Working with Files and Folders
One of the most important skills you can learn is how to store and manage your files. After all,
what good is a well thought-out, carefully prepared document or beautiful digital photographs if
you can’t find them later?
Contents
Working with Microsoft Windows .................................................................................................................2
Create a new folder ...................................................................................................................................2
Rename a folder ........................................................................................................................................3
Delete a folder ...........................................................................................................................................3
Creating a folder on an external drive. ......................................................................................................3
Finding files ................................................................................................................................................5
Additional information ..............................................................................................................................5
Working with Apple Mac ...............................................................................................................................7
Finding files ................................................................................................................................................9
How to zip a file on a Mac .........................................................................................................................9
Additional information ............................................................................................................................10
Working with Microsoft Windows
My Computer and Windows Explorer are two powerful yet easy to use features of your
operating system that help you organise and manage your files. Over time, you may create
hundreds of files that need to be organised so that you can find them when you need them
again. To make the job of organising your files easier, you can organise your storage spaces into
folders and subfolders.
Think of your storage space on your PC (your C: Drive) as a filing cabinet and the folders are its
drawers. Each drawer can hold a different category of documents and you set up folders in there
for this purpose.
Click on the following image to watch a video on how to organise your files and folders:
Create a new folder
Windows Explorer is used to store and manage your files. Follow the steps below to create a new
folder:
1. Right click the Start button and then choosing Explore
2. Select the drive or folder you would like to add a new folder to on the left hand side of
your screen (the C: drive is your hard drive on your computer)
3. Choose File from the menu bar
4. Choose New and then choose Folder
5. A folder icon appears in the window. The default folder name, New Folder, appears
selected under the icon. When text is already selected, anything you type will replace the
selection.
Rename a folder
Simply point to any folder, right-click your mouse and select Rename. You can now enter a
suitable name for the folder.
Delete a folder
Point to a folder, right-click your mouse and select Delete. As a safety mechanism, you will be
asked to confirm this action. Think twice before deleting!
Creating a folder on an external drive
Other places to store your files could be on an external hard drive, a smart phone such as an
iPhone or other mobile phone (they all store files), or a USB stick which is also called a memory
stick.
Click here to watch a video on ‘What is a Flash Drive’.
1. Plug the flash drive into one of the USB ports on the computer.
2. Open your file management software (NB. on most computers when you put the flash drive
into the computer it will bring up a prompt for file management purposes).
3. Navigate to find your flash drive in the list (in this example it is called Removable Disk (G:).
4. There are two ways to easily create a new folder: by (a) using the features within Windows
Explorer or (b) using the right-click features of your mouse.
a) Click on your flash drive from the list on the left. You will now see the existing contents of
your flash drive on the right side of the screen. Click on New Folder from the top menu bar
and then name your folder something meaningful.
b) Point your cursor at your flash drive in the list on the left. Click the right mouse button and
you will be shown a fly out box with numerous options. Point to New and click on Folder.
You can now name your folder something meaningful for your studies.
Finding files
Even with a good filing system, you may lose a file and need help with finding it. Click on the
following image to watch a video on how to find files using Windows 7:
Additional information
Click on the following image to watch a demonstration on Windows Explorer 7:
Click on the following image to watch a video of the different views of Window Explorer:
Learn how to organise your files and folders by clicking on the following image:
Click on the following to find out more about Windows files and folders:


How to zip a file (compress multiple files in to 1 file) and how to unzip a file
File organization tips: 9 ideas for managing files and folders
Working with Apple Mac
The application called The Finder allows you to visually access practically everything on your
Mac, including applications, hard disks, files, folders, and DVDs. You can use the Finder to
organize all your files and folders as you want, search for stuff anywhere on your Mac, delete
things you don't want, and more.
To see your files, click the Finder icon in the Dock, then click "All My Files" in the sidebar.
Finder windows include a sidebar on the left side. Items are grouped into categories: favourites,
shared, devices—just like the Source list in iTunes. The favourite’s portion contains favourite
links to folders which includes Desktop, Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, AirDrop, and the
Applications folder. The shared portion
contains computers that are connected to
your computer though the network. The
device portion contains mounted and
accessible volumes you have, such as a hard
disk, USB flash drive, network volume, DVD,
and so forth.
1. Window close, minimize and zoom buttons.
To close the window, click the round, red
button in the upper-left corner. If you
don't want to close the window but want
it out of your way, click the round, yellow
button to minimize the window to the
Dock. If a window is full of stuff, you can
resize it by dragging the lower-right corner to make it bigger, or click the round, green button
to maximize the window's size.
2. Finder window View buttons:


