Refining and organizing

File Management
The purpose of this guide is to identify the concepts of file management and how to
use it effectively.

“Knowledge worker”
A knowledge worker is anyone whose daily job is to develop or use knowledge. In today's
"Information Age", this encompasses a huge number of types of employment. In fact, over the
past century, the "dominant type of occupation has gone from farm laborer, to blue collar worker,
to white collar worker, to knowledge worker.", according to Brainbench CEO Mike Rusiello.
Knowledge workers need to organize, process, collect, record, rewrite, edit, and learn vast
amounts of knowledge, in a short time. All this mental work demands a vast amount of
organization. So where do knowledge workers find a powerful organization tool to make the job
easier? The computer, of course-you knew that was coming.
The key to organization on the computer is through file management. If you are going to use a
computer for work, school, or leisure-not just run programs on it, but truly use it as knowledge
management tool-then it is absolutely essential to understand computer file management.

Operating Systems
A computer is nothing more than a doorstop without its operating system. Well, that's not quite
fair, but the point is that the operating system is what ties everything you do on the computer
together. The operating system:

Is a platform that enables other programs to run on the computer.

Translates input from devices such as the keyboard, the mouse, a scanner, etc.
Sends output to devices such as a printer, the monitor, etc.
Manages files and directories on the removable disks and hard drives connected to the
computer.
Provides tools for security, especially if the computer is part of a network

Windows
Microsoft Windows is arguably the most used operating system in the world (some estimate that
between 80% to 90% of computers run Windows). It certainly is the easiest platform for which to
find software. Windows runs on PC computer hardware, especially requiring an Intel-compatible
processor (such as the ones made by manufacturers like Intel or AMD).
Windows XP, the latest version of Windows, uses a graphical user interface (GUI) to manage files
and run software.
Macintosh
Next in popularity to Windows, the Macintosh platform by Apple is the most common alternative
to Windows. The Macintosh operating system requires different hardware than Windows, in
particular the PowerPC processor (mostly manufactured by Motorola).
The latest version of the Macintosh platform is called OSX. The Mac platform has long been
favored by artists and designers for graphical and multimedia work.

Linux
Rapidly gaining ground in the platform popularity contest is the Linux platform. Part
of its success lies in its roots in the Open Source software movement - there are many
distributions of Linux available for free to download off the Internet. Linux offers a
great amount of user control and configuration to the user, but also requires a greater
amount of technical proficiency in order to install and configure it.
The Linux operating systems can run on the same PC hardware as Windows. In fact,
many users of Linux will often configure their computers to dual boot - where the user
has the choice to run either Windows or Linux when they turn on the computer.

Files
The data file is the basic building block in which you organize information on the computer. Like
a paper file, a data file can hold text or images, but it can really hold any information that a program
writes to it.
The general rule is that a file created by a program always needs that same program to read and
edit it again. There are exceptions to this rule, though, since many programs have functionality to
open files created by other software. For example, the Microsoft Word (a word processor), can
read not only files created by Word, but also text files, files created by certain versions of other
word processors, certain types of image files, and HTML files.

File extensions in Windows

To distinguish between the different types of files, Windows adds a certain code to the end of a
file name. Traditionally, this code is three characters long (though it can be longer), and the letters
offer some description as to the type of file. For example, a file created by Microsoft Word ends
with .doc, indicating that it is a Word document.
Every program is likely to save its own proprietary file format, but there are also some universal
formats that have a greater likelihood of being read by many different applications. The following
table introduces a few of these file types along with their extension.

