Nancy Slonneger - Technology Integration Specialist

Integrating Technology into Today's Home, Office & Classroom

Organizing Files and Folders

File Features of Windows 98

Although basic file operations (copying, moving, deleting, renaming, and so on) are unchanged in Windows 98, the way you select files is different when you activate True Web Integration. Basically, you now select folders and files the same way you select Web pages in a Web browser—by hovering and single-clicking.

Understanding Files and Folders

Every file on your computer has a name and occupies a distinct location. Prior to Windows 95, file names were limited to eight characters plus a three-character "extension," separated by a period. A typical file name looked like this: FILENAME.EXT.

In Windows 98, however, you're not limited to the old "8+3" convention. Windows 98 file names can include up to 256 characters, and can use spaces and special characters. For example, a file containing information about your 1998 salary might be named 1998 SALARY.DOC.

Files are stored on your disk in folders. A folder is like a master file; each folder can contain both files and additional folders. The exact location of a file is called its path and contains all the folders leading to the file. For example, a file named FILENAME.DOC that exists in the SYSTEM folder that is contained in the WINDOWS folder on your C:\ drive has a path that looks like this: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\FILENAME.DOC.

Mastering files and folders is a key aspect of using your computer. You may need to copy files from one folder to another, or from your hard disk to a floppy disk. To do this, you use one of the two file-management tools in Windows 98—My Computer or Windows Explorer.

Selecting Files

There are times you'll want to perform an action on a single file. To select a single file, just hover your cursor over the file until it is highlighted; the filename and icon will change color, and information about the selected file will appear in the left part of the window.  (If you have chosen Custom settings to use single-click to select and double-click to open a file, you will need to click the file to select it.)

There are other times, however, when you'll want to perform a single action on multiple files. To select multiple files with the hover method, follow these steps:

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Hover your cursor over the first file you want to select, and then hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
3. Select additional files by hovering your cursor over them until they are highlighted. Keep holding down the Ctrl key until you've selected all desired files.
4. After you've finished selecting files, release the Ctrl key and perform the desired action.

To select multiple files with the Custom settings to use single-click to select and double-click to open method, follow these steps:

1. Start My Computer by double-clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Click the first file you want to select, and then hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click the last file you want to select.  This will select all files between the first file clicked and the last file clicked.
3. Select additional files by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking on files until they are highlighted. Keep holding down the Ctrl key until you've selected all desired files.  You can deselect files by holding Ctrl and clicking on files that were previously selected.
4. After you've finished selecting files, release the Ctrl key and perform the desired action.

Previewing Files with Quick View

If you would like to view the contents of a file—but you don't want to wait for the associated application to launch—you can take advantage of Quick View. Quick View is a special viewing utility that lets you see the contents of a file from within My Computer or Windows Explorer.

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Locate the file you want to preview. Right-click the file's icon and choose Quick View from the pop-up menu.
3. This will start the viewer, in which you can look at the contents of the file. If it is a file you want to edit, click the associated application icon on the left side of the toolbar.
4. After you finish viewing the file, click the Close button on the right side of the title bar.

Finding Files

Locating a file can be difficult, especially if you have a large drive or several drives. Windows 98 includes a Find utility to search through a drive for you.

To search for a particular file from within My Computer, follow these steps:

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop. Select the drive you want to search or the drive and folder you want to search.
2. Right-click the drive icon and select Find from the pop-up menu.
3. When the Find: All Files dialog box appears, enter the name of the file or folder you want and click the Find Now button.
4. When the search is complete, a dialog box will appear with any matching files or folders displayed. You can open, move, copy, or delete a file from this display box.

In addition to searching for files by file name, there are other file parameters you can search for:

Creating Folders

Folders act as drawers on a hard drive to hold other folders or files. They let you organize your hard drive by putting common files or folders together. You can use My Computer to create new folders:

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Click the icon of the drive or folder under which you want your new folder to appear.
3. When the drive or folder's contents appear, right-click in a blank area of the window to display the pop-up menu. Select New, and then select Folder.
4. A new, empty folder appears, with the file name "New Folder" highlighted. Type a name for your folder (which overwrites the "New Folder" name) and press enter.

