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Files

Back Stage

Working with files is like being backstage in the wings. You can both see the action and interact with the actors. For example, you can open documents directly, instead of first starting the application and then opening the file. You can back up documents with just a few clicks. I find that I use the file interface (Windows Explorer) about 50% of the time instead of the Start menu interface when I work with my computer. In addition to speed and convenience, Windows Explorer lets you see exactly what you're doing and what the results are. The Start button is front door and lobby of your computer -- Windows Explorer is the stage door.

Windows Explorer

If you're going to manage files directly, or just want to understand them, it's essential to become familiar with "Windows Explorer". There are several ways to start this essential program. You can always "Right Click" "My Computer" on your Desktop > Choose "Explore" and Windows Explorer will open. (You'll need to minimize -- not close -- just minimize all windows to see your Desktop -- just click the "-" on each window.) If you have a "Windows" key on your keyboard (it has a picture of the Windows flag on it), just hold the Windows key down and press the "E" key to open Windows Explorer. You may have a shortcut for it at Start > Programs too.

Windows Explorer lets you see the files on your hard drive and how they're organized. Virtually everything that happens on your computer involves these files.

Windows Esplorer displays the contents of the 00016A folder in this particular screenshot. It contains two sub-folders -- "DIRS" and "FILES" -- plus four files.

By clicking the "+" in front of the 00016A folder (over in the left pane) it would expand and you would see the "DIRS" and "FILES" folders indented under the 00016A folder. By then clicking on the DIRS folder you could see its contents. You can't click the one in this figure because it's a picture of a window, not a real window.

If you wanted to see the contents of the "Program Files" folder you could expand the Program Files folder by clicking the "+" in front of it. You could close the "PQSC" folder by clicking the "-" in front of it.

Open Windows Explorer on your own machine and look around. "Exploring" with Windows Explorer will *never* cause any harm. You're just looking, not touching. It's only when you take action like "delete" or "open" that you'd better know exactly what you're doing.
Fig. 1 - Windows Explorer

File Types

There are two primary types of files used by computers: instruction files and data files. Instruction files are either system (i.e., Windows) or program files. They instruct the processor to store input data, perform operations on the data, and output the results.

Data files may be in the form of input data, data tables, output data or system data. Sound files and image files are examples of input data. Font files are an example of data table files. Documents are a prime example of output files, along with sound files and image files. The "Registry" is the prime example of files where Windows system data is stored.

If a system or program file is missing or damaged, the computer may not work correctly or may not work at all. One of the unfortunate aspects of Windows is the fact that some system data is stored in system files instead of data files. (Duh!) No wonder Windows gets corrupted and won't run. That's why it's important to back up your system and program files as well as data files.

Before going any further, please observe the following cautions:

Never delete a file if you are not *sure* that you both know what you are doing and how to get the file back if you are wrong. (If you delete a document in the usual way, you can always restore it from the Recycle Bin, unless you empty the bin too soon.) The most critical files are "system" files, because Windows may not be able to start without them, much less work right. Without Windows running it can be a daunting task to restore the missing file. To protect yourself -- Open Windows Explorer > Click "View" > "Folder Options..." > and click the "View" tab in the dialog window. > Then select "Do not show hidden or system files." ["If you can't see 'em, you can't delete 'em." -- Curmudgeon]

Never just delete files and folders to uninstall programs. That would leave a bunch of loose ends, which will slow down your computer. Use Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove programs instead. After you've done that you may still have some files and folders left that were associated with the program. It's probably safe (but not important) to delete them, but it is safer to "hide" them for a month or so to see if any other program still needs them -- see below.

Here's an (unusual) example of files that should not be removed when a program is uninstalled. The Netscape Plugins are files used by another browser (Opera) that is still installed.

After uninstalling a program -- Netscape in this case -- it's a good idea to "hide" them for a while to make sure they aren't still needed. To hide the files, simply rename the "Netscape" folder to "Netscape-hidden". This hides them from programs because they still look for plain "Netscape".

If a program complains that one of the files are missing, you know they should not be deleted. If nothing happens for a month or so, you know it's OK to delete the folder and all its sub-folders.
Fig. 2- Residual Files

Figure 3 illustrates one good way to organize files so that they can be managed effectively. Two hard drives and a total of five logical drives (partitions) are used. A similar result can be obtained with folders instead of partitions. For example the native "My Documents" folder is a good start, and "Data", "My Pictures", and "My Music" folders would be good additions. That would allow you to keep files nicely organized too. The major advantage of two hard drives is that backups of each drive can be stored on the other drive. Then if a drive fails, all is not lost. If backups are kept on the same drive and it fails, then you lose everything. A good alternative is to make your backups on CDs using a CD-R drive.

This screenshot (only the left pane of Windows Explorer is visible here) shows the contents of the "system" partition (C:) of a computer with two hard drives. Most of the files in this drive are system or program files. The system files are primarily in the "Windows" folder, and the program files are primarily in the "Program Files" directory.

The "psfonts" directory contains PostScript fonts (just one style of fonts). The misc, PQSC, HP_AUDIO, HPCalc, etc., folders contain a few program files. The dosboot, eapci, imouse, etc., folders as well as the root (C:) folder contain a few system files.

There are purposely very few data or document files in this partition. That's part of a plan to keep files segregated by category so they can be managed more efficiently and effectively. The "My Documents" folder contains only a pointer (shortcut) to the real documents folder in another partition. There are a few documents in some of the sub-folders under the Program Files folder, but that's because some programs do not allow alternate locations.

Notice that there is also a "PROGRAMS" (D:) drive (partition). That is where most of the program files are located for programs installed after the computer was new. A few insist on being on the (C:) drive.

The "DATA" (E:) drive is on the 1st hard drive and contains most of the data files and documents on this computer. One result is that it is easy to back these files up quickly and securely by putting the backup on the (D:) drive which is physically on the 2nd hard drive.
Fig. 3 - Multiple Drives (Partitions) Showing the System Drive Expanded

Windows Help is a big *help* in learning to use Windows Explorer and work with files. [Click Start > Help > click the Index tab. > Then, type "explorer" (without the quotes) in the keyword line > click the topic you want > click the Display button.] Other good keywords to use to get Windows Explorer help are "files", "dragging" and "folders"
"The vehicle with the largest tires does not always have the right of way at a 4-way stop." -- Martha Stewart's "Tips for Rednecks"
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