File Management | Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners

Posts Tagged: file management

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 3 Comments
7
Mar 09

Any ideas on how to teach computer users about file management?

Over the 12+ years that I have been traveling to computer users homes and offices, I estimate that at least 70% of them have zero to very little knowledge about file management. File management includes knowing how to use folders and files and the difference between them. Programs DO NOT contain or house files and folders…they create the data and store them in a folder.

I’ve used the filing cabinet analogy, the desk analogy, the cooking analogy, and others, but none seem to really make sense. And without the solid knowledge of what a file and folder is and how they relate to drives, computer users falter with backup.

In my opinion, I think Continue reading →

Managing your digital photos

Organizing your digital photos is so important. Too often I see people who have major computer problems and think that everything is backed up only to find that their digital photos were so spread out on their computer that the only had a portion of them backed up.

Many people simply copy their digital photos onto their computer wherever a given piece of software puts them and they have no idea where that is. These notes will help you setup a system for managing your digital photos so they will be easy to find and backup even without programs like Picasa.

Here are a few links that will help you:

Rick Castellini’s file management PowerPoint presentation

Everything on HelpMeRick.com about Picasa

HelpMeRick.com YouTube channel

In order to find your photos, you must establish a good filing system on your computer. The system you choose depends on you and how you use your digital camera.

If you take pictures of family and events, you may prefer to organize your photos by date, person or event. If you shoot nature and wildlife then you may choose to organize by animal, flower or location.

How your computer’s drive hierarchy works:

A: is always your floppy drive

B: is never present because it is your second floppy drive (you probably don’t even have an A:)

C: is your computer’s main hard drive

The next letters are assigned by next available letter in the following order hard drives, CD/DVD drives, removable drives.

To rename a folder or a file – click on it once then press the F2 key. Rename the file then press ENTER on your keyboard.

There is no limit to the number of sub-folders that can be contained within a folder.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 1 Comment
5
Feb 08

Brain transplant

If I could impart one aspect of my computer knowledge to everyone who uses a computer, it would be the ability to understand file management.

File management, in the computer world, means how information (files) are stored and utilized on a computer system. Understanding file management, means understanding:

How to locate files (documents, pictures, spreadsheets, music, etc) on your computer.
How to move those files from one area (directory or folder) to another area on the computer.
How to delete those files.
How to backup those files so you never lose them.
How to send the files to another person via email.
How to manipulate the file in various programs and understand what programs can manipulate what files.
How to properly save an email attachment and how to find it any time you need it.
How to determine how much physical space a file uses and how much space is available on your hard drive, cd, flash drive, etc.

The answers to all these questions give a computer user so much more confidence and power than a person who doesn’t have this knowledge. With solid file management know-how, many aspects of computing that used to be a chore become routine. Questions that have been haunting a computer user for years, suddenly become clear with the knowledge of file management.

In my day-to-day dealings with computer users of all abilities, the lack of file management knowledge clearly stands out as being the largest hurdle for any computer user. Unfortunately, trying to explain file management in a short troubleshooting session is extremely difficult.

If you happen to be a computer user who struggles with the information I described above, I implore you to learn about file management. I created a video tutorial called THE Secret to Computing that describes in depth how to gain the knowledge of file management that will greatly enhance how you work with your computer. For just $25 + shipping, I will send you the video that will change your computing life.

If you dont have a PayPal account, click Continue Just click the Buy it Now button below and securely pay with a credit card or a PayPal account, and I will rush the video to your mail box.

To pay by credit card, click the continue link as pictured in the image on the left.

Computer User Group — No Comments
11
Apr 07

Understanding FIle Management – April 2007

Click here to get the PowerPoint handout for today's meeting.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
9
Feb 07

Web Appliances revisited

I wrote a number of months ago about the need for a new web appliance. A web appliance is a device that only accesses the Internet. Web TV (now MSN TV) is the only device that sort of falls in this category. What I envision (and wish I had the knowledge to build) is a flat screen monitor with built-in speakers and a cordless bluetooth connection to talk to a mouse, keyboard, and a printer. It would also have a card reader to interact with a digital camera and a wireless and/or Ethernet port for high speed Internet access.

It would not have a hard drive or anyway to load applications. All programs and document storage would be online ala Google Docs and Gmail. The vast majority of clients I work with do only three or four things: Internet, email, games, and maybe some word processing and/or digital photography. All of this (and more) can be currently accomplished online thus circumventing the need for anything but an Internet connection. Also, this type of user would benefit greatly by not needing to worry about backup and where their documents are when they need them. It would take away the need for the user to learn and understand file management (which is sorely missing for most computer users).

