File management

One of the most important things that you can do for yourself is learn how to manage where you store your files.  You will have hundreds of files and you should organize them into folders.  This exercise will teach you to create and use folders so that you can keep your files and everything else in your life organized and simplified.

Creating a folder
 

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
     
  2. Go to File > Save As > Click on the pull down arrow > select your directory:



     
  3. By selecting your directory, this will ensure that you are saving in the correct place and will never lose your work.
     
  4. If you do not save in this directory, when you log out, any files saved somewhere else will be deleted automatically.
     
  5. Now that you are looking at your directory, create a new folder for the Computer Applications course.  To do this, click on the New Folder Icon that looks like this: 
     
  6. A dialog box will appear and ask you to give the new folder a name.  Call it "Computer Applications" and click OK.
     
  7. Notice that "Computer Applications" is now listed in the "Save In:" area of the Save As dialog box.


     
  8. We are going to create a folder for each class that you are currently taking here at Westview.
     
  9. But, in order to do so, we need to get back to our main directory (the one whose name begins with your student ID#).
     
  10. To do this, you can simply click on the icon to move back up one level to your original folder.
     
  11. Now that you are back in your main directory, create another new folder by clicking on the new folder icon and name it appropriately.  Repeat this process until all of your classes here at Westview have a folder with their name labeled on it. It might look something like this:


     
  12. Now, in this class, we are going to have many different units and we will create many different kinds of files for each Unit.  So, inside of your new Computer Applications folder, we are going to create a new folder for each of the units that we will complete in this class.
     
  13. First, you must select your Computer Applications folder.
     
  14. Once you see that the computer applications folder is being displayed in the "Save In" area, then you can create a new folder by clicking on the New Folder Icon.


     
  15. Call this new folder, "Microsoft Word".
     
  16. Continue creating new folders in your Computer Applications folder for the following units:

    Excel
    Publisher
    Access
    PowerPoint
    FrontPage
    Multimedia
     
  17. You should now be able to look in your directory and see all of the different folders that you have created.

Moving your current files into your new folders

  1. You probably have 4 or 5 (or more) files already in your directory.  We simply need to move them into your new folders.
     
  2. Open Internet Explorer and locate the "Folders" icon near the top of the browser window.  Click on the "Folders" icon.
     
  3. Windows explorer appears on the left-hand side of your Browser window. 
     
  4. In Windows Explorer, Click on My Computer and then click on Your Directory (this is the one whose title begins with your student ID#).
     
  5. You should notice that your have 3 or 4 folders in your directory.  Each one probably has a little plus sign next to it.


     
  6. Click on your Computer Applications folder.  The Westview Webpage will disappear and your files and folders should now be displayed in the right-hand window for you. 
     
  7. To move these files to your folders, simply click-and-drag a file (ie. lesson1.doc) onto your Microsoft Word folder.  The file will disappear and it should now be placed inside of your Microsoft Word folder.  You can double-click on your Microsoft word folder to check this.
     
  8. On the left-hand side of the screen, click on your Computer Applications folder again to display the contents of it on the right.  Now, continue moving (click-and-dragging) your files into the Microsoft Word folder (or wherever they should go).
     
  9. Once you have all files move to their appropriate folders, then you can close out of that Internet Explorer window.
     

Saving files in your new folders

  1. Go back to Microsoft Word
     
  2. Save the file that you currently have open into your Excel folder (yes, I know that it is not an excel file).  To do this, first goto File > Save As > from the "Save In" pull down arrow, select your directory (the one with your ID number on it).  Then double-click on your Computer Applications folder, then double-click on your Excel folder.  "Excel" should now be listed in the "Save in" area.
     
  3. Name this file "Savetest" and click Save.
     
  4. Close this file.
     
  5. When you are saving all of your files, make sure to save them into their correct folders so that you stay organized.  Otherwise, things can get out of hand.