Displaying file extensions in Win XP

In Windows XP, the file extensions are hidden by default. For more efficient file management, it's
always best to have file extensions displayed. For example, sometimes a program will use the
same icon for different types of files used by the program. Without knowing a file's extension, you
will have no way of distinguishing between these different types of files.
To display the file extensions in Windows XP:

1. Press the Start button, and then click Control Panel icon.
2. Select Tools | Folder options from the menu bar.
3. Click the View tab.
4. Uncheck the "Hide extensions for known file types" option in the Advanced settings box.
5. Click OK, and close the Control Panel.
 Folders
If every file on the computer were stored in one place, it would soon take forever to browse through
the contents of that place-a computer can easily have 10,000 files or more, even if it's never been
used before.
So, just like folders are places in which you can store paper files to keep them organized and easy
find, data folders are divisions of a data storage device (like a hard disk) into which you can sort
files.
All storage devices have a "first" folder, known as the root directory. All folders created are
subfolders of this root folder.

Hard drive
The hard drive (also known as a hard disk), is the basic storage for any computer. A computer
(generally) cannot run without a hard drive. The hard drive is where the software for the operating
system is stored. The average hard disk on today's computer will store anywhere from 10
Gigabytes of data or more.

CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a removable disk that can hold up to 800 MB of data. Even though it can be
removed from the computer, we are still considering the CD-ROM as a static storage device, since
once data has been "pressed" to a CD-ROM, it cannot be changed or erased. A CD-ROM drive is
needed to read CD-ROMs on a computer.

Hard Drive Floppy Drive CD-RW

DVD-ROM
The next step up from the CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM is removable disk that can hold up to 4.7GB of data.
Naturally, a DVD drive is needed to read data from DVD-ROMs.
Removable Storage
Floppy disk
The floppy disk has been considered an essential computer storage medium for over two decades
now. The current 3.5" floppy disk holds only 1.4 MB of data. Good for text or document files, but
useless for multimedia, as some image, audio, or video files can easily take up hundreds of MB
each, or more. In fact, some computers (such as the Apple iMac) have started shipping with only
CD-ROM drives and no standard floppy disk drive. More and more software is shipped on CD-
ROMs (or DVD-ROMs) in order to accommodate the huge number of files.
 CD-R/CD-RW
CD-R (CD-Recordable) and CD-RW (CD-ReWritable) are two optical disk formats (like CD and
DVD), but that allow you to record the CD-R yourself or record, erase, and record again, like the
CD-RW. To do this, you need either a CD burner (for CD-R) or a CD-rewriteable drive (for CD-
RW). CD-Rs and CD-RWs store the same amount of data as a CD-ROM.

DVD-RAM
Similar in concept to the CD-RW, a DVD-RAM (as well as DVD-RW and DVD+RW) disk can
be written to, erased, and written to all over again as many times as is needed. The only advantage
is the DVD optical technology, which permits storing up to 4.7 GB.

Naming Storage Devices

In Windows, every drive is assigned a letter. C: is always the primary hard drive, a is always the
floppy disk drive, while D: is usually the CD-ROM or DVD drive. The rest of the letters can be
assigned any way the user sees fit. In Windows, all the drives available to the computer can be
accessed from the My Computer area.

On the Macintosh, all drives simply have a name, and are

identified that way (as well as by the drive's icon). Every drive
connected to a Macintosh computer can be accessed through the
drive's icon on the desktop

File Management Commands

While the procedures for managing files differ from operating system to operating system, many
of the concepts and commands behind the procedures are the same. These essential commands are
examined below.

Creating Files/Folders
In order for a file to exist, it must be created, and thus saved to
the disk. Normally, this is done in a program by saving the file
currently being edited. It is also possible in Windows to right-
click a folder anywhere and select an option to create a new
empty file. This is only possible for certain file types that have
been programmed into the operating system (like text files), or
when a specific program has made the command available to
the operating system.
 File naming
While in theory you could name a file anything you like, there are certain conventions to be
followed, as well as limitations.
A file's name should easily identify its content. I.e., "Letter" is a pretty ambiguous file
name, while "Letter to Mom (March 16)" is much more descriptive.
A file name must have a file extension, to associate it with a particular program.
Though, as described above, in default installs of some operating systems (like
Windows XP), these extensions won't be immediately visible.
File names in Windows XP cannot be longer than 255 characters, and cannot contain
the characters: \ / : * ? " < > |

Save As
The Save as command saves a new copy of the file currently being edited, but under a new name.
This is very handy for creating several versions of a document, prior to making edits. Simply save
the current state of the document, then select Save As, and save a new version in which to carry
out your edits. If you don't like the way the edits are going, you can always go back to the file
containing the version of the document prior to the edits.