A great Internet appliance like this would not replace the personal computer because there are users who need and utilize fully the power of the computer. This device would be an inexpensive unit that would not need upgrading and would be tremendously easier to use than our current system of PC's and companies who build hardware and software for the PC's which require users to change the way they do things constantly. A well thought out and solidly built Internet appliance would be the telephone of the computer age…simple, effective, easy to use and no upgrades necessary because the innovation happens on the web not on our desktops.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 1 Comment
20
Nov 06

Moving to a new computer requires patience

I've helped many new people this fall move to a new computer. Like moving to a new house, it takes time and patience before everything gets just right on your new computer. It is important to know that you can't simply hook up a new computer and start using it. You need to uninstall any unwanted software, properly configure and update your security software, setup your Internet and email connections, and then most importantly, transfer your data from the old computer to the new one.

Inevitably, when I work with a new computer customer, I get the deer in the headlights look when I if there data is backed up or know what data they want to move and where it is stored. You have heard me mention many times how important file management and backup are, but I have also mentioned that this is the most difficult part of computing to learn and understand. Many computer users can get by not learning about files, folders and backup for years, but when moving to a new computer, this will make the transition a lot tougher and longer.

As usual, I get a little long winded trying to explain how important file management is, but I really wanted to point out just to be patient with a transition to a new computer. It usually take a minimum of a week and as long as a month before your new computer feels like home.

Riding Shotgun with Adam — No Comments
24
Jul 06

File Management: Why is it so hard to figure out?

As I have mentioned before on the show and in these articles, I teach the local basic computer classes for the Parks and Rec. department. I teach the classes as a four-part series in which I dedicate an entire two hour session to file management.

Teaching the concept of how your computer organizes information is a huge struggle for me. I don't think it is because if my teaching technique or the inability of my students to comprehend the topic.

The reason that file management is so difficult to teach and comprehend is that it isn't sexy, it isn't tangible and it is isn't universal in it's use. By the latter, I mean that each person can apply the concept differently.

While one person may use file management techniques to organize their photos, another may use them to organize financial files or text documents.

Just as there are dozens of ways to setup a regular filing system on your computer, there are just as many ways to organize information on your computer.

Here are a few truths of file management that are difficult to teach but critical to understanding and using your computer:

1. Your computer is a filing cabinet. It is a filing cabinet that holds about 80 million pages of information so keeping it organized is important. Files are individual pieces of information and folders are directories or categories of similar information. Think of your drives as the drawers in your filing cabinet. Use Windows Explorer (Right click on your START button and choose EXPLORE) to look for and organize information as you would in a filing cabinet. The left side of Windows Explorer will help you find folders, once you've found the folder you need, use the right side to find the exact file you are looking for. Drag information from the right side to the left side to easily place a file or folder into a given folder in one move.

2. No files are located or contained in programs. Programs do not hold files or folders. Your programs are like secretaries in an office that know where to find and how to use the filing system, but the secretaries do not carry the entire filing system around with them. If you delete a program, the files you created with that program do not disappear.

3. Your computer sets up a basic filing system, but leaves it to you to customize it. Windows thinks by using files and folders, but Windows doesn't know the difference between a recipe and the eulogy you wrote for Uncle Bert's funeral. If you want to keep different types of information sorted, you must build your own filing system with folders for each type of file such as pictures, financial information, poetry, important letters, etc.

4. When you're lost, use the right-click. To create new folders, click on your right mouse button in any folder window or on your desktop and choose NEW->FOLDER. To rename a file or folder, right click on the folder or file and choose RENAME. To send an item to a disk, My Documents, the Desktop, or many other popular locations, right click and SEND TO. To delete a folder or file, right click and DELETE.

See? I told you it wasn't sexy. But, if you learn how it works, so many of the mysteries of your computer will be solved.

Windows Tips — No Comments
30
Dec 05

Organize Files with Windows XP Move function

Organize Files with Windows XP Move function

Use this tip to quickly and easily move your files (documents, music, pictures) from one folder to another on your computer. Once you master this tip, you will be able to organize your digital files with confidence. You can also use the tip to copy digital photos from a memory card or CD to your hard drive.

Open the folder or drive containing the files (pictures, music, documents, etc) you would like to move.
Select the file or files to move. Remember that you can use the Ctrl + Click method to select (highlight) multiple files or Ctrl + A to Select All files in a given folder
Click the "Move the selected Items" option from the task pane at the left of your menu, OR Click Edit –> Move to Folder from the menus.
You will now see the move dialog box.
Find and click on the folder you want to move the selected items to, then click the "Move" button.
Note that you can also click the "Make New Folder" option to create a new organizational folder on the fly. When using this function, it will create a new sub-folder underneath whatever folder is currently selected.
After you click the Move button, the files you selected will disappear from the current folder and the files will now exist in the folder you chose to move them too.