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Welcome to today's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, June 29, 2003
Friday is Independence Day. Have a fun and safe 4th of July!
In this Issue: Files and Folders
Special Feature: Filenames
Special Feature: Filing Tips
Special Feature: Creating Folders
Special Feature: Using Folders
Special Feature: Finding Files on Your Computer
Special Feature: How Do File Names Work?
Question: File Extensions
Question: File Associations
Featured Webpage: Backup Your Files
Featured Websites: June and July are Fireworks Safety Months; The Dog Days of Summer; Independence Day
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Using Links
A Link is a reference to a website. In this newsletter you will see links to many worthwhile, informative and fun websites. Here are the instructions on how to use links:
A link will be used one of two ways, depending on your email program.
If you see the link in blue, underlined text, all you have to do is click on it and a window with the Website in it will automatically appear on your screen.
If you see the link in plain text, you can copy and paste it into the address bar on your browser. Highlight the link with your mouse, click Edit up on the menu bar, and then click Copy from the menu that you just opened up. Open your browser (click the Start Button, point to Programs, click on Internet Explorer); click on the address bar. Click Edit up on the menu bar, and then click Paste from the menu that you just opened up. Press the Enter key on the keyboard and this will take you to the Website.
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Special Feature: Filenames
The filename is the name of a file on a disk used so that both you and the operating system can find the file again. All files have names. The filename is given, usually by the creator of the file, when the file is saved to disk.
Different operating systems impose different restrictions on filenames.
Certain characters may be prohibited in a filename. For example, Windows does not allow slashes ( \ / ) in filenames.
Within a single folder, filenames must be unique. However, two files in different folders may have the same name.
Most operating systems impose a limit on the length of a filename. In the older operating systems (prior to Windows 95), the filename could only have up to eight characters. Windows 95 and above allows you to use as many characters as you want (up to 255).
Get into the habit of giving your files descriptive filenames, so you can find them easily. Don’t use names like Letter1, Letter2, Memo4, Paper6, Paper7; you’ll have to look at each file to find the one you want. Use names like SmithLetter, JohnsonMemo, EnglishCompPaper.
Filenames can also have a three-character extension. The format for a filename is the filename, a period, the extension. This would be read: filename dot extension.
Some applications, like Excel or Paint, automatically assign an extension. (Excel uses .xls and Paint uses .bmp). In a word processor, you can usually assign your own extension. Using the examples above, we could have filenames such as:
Smith.ltr Johnson.mem EnglishCom.ppr
This system may help you organize and find files faster and more easily.
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Special Feature: Filing Tips
As you use your computer, your files will be accumulating all over the place and you may find yourself getting very frustrated trying to get to a letter you wrote or a picture you received.
A little planning can go a long way and will save you a big headache in the future. Set up a sensible system of filing your files right at the beginning and you will not find yourself having to search for everything later.
Think about the types of files you have and put them into categories. You can add subcategories at any point later on. For example, do you write many letters? Then have a category called Personal Letters or even just Letters (it is up to you; it’s your computer!). Now, or later on, you can use subcategories: Mary Letters, John Letters, etc. Do you have a lot of pictures on your computer? Categorize them, too.
Now, using these categories, you can create folders and place everything in these. First, you want to use a main folder to hold the different categories. The My Documents folder is a good place to start, since most programs will direct you to this folder in a Save or Open command.
So, here is how it will look:
C:\
My Documents
Letters
Mary Letters
John Letters
Sue Letters
Pictures
2003 Vacation
Children
Pets
Holidays
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Special Feature: Creating Folders
The easiest and most efficient way of creating folders is by using Windows Explorer. To open Windows Explorer:
Click the Start button, point to Programs, click Windows Explorer. OR Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, click Windows Explorer.
Explorer has two panes. On the left, you will see your drives and folders; on the right you will see the contents of the selected folder on the left, which will be folders and files.
In the left pane, the drives and folders will have a little plus sign beside each. If you click once on the plus sign, the directory tree will be expanded - that means that you will be able to view a folder's subfolders.
Click the folder that you wish to create the new folder under. Open the File menu, then point your mouse to New. Click Folder. A new folder will appear in the right pane with the caption New Folder. Type the name you want to give the folder and press Enter on the keyboard.
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Special Feature: Using Folders
Once your folders are created, you can start putting your files into them.
For existing files, this is most easily done in Windows Explorer, where you can move files from one folder to another.
Find the file in the right pane, click on it to select it. Drag it (point to file; hold down the left mouse button) to the new folder in the left pane. When the new folder turns blue, release the mouse button.
New files can be placed in the folder at the Save command. In the Save As dialog box, make sure the Save in is pointing to My Documents (assuming the folder you want is a sub folder of My Documents). If it is not pointing to My Documents, click the down arrow to the right of the current Save In folder, select My Documents from the list that appears. In the pane in the middle, you will then see your folder; click on it to select it. Click the Open button that
appears at the bottom right corner of the dialog box. Change the filename if you want, then click the Save button.
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Special Feature: Finding Files on Your Computer
Over time, you will probably accumulate hundreds of files on your system and, even with an excellent filing system, it is possible that you will not be able to recall where you put a particular file that you need or what you named it. However, the Windows file searching utility frees you from remembering where every file is.
To start Find/Search:
1 - Click Start
2 - Select Find or Search (depending on your version of Windows
3 - Select Files And Folders...
