INTRODUCTION TO
IT SKILLS
Week 3 : LECTURE 1
COURSE INSTRUCTOR: MISS SARA USMANI
File Management
Paths and Trees and Folders
Outline
■ Operating Systems
■ File Basics
– File Names, Extensions
– Directories, Folders, and Paths
– File Formats
■ File Management
– File (Windows) Explorer
– Zipping files
– Shortcuts
Operating Systems
■ Every computer runs programs (applications) that help you do
your work, like word processors and browsers.
■ Every computer needs software that knows the details of the
particular hardware you have and can communicate with all
your applications and with you. This is the Operating System.
■ Several kinds of OS’s – Windows 7, 8, 10, Linux, MacOS, Unix,
Android
■ All operating systems have the important job of keeping track
of your files: where they are, what’s in them, what they are
named.
Files
■ When you use an application to do work - e.g., write a
paper, make a spreadsheet, or draw a picture, the work
is stored in RAM (memory) first
■ It is in danger of being lost if the power goes off (RAM is
volatile!)
■ When you save it, it is copied to a secondary storage
device like the hard drive or a flash drive
■ It is saved as a FILE with a name, extension, time, date,
size
– The extension, if there is one, is at the right end of
the name, with a period before it, like file1.abc
File Names and Extensions
■ You must adhere to file-naming conventions when saving files
– Case sensitivity – upper and lower case are different
■ True in Linux and Unix variations, not in Windows
■ If “ABC” and “abc” are different names, it IS case sensitive
– Maximum length (Windows 260 characters)
– Spaces allowed – be careful if using multiple spaces, can you see
the difference between 2 spaces and three spaces?
– Digits allowed
– \ / : * ? " < > | not allowed
■ File extensions provide clues to the file contents
■ OS uses extensions to know which application created the file and the
internal format of the file
Standard Filename Extensions
■
Extension Type of Document Application
.doc or .docx Word processing document Microsoft Word
.xls or .xlsx Workbook Microsoft Excel
.ppt or .pptx PowerPoint presentation MS PowerPoint
.accdb Database Microsoft Access
.gif, .jpg, .png Images Windows Image
Viewer
.mp4, .mp3 Videos, audio Windows Media
.zip Compressed file WinZip
.pdf Portable Document Format Adobe Acrobat
.htm or .html Web page Hypertext Markup
Language
How to Make Extensions
Visible in Windows
■ Windows default is NOT to show the common
extensions of filenames but we want to SEE them!
■ Open a Windows Explorer window
■ Choose Organize tab
■ Choose Folder and search options
■ Choose View tab
■ UNcheck the box that says “Hide extensions for
known file types”
■ Choose “Apply to Folders”
File Systems – Drives
■ Every computer has a file system used to
keep track of the files on that machine
■ File systems are based on physical storage
devices, known as drives
■ Drives can be local or remote (network or
cloud)
■ Click on “My Computer” or “This PC” to see a
list of drives (on a Windows machine)
File Systems – Drives
■ Typical Drives
– A: or B: Floppy Disk
– C: Local Hard Drive
– D: CD Drive
– E-Z for removable drives like memory sticks
– About any letter can be used for a partition of a
device
File Systems – Partitions
■ Note that a “partition” is not a physical device,
although it looks like one to the OS.
■ Why have a partition? At one point Windows could
only handle storage devices of a certain size. If your
hard drive was larger than that size, you could not
access the entire device. Partitions fool the OS into
thinking that one device is two (or more!) devices,
each with their own letter and file system So by
accessing the two devices, you could use all your
storage.
■ You will find disks partitioned even today, when
some space is used for a specific need, like a
backup
Sample Disk Partition
File Management
■ The operating system provides an organizational structure to the
computer’s data and programs
■ Hierarchical structure of directories:
– Drives
■ Folders
– and more Folders …
■ Files
■ Storage metaphors help you visualize and
mentally organize the files on your disks and
other storage devices
A File System Tree (2 devices)
File Management Metaphors
■ Tree Metaphor
– Root, branches, leaves
■ Filing Cabinet Metaphor
– Drawers, Folders, Files
File Directories and Folders
■ Every storage device has a directory containing a
list of its files
– Root directory (like “C:\”)
– Subdirectory
■ Depicted as folders
■ A computer’s file location is defined by a path
■ Examples: D:\ is the root of the D drive
■ Examples: C:\Notes\CS 101\Week 1\notes.txt
■ Examples: F:\1999\Music\CDs\Prince\
Reasons for using folders
• Organization of files makes them easier to find, less
stress
• Easier to manipulate groups of files as one thing –
moving, copying, deleting, mailing
• Allows reuse of filenames, as long as the files are in
different paths – you can have two “A.txt” files as long
as they are in different folders
• Can use different applications on the same files –
create a file with Excel, zip it with Winzip, 7zip, etc.
