MANAGING FILES & FOLDERS

Files

The data (documents) and programs are stored permanently on the disk by giving a name called the filename. In Windows, a filename may contain a maximum of 255 characters including spaces. The characters"","","","" cannot be used in a filename or folder name. For example, "Student records" is a valid filename or document name. It is suggested that a filename or document name should be related to the information that is stored in it.A filename also has an extension separated by a dot. The extension of the filename identifies the type of file. In Windows, all the application programs automatically add an extension to the filename or document name. For example, the extension of the Word 2010 document is ".docx" and the text file is ".txt".

Folders

A folder or directory contains a list of files stored on disk. It is just like a files cabinet that is used to keep the files. Each disk has a root directory or folder, which is automatically created when a disk is prepared to store data through the operating system. The new folders are created under the root directory. The root directory is represented by the "l" symbol. A folder may have sub-folders and each sub-folder can further have sub-folders etc. The rules to give a name to a folder or sub-folder are the same as for filename. The user can easily manage files or documents in folders.Windows operating system creates automatically some folders like "Documents", "Recycle Bin", "Windows" etc. Similarly, when a new application program is installed in your computer, a folder is created for that program and all program files & data files of that program are stored in it. The Windows operating system is also stored on a hard disk with a folder named "Windows". The folders can be renamed, deleted, or copied from one location to another.In the Windows Operating system, "Computer" and "Windows Explorer" tools are used to manage files and folders. The files and folders can be copied or moved from one location to another, new files and folders can be created etc. Similarly, these can be renamed or deleted, etc.

Windows Clipboard

In Windows, the information can be very easily transferred from one location to another. We can transfer the text, or images from one application to another different application program. Similarly, files and folders are copied or moved. Windows operating system uses a temporary area of RAM, known as Clipboard. The selected information (files or folders or any other information) is first copied to the clipboard and then from the clipboard, it is pasted to another location. We can make many copies of information from the clipboard. The information stored in the clipboard is overwritten when a new one is copied to it.