With this dialog box, you can:
Search for a folder
Search for a file
Search for a file by contents (some word or words in the file)
Search for a file by date created or modified
Search for a file by type or size.
Before you start a search, decide which disk and folder you want to search. Select the folder in the box called Search In or Look In (depending on your version of Windows). Windows searches down the folder list from there. To search an entire disk, start the search from the disk drive letter, for instance, Search In: C.
If you know that you keep all your files in folders in My Documents, you can start your search from C:\My Documents. Search will look only in the My Documents folder and its sub-folders and ignore the rest of the drive.
Window displays search results (all files or folders that match your criteria) in a list from which you can perform most common file operations. You can do any of the following tasks with files in the list:
Right-click a selected file to display a shortcut menu of commands you can use to work with the file. Use the Cut command to move the file to another folder. Use the Copy command to copy the file to another folder. Use the Delete command to remove the file from your system Use the Properties command to see your file's attributes, such as its size, date of creation and whether or not it is a read only file. Use the Send To command to send a copy of the file to a floppy disk.
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Special Feature: How Do File Names Work?
Most files in Windows have two parts, separated by a dot:
john birthday letter june25 03.doc
The name tells what the file is: the letter you wrote to John on his birthday on june 25, 03. The extension tells what type of file it is - .doc lets you know this was created in Microsoft Word.
john birthday june 25 03.jpg
Here’s the picture you took at the birthday party you had for John. A .jpg extension is a graphics file; the picture has been saved in the JPEG format.
Prior to Windows 95, file names used what was called the 8.3 format. This meant that all file names had to have no more than eight letters or numbers. So
that letter to John would have to be named something like jbd62503.doc. (not too easy to find again, is it?)
Windows 95 introduced Long File Names, which allow you to be a lot more descriptive. You can actually use longer extensions as well, although most programs stick to three characters. So now it’s ok if that letter to John has 24 characters and is easily distinguishable from Joe’s birthday letter and Jill’s birthday letter.
Some older programs, however, still do not use long file names. When you read a file with a long name into such a program it will show a truncated version that has the first six characters of the name followed by a tilde and a number.
john birthday letter june25 03.doc will become john b~1.doc
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Question: File Extensions
I see so many different file extensions when I use Windows Explorer. How do I know what all these mean?
Answer: Yes, there are many. After awhile, you will start to recognize which extensions are used with the files you create. If you are interested in learning more about extensions, and what they mean, here is a good website:
http://filext.com/
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Question: File Associations
Question: With your classes, the great newsletter you send, and just fiddling around with my computer, I’ve learned so much! I’ve been playing around with Windows Explorer a lot. Usually, when I double click on a file to open it, the file opens in the program I want. Every now and then, I get a box that asks me what program I want to use to open the file. I don’t know what to do.
What does this mean?
Answer: Files have to be viewed using the appropriate program. When you create and save a file, the program sets what is called an Association. In other words you are associating a type of file with the kind of program needed to view and/or edit it.
For example, a picture is associated with a graphics program. A music file is associated with a Recorder or Player program. A text document is associated with a word processing program.
File extensions are the clue to the type of file. Here are a few examples of file types and their associations. Files that end in:
.TXT Notepad (A text editor for simple text files)
.WAV Sound Recorder (A recorder/player for .WAV style sound files)
.BMP Paintbrush (A drawing program for Windows bitmap files)
When you see the dialog box that asks you to choose a program to be used to open the file, this means that the file you are trying to open has no program associated with it.
Files created by the user (you), are called data files, and will always be associated with the program that you used to create them. Therefore, if you try
to open a file you created, it will always open up correctly, in the right program.
If the file you’re trying to open was sent or given to you by another user, you will not be able to open it if it is not associated with any program that you have on your computer.
If the file is on your computer already, and you cannot open it, it is probably a program file. You cannot open a program file with another program.
There are a number of different files that fall into the category of program files. Here are some examples:
.EXE Most programs have this file extension. .COM Some DOS programs have this extension
.DLL This is a piece of a program in a separate file that it is used by
the main program or programs.
.OCX A piece of a program.
.VBX A piece of a program.
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Featured Webpage: Backup
Backing up your important files is vital! If anything happens to your hard drive or your computer, it’s possible that all will be lost. You don’t want to do ALL that work over again, so make sure you have a second copy of the important things kept somewhere away from your computer.
To read prior newsletter articles and learn more about backing up your files, visit our website:
http://stsico.com/html/disk.html
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Today's Featured Websites:
Note: if you're not sure how to use the following links to websites, take a look at the instructions on using links at the beginning of this newsletter.
June and July are Fireworks Safety Months
If you must use or be around fireworks on the fourth, learn how to keep yourself and your children safe at this website:
http://familyinternet.about.com/library/safetydocs/blfireworks.htm
The Dog Days of Summer
What does it mean? Where did that expression come from? Find out at this website:
http://www.wilstar.net/dogdays.htm
Independence Day
This website features the history of Independence Day, including stories, speeches, and celebrations over the years.
http://www.american.edu/heintze/fourth.htm
For some history, patriotic music, and a very cool online fireworks display, visit this website:
http://www.holidays.net/independence/
Read the Declaration of Independence at this website:
http://www.usacitylink.com/usa/declaration.html
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