Computers and Files
What you need to know before we
start making web pages
Operating Systems
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An Operating System (OS for short) provides a
way for the user to interact with the computer
hardware.
Without an OS, you would not be able to do
anything with your computer.
There are many different operating systems
available. Some are designed to work only on
specific types of computers.
Operating Systems
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Microsoft – large software company based in
Redmond, Washington that makes the Windows
OS.
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Founded by Bill Gates, now one of the richest men
in the world.
Windows is an operating system
There are many versions of the Windows
Operating System
We use Windows XP in this lab.
 Other versions are Windows 2000, Me, 98, 95, etc…
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Operating Systems
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OS X (Pronounced, OS Ten) is an Apple created
operating system.
Apple is a company that makes their own
computers and operating system and competes
directly with Microsoft.
Apple makes Macintosh computers, ibooks, G5
computers, etc…
OS X will not run on a regular PC, it will work
only on Apple made computers. Windows will
not work on an Apple machine.
Operating Systems
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Linux is an open-source OS.
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Open source means that no one owns the operating
system. The design and how it is made is free and
available to anyone who wants to use it.
There are many different types of Linux.
Companies take the open source version of
Linux and make their own changes and
additions and release them for other people to
use.
Windows XP
Icons
DESKTOP
Taskbar
Start
Button
Quick
Launch
Open Programs
System
Tray
Folders and Files
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Information is stored in files. Everything that
you make on the computer, whether it’s a word
document, webpage, picture, program  it is all
saved as different types of files.
Files are stored in folders. Folders allow a user
to organize their files in a meaningful way,
making it easier to find them later.
Drives
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Folders are stored on drives.
Drives are named by letters of the alphabet. We
all have a C: drive on our computers. You can
have more than one drive.
To see a list of the drives on your computer,
open ‘My Computer’ by double-clicking on the
icon. If it is not on your desktop, click on the
Start button and you will find it.
Folders
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Within a drive, you will find files and folders.
To create a new folder, open a drive from within ‘My
Computer’ and right-click on a blank space in the
Window. A menu will appear – choose ‘new’ from the
menu and then ‘folder.’ A new folder will appear in the
window with the name ‘New Folder.’ to rename it,
right-click on the folder and when the menu appears,
choose rename. You can then type in the new name.
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Be descriptive, but brief with your folder names
Do not use slashes: / or \ in your folder names
Folders
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A note on left and right clicking:
Left-clicking is used to select or choose something
 Right-clicking is used to bring up a context sensitive
menu. This means the choices on the menu will
change based on where you right-click
 These rules apply pretty much everywhere in
Windows and with most programs although there
are exceptions.
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Folders
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Folders are sometimes also called directories.
You can make as many folders as you would like
on a drive.
You can even make folders inside of another
folder. These are called subfolders or
subdirectories
To make a subdirectory, just double click on the
folder to open it and follow the directions for
creating a folder.
Folders
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You can also change how folders display the
information stored in them. Open a folder, click
on the ‘View’ menu and you will see several
options, depending on the type of files stored in
the folder.
Details, List, Icons, Tiles and Thumbnails are
the most common views. If you have pictures in
the folder you will also have the option of
filmstrip view.
Files
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Files are basically your data or information, and
are stored with in folders.
File Extensions are those three letters that
follow the period at the end of a file name.
These extensions tell Windows what type of file
it is and what program to use to open that file.
Without a file extension, Windows will not
know what to do with the file and will be unable
to open it.
Files
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Viewing file extensions is turned off by default
in Windows. If you cannot see file extensions
on your computer do the following:
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Open a folder and click on the ‘Tools’ menu 
Choose ‘Folder Options’  Click on the ‘View’ tab
 Under ‘Advanced Settings’ make sure the
checkbox is empty next to “Hide extensions for
known file types”
Files
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You can rename a file in the same way that you
rename a folder. It is very important however
that you do not change the file extension.
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If you want to rename a file called resume.doc, just
make sure that you keep the .doc at the end.
Files
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Some common file extensions:
.doc (Microsoft Word)
 .xls (Microsoft Excel)
 .htm or .html (web page)
 .jpg (a type of picture file)
 .gif (a different type of picture file)
 .exe (a program or executable)
 .txt (a text file, usually associate with notepad)
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Path
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The path is where a file is stored on a computer.
For example, if the file ‘test.doc’ is in a folder
named ‘class’ and that folder is on the ‘C:’ drive,
the path would be:
C:\class\test.doc
 Notice that a \ separates the drive, from the folder
from the file. Also a colon ( : ) is used right after the
drive letter.
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If the class folder was inside another folder
named ‘school’ the path would be:
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C:\school\class\test.doc
Important Terms
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Operating System (OS)
Microsoft
Windows
Apple
OS X
Linux
Open Source
Desktop
Icons
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Start Button
Quick Launch
Taskbar
System Tray
Files
Folders
Directories
Drives
File Extension