐drag over multiple items will select all items within the area selected. Multiple items can also be selected by clicking on the first or last item to be selected, pressing and holding the G key, and then clicking on the opposite item to be selected (the G key can then be released). Everything between the two clicks will be selected. To add or subtract single items, press and hold the F key whilst clicking the item(s). The F key can be released after clicks, but must be held down before clicking. This is especially useful if you want to select multiple items which are not sequentially ordered. For hardcore keyboard users, the N key can be used to move between the different sections of Windows/File Explorer (e.g. from the Address bar to the Search box to the Toolbar to the Navigation Pane to the File list, etc.), arrow keys can be used to change a selection, and multiple items can be selected with the G key plus arrow keys. Manipulating Items One of the most useful (and underused tools) for manipulating files and folders is the right mouse click to open a context menu which has most everything you might want to do to items — including renaming.

Items in Windows/File Explorer can be copied using the typical Windows of F+c; they can be with the By default, dragging items from one typical Windows location to another will be a move keyboard shortcut of (deleting from the source; adding to F+x; they can be the destination), if both source and pasted with the typical Windows keyboard shortcut of F+v. destination are on the same drive; if they are on different drives, dragging One of the easiest ways to move or copy files from one location to another is to items will, by default, be a copy click‐and‐drag the name and icon of the file(s) with the mouse. If the target (leaving files at the source; duplica- appears in the Navigation pane, this can be done in a single Windows/File ting them to the destination). Explorer window, but opening a second Windows/File Explorer window to drag This behavior can be overridden by items from one window to another is usually simpler (and requires less precision pressing and holding the G key with the mouse [items in the Navigation pane are small and closely packed]). before releasing the mouse button.

7 * The click‐and‐drag technique can also be done with the right mouse button. At first, the behavior is identical to dragging with the left mouse button (far right), but the right button, when released, opens a context menu (below, left). From this menu, it is easy to select the desired action.

Deleting Items One or more items can be moved to the Recycle Bin by selecting the item(s) and then either (1) dragging the item(s) to the Recycle Bin icon, (2) pressing the V key, or (3) right‐clicking on the items to open the context menu and then left‐ clicking on ‘Delete’. If the G key is held whilst pressing the V key or clicking ‘Delete’ from the context menu, the Recycle Bin will be bypassed and the file(s) or folder(s) will be permanently deleted.

Creating Folders There are several ways to create a new folder: in Windows 7, click ‘New folder’ on the Toolbar; in Windows 8 and later, click the New folder icon on the HOME ribbon; in any version of Windows, right mouse click in an empty area of the file list area to open the context menu (example at right) and use left mouse clicks on ‘New’ then ‘Folder’; in any current version of Windows use the keyboard shortcut F+G+n. Any way you choose, a new folder named ‘New folder’ will be created with the name already selected: just start typing the desired name for the folder to the ‘New folder’ name. [If you already have a folder named ‘New folder’, the next new folder will start with the name ‘New folder (2)’.]

Organizing Files and Folders

The hardest thing about organizing files and folders is the time required to initially get organized (but being organized will save a great deal of time). The first step is deciding upon a system of organization — and this is a matter of personal preference: you should choose a system based on how your brain is organized. Put some thought into this — changing it later will be a huge hassle. You may want to surf through a number of your existing files to help determine a logical structure for organizing them.

There are some who advocate just dumping everything into one folder and using Windows’ built‐in search function to find a file. There are two big drawbacks to this: (1) it takes a lot more time to wait for a search than to ‘drill down’ to where you know a file is located, and (2) some items (e.g. photos from most cameras) don’t typically have a useful, descriptive name: unless you take the time to rename hundreds, perhaps thousands of files, a search function won’t work. A good system of organization will simplify and make transferring files to a different computer much easier.

8 * Windows typically includes folders under each ID which can be used for organizing files, such as: Folder Name Path (Windows 7 and later) for user ID JohnSmith The Desktop folder is special: it is Desktop C:\Users\JohnSmith\Desktop\ [see at right] both what you have as a back- Downloads C:\Users\JohnSmith\Downloads\ ground (saving your , [My] Documents* C:\Users\JohnSmith\Documents\ background color, and more), but [My] Music* C:\Users\JohnSmith\Music\ can also contain files and folders. [My] Pictures* C:\Users\JohnSmith\Pictures\ CAUTION: the more information [My] Videos* C:\Users\JohnSmith\Videos\ stored on/in Desktop (files plus folders plus wallpaper), the more * Beginning in Windows 8, the ‘My’ portion of the Folder Name was removed will be used to retain it: the computer will start and run more slowly. Shortcuts are If separating files into Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos makes tiny files and have little impact; complete files, especially large sense to you, by all means use it, but don’t feel compelled to use the pre‐made ones, have more effect. structure of Windows.

Subfolders: You will want to use subfolders. Some people prefer a lot of subfolders and avoid having many levels; others will find anything more than a dozen items in a folder too much and prefer an organization structure which is many levels deep. There is nothing wrong with putting files into a folder C:\Files\House\Geneva\Improvements\Kitchen2014\ for a remodelling project of the kitchen in 2014 for the house you owned in Geneva. (If you have folders containing only one or two files, you may have been over‐zealous in your organization; if you have a handful of folders with hundreds of files each, you haven’t really organized.)

Not every folder needs identical organization. You might want to organize music by genre or by artist; digital photos by the date they were taken, or the location where they were taken, or by where/how you acquired the picture; documents might be organized by who created them, their subject, or when they were created — use what makes the most sense for you. Avoid duplicating files and folders: it not only wastes storage space, but it makes it more difficult to find the ‘right’ copy. (This ‘rule’ does NOT apply to copies made for purposes!) If you need to keep versions, append a date to the name; if you use the International Organization for Standardization’s date format (from left‐to‐ right, most significant to least significant digit, just like Arabic numerals): yyyy‐mm‐dd, thus: 2017‐04‐17, an alphabetical sort by will put the files in date order.

Shortcuts: These are tiny files which point to a file’s location. This can be useful if you want to keep a handy folder of files you are currently working on: when a file is complete, delete the shortcut without deleting the actual file. If you have music organized by artist and some of the songs are for the Christmas season, you might keep shortcuts in a Christmas music folder which point to songs from several different artists. Digital photos might be organized by vacation, but you might have a folder for each family member with shortcuts to photos.

Shortcuts use a nearly‐identical icon as used by the file. Below (L‐R), is the actual file’s icon, the initial shortcut, and the renamed shortcut (removing ‘ ‐ Shortcut’). The visual clue for a shortcut is an arrow in a box superimposed on the icon.

9 * There are two main ways to create a shortcut:

1. Copy the original file or folder (click on it and type F+c, or right‐click on it and select ‘Copy’ from the context menu [right]). Then, in an empty area of the destination folder (the place where you want the shortcut to go), right‐click and select ‘Paste shortcut’ from the context menu (left).

2. Right‐drag (drag with the right mouse button) the file from the source folder to the destination folder. When you release the mouse button at the destina‐ tion folder, a menu will appear (previously shown on page 7) from which you left‐click on ‘Create shortcuts here’.

By default, Windows will add a space, dash, space, and the word ‘Shortcut’ to the filename. This can be changed by renaming it as you would any other file or folder, using a right mouse click and choosing ‘Rename’, or by pressing l and entering a new name. You can create shortcuts to folders as well.

There are many web pages with suggestions on how to organize your computer files. One of the most comprehensive is http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15677/zen‐and‐the‐art‐of‐file‐and‐folder‐organization/

Questions? Feel free to contact Ross Valentine at [email protected] or call the library at 630.232.0780 10 April 2017