USING FOLDERS
PART 4
Using folders
Just think how messy an actual desk would be covered with papers
with all the information stored in your system. It would be impossible
to find anything on the desk. That is why offices have filing cabinets
for storing information in folders. These folders have names so that
they can be put in order and found again easily.
Exactly the same should happen inside a computer. You should keep
all your work inside folders with names so that you can always find it
again.
There is an online animation available entitled
‘Using folders’
Creating a folder
You already know what a folder icon looks like.
You are going to create a new folder icon and name it. You will save
all your work to this folder.
Plan the name that you will give your folder. Here are some rules for
this:
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You should be able to remember the name easily.
Nobody else should be likely to use the same name.
It should not be too long.
It should not use a slash.
Make a note of the name that you will give your folder.
USING FOLDERS
Now follow each of these steps carefully. If you have a problem, just
close the Hard Disc window and go back to the first step again.
 Double click on the Disc icon. You will see a lot of folders in this
window.
 Click on the Home icon at the top of this window. The icons in the
window will change.
 Double click on the Documents icon in this window.
 Click on the File menu and then click on New Folder.
 The menus have disappeared and a new folder appears in the
Documents window.
 Use the keyboard to give the new folder the name you chose.
 Close the Documents window.
You now have a folder for your work on the computer’s hard disk.
There is an online animation available entitled
‘Creating a folder’’
USING FOLDERS
Finding a folder
How do you find your new folder?
Open the Hard Disc window. Click on the Home icon. Open the
Documents folder.
Look down the list of folders until you come across your own.
If necessary, use the scroll bar on the right of the window to see more
folders.
To scroll up or down a screen
1. Click on the scroll bar and hold
down the mouse button.
2. Now move the mouse gently the way
you want the screen to go.
3. Release the mouse button when you
are at the correct place.
This way of using the mouse is called
‘clicking and dragging’.
There is an online animation available entitled
‘Finding a folder’’
USING FOLDERS
Copying files to your folder
A file is electronic information saved on a storage device such as a
hard disk or a CD-ROM. A file may be a program or simply
information. You will usually save information files to your folder.
First stage: copying the file to the computer’s memory
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Double click on Hard Disc.
Click on Home.
Double click on Documents
Find a file called Clown inside the window.
Click once on Clown to highlight it.
 Move the pointer to the menu and click on Edit.
 Click on Copy “Clown”.
This copies Clown into the computer’s memory.
 Close the Documents window.
USING FOLDERS
Second stage: Pasting the copy into your own folder
 Double click on Hard Disc.
 Find and double click on your own folder. When it opens, it will be
blank as you have no files in it yet.
 Move the pointer to the menu bar on this window and click on Edit.
 Click on Paste Item.
 A copy of Clown should appear in your folder.
This is only one of a number of ways of copying files.
There is an online animation available entitled
‘Copying files to your folder’’
You now have two copies of Clown – one in your own folder and one in
Documents.
It is a good practice to give a copy of a file a slightly different name.
For example, you could call the file in your folder Clown2.
Renaming files and folders
 Open your folder.
 Place the pointer on top of the name of the Clown file – not on the icon.
 Click once and then click again. Do not double click. The name of
the file is highlighted.
 Use the keyboard to enter Clown2.
You can rename folders in exactly the same way.
There is an online animation available entitled
‘Renaming files and folders’.
USING FOLDERS
Opening data files
 Open Hard Disc.
 Open your own folder.
 Double click on Clown2 to open that file. The computer will launch
the program that made this file, then open the file.
 Close the file by using the Close box, then close the program using
the menu bar.
You can now find and open a data file.
There is an online animation available entitled
‘Opening data files’
Deleting files and folders
You won’t need the file Clown2 again so you can use it to learn how to
delete files.
Open your folder. You are going to delete the file Clown2 by clicking
and dragging it to the Trash like this:
 Place the pointer on the Clown2 icon.
 Click and hold down the mouse button.
 Drag the mouse so that a shadow of the icon crosses the right
border of the window.
 Drag the shadow over until it covers the icon for the Trash on the
Dock.
 Release the button. The file will be moved to the Trash.
You can delete folders in the same way.
You can probably guess by now that there is another way to delete
files and folders but you only need to know one.
There is an online animation available entitled
‘Deleting files and folders’.
USING FOLDERS
Activity
Check that you now know how to do the tasks below. Think through
the steps for each task. Look back through this section to find any that
you cannot remember.
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Create a folder
Find a folder
Copy files to a folder
Rename files or folders
Delete files or folders.
SAQ ANSWERS
PART 5
Answers 1
1.
The two main parts of an IT system are hardware and software.
2.
Monitor
Processor
Mouse
Keyboard
3.
The hardware of a basic system consists of a processor, monitor,
mouse, keyboard and printer. The processor is stored in a box
under the monitor or in a tower.
Mouse
lets you print out your work.
Monitor
shows you your work.
Processor
lets you enter text.
Printer
lets you select from menus and change
places in your work.
Keyboard
is the engine driving the computer.
SAQ ANSWERS
There are many tasks that can be done with application software.
For example:
writing letters
creating pictures
making lists
writing emails
drawing charts
Answers 2
1.
The Hard Disc window shows the folder and files stored on the
computer.
2.
The Close button is found at the top right corner of all windows.
3.
Shut down is found by clicking on the Apple Menu.