File Management A PDF File Version - 4.6MB in size

Not quite comfortable with Windows 95, 98 or 2000?

Learn about the Explorer, Shortcuts, and the File Finder and take charge of your desktop.

The Windows Explorer

The Windows Explorer feature is similar to the Windows 3.x and Windows 95 File Manager. You can use the Explorer to browse the contents of your hard drive, create folders, and move or copy files. A big improvement to the Explorer is that it lets you browse and manage all your local and network resources. Another feature which makes it easier to work with is that unlike File Manager, each time you open a different drive, the display window is updated to show you the contents of that drive. Instead of opening multiple display windows, you can work with just one.

You'll find the Explorer under Programs in the Start menu. A quicker way to load it is to right-click on the [Start] button and select Explore from the shortcut menu.

The Explorer window is divided by a moveable separator bar into two panes, the Tree pane and the Contents pane. To resize the panes, point at the bar. The mouse pointer will change from a northwest pointing arrow to a double-sided arrow. When you see that, drag the separator bar to the left or the right.

The tree pane, on the left, displays all of the objects for the entire system in a hierarchical structure. The contents pane, on the right, displays the objects that are contained within the opened object on the tree pane. The two-pane display lets you browse your system's structure on the Tree pane side, without changing the display in the Contents pane side. You'll soon see how useful this is for completing tasks like copying or moving files.

Navigating the Tree Pane

Objects on the Tree pane are displayed as small named icons. When an object contains more objects at a lower level in the hierarchy, like drives or folders, it will be preceded with a plus or a minus sign. To view the next level down in the hierarchy, click on the plus sign and the branch will expand. To collapse a branch, click on the minus sign.

Viewing an Object's Contents

Whenever you want to view the contents of an object, open the object by clicking on its name or icon on the Tree pane. This will display the contents in the Contents pane. You can display the contents in any of four views by selecting the following options from the VIEW menu or by clicking the corresponding icon in the Toolbar.

	Large icons
	Small icons
	List
	Details

The Details view provides the most information about the file. The column headings, Name, Size, Type and Modified, are buttons. You can sort the order of the objects in Details view by clicking on the headings.

Moving or Copying Objects

Explorer allows you to mark single or multiple objects, and then drag them to a destination folder.

Alternatively, you can use the EDIT pull-down menu to Cut or Copy marked files, navigate to the destination, then select Paste to complete the copy or move.

To move or copy a single object:

First, make sure the source object is visible in the Contents pane and the destination is visible in the Tree pane. Point to the source object and hold down the right mouse button while you drag it to the destination. When the destination is highlighted, release the mouse button and choose either Move or Copy from the shortcut menu.

To move or copy multiple objects:

First, make both the source and destination are visible. Then, select the objects you wish to move or copy by doing the following:

To select a continuous list of objects , point to the first one in the list and click the left mouse button to select it. Next point to the last one in the list, hold down the <Shift> key, and click again.

To select a non-continuous list of objects, point to the first one and select it by clicking on it. To select additional objects, hold down the <Ctrl> key while clicking on each object. Pressing the <Ctrl> key while clicking on a selected object removes the selection, so you may use these methods in combination. For example if you want to select all but one file in a continuous list, first select the entire list, then hold down the <Ctrl> key and click on the object you don't want selected.

After all of the objects are selected, hold down the right mouse button while you drag them to the destination. When the destination is highlighted, release the mouse button and choose either Move or Copy from the shortcut menu.

Creating new folders

Sometimes you need to create a new folder to serve as the destination for a move or copy operation.

Open the folder in which you want to place the new folder by clicking on its name on the Tree pane. Right-click on an open area in the Contents pane and choose New, then Folder. Windows 95, 98 or 2000 will name your folder "New Folder" and will be waiting for you to rename it. Type in a new name and press <Enter> on your keyboard.

Deleting an object

Select the object(s) and press the <Delete> key.

Renaming an object

Select the object, right-click and choose Rename from the shortcut menu.

Undoing an operation

The EDIT menu contains an Undo feature that will let you undo the last copy, move, delete or rename operation. If you've done a series of operations on one file, you may be able to undo more than one operation. Don't trust it too completely.

The Recycle Bin

Files you delete in the Explorer are stored temporarily in the Recycle Bin. On the desktop, double-click on the Recycle Bin. Any recently deleted files end up here first. Find the file name you want to restore, highlight it, and click FILE, Restore.

Right-clicking on the Recycle Bin offers you the option to empty it. Until the Recycle Bin is emptied, the space allocated for any deleted files is still marked used. After emptying, the space is freed for use by new or modified files. By default, the Recycle Bin will hold deleted files until the space used reaches ten percent of your hard drive space. If it becomes full, older files will be deleted to make space available for newer ones.

Where's the C:\ Prompt?

Hidden away. You don't need it anymore. Windows 95, 98 and 2000 are all operating systems, rather than a program that runs under another operating system. When you boot up your computer to Windows 95, 98 and 2000, you are at the main event. However, you can get to a C:\ prompt by clicking on [Start], and choose Programs, then MS-DOS Prompt. When done, type in exit and press <Enter> to return to Windows.

What is a Shortcut?

A shortcut is a pointer that you can use to easily access an object-- like a document, program, or printer-- that you use frequently. Usually a shortcut appears as an icon on the Windows 95, 98 and 2000 desktop. For example, to run Netscape, you must click on [Start], then choose Programs, Netscape Communicator and Navigator. With a shortcut, you simply click on the desktop icon to start Netscape.

