Managing Your Files and Folders
Also see: Books on Computer File Management from Amazon.
Managing Your Files and Folders
One of the most common things we all face in using computers is the "challenge" of finding files that we saved on our computer.
Keeping our files organized and easy-to-locate often seems more difficult than it really is. This discussion is to recommend a learning approach that really can help in this area.
It's easy to let files "pile up" on our computer, but sometimes it's hard to retrieve them later when we want to send or view or edit them.
Sometimes we're not sure what they were named, and sometimes we're not sure which folder we used to save them.
Most times when we save a document or photo or other type of file, the file will be saved "by default" in one of these main folder areas - "Documents" or "Downloads" or "Pictures".
Many computers have shortcuts to these folders that you can open by clicking your Start button in the lower left corner of the Windows screen.
My own practice usually is to go to the File Explorer app (on Windows 10), which basically is the same thing as the Windows Explorer program on most earlier computers.
Sometimes you can find File Explorer in the list of frequently used programs by clicking on the Start button.
You also can open it by right-clicking on the Start button then left-clicking Explore.
Plus, most Windows computers have an icon for File Explorer (or Windows Explorer) on the taskbar, at the bottom of your screen toward the left. The icon looks like a manila file folder with a blue bookend.
(By the way, these have nothing to do with the "Internet Explorer" web browser, or "IE". Microsoft was not thinking too clearly when they gave their first web browser program a name so similar to their file manager program!)
Learning how to find and manage files with File Exporer or Windows Explorer is one of the most frequent areas that people need help. It's one of the main areas that I do tutoring - along with skills like file searching, cut - copy - past - move, and back-ups.
File Explorer or Windows Explorer basically give you full access to handle every single item on your computer. That's what a file manager program does.
An hour or so of tutoring can give you a good understanding how the program works. Sometimes a couple hours of follow-up and practice time can be really helpful.
A good supplement for learning is to view a well-presented video on the subject.
One such video is available to view on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPtk1kAYEuM - entitled File Explorer: Working with Files & Folders.
If you've been thinking about getting some help from me or another instructor in using your computer more easily, I always encourage using YouTube as a source of how-to videos to reinforce what you learn from private instruction. Plus, the YouTube video viewing is free.
A main point I'd like to make is that whether you use videos or private tutoring or group classes, any time you invest in learning to use the File Explorer or Windows Explorer program on your computer is going to be time well spent.
It's one of the most effective learning areas you can pursue for getting the best use from your machine, and probably will help you feel a bit more capable in using your computer than you were before you started.
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