Windows File Management Lesson 1 - Windows Explorer
Windows File Management Lesson 1 - Windows Explorer
File
Management
Workshop
By Heman Lee
LESSON 1 – WINDOWS EXPLORER
Objective
Learn how files are created within an application
Access files from an application
Access files from Windows Explorer
Change Windows Explorer’s views
Sort Windows Explorer views
Search for folders and files
Table of Contents
LESSON 1 – WINDOWS EXPLORER .................................................................... 3
REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 1
CREATING A NEW FILES WITHIN A PROGRAM ..................................... 1
SAVING TO A FOLDER.................................................................................. 1
TO FIND YOUR FOLDER OR FILE FROM WITHIN A PROGRAM .......... 1
OPENING FILES FROM WITHIN AN APPLICATION ................................ 1
WHY I NEED TO KNOW FILE MANAGMENT ............................................... 2
ACCESS WINDOWS EXPLORER ...................................................................... 3
FOLDER HIERACHY .......................................................................................... 4
WINDOWS EXPLORER ...................................................................................... 5
The Explorer Window ........................................................................................... 6
Address Bar........................................................................................................ 6
Navigate the Address Bar .................................................................................. 6
Use the Back and Forward ..................................................................................... 8
Exercise – Back/Forward ................................................................................... 8
Navigate to Sub-folders ......................................................................................... 9
Click on the arrow to view the sub-folder list ................................................... 9
Folder View (Navigation Pane) ............................................................................. 9
Favorite Folder ..................................................................................................... 10
Navigating the Folders Pane ................................................................................ 10
Expanded Folder .............................................................................................. 10
Important Point ................................................................................................ 11
Windows 7 Libraries ............................................................................................ 11
EXERCISE - View of your student CD ............................................................. 14
EXERCISE - View the contents of C drive ........................................................ 14
COMPUTER ........................................................................................................ 15
WINDOWS EXPLORER VIEWS ...................................................................... 15
List ....................................................................................................................... 15
Tiles...................................................................................................................... 15
Icons View ........................................................................................................... 16
Details .................................................................................................................. 16
Sorting the Detail View ....................................................................................... 17
Add/Delete Column Heading .............................................................................. 18
Virtual Search Folder ........................................................................................... 19
Group By.......................................................................................................... 19
Stack By ........................................................................................................... 21
HOW TO FIND YOUR FILES IN WINDOWS ................................................. 22
Using Advanced Search ................................................................................... 22
Exercise 1 ............................................................................................................. 23
Viewing files on the CD: ................................................................................. 23
Sorting the Detail View: .................................................................................. 23
Group the Detail View: .................................................................................... 23
Stack (Arrange) Files: ...................................................................................... 23
Exercise 2 ............................................................................................................. 24
Create a New Folder ........................................................................................ 24
Delete Folders .................................................................................................. 24
Rename a Folder .............................................................................................. 24
Create a Shortcut to a Folder ........................................................................... 24
HOMEWORK ..................................................................................................... 25
Intro to Computer- Review Questions ................................................................ 26
Windows Basic – Review Questions ................................................................... 28
Chapter 3 – Windows Explorer: Review Questions ............................................ 30
REVIEW
CREATING A NEW FILES WITHIN A PROGRAM
Saving your work is a basic concept for all programs on your computer you need to
master. Anytime we save or open a file, we use an application called Windows
Explorer. You will see how this program works from within a program like
Wordpad. Later we will learn how to use Windows Explorer to access your saved
file.
SAVING TO A FOLDER
When you save a file for the first time, you are given the opportunity to name your
file. You can also to most Windows Explorer file management using the SAVE
AS windows. This windows is essentially a mini version of Windows Explorer.
Verify that "All Documents" is selected in the Files of type. This is very important.
The file may have been saved in another program and may not show in your
window unless you select "All Documents."
Many type of application will use this same screen. An email program might what
to attach a file. Other applications may what to attach a file, downloading a file,
browse for a file, insert a file or image into a document and transfer image from my
digital camera.
Windows Explorer can be seen from within any application that requires you to
access you folders and files.
Lesson 1 - Windows Explorer.doc 1.3 7/20/2009
FOLDER HIERACHY
Windows Vista folder hierarchy like a invert tree with braches to represent sub-
folder. The root which represent the highest level is at the top of the tree.
Under the Desktop (Root) you have the Personal Folder, Computer, Network,
Control Panel and Recycle Bin. Microsoft calls these virtual folder because they
don’t physical reside to any real location on the hard drive. The virtual folders
makes it easier on the user to locate and find files.
In Vista, under the Personal Folder (logon name of the user) there were some pre-
configured Virtual Folders, for Music, Pictures, Documents and Video (Figure 3.1).
Windows Vista also supported manual creation of your own custom virtual folders
Navigation
Pane
Detail Pane
The Windows Explorer is also known as the File Manager. Through it we can
delete, see, copy, or move files and folders.
The difference between the two is that the Windows Explorer has two panels. The
added panel on the left is called the “folder pane” and shows you the folders stored
on your computer. The panel on the right shows the contents of the folder selected.
“Downloads” has been selected below.
Address Bar
The address box represents the path to the folder you are currently viewing in the
detail pane.
Click to view
sub-folders
Steve Document
Current folder
Click on Family
DesktopBobPictureFamily
Click on Picture
DesktopBobPicture
Click on Bob
DesktopBob
This is useful to return quickly back to and from a flash drive or CD drive.
Exercise – Back/Forward
Student?Picture
Student?Music
Student?Document
Student?Video
Computer
Select the Folder Button on the Windows Explorer tool bar to display the folder
pane. In Vista, this is the default view which they renamed toe the Navigation
Pane because you can navigate through all of the folders and subfolders.
The + sign next to the folder mean that there are more sub-fold underneath. Click
on the + to expand it. Once expanded the + become a “-“. The can collapse it
back on the next click.
Favorite Pane
A quick method to navigate the folder hierarchy is to use the favorite folder pane.
Microsoft’s default virtual folder are the default with addition or Recently Changed
folders. You can add your own favorite folder to this list by drag it form the detail
pane.
By clicking on the folders in the tree view, the contents will appear in the right
windows pane.
Bob
To open a folder, to reveal its "children" folders, simply click in the arrow sign
in front of it. symbol represent that the folder is already expanded show all of
it’s children or sub-folders.
If the plus sign is not present, the folder doesn't have children or sub-folders to be
displayed.
Expanded Folder
DesktopBobDocument
Important Point
Navigating the folder pane is import tool in file management. This will become
apparent when performing the Copy and Move functions.
Use only the arrow to expand or collapse the folder and subfolder view. You must
be able to use the scroll bar to view up and down the folder hierarchy. Notice that
this does not effect the detail view. It is import that the detail view remain in same
view you left it.
Windows 7 Libraries
In Windows 7 the folder pane is replace by the concept of
Libraris. A Library can be treated like a folder with a group
of subfolders inside it, and can also pull some nifty tricks all
of its own. The important thing to remember is this: the
subfolders are not actually stored in the library. They are just
made to seem as though they are. Each library has some
default contents, but you can change these, and also create
new libraries if you wish.
I’m a photographer, so the most interesting library to me is
Pictures, but all of this applies to any library you choose.
They all sit inside the Libraries, which is available as soon as
you start Windows Explorer, so let’s start there.
1. Scroll through the contents of the left panel and click on every sign.
2. Let us now go to the C–drive (the largest of the “storage banks.”) Click on
the of Computer.
3. Click on sign within the C-drive. Continue this operation until there are
no more left within the C-drive. You will have to scroll.
NOTE: Every user in Windows Vista has his or her individual personal folder.
The Personal folder that you see under Desktop is the one for the user presently
logged on.
Select VIEW from the Explorer Menu. The Detail View is the most helpful for
organizing, sorting and locating your file.
File Attribute: Name, Modification Date, Type, Size, etc..
Select Tools, Folder Option, to change how Window’s open a folder.