Copy
Copy, paste, and cut are incredibly handy commands. Mostly used for file editing, they also can
be used for managing files. When you copy a file, it is placed into a specific part of your computer's
memory (called the Clipboard), and can then be pasted into any folder or drive that you can access
from your computer. When you copy a file, the original file remains untouched.

Paste
Clipboard memory. The pasted file will always carry the same name as the original file that was
copied-unless it is pasted back into the same directory as the original. In that case, the new copy
of the file will have its name modified slightly, to indicate it is a new copy.

Cut/Move
To cut a file is to copy it into the Clipboard, and then delete it from its current spot on a drive.
You then can paste the file anywhere else you can access from your computer. The cut and paste
combination is also known as moving a file, since all the file's data only exists in the new spot
once it has been cut, and can no longer be found in the old.

Rename
As mentioned previously, naming files is a key part of file management. Another important part
is the ability to change a file's name whenever you like. Reorganization is essential to managing
files, and it is often very useful to rename certain files to help reorganize the way files or folders
are laid out.
 Selecting Objects
In order to carry out the file management tasks described previously, you need some way to
indicate to the operating system which files are to be affected. Using the pointer in the GUI, there
are a couple of techniques for selecting files. The first is the click. Click once on a file, and it
becomes highlighted. This means that it is selected, and the operating system is then waiting for a
command from you (like "rename" or "delete") to apply to the selected object.

Lasso
If you click at a point above or below a group of files, hold down the mouse button and
start dragging the pointer, you will see a rectangular outline begin to grow between the
point you first clicked and the pointer. This is called the lasso. Any icons "caught" in
that lasso will be selected as soon as you
release the mouse button. This is the easiest
way to select large numbers of adjacent files
in the same folder.

Selecting non-adjacent objects

Selecting non-adjacent files in Windows XP
By holding down the CTRL key while you lasso or click
objects to select them, you can maintain the current
selection and select more objects that are not adjacent.

Just like a paper file can be thrown into the trash (or shredded, or recycled) to get rid of it, and to
clear out space for more files, so too can data files on the computer be deleted to free up space
for other files. There are many different ways to carry out the delete command, but by far the
easiest is to select the files to be deleted, and drag them to the Recycle bin (called the Trash
folder on non-Windows computers). If the Recycle Bin icon is not visible, you can also press the
Delete key on the keyboard.

The Trash folder/Recycle Bin

Files that are in the Recycle
Bin do still take up space on
your computer, though. So
every now and then you need
to empty this special folder.
Once the Recycle Bin has
been emptied, the space taken
up by the files is freed and
they are truly gone.

When a file is in the Recycle Bin, it cannot be opened by the operating system. The
Recycling Bin is simply an intermediate place where all deleted files collect. That
way, if you delete something and then decide in a few hours that you actually
needed it, it is a very simple task to restore it from the Recycle Bin.

Intermediate File Management

File management, as you have no doubt guessed, involves a lot more than simply
moving files around from one place to another on the computer and changing
names. The operating system also automates other complicated activities that are
indispensable to managing files and information on the computer.

Searching
There can be times when even the sharpest user forgets where the file that he or she
needs is located. That is when it is time to get the operating system to carry out a
search for the file.
A search for a file scans all storage devices connected to the computer and builds up
a list of any files that match the criteria being searched for. These procedures are
slightly different between Windows and Macintosh computers.

Windows XP
The following example shows how to search for files on the hard drive using
Windows XP. The search function is initiated by choosing the Start button, selecting
Search and then following through with the appropriate search criteria. Selecting the
Search button executes the "search".