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“ - [Illustrator] One of the most important concepts to understand when working with computers is the system for organizing, storing, and locating your files and applications. In this context, the term file, it refers to a single item, such as a word processing document, a photo, a video clip, a song and so on. Applications are the programs that run on your computer, which often use, interact with, or create the files stored on your computer. Another term you'll frequently hear is folder. A folder is sometimes referred to as a directory, but I think folder makes more sense because it's easy to understand the concept of storing files within folders. Again, we're using the Windows 10 operating system here for these examples, but the concept recovering applied to other operating systems as well. Here in Windows 10, I'm going to click the file Explorer icon, and that opens up a new window where we can navigate and explore the contents of the computer. But in this case, let's say I want to create a new folder to store some of my business documents. Now in each account, you already have some folders created, which you can see over here in the left sidebar. Let's click documents, which is a good place to start my business documents. You can see I already have a couple of files and folders inside the documents folder, but to stay organized, I'm going to create a new folder for my business-related documents. There are a couple of ways to do this, but for this example, I'll click the home tab, here at the top of the window and then select new folder. And there it is. By default, it's called New folder, but notice the name is highlighted. Meaning if I start typing while the text is selected, I can give it a more meaningful name. I'll call this folder business and I'll press enter. So there's my new folder. I can open it by double-clicking it. And as you'd expect, it's currently empty because we just created it. Now, just like how there are several ways to create a new folder, there are several ways to add files to that folder. For example, if I were working in Microsoft Excel on a spreadsheet, I could save that spreadsheet and choose to store it in this folder. Alternately, I can click the home tab again, click the new item menu, and here I'll find options for several types of files I can create. So for example, I want to create a text document. So I'll select that option, and that instantly generates a new text document inside this folder. Just like when we created this folder, the generic name of this new text document is highlighted, so I can give it a better name. Now, if you don't start typing and you click outside that name, you'll see that the highlight around the text is removed. I can still rename this file though. I just need to click it once to select it, pause for a second and then click it again. And you can see the name highlights again. The reason for pausing between clicks is that if you click twice too quickly, that's considered a Double-Click which opens the item instead of highlighting its name. So let's say I want to use this document to keep some ideas for a book I'm working on. I'll call this Book Ideas and I'll press return. And now if I want to start working on this file, I can double-click it, which opens it in the default text editing application. And I can start typing out some of my ideas when I close this file, I'm prompted to save it so I don't lose my changes. I'll click save. And now I've created, edited and saved a text document. But now that I think about it, this doesn't really belong in this business folder. Instead, I want to store this in a folder for my book ideas. So I'll click the back button to go back to the main document folder, and here I'll create a new folder for my book ideas. Another way to create a new folder is to right-click within the folder and then choose new folder. There it is and I'll call this books. Now, I need to move that book ideas document I created in the business folder into the books folder. Again, there are multiple ways to do this. For this example, let's go back into the business folder where that file currently is, and now select it by clicking it once, and I'll go to the home tab and here I'll choose move to. This gives me a list of folders on my computer that I may want to move this file to, but I don't see that new books folder I just created. So I'll browse for that folder by selecting choose location. This lets me navigate my entire computer to locate the folder I need. I'll start by opening up my user folder. Here I'll find documents and within documents, here's that new book's folder I created. I'll select that and I'll choose move. And just like that, the file disappears out of the business folder. And if I go back to the main documents folder and look in books, there's the text file. Now, another way to move files is to simply drag them where you want them to be. For example, if I want this file stored in my main documents folder, I can simply click and hold down on my mouse button and then drag it to the document folder listing here on the sidebar. It says move to documents I'll release my mouse button, and if I go back to the documents folder, which I can do by clicking on documents up here this time, you'll see book ideas is now sitting here in the main folder. But of course it really does make more sense to leave it in the new book's folder here. So I'll drag it back in like so. Now, if you no longer need a file, you can always just delete it. If I want to get rid of this Book Ideas file, I can just select it, and then under the home tab I can choose delete, and it's gone. Deleting files sends them to the recycle bin on your desktop, which I can double-click to open. And there it is. So you don't have to worry about accidentally deleting files. If you made a mistake or you went to undelete a file, you can just find it in the recycle bin. As long as you haven't emptied the recycle bin, which does permanently delete your files and then just drag the file to place it back into its folder or anywhere else you want to store it. So if I move this window slightly out of the way, I can grab book ideas and drag it back into the books folder. So that's how to create new folders and files and how to move, delete, and recover those files.
