Chapter 7
Working with Files
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What’s inside and on the CD?
• This chapter helps you to understand:
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How to best name your files
Where to store them
How to access them
How to maintain an orderly set of files on your disks
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What’s a file?
• A file is a collection of data that:
– Has a name
– Is stored on:
• A computer disk
• Tape
• CD
• DVD
• USB flash drive
• Virtually all information is stored as a file
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What’s a file?
• Files divided into two categories
– An executable file is a program containing
instructions that tells PC how to perform specific tasks
– A data file contains words, numbers, and pictures
you can manipulate
– There are several ways to access data files
• Open option on application software’s File menu
• Start menu’s Documents option
• Windows Explorer’s file management utility
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What’s a file?
• Every file has file properties that describe its:
– Name
– Type
– Location
– Size
– Dates created, modified, and last accessed
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What’s a file?
• Files can be:
– Read-only – cannot be modified or deleted
– Hidden – does not appear in file lists and cannot be
used unless you know name and location
– Marked for archiving for backup
– Protected by passwords against unauthorized access
• File properties are assigned by the operating system
• Files created in Windows Vista can have descriptive
tags assigned by users
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What’s a file?
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Can I use any name for a file?
• As you create documents, graphs, and pictures, PC
holds in memory
• When transferring to permanent storage, you must
assign unique name
• To check limitations for an application, check Help or
reference manual
• With current versions of Windows, you can use long file
names (descriptive file names)
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Can I use any name for a file?
• In long file names, some symbols and file names are not
allowed
HW2: Why these names
are not allowed?
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Can I use any name for a file?
• A file extension is a set of characters added to file
name to indicate file’s type or origin
• A file extension is separated from file name by period
and is typically three characters long
• A default file extension is automatically assigned unless
you change it
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Can I use any name for a file?
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How do I change the name of a file?
How to display the file extension
• Process of changing file name in Windows Explorer is
called “renaming”
• Process is straightforward except for small twist involving
extensions
– Windows may show extensions or not
• To change setting
– Select Folder Options from Windows Explorer Tools
menu (XP)
– Use the Organize button to access folder and
Search Options (Vista)
• If file extension is seen, than you must include file
extension with new name
• If file extension is not seen, extension is added
automatically by Windows
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How do I change the name of a file?
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How do I get a list of my files?
• In Windows Vista, you can use a folder window to view a
list of files and organize them
• The quickest way to view a list of files is to click your
user name on the Start menu
• The Views button changes the way the file list is
displayed
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Icon View
List View
Details View
Titles View
• A folder window can be customized by clicking the
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How do I get a list of my files?
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How do I get a list of my files?
• In Windows XP, the preferred way to display folder
windows is by starting Windows Explorer
– Right-click Start button
– Click Explorer
• Windows Explorer is divided into two panes
– Folders pane
– Files pane
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How do I get a list of my files?
• Click gray heading bars to rearrange the list
• The Views button on the View menu changes the way
the file list is displayed:
– Thumbnails View shows tiny versions of graphic files
– Tiles View displays large icon for each file, plus file
name, type, and size
– Icons View displays medium-sized icon for each file
and its name
– List View displays file name with small icon indicating
type
– Details View displays file name, size, type, and date
modified
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How do I get a list of my files?
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How do I navigate to various folders
and storage devices?
• Most files are stored on a computer’s hard disk
• To transport a file, you might store it on a USB flash
drive or CD
• To share, you might store it on network drive
• Each storage device identified by letter
– Hard disk drive is letter C
• Windows uses icons to indicate storage device types
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How do I navigate to various folders
and storage devices?
• Most files on storage device organized into folders
(“directory”)
– Can hold other folders called subfolders
– Resulting hierarchical structure
• Device letter, folder, file name, and extension – known
as path – provide information necessary to store and
retrieve a file
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How do I navigate to various folders
and storage devices?
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How do I navigate to various folders
and storage devices?
• In Windows Vista
– Click a icon to expand the directory hierarchy and
show subfolders
– Click a icon to collapse the directory and hide
subfolders
• In Windows XP
– Click
plus-sign icon to expand directory hierarchy
and show subfolders
– Click
minus-sign icon to collapse directory and
hide subfolders
– Click device or folder to open it or display list of files it
contains
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How do I find a specific file?
• If you know the folder where a file is stored, use a folder
window or Windows Explorer to open folder
• Use the Windows Vista Search box or Windows XP’s
Search Companion
• Vista’s Search box allows you to enter all or part of a file
name
• Search Companion allows you to search for a file by:
– Name
– Phrase contained in file
• Search:
– Entire disk or specific folder
– By date and size
• Search Companion displays list of files matching your
criteria; double-click any file to open it
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How do I find a specific file?
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How do I find a specific file?
• Search wildcard helps when you don’t know exact title
or phrase for file
– * wildcard stands for series of unknown characters
– ? wildcard stands for single unknown character
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What’s the best organization for my
files?
• Key to organizing files is to create clearly structured set
of files
• If number becomes difficult to manage, create additional
folders and move files into them
• In Windows Vista, click Organize button and then click
New Folder
• In Windows XP, click the File menu, then select New
• When you move file, Windows places it on Windows
Clipboard
• After selecting new location, Windows “pastes” it to new
location
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What’s the best organization for my
files?
• Helpful hints to improve files organization:
– Use descriptive names for files and folders
– Always store your data files in a folder
– Whenever possible, store your files in your personal
folders
– Create subfolders of your personal folders as
necessary
– Try not to store your data files in the folders that
contain program modules
– Delete unneeded files and folders
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What’s the best organization for my
files?
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What’s the best organization for my
files?
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How do I delete files and folders?
• When files or folders are no longer needed, delete them
so hard disk drive works more efficiently
• To delete a file, simply right-click it and select Delete
from shortcut menu
• You can delete folder same way but be aware that all
files in folder are deleted
• If Windows displays a “Disk Full” message, empty
Recycle Bin before deleting hard drive files
• Deleted files from hard disk are retrievable from Recycle
Bin
• Files from other devices, such as USB flash drives, are
not retrievable
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How do I delete files and folders?
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How do I back up important files?
• You need a backup plan to recover data wiped out by
operator errors, viruses, or hardware failures
• Backup is usually stored on different storage medium
from original files
• Today, backups are usually stored on CDs, DVDs, USB
flash drives, or Web sites
– File synchronization
– Restore points
– Recovery disk
• Backup software is a set of utility programs designed to
back up and restore some or all of the files on a
computer’s primary storage device
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How do I back up important files?
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How do I back up important files?
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How do I solve common problems
encountered when working with files?
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File can’t be found
Cannot modify a file
Access denied
Cannot open a shared file
Cannot open a locked or encrypted file
Cannot open a corrupted file
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How do I solve common problems
encountered when working with files?
• Bad sectors
• Hard disk failure
• “Can’t read file” error message
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