File Mngmnt

8/2/2019 File Mngmnt

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Prepared by Charles L. Kirkpatrick 7/29/02

Pow er fu l f i le m anagement :

Pu t your w indow s to w ork !

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Manage File ExtensionsFile Exten sions a re th e t hree-lett er su ffixes t hat control w hichprogram is as sociated w ith a file. Microsoft Word docume nts e nd

in .doc, this mean s t hat w hen you doub le -click a file th at end s in

.doc, Microsoft Word w ill open th e file. It is importan t to knowhow to show these extensions an d chang e the p rograms w ith w hich the file

extensions are ass ociate d.

Show file exten sions:

Open a folder on t he des ktop on the folder me nu b ar choose view folder

options click the View ta b unche ck the box next t o Hide file e xtens ions

for known file t ypes .

Chan ge th e ap plication associated with a p art icular f ile extension:

Open a folde r on th e de sktop on the folde r menu b ar choose view folder

options click the File Types ta b click a file type then click the Edit

but ton to chan ge t he p rogram to w hich that file type is registered OR click theNew Type b utton to set up a new ass ociation.

Use your system t oolsa. Backupb. Scheduled tasks

c. DefragmentingBack up, back up, back up!

Name / Save Systemati cally

a. use naming schemes otherswould understandb. save files in one location

Manage File Extensions

Creat e an organi zation system Unleash the

Power of FileManagement!


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File Management 2

The ba ttle betw een Nets cape a nd Explorer is an e xample of w hen t w o

programs try to control the s ame e xtens ion. Unde r File Types you can de cidew hich you w ould p refer.

!Correc t unusua l ex t ens ions : If you receive files that contain an unusual

extension Budget Report.apr for an April Budget report for example, change theextension to the associated file extension. April Budget Report.doc for a Word

document, April Budget Report.xls for an Excel Spreadsheet.

Quick access t o your fil esRecent ly used docum ent s are displayed on the Start Menu,

documen ts folde r. Choose Start Documents, and select afile n ame to open it.

Preview a docum ent w ithout opening the program:Right-click the file nam e (on the de skt op or in your folde rs) and choose q uick

view.

Create a sh ortcut to a printer icon or disk drive:

Open th e folder th at cont ains th e item (Sta rt Menu Settings Printers for

Printe rs, or My Comput er for the d isk drives ) Right -click the ite m and choos eCreate Shortcut right -click the s hortcut an d choose rena me; delete th e

w ords Shortcut to.

Open a f ile w ith anoth er ap plicat ion :

(For example open ing a WordPerfect file in Word.) Open the program you ha vechosen select File Menu Open unde r Ope n files of type a t the bott om,

chan ge to All Files then locat e t he file a nd doub le-click to open it.

Put commonly used documents / app lications on the tas k bar:Drag t he s hortcut or file icon on to the ta skba r. To remove an item from the

tas kbar, right click the icon on the tas kbar and choose delete.

Move or print a f ile without open ing the application:

Right-click the file a nd se lect Send To. To chang e t he featu res a vailab le in

the sen d t o feat ure, copy a sh ortcut for the p rinte r or disk drive inc:\w indow s\s end to (see t he tip on creating these s hortcuts a bove.)

!A l w a y s l o g i n t o c o m p u t e r s o n c a m p u s : When you are using computers

on campus it is very important to log in. The printers and network drives will notbe available if you do not log in.

You can access your network drive from anywhere you log in on campus!


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File Management 4

Use the b uilt in ba ckup t ool:

Go to Sta rt Menu Programs Accessories Syst em Tools Backup

Select Creat e a new ba ckup job click OK Select Backup se lectedfiles , folders , drives click Next Double-click the C:\ d rive icon check

the box bes ide My Documents click Next

Decide w het her to ba ck up all se lected files or only new or chan ge dfiles click Next choose w here to s ave t he b ackup click the folde r iconto chan ge the location (It is a grea t idea to sa ve to your P:\ d rive!) Then click

Next Leave the next s creen a s is, a nd click Next. Give this b ackup job

a na me -- w ee kly backup, for example to run th e job, click Start.

Use the Schedu led Tasks tool to rem ind you to back u p.

Go to Sta rt Menu Programs Accessories Syst em Tools ScheduledTas ks Double-click Add Sched uled Tas k on th e dialogue box tha t

ap pea rs, click NextScroll down to ba ckup, click once t o se lect it click Next give your

ba ckup job a nam e select how freque ntly you w ant it to run click Nextse lect the time a nd da ys you w ant the job to run: for example, 4:00 p.m. M, T,

W, Th, F click Next click Finish.

With th is example every day at 4 p.m. the b ackup p rogram w ill open.You w ill need to click Backup for the w eekly backup to run.