Icon view - Used to display the contents of your folder as a series of icons. In Icon view,
you can view live icon previews that you can use to thumb through a multipage
document or watch a QuickTime movie.
List view - Used to display your folder in a spread sheet-style manner. Each folder can be
expanded by clicking on the disclosure triangle just to the left of the folder. You can easily
sort by file name, date modified, and so forth. Choose Show View Options from the View


menu to add / remove attribute columns. You can change the sorting from ascending
order to descending order and back again by clicking on the attribute column title.
Column view - Used to display the hierarchy of your folders where each column
represents a folder.
Cover Flow view - Used to display the contents of your folder just like the Cover Flow
used in iTunes. You can see live previews of images, documents and movies, and can
thumb through documents and movies.
3. Action Menu - Quick access to Finder functions for highlighted items, such as Get Info, Move
to Trash, and Services.
4. Item Arrangement button - In any view, you can organize the window by clicking the item
arrangement button and choosing one of the ways to group items.
5. Search Field - Start typing a word or phrase and Spotlight will search your Mac for any
matches.
6. Right pane - The contents of a selected folder are shown in this pane.
7. Pane edge - Drag to resize.
8. Devices - A device connected to your computer, such as a DVD, USB device, or your Time
Machine backup disk.
9. Sidebar - Items are grouped into categories: Favourites, Shared, and Devices—the top portion
has Favourites which contains quick access to All My Files, Applications, Desktop, Documents,
Downloads, Movies, Music, and Pictures.
10. Back / Forward buttons - As you move to different places in the Finder window, you can use
the back button to return one step back and the forward button to go forward.
The contents of the selected folder or volume appear in the right pane. Depending on what view
your Finder window is set to, this pane may look a little different from ours, our window above is
shown in Icons view. In Icons view, you can navigate by double-clicking folders to view the
contents inside.
Source: Mac Basics: The Finder (click on the link to see the full article).
Tip: Go through any generically-named files and folders and give them more descriptive names
so you can find what you need fast. This can help you get organized and makes it easier for
Spotlight to search and find what you're looking for, especially one file among your digital photo
collection with names like "DSC_0431.jpg".
Note: If you use iPhoto to manage your photos, don't use the Finder to rename the photo files.
Note: This advice does not apply to applications in the Applications folder, such as Mail, iTunes,
Safari, and so forth. You should leave applications in the Applications folder, and not rename
them, to avoid issues. You can drag an application to the Dock if you want a quick and easy way
to open it from the Dock.
Finding files
If you lose track of a file or folder, you can use Spotlight to quickly find it.
How to zip a file on a Mac
If you are sending a large number of files from your MacBook to someone via email, or wish to
group files together for easy transferring with a USB drive or CD-RW disc, you can compress your
files into one file. Also known as zipping, file compression retains the file quality and is
compatible for unzipping on both PC and Macintosh computers.
1. Click the Finder icon on your Dock, which is the first icon on the left side of the Dock. This
opens the Finder window, which displays your system's folders and files.
2. Click the "Documents" icon underneath the Places header in the Finder's sidebar to locate
common files, or click the "Macintosh HD" icon underneath the Devices header in the
Finder's sidebar.
3. Press and hold the "Control" button on your keyboard, and click the file you wish to
compress to bring up the shortcut menu. Release the Control button, and click
"Compress" on the shortcut menu to zip the file. The zipped file will appear beneath the
original file in your Finder window.
4. Hold the "Shift" key on your keyboard and click multiple files to highlight all of them, and
release the "Shift" key. Hold the "Control" key, and click the highlighted area to pull up
the shortcut menu. Click "Compress Items" on the shortcut menu to zip multiple files
Source: eHow Tech
Additional information


Click here to learn more about working with Files and folders on a Mac OS X Lion.
Moving from Windows Explorer to The Finder