Watch courses on your mobile device without an internet connection. Download courses using your iOS or Android LinkedIn Learning app. Updated: 06/02/2020 by Computer Hope  Depending on the type of file, and if you want it shared determines where it should be saved on your computer. Below are a few examples of locations and additional information on where files can be saved. Note All options mentioned below are recommendations. You can save files to any drive, folder, or share you have access to on your computer. If you're on a work or school computer, you may only have permission to save to a location specified by your administrator. DesktopOn Windows computers, you can save files to your desktop, which can give you quick access to files you may frequently use. To save to the desktop, choose the Save As option, and in the Save window, click the desktop icon on the left side of the window. Tip If you want several files on the desktop, it's easier to create a folder on the desktop to store the files. For help with creating a folder, see: How to create a directory or folder. DriveOn Windows computers, most of the files you work on are saved to the C: drive, which is the default drive. To save to another drive (e.g., flash drive), you would need to know the drive letter and specify that drive letter when saving the file. Tip If you are having trouble determining what drive is associated with a flash drive or another external drive, open My Computer and look at the available drives. My DocumentsOn Windows computers, all document-related files (e.g., word processor and spreadsheet files) default to save in the My Documents folder automatically. We recommend keeping all documents in this folder to make it easier to backup all your important files. My PicturesLike the My Documents folder, pictures are automatically defaulted to save in the My Pictures folder. CloudYou can save nearly any file online in cloud storage. Many companies offer file storage options in the cloud, making the files accessible from any computer and other computing devices, like smartphones and tablets. Files in cloud storage can be shared with other users, allowing them to view the files and edit them if given permission. Below are several examples of cloud storage options.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance your computer is a mess. You’ve got files all over your desktop, a Downloads folder crammed with app installers from two years ago, and who knows where the file that Jason from Billings needed yesterday is. Let’s look at how to fix it. Now, before diving in we need to address the biggest problem with any file organization system: you. There’s no point setting up an intricate file system where every folder is colour coded, tagged, and cross referenced with every other folder. It'll last about three minutes. Your first priority, then, is to implement a system you can actually stick to. I want you to go and look in your closet; if everything is neatly organized, great, you can start with the advanced stuff. On the other hand, if you can’t even keep your shirts and your socks separate, then you need to start with a really simple set up that you'll be able to stick to. Remember, like with any goal—and we've got a full guide to goal setting you should check out—consistency is the most important thing. You can add more complexity later. With that out of the way, are you ready to learn about organizing folders? Let’s get started. How to Organize Computer Files: Decide on a StructureThere are three main ways you can structure your file system: project or client-based, date-based, and file type-based. There are pros and cons to each method of organizing folders and you can use a combination, for example grouping everything by project but within each project grouping things by file type or grouping everything by year but within each year grouping it by client. Let’s look each way to organize computer files. You should pick the method that seems to fit your workflow best and stick to it. 1. Project or Client-Based File Organization SystemA project or client-based structure is perhaps the simplest to stick to. Every project or client—how you split things up really depends on what sort of work you do—gets its own dedicated folder. Within each project or client folder, you keep all the relevant files and documents. What makes a project or client set up work so well is that it’s brainless. If file A is to do with client X, it goes in folder X. If file B is to do with client Y, then, shockingly, it goes in folder Y. If you've got multiple projects for the same clients, you can either give each project its own top-level folder or have individual project folders within each client folder. Where a project or client-based file system starts to fall apart is when you deal with a lot of general files that have to do with multiple projects or the organization as a whole. You can shave a “General” project file folder, but that can quickly create more problems than it solves. Similarly, duplicate files are almost never the answer. The other time you might run into difficulties with a project or client set up is when there are lots of different files so each folder is a total mess. The solution there is to use one of the two following set ups within your project or client folders. In general, I’d recommend going with a project or client set up by default. It’s so simple to stick to and it'll give your computer a bit of much needed organization. Even if each project or client folder is a little bit messy, things will be a lot better than they were. 2. Date-Based File Organization