Create a video mp4 file with Zoom, play it with Windows
Media
Where is my Desktop??
• The Desktop Is really just another folder!
• On Windows, it is at C:\Users\yourusername\Desktop\
• On MacOS, it is /Users/yourusername/Desktop/
• If an application leaves you at the root of your C: drive, you
should be able to navigate to your Desktop!
• If you use the Virtual Den to be able to use MS Access, you
will need to know this!
File Formats
■ A file format refers to the organization and layout of
data that is stored in a file
■ A file extension usually indicates the format of a file
and the application which was used to create the
file
■ But it does not have to! Just changing the
extension on a file from xlsx to zip does not make
the file a zip file! It needs to be converted from a
spreadsheet to a zipped file using the zip
application.
Applications and Files
■ Most applications that create files have a file menu
■ Choices will include Save and Save As
– Save saves using same filename, if has been saved once
already
– Save asks for new name if it has not been saved before
– Save As asks for new name and saves new copy of file
■ Rename – allows you to change the name of the current file
File Explorer
■ File Explorer (also known as Windows
Explorer) helps you manipulate files and
folders in the following ways:
– Rename
– Copy
– Move
– Delete
■ Windows offers a set of preconfigured
personal folders, such as My Documents
and My Music, for storing your personal
data files. You can make subdirectories in
these too!
Windows Explorer
■ NOT the same as Internet Explorer! Windows Explorer is a file
manager
■ Shows files in different views
■ Shows files’ information: name, date modified, type, size and
others you can set (Turn menu bar on, then View then menu
choice Choose Details)
■ Uses Graphical User Interface to let you move files around,
copy them, erase them
Units for measuring file sizes
■ One byte = one character, pretty small
■ 1 Kilobyte = 1024 bytes, about a page of text
■ 1 Megabyte = 1024 KBs, a 1000-page book
■ 1 Gigabyte = 1024 MBs (more than 1 billion
bytes), about 1000 books, a library!
■ 1 Terabyte = 1024 GBs (more than 1 trillion
bytes), over 1000 libraries
■ 1 Petabyte = 1024 TBs (more than 1 quadrillion
bytes), over 1 million libraries
Relationships of units
■ 1024 = 512 * 2
■ 1024 = 256 * 4
■ 1024 = 128 * 8
■ 1 Gb = 1024 Mb
■ So 0.5 Gb = 512 Mb
■ And 0.25 Gb = 256 Mb
■ If I had seven 512 Mb files and a 2 Gb memory stick, would
they all fit? How much space left over? How much more
needed?
File Sizes and Dates
■ A file contains data, stored as a group of bits
– File size is usually measured in bytes, kilobytes, or megabytes
■ The file date indicates the date that a file was created or last modified
File Sizes and Dates
■ Why is the file size important?
– Memory and Storage Capacity
– “How many songs can I fit on my MP3 player?”
– “How many pictures can I take with my camera?”
– "Did all my data get saved?“
– “Did I submit a file for the lab test that was empty?”
■ Why is the file date important?
– History of File Creation and Last Modification
– “Which one is the latest version of my paper?”
– “Did I submit my lab test on time?”
File Management Tips
■ Use descriptive names
■ Maintain file extensions – don’t change one unless you
convert the file to that type
■ Group similar files into a folder
■ Organize your folders from the top down
■ Consider using default folders but consider putting
folders inside them – My Documents can be subdivided
as you like!
■ Do not mix data files and program files in the same
folder
File Management Tips
■ Don’t store too many files in the root directory –
actually slows down the access
■ Follow copyright rules
■ Delete or archive files you no longer need
■ Be aware of storage locations!
– You will not be able to submit your lab test work
if you do not know where you put your files!
■ Make Backups!
Zipping a file or files
■ Files can be compressed by removing the
redundancies in them
■ Zip also archives them - turns several files into
one file, easier to move, copy, upload, etc.
■ Created by Phil Katz in 1989
■ In Windows, select the files to zip
– Right click on one of them
– Choose "Send to compressed folder"
– You may need to rename the file afterward
Shortcuts
■ Can create another icon which points to a file or
folder or program
■ Double clicking on it is equivalent to double clicking
on what it points to
■ But be careful! The shortcut is NOT a copy of the
file! If the original file is moved or deleted, the
shortcut does not work
■ When submitting lab tests, be careful of this! Do
not send your TA JUST a bunch of shortcuts!
