Lesson 11 - Creating Files PDF

LESSON 11 CREATING FILES INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING WITH LAB Create files. Navigate the file LEARNING structure. OUTCOMES Manage files and folders. INTRODUCTIO N You have connected the components of your system, configured the operating system and n...

LESSON 11 CREATING FILES INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING WITH LAB Create files. Navigate the file LEARNING structure. OUTCOMES Manage files and folders. INTRODUCTIO N You have connected the components of your system, configured the operating system and network access according to your needs. One of the basic tasks you will do with a computer system is creating files and saving them for later use. Years ago, creating documents with a typewriter was a cumbersome process. You needed to load paper, adjust it, and type the contents; you could not easily make a file copy or an extra copy for someone else. Now with the advent of PCs and word processing software, creating and saving a document has become much easier and more efficient. As a result, this technology is now found everywhere in offices, homes, and schools. FILES A file is an object that stores information on a computer. It can contain user data, in the case of document files, or it can contain program code, in the case of application files. Each file has a name and usually has an extension. The nature of files may vary, depending on the applications they are associated with. Files are classified as system files and user files. The operating system and other applications run using system files; user files are created and managed by users. FILE TYPES You will use many different types of files. These might include documents, audio files, image files, and video files. Any time you open a program, you are using an executable file. You might also encounter or need to create a compressed file to make it small enough to send as an email attachment.  File extensions indicate a file’s type. Operating FI systems such as Microsoft® Windows® use a file extension to identify the program that is associated with a file. The file extension is the last LE EXTENSI three or four characters that appear at the end of the name to the right of the period. For example, the file ONS extension.docx identifies “qtr_report.docx” as a Word document. SHORTCUTS A shortcut is a link or pointer to a program, file, or folder that is represented by a small icon. Typically, shortcuts are placed on the Desktop. Instead of needing to traverse the file structure to locate an item, if a shortcut has been created to the item, you can select the shortcut instead. Some applications create shortcuts when the application is installed. You can also create a shortcut yourself by right-clicking a file and selecting Create Shortcut. Shortcut icons can be recognized by the arrow in the lower-left corner of the icon. Deleting a shortcut does not delete the item to which it is pointing. FOLDERS A folder is a container object that can store your files in an organized manner. By default, a folder is represented by a folder icon. Folders can be of different types and can contain any number of other folders and files, including pictures, music, videos, documents, or any combination of these types. A folder is also referred to as a directory. FILE AND FOLDER NAMING CONVENTIONS Use a name that Limit the length of the Avoid special characters. The question mark ( ? ), indicates the content or name; although 260 The backslash ( \ ), the the quotation mark ( “ ), purpose of the characters can be used, forward slash ( / ), the the less than ( < ), and document, project, or file names of this length vertical bar ( | ), the the greater than ( > ) task it is related to. are impractical. colon ( : ), the asterisk characters are not ( * ), permitted. FILE AND FOLDER PERMISSIONS You can allow users to only view a file, but not modify it. You can You can manage user access to allow users to view and modify a file and folder objects on a file. You can specify which users computer by modifying their are allowed to access a file and permissions. You can set what they are allowed to do with permission levels at the folder or the file. You can also deny access file level. to a file for a user or group of users. FILE EXPLORER File Explorer is a Windows utility application that offers a single view of all the resources and information that you can access from a computer. It displays the hierarchical structure of a computer and any network to which it is attached. These container objects are arranged hierarchically; that is, they are shown in relation to each other as the members of a family would be shown in a family tree. You can also use File Explorer to manage the information on your computer by copying and moving files.  From the Windows Start screen, select the Desktop tile, if Select necessary. Navigate Navigate to the folder where the file will be created. Right-click an empty area of the Documents pane in File Right-click Explorer. HOW TO Select Select New and then select the desired file type. CREATE Replace the default file name with the desired file name and Replace FILES? press Enter. Open the file in the desired application to add content to the Open file. Save the changes to the file by using File→Save or the Save File icon. Close the application by using the File→Exit command or the Close Close button in the application window.  Open Open the desired application. CREATE Enter Enter the data. For example, in a word processing application, click or tap to place the insertion point, and then type text. AND SAVE Press If you need to end a paragraph, press Enter to move to the next line. A FILE File When you have finished entering text, save the document by selecting File→Save As. IN A Open If you have not previously saved the file, the Save As dialog box will open. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the location WINDOWS where you want to save the file. In the File Name text box, type the name you would like to give Type APPLICA the file. TION Select Select Save. If necessary, on the Menu bar, select File→Save As to save the Select file with a different name. Close When you are done, close the application window. SHORT CUT Shortcut key combinations enable users to perform the same actions that are normally performed by using the mouse, but instead by using the KE keyboard. Many of the commands on the File Explorer ribbon have shortcut key equivalents. If you point to the button or command YS on the ribbon, you will see the shortcut key combination listed. You can use many of these shortcut key combinations within files in other applications.  MANA G E FILES A ND FOLD ERS INTRODUCTIO N As you begin to add more and more files to your computer, it can become difficult to locate the file you want to work with. Organizing the content into hierarchical folders helps you maintain organization in your file structure. Items can be stored in more than one location or can be moved to a different location. The default folders are a good starting point for organizing your data, but you will likely need to create additional folders to store your data.  The Recycle Bin is a container object located on the RECY desktop that temporarily stores deleted files. It is called the Recycle Bin because you can restore deleted files and folders from it; unless you either purposely empty the Recycle Bin or it reaches its capacity, CLE at which point Windows begins permanently deleting the oldest files in the Recycle Bin to accommodate the newest ones. BIN The Recycle Bin does not store files that are deleted from removable media such as USB drives or network drives— they are always deleted permanently. It stores only those folders and files that were deleted directly from your hard drive. When files are in the Recycle Bin, its appearance changes from an empty bin to one with sheets of paper in it.  FILE File attributes are characteristics that can be associated ATTRIB with a file or folder that provide the operating system with important information about the file or folder and how it is UTES intended to be used by system users. DISP You can change how you view the files and folders in File Explorer. You can view the items as lists with or without details, or LAY as various-sized icons. OPTI You can change the way they are sorted and whether the sort is in ascending or descending order. ONS You can also specify which folders to include in each Library. THAN K YOU! COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES