File Management
Every time we use a computer we are most likely opening, modifying and saving files. Unless you are checking email or reading news, but we can say with certainty that files are one of the top functions. Therefore, file management is very important.
Without good file management practices you will spend tons of time searching for files, lose files, have duplicates and multiple versions, and it will make it virtually impossible to backup your files and thus in the case of hard drive failure or virus your files will be devastated.
Hopefully you are now concerned about that dis-array of a desktop you have. We shall now take a look at a way of thinking about file management that will make it easier to think about and practice.
First of all our goal is to get all the your files into one directory. These are files such as word documents you may have made, pictures you have taken, music, etc. If you are operating on a windows PC then the best bet for you is to put them in the My Documents folder which is already has some folders set up to help with organizing your data.
Now on to the organizing. Before computers we had file cabinets. Do you understand file cabinets. Good, but lets review. One large files cabinet has many drawers. Those drawers have folder in them that are labeled in alphabetical order with a topic. Within those folders you have your files that have a unique purpose and are supposed to be filed in this folder category and drawer.
Now lets say you want to find a file about your son Billy - his birth certificate (yes that is where you keep it in this example). You would go-to the first drawer perhaps because that drawer contained all things regarding your family. Then you would go-to the folder named Billy. Finally you would go through those files to find the birth certificate. Success!
If you have't caught on, the file cabinet = My Documents, the folders = sub-folders in My Documents, and the birth certificate = a file in one of those folders. Note: some lingo you might here is that a folder is often called a directory. The great thing about computers is that you can further divide the folders (directories) into smaller folder that contain even more files therefore you have described without a doubt what kind of information you might find in that folder.
Now it is up to you to gather your existing files on your computer and start sorting them away with a tidy filing cabinet methodology. After you have sorted them you must continue to save files in there proper locations and give files and folders meaningful names.
An example of how I manage my folders is this: My Documents contains all my files. Photos that I have taken or have saved are stored in My Documents -> My Pictures -> and then further divided by event, location, time, sometime all three! You should decide on the best way you like to organize them and stick with that method dont' mix and match. My school files are in the located in My Documents -> School -> and then divided by semester -> class -> assignment.
Good luck getting your life organized. Believe me, it will payoff.
Common mistakes:
- I often see people who don't know where they save their Microsoft Word documents. They just assume that they will show up in the dialog that is displayed when they hit file -> open. This is asking for trouble. If that dialog changes for any reason you will not know where you saved all your files. Please understand that when you save a file in Word you are not saving in the program, you are saving it somewhere on your hard drive in one of those folder that we talked about. Make sure that it is a folder you know about. My rule is that if you can't find it on your hard drive by going through my computer or my documents then you should not be allowed to have access to it because you don't understand saving.
