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This article was previously published under UK499595
How To Look at Your Filing System
Windows has a program called the Windows Explorer to help you manage your files in the same sort of way you would
organise your paperwork in a filing cabinet.
Click on the Start button, choose Programs and then Windows Explorer
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Look carefully at the left hand side of your screen (it will look similar to the picture shown here, but not
identical because everybody's filing system is different). This shows you the different places where you can store
information.
The grey rectangle labelled [C:] under My Computer is the storage area inside your computer, called
the C drive.
The C drive is divided up into Folders. Each item you save (each letter, essay, picture etc) is called a
File, which must be stored in a folder. Folders are shown as these little yellow symbols:
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divided into Sub-Folders, which have the same yellow symbols. It is a good idea to store information in
the My Documents folder, which is near the middle of the list of folders.
To display sub-folders, click on the little plus sign (+) to the left of the folder: (if there is no
plus sign then that means there are no sub-folders to be displayed)
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To hide sub-folders, click on the little minus sign (-) to the left of the folder
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To look inside folders, click on the little yellow folder itself. The yellow folder will show as open: and
the files inside the folder will show on the right hand side of the screen. To change how these files look, click
on the Views button at the top right hand corner of your screen
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How To Create New Folders
To create sub-folders, click on the folder within which you want the new folder to appear (normally My Documents),
go to the File menu, choose New and then Folder. Type in a name and press Enter
How To Move, Copy, Delete, Rename and Open Files
To move or copy a file to a different folder, hold down the right mouse button and click and drag it from the
right hand side of the screen into the required folder on the left hand side of the screen. Choose the required
option
To delete a file, right click on it and choose Delete. Click Yes to send the file to the Recycle
Bin (note that you cannot delete a file while it is actually open)
To rename a file, right click on it and choose Rename. Type in the new name and press Enter
To open a file, double click on it and the required program will start (for example, Word) and the file will
open
How To Work With Floppy Disks
To see the contents of a floppy disk, first make sure that you have a disk in the floppy drive. Then you can
click on the grey rectangle labelled 3½ Floppy [A:] and look on the right hand side of the screen
To move or copy a file to a floppy disk, hold down the right mouse button and click and drag the file to the grey
rectangle labelled 3½ Floppy [A:]
This article was written about products for which Microsoft no longer offers support. Therefore, this article is offered "as is" and will no longer be updated.
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