Think about your desk -- your real desk, not your virtual desktop. Most likely, you keep current paperwork and everyday tools like your stapler close at hand, maybe even within reach on top of your desk. Shortcuts let you manage your virtual desktop in a similar manner, only the shortcut doesn't change the location of the object; it just provides a link to it so that it's easy to get to.

Creating a shortcut

You can create and delete shortcuts for whatever objects you want quick access to, either temporarily or more permanently, whenever you want.

There are a number of ways to create a shortcut. One of the easiest ways to create a shortcut to a folder, document or an application is to use the Windows Explorer.

1. Load Explorer and find the object.

2. Point to the object and use the right mouse button to drag it to the desktop.

3. When you release the mouse button choose Create Shortcut(s) Here from the shortcut menu.

To create a shortcut to a printer or another device, it is probably easier to go through the Control Panel in My Computer.

1. Open My Computer by double clicking its icon.

2. Open the Control Panel by double clicking on its icon.

3. Find the object you want to create a shortcut to and drag it to the desktop with the right mouse button.

4. When you release the mouse button choose Create Shortcut(s) Here from the shortcut menu.

Renaming a shortcut

By default, a new shortcut is named "Shortcut to..." If you want to change that name, right-click on the icon, and select Rename from the shortcut menu. Enter a new name. Or, click once on the current name, then click again to edit the name directly.

Identifying a Shortcut

You can easily identify a shortcut, even if you change its name. Just look for the curved arrow on the lower left corner of the icon.

Deleting a Shortcut

Once a shortcut has served its purpose and is no longer needed on your desktop, just drag click on the shortcut and press <Delete>, or else drag the shortcut to the Recycle Bin. This will delete the shortcut link, but won't touch the actual object. Your file, program or device will remain on your hard drive, safe and sound.

Suggestions for Shortcuts

Typically, you'll want to create shortcuts for applications you use frequently.

You may want to keep a folder on your desktop and store shortcuts to documents you use frequently within it. To create a folder on your desktop.

1. Right-click on a blank area of the desktop

2. Choose New, then Folder from the shortcut menu.

3. Name the folder.

Now you can place shortcuts inside the folder. When you are done working on a document, drag the shortcut to the Recycle Bin.

Shortcuts to documents work because Windows 95, 98 and 2000 are document-centric. If you use the recommended naming scheme for file types offered by applications created to run under Windows 95, 98 or 2000 then most likely a file association has been created for that file type and the application required to run it. Windows 95, 98 or 2000 will know what application to load when you double-click on the shortcut or filename.

If you typically store and print some documents on demand, without editing the documents, then you might want to place a shortcut to your printer on the desktop, along with shortcuts to those documents. When you want to print a copy of the document, just drag the document shortcut onto the printer shortcut. Windows 95, 98 or 2000 will quickly load the document with associated application, send a copy to the printer, and then close the application.

Searching for Documents

If you've been using a computer for awhile, you're probably storing some documents that are several years old, just in case you might need them again. Hard drives are becoming larger--why not store them there? Applications are becoming larger, too; most are comprised of many files in many folders. It's getting hard to find the documents and files you need when you need them. The Windows 95, 98 or 2000 Find feature makes it much easier to find files, because you can search for specific file names, creation dates or text within the files.

You can access the File Finder in several ways:

1. Click on the Start menu and choose Find, Files or Folders

2. Right-click the Start menu and choose Find.

3. In Explorer, choose TOOLS, Find, Files or Folders.

4. In Explorer, right-click the Tree pane and choose Find.

When the Finder opens, you will see a window with three tabs: Name & Location, Date Modified, and Advanced. In the most simple search for a file, when you know the file name, you can specify the file name and search area on the Name & Location tab. You can search any drive or folder you have access to. Be sure to check Include subfolders if you want to search folders within a specified location.

The picture below displays the results of a search for the name "WinPmail." You can see that the Finder found a folder, several program files and a couple documents. I could now open, run, copy, delete, rename or create a shortcut to those files. Notice, the names don't match exactly, but all start with "WinPmail." You can specify a case-sensitive search by choosing that from the OPTIONS menu.

The Date Modified and Advanced tabs let you narrow the search further or conduct a search even when you don't know the file name. Search criteria entered on every tab is considered when you conduct a search, so be sure to specify the location, and if appropriate, the file name on the Name and Location tab before entering criteria on the other tabs.

Pictured below are the results of searching for files created during the past two months with the name "WinPmail." You can see that fewer objects matched the search criteria.

The Advanced tab provides you with the ability to conduct a full-text search of all the files. This is particularly useful when all you can recall about a document is the topic covered or a specific name. Advanced searches take longer, because every file in the specified location is searched. If an advanced search finds more than one matching document, you can right-click on the documents and choose Quick View from the shortcut menu to preview the document without having to load the associated application.

You may limit an advanced search by specifying only a certain type of file. If you select a specific file type, the finder will search only those files with file extensions that match associated types.

One caveat. The Finder seems to have trouble recognizing spaces in text strings of documents that weren't created in Microsoft products. If you are doing a text search for some words in a document created in WordPerfect, try searching for just one keyword, if a multiple word search doesn't produce results.

Spend Some Time

It takes some time to learn these Windows 95, 98 and 2000 skills for managing your desktop, but in a short while you'll be saving time if you practice and apply the techniques in this handout.

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