Verify th e am ount of disk spa ce available on a p art icular d rive:

Right-click the drive an d choose Properties . Free sp ace is colored b right

purp le. The a mount of free s pa ce is displayed for you.

Increase the disk space ava ilable by using t he Disk Clean up tool:

Go to Sta rt Menu Programs Accessories Syst em Tools DiskClea nup select t he C:\d rive check the items you w ant to de lete click OK.

Increase the Hard Drives performan ce, by defragm enting the drive once a

month. Check out this process on the next page!


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File Management 5

Defragmenting Your Hard Drive1

You can increase your systems performance by defragmenting yourhard drive regularly. As applications and files are saved and deleted

they gradually cause your hard drive to fragment. This simply meansyour files become scattered all over the drive instead of beingoptimized in logical locations.

Your PC frequently needs to call upon the hard drive to store files in virtual memory, and afragmented disk makes that harder for it to do. By defragmenting your hard drive you canrestore the speed at which your computer operates to its optimum level. Defragmenting mayalso save wear and tear on your hard drive and extend its lifespan.

How Do I Know If I Need To Defragment?

A few signs of a hard drive that has become to fragmented include:

Slowing or sluggish performance. Out of memory messages. Failure to complete tasks.

What Does Defragmenting Do?You computer stores your files by hunting for the nearest free space. This isn't always optimalas groups of files linked by your applications can be spread far and wide on your system.Defragmenting your hard drive on a regular basis groups these files in a logical order. Ideally,you should check weekly to see if your system needs defragmented. Minimally, check once amonth.

How Do I Defragment My Computer

In Windows 95 and 98, go to Start Menu Programs Accessories System Tools andchoose Disk Defragmenter. Choose the drive you want to defragment and choose OK, followthe instructions. If your disk doesn't need defragmenting it will give you the option to continue orcancel.

Closing TipDefragmenting, especially on a greatly fragmented drive, can take a good while. For this reason,try starting it when you don't need to use your computer, like on your lunch break or before youleave for the day. If you use your computer during the defragmentation process it has to keep

starting over and can take all day that way, so do it when you can let it work without theinterferrence from your other duties. Close all programs and turn off any screen saver orpower saver settings. Your computer should not have anything else going on when youdefragment. It will certainly be worth the trouble.

1From Boogie Jacks Web Depot: http://www.boogiejack.com/computer019.html


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File Management 6

A file organization system in 4 simple st eps :These s tep s are just a s us eful for pa pe r files a s th ey are foryour electronic files an d e -mails.

1. Filter the information you are st oring, as w ell as n ewinformation tha t comes in. Ask the se qu es tions, and

keep th e important s tuff.a . Is it w orthw hile?

b . Will I us e it aga in?c. Can I eas ily find it else w here?

d . Will somet hing bad ha pp en if I toss t his?

e. Do I need the w hole item?

2. Categ orize your folde rs.a . Have only 10 files in a folder.

b . Use g ene ral groupings like Active / inactive, Profes sional /Personal, et c.

c. Clas sify your documen ts into sub -groups w ith one of the

follow ing sys tems : a lphabe tical, chronological, ge ograp hical,nume rical, or su bject.

3. Go th rough and p lace all of your files , elect ronic documen ts , or ema ils in

the correct folde rs.a . Reme mbe r to place all of the se folders in one ma in location

(C:\My docum en ts , for examp le.)

b . For e-mail you migh t include s pe cial folde rs like e -ma il from

friend s, or p ersona lc. Make sure to name files an d documents using this question:

Under w hat na me w ill I look for it?

d . Inste ad of forcing yourself to do this all at once , spen d 15 minut esa d ay. Mark your st opping p lace on a p ost-it, or with a bright ly

colored p iece of pa pe r.

4. At some point in the p rocess creat e a file ind ex that looks somet hing

like this:

An inde x is crucia l for eas ily retrieving files ! Keep it in a place w hereyou or othe rs w ith acce ss to your files can find it easily.

Category Sub-Categor y File Nam e Location

Training Word I Word I.doc I:\TrainingTraining Word I Lab 1.doc I:\Training


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File Management 7

!

Fina l T ip -- Combine re la ted spreadshee ts & docum ent s :

Put related spreadsheets in to one workbook (an Excel document is

called a workbook.) For example, have all monthly budget reports contained inone file for the entire year, like 2002 Budget Report.xls.

Combine reports and their associated graphs or charts. Use cut andpaste to move the different items to the same file. Then choose Insert Break Continuous Section Break, to put in a section break. This allows you to set

some pages to Portrait orientation, while others are in Landscape orientation.

Additional Resources:

Bob ODonne ll: Personal Compu ter Secrets , ISBN:0764531336

Eileen Roth, Elizab eth Miles : Organizing For Dum mies, ISBN:0-7645-5300-3