SystemWith a date-based structure, you normally have a folder for each year with a subfolder for each month. Depending on how many files you work with, you can also have further subfolders for each week although it’s probably over kill. The nice thing about a date-based structure is it makes it very easy to find files from a certain period, for example, to look at last year’s financials for January. A date-based structure is at its best when you do the same few tasks or work with similar files on a regular basis. If you get weekly financial or marketing reports that are the same document just with different numbers then it’s ideal. You can’t really group that sort of files by project since you’ll quickly have 200 reports sitting in each folder—and everything is the same project anyway—so you’re back to square one. A date-based structure’s problems are related to its strengths. Unless you've got a large number of similar files then it’s overkill and you won’t be bothered to stick with it. Also, it doesn’t work very well if you’re working on the same file for an extended period of time. Do you leave the marketing presentation in the folder for the month it was created in? The month you finished it in? The month you last used it in? Think over what kind of work you do. It'll probably be very obvious if a date-based system is right for you or not. 3. File Type-Based File Organization SystemA file type-based system groups everything into folders based on what kind of file it is. This doesn’t strictly have to be by computer file type, but instead can use folders with names like:
Within each folder, you put all the files of that kind. File type-based structures don’t normally work great as your top-level structure unless you only work for one company—or yourself—and don’t have too many files to handle. I actually use one since my work is largely grouped into writing, photographing, and invoicing. For most people, a file type-based structure works best when it’s within a client or project-based or date-based structure. If your client folders are getting messy, adding file type-based subfolders is a great way to sort things out. Again, think about what kind of work you do. If it’s just a few things over and over again, then a file type method of organizing folders might be right for you. Otherwise, stick to using it for subfolders. One Is None and Two Is One: BackupsNow that you’ve decided how you’re going to organize your files and folders, we need to talk about something very important: backups. Hard drives can—and do—fail. You can walk into your office one morning, hear a strange crunching sound from your PC, and never be able to access the files on it again. Or you could get your laptop snatched from your hand on a train platform while you take a sip of your morning coffee. Just having your files well organized isn’t enough, you need to keep them safe. We've got a full guide on how to create a foolproof back up plan as well as specific articles on backing up your PC or Mac, using Time Machine, so check those articles out for specific instructions. I’m just going to give a general overview here. When it comes to good backups, you need multiple layers of security. It’s all well and good to back your computer up to an external hard drive, but what happens if your house burns down with both your computer and backup drive inside? All your data is gone. This is where offsite backups and cloud backups come in. My preferred system is to keep all my important files in my Dropbox—although you can also use Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive—so that as soon as I save them, they’re saved to the cloud. This isn’t a true backup since there’s no versioning and limited recovery options, but it’s a great first layer. If you've got a fast internet connection, are allowed by corporate policy, and don’t work with terabytes of data, then just keeping all the files you work on in a cloud service is a great way to keep it safe. It also has the benefit of making your files accessible from anywhere. As well as using Dropbox to keep my data secure, I also use a dedicated cloud backup service. I’d recommend you check out Backblaze. Not only does this mean I've got two offsite copies of all my files, but I've got the option to restore previous versions and restore everything if needs be. Finally, when I’m doing something where there’s a chance I might lose a lot of data—like updating my computer—I create a local backup so I can quickly restore things without having to wait for them to download from the internet. You don’t have to copy my exact backup plan but you really should have one offsite, automatic backup of all your important files in place. If you don’t, you risk losing all your data. Best Practices For Organizing Computer FilesAs I stressed at the top of this article, the most important thing about creating an organized file structure is that you stick to it. Here are some best practices for doing just that and also using your new, neat set up.
Wrapping UpAn organized computer is much more pleasant to use. If you know where every file is stored then it’s no longer a nightmare when someone comes and asks for such-and-such file from two years ago; it’s sitting in a folder and subfolder called 2016 > Marketing Materials or the like. And once you've got a file organization system in place it’s really not that hard to stick to. Just take a few hours one afternoon to set it up and you’ll be good to go. |
Your computer operates more efficiently if you save files in folders instead of on the desktop
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