Task wise Notes (A4)

Select multiple files or folders

There are several ways to select multiple files or folders.

·         To select a consecutive group of files or folders, click the first item, press and hold down the Shift key, and then click the last item.

·         To select multiple files or folders that are near each other, drag the mouse pointer to create a selection around the outside of all the items that you want to include.

·         To select non-consecutive files or folders, press and hold down the Ctrl key, and then click each item that you want to select.

·         To select all of the files or folders in a window, on the toolbar, click Organize, and then click Select all. If you want to exclude one or more items from your selection, press and hold down the Ctrl key, and then click the items.

·         To select multiple files or folders by using check boxes:

1.      Click to open Folder Options.

2.      Click the View tab.

3.      Select the Use check boxes to select items check box, and then click OK.

To clear a selection, click a blank area of the window.

Tip

·         After selecting files or folders, you can perform many common tasks, such as copying, deleting, renaming, printing, and compressing. Simply right-click the selected items, and then click the appropriate choice.

Save a file

While you're working with a file in a program, you should save it frequently to avoid losing data unexpectedly due to a power failure or other problems.

 To save a file

1.      In the program that you're using, click the File menu, and then click Save.

If the program that you're using doesn't have a File menu or you can't find the Save button, you might be able to use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + S to perform the same task.

2.      If the file is new and this is the first time that you're saving it, type a name for the file in the File name box, and then click Save.

To save a new version of an existing file (Save as)

If you open an existing file and make changes, but you don't want to overwrite the original version, you can save a new version of the file.

By default, most programs save a file in a logical location for files of its type (for example, picture files are usually saved in the My Pictures folder). However, you can save the file in a different location. Here's how to save a new version of an existing file:

1.      In the program that you're using, click the File menu, and then click Save as.

2.      If the navigation pane (the left pane) isn't visible, in the lower left corner of the Save As dialog box, click Browse Folders to display it.

3.      Do one of the following:

·         In the navigation pane, click the folder where you want to save the file.

·         In the address bar, click an arrow next to a folder name, and then click the folder.

·         In the address bar, type the full path to the folder (for example, C:\Users\Public).

4.      In the File name box, type a name for the file, and then click Save.

Copy/Cut and paste a file

When you copy and paste a file, you're making a duplicate of the original file that you can then modify independently of the original file. If you copy and paste a file to a different location on your computer, it's a good idea to give it a different name so that you'll remember which file is new and which file is the original.

To copy and paste a file:

1.      Open the location that contains the file you want to copy/cut.

2.      Right-click the file and then click Copy/Cut.

3.      Open the location where you want to store the copy.

4.      Right-click an empty space within the location, and then click Paste. The copy of the original file is now stored in the new location.

Tips

·         Another way to copy and paste files is to use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + C (Copy) and Ctrl + V (Paste).

·         Another way to cut and paste files is to use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + X (Cut) and Ctrl + V (Paste).

·         You can also press and hold the right-mouse button and then drag the file to the new location. When you release the mouse button, click Copy here.

·         You can copy and paste a folder the same way you would a file. When you do this, all the files in the folder are copied as well.

Delete a file or folder

To delete a file or folder:

·         Right-click the file or folder that you want to delete, and then click Delete.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

You can also delete a file or folder by dragging it to the Recycle Bin or by selecting the file or folder, and then pressing Delete.

Recover files from the Recycle Bin

When you delete a file from your computer, it's actually just moved to the Recycle Bin where it's temporarily stored until the Recycle Bin is emptied. This gives you an opportunity to recover accidentally deleted files and restore them to their original locations.

1.      Click to open Recycle Bin.

2.      Do one of the following:

·         To restore a file, click it, and then, on the toolbar, click Restore this item.

·         To restore all of the files, make sure that no files are selected, and then, on the toolbar, click Restore all items.

The files will be restored to their original locations on your computer.

Notes

·         If you delete a file from a location not on your computer (such as a network folder), the file might be permanently deleted rather than stored in the Recycle Bin.

 

Permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin

When you delete a file, it's usually moved to the Recycle Bin so that you can restore the file later if necessary.

To permanently remove files from your computer and reclaim any hard disk space they were using, you need to delete the files from the Recycle Bin. You can delete individual files from the Recycle Bin or empty the entire Recycle Bin at once.

1.      Click to open Recycle Bin.

2.      Do one of the following:

·         To permanently delete one file, click it, press Delete, and then click Yes.

·         To delete all of the files, on the toolbar, click Empty the Recycle Bin, and then click Yes.

Tips

·         You can empty the Recycle Bin without opening it by right-clicking the Recycle Bin and then clicking Empty Recycle Bin.