List
Shows small icons, one below the other, so it's easier to search by name. On this
view, only the name of the file or folder appears.
Tiles.
The files and folders are shown with large images with the name, file type and size
in KB; if it is a picture file the size is shown in pixels. The elements are organized
one next to the other from left to right.
With this view, it is easier to see the name of the elements, and to select them. This
view is often used when we have few objects in a certain drive or folder.
Lesson 1 - Windows Explorer.doc 1.15 7/20/2009
Icons View
The icon view are small representation or thumbnail of the content will appear with
the format of the image, such as jpg., jpeg., bmp., gif., etc.
Vista has four new views that replace the thumbnail view in XP. It is called the
Icon view which range in size from Extra Large, Large, Medium and Small.
The Extra Large or Large Icon view is useful especially for photograph or graphic
file because this view shows you a preview of the picture.
Those that have another format or those that are folders will appear with the
corresponding icon to their content in larger size.
This view is usually used when we deal with a few images because it allows us to
easily identify the content of each file and thus facilitate the search of any given
image.
Details
Lesson 1 - Windows Explorer.doc 1.16 7/20/2009
Icons are shown one below the other, with some of their properties. This type of
display is used when we want to find an element with certain characteristics, such
as size, file type, date of modification, etc.
With this type of view we can organize the elements by size, modification date,
name, etc.
For example, to organize by the modification date it is enough to click on the box
Date Modified, and it will arrange the files by date from greater to lesser. If we
click on it again it will arrange it from lesser to greater. The older dates are
considered lesser.
On the views List or Details the elements appear one below the other and in the
case of deleting or adding, the elements will reorganize themselves.
Sort Column Heading Click to sort ascending, click again the reverse.
Sore Indicator
You can sort the Detail List view by any displayed column heading. Select the
column heading by click in the heading area. Click it again and the sort will
reverse from either ascending to descending or descending to ascending. You can
sort on any column heading.
A drop down menu will list detail you can add or delete. Click on the check box to
check or uncheck any number of detail or file attribute to display. If you wish to
view additional attributes, click More.. to launch a dialog box.
Use the check box the check or uncheck detail you wish to list. Click OK to
confirm your selection.
Note: Some of the additional detail might not be support on other systems. If you
copy to or from CD or flash drive, you may loose some of the detail information.
Only the default detail like, filename, size, type and modification date are
maintained.
Group By
You can organize files into groups by Name, Date modified, Type, Size or just
about any file criteria. Right-click on the file detail pane to display the following
menu:
The result of Group by file type. PDF file, folders and Office Word file are
grouped in separate sections with its own heading.
Simular to searches and group, stack are saved as virtual folders. The following
windows show Stacked by data modified. This creates a virtual stack similar to a
virtual folder. The newest modified files are in the “Today” stack.
Figure 3.6
BY FILE NAME - It's not always easy to remember exactly what you called a file
or where you stored it. If you know part of the file's name, there is no need to
worry. Find will display all of the files that contain the characters you can
remember, whether they are number, letters or a whole word.
1. Enter the file name or partial name of the file you are searching for into the
search box..
1. Enter a keyword contain within the document, into the search box.
You can narrow your search by file type using the Show only filter tool on the first
tool bar.
2. Select New>Folder.
or
Note: The Organize menu is new in Vista. It allows you to perform most file
management functions.
Delete Folders
Select the folder.
Right-Click on the folder you wish to delete, and select Delete.
Or
Select Organize>Delete from the Organize Menu.
Rename a Folder
Right Click and select Rename.
Or
Click on the name until the I-Beam appears. Use the keyboard to type the new
name.
3) What is an I-beam?
a. Use in construction
b. Mouse pointer over text editing area.
c. The cursor
14) Which view gives me the most information about the file?
q. Large icon view.
r. Extra large icon view.
s. List view
t. Detail view.
16) The root folder for all of you files start with your:
a. Document folder.
b. Personal folder.
c. Desktop folder.
d. Folder called “My Documents.”
e. Logon name.