Renaming Files and Folders

File and folder names should always describe the contents of the file or folder. Sometimes, however, the contents may change or the file or folder may contain a revision number that needs updating. If you have a file or folder with a name that just isn't right, you can rename it.

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Locate the file or folder you want to rename. Right-click the file or folder icon, and choose Rename from the pop-up menu.
3. The file name is now highlighted. Type a new name for your folder (which overwrites the current name) and press enter.

Deleting Files and Folders

Because disk space is a resource you don't want to waste, you should delete files and folders you no longer need.

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Select the file or folder you want to delete and press the Delete key, or right-click to display the pull-down menu and select Delete.

Restoring Deleted Files

If you delete a file and later decide you made a mistake, you’re in luck. Windows 98 stores deleted files in the Recycle Bin for a period of time—if you have deleted the file recently, it should still be in the Recycle Bin.

1. Open the Recycle Bin by clicking its icon on the desktop.
2. When the Recycle Bin opens, locate the file or folder you want to restore. Right-click the item's icon and choose Restore from the pop-up menu.

Managing the Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin is where deleted files are stored after you delete them. Files do not stay in the Recycle Bin indefinitely, however. By default, the deleted files in the Recycle Bin can occupy 10 percent of your hard disk space. When you have enough deleted files to exceed 10 percent of your disk space, the oldest files in the Recycle Bin are completely deleted from your hard disk.

If you want to permanently erase files from the Recycle Bin manually, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon.
2. When the pop-up menu appears, select Empty Recycle Bin.
3. When the Confirm File Delete dialog box appears, click Yes to completely erase the files, or click No to continue storing the files in the Recycle Bin.

Copying Files and Folders

Copying a file or folder is how you place a copy of it at another location (either in another folder or on another disk) while still retaining the original where it was. Copying is different from moving in that when you copy an item, the original remains; when you move an item, the original is no longer present in the original location.

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Select the file or folder you want to copy. Right-click the icon for this item and choose Copy.
3. Select the new location for the item. Right-click in an open space in the new location's window, and then choose Paste from the pop-up menu.

Moving Files and Folders

Moving a file or folder is different from copying a file or folder. Moving deletes the item from its previous location and places it in a new location; copying leaves the original item where it was and creates a copy of the item elsewhere. To move a file or folder with My Computer:

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Select the file or folder you want to move. Right-click the icon of the folder or file and choose Cut.
3. Select and open the drive or folder where you want to move the cut item. Right-click in some open space in the new location's Contents pane. Choose Paste from the menu.

Putting Files on the Desktop with Shortcuts

If you have a favorite application or document that you open frequently, you can place a shortcut icon for that item on your desktop. Clicking the shortcut icon launches the application or document.

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Locate the file for which you want to create a shortcut.
3. Right-drag the file onto the desktop, and then release the right mouse button. (Right-dragging is dragging while holding down the right mouse button.) A shortcut menu appears.
4. Choose Create Shortcut(s) Here from the shortcut menu. The shortcut icon is placed on the desktop.

If you want to delete a desktop shortcut, simply drag it into the Recycle Bin.

Unprotect Read-Only Files

If you have a file that you want to edit or delete but you can't, chances are the file is designated as read-only. Read-only files can't be changed or deleted; you can read them, but you can't touch them. If you need to edit or delete a read-only file, you need to change that file's attributes.

1. Start My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Select the file or folder you want to change and right-click its icon. Choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
3. When the Properties dialog box appears, select the General tab and then select or deselect the desired attributes. For example, to make a read-only file editable, deselect the Read-only check box.
4. After you've made the desired changes, click the OK button.

You can change the following file attributes in the Properties dialog box:

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Last modified: November 11, 2007