·         You can permanently delete a file from your computer without sending it to the Recycle Bin by clicking the file and then pressing Shift + Delete.

Rename a file

One way to rename a file is to open the program that was used to create the file, open the file, and then save it with a different name. However, there's a quicker way:

1.      Right-click the file that you want to rename, and then click Rename.

2.      Type the new name, and then press Enter.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Tip

·         You can also rename several files at one time, which is useful for grouping related items. To do this, select the files, and then follow the steps above. Type one name, and then each of the files will be saved with the new name and a different sequential number at the end (for example, Renamed File (2), Renamed File (3), and so on).

Change folder options

You can change the way files and folders function and how items are displayed on your computer by using Folder Options in Control Panel.

To change general file and folder settings

Find these settings on the General tab in Folder Options.

To	Do this
Open each folder in its own folder window. Use this setting to keep all open folders that you're working with on the screen at the same time.	Click Open each folder in its own window, and then click OK. (To make each newly opened folder replace the previous one, click Open each folder in the same window.)
Open files and folders with a single click (just like links on a webpage).	Click Single-click to open an item (point to select), and then click OK. (To switch back to the standard double-click, click Double-click to open an item (single-click to select).)

Tip

• To restore the original settings on the General tab, click Restore Defaults, and then click OK.

To change advanced file and folder settings

Find these settings on the View tab in Folder Options.

To	Do this
Always show icons, rather than thumbnail previews of files. Use this setting if thumbnail previews are slowing down your computer.	Select the Always show icons, never thumbnails check box, and then click OK.
Always show menus above the toolbar. Use this setting if you want access to the classic menus, which are hidden by default.	Select the Always show menus check box, and then click OK.
Always show the icon for a file in addition to the thumbnail (for easier access to the related program).	Select the Display file icon on thumbnails check box, and then click OK.
See the size of a folder in a tip when you point to the folder.	Select the Display file size information in folder tips check box, and then click OK.
See files, folders, and drives marked as hidden. Use this setting if you need to work with items that are usually hidden from view, such as certain user files.	Click Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and then click OK.
Show removable media drives (such as card readers) in the Computer folder even if they currently don't have media inserted.	Clear the Hide empty drives in the Computer folder check box, and then click OK. (This option doesn’t affect empty floppy disk drives, CD drives, or DVD drives.)
See file name extensions as parts of file names. This is a good way to ensure that files are not malicious software disguised as common files.	Clear the Hide extensions for known file type’s check box, and then click OK.
See all system files that are usually hidden from view.	Clear the Hide protected operating system files check box, and then click OK.
Increase the stability of Windows by opening every folder in a separate part of memory. (Use this setting if your computer frequently stops working and you want to minimize or troubleshoot problems. Be aware, however, that doing this could slow your computer's performance.)	Select the Launch folder windows in a separate process check box, and then click OK.
Hide the drive letter of each drive or device in the Computer folder. Use this setting if you prefer to see only the friendly name of each drive.	Clear the Show drive letters check box, and then click OK.
Display encrypted or compressed ‌NTFS files as ordinary files, without any unique color coding to identify them. Use this setting if you don't want to see these files represented differently than other files on your computer.	Clear the Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color check box, and then click OK.
Turn off the tips that display file information when you point to files.	Clear the Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items check box, and then click OK.
Never show the contents of files in the preview pane. Use this setting to improve the performance of your computer or if you don't want to use the preview pane.	Clear the Show preview handlers in preview pane check box, and then click OK.
Add check boxes to file views for easier selection of several files at once. This can be useful if it's difficult for you to hold down the Ctrl key while clicking to select multiple files.	Select the Use check boxes to select items check box, and then click OK.
Automatically put the cursor in the search box when you start typing. This can be useful if you don't often browse for files by typing the name of a file.	Under When typing into list view, click Automatically type into the Search Box, and then click OK.

Tip

• To restore the original settings on the View tab, click Restore Defaults, and then click OK.

To apply the current view setting to other folders

While browsing folders in the Computer folder, you can apply the current view setting to all folders on your computer that are optimized for the same content as the folder you have open. For instance, the My Pictures folder is optimized for picture files. If you open this folder and change the view to Large Icons, you can apply the Large Icons view to every folder that's optimized for pictures. (This setting does not apply when viewing files and folders using libraries.)

1. Open a folder, click the arrow next to the Views button on the toolbar, and choose a view setting.
2. On the toolbar, click Organize, and then click Folder and search options.
3. In the Folder Options dialog box, click the View tab, click Apply to Folders, click Yes, and then click OK.

Tip

·         To change the type of file that a folder is optimized for, right-click the folder, click Properties, click the Customize tab, click a file type in the Optimize this folder for list, and then click OK.