Using Files & Folders/Directories

Drives: A, C, D, F, Q, S, etc.

Drives are "storage bins" for files. All your files are stored in one drive or another, on your computer or another in the network. If you want to look at your drives, folders, and files as you read this, right-click your Start button and select "Explore" to start Windows Explorer, then toggle back and forth as you read.

Local Drives:

These exist in the computer that's on or under your desk.

The A drive is your floppy disk drive. Your computer can only "read" the files on A (or write files to A) when there is a disk in the slot.

The C drive is your hard drive, completely contained inside your computer. We can think of no good reason to store files on your C drive, and there are a couple of good reasons not to. Unless you back up your files on a hard storage medium such as a disk or tape, you will lose them if your C drive is damaged or malfunctions. (Network drives, on the other hand, are backed up on tape each night. If you delete a file by mistake, it still exists on a backup tape and the ITS staff can help you get it back again.)

But, you may ask, doesn't storing a file on my C drive make it inaccessible to the rest of the world? The answer is no—and you can read more about that on the network security page. In addition, your C drive may not have the most current virus detection software, so files saved there may be more susceptible to viruses. All users should store files on the network drives (see below), where they're virus-scanned and backed up.

The D drive is like your floppy disk drive, except it's for compact disks (CDs). As with the A drive, there must be a disk there in order for your computer to "read" the files and folders on it.

Network Drives:

These exist on a group of computers in the basement of East Hall. They are scanned for viruses constantly and backed up nightly. They also work together in a system called a "cluster," which means if one computer in the system dies, the other ones take over so you won't notice anything amiss—or lose any files.

When you are looking at a list of your drives, the drive letter appears at the far right.

The F drive is used to allow sharing of personal directories (see Q below; this will make more sense after you understand Q). If you need access to another person's Q drive, you'll find it on your own computer using F:\username, with "username" being their login name. The only directories you will see on F are those you have access to. The practice of sharing Q drive files is being discontinued and the F drive will eventually disappear.

The Q drive is just a shortcut that points to your home directory (F:\your user name). You should only store files on Q that no one else would need if you suddenly left your job for an extended period of time. Think of Q as your "personal" space. Any files that pertain to your job, your office, or anyone else at NMC should be stored on the S (shared) drive—even if no one will need them as long as you are there.

The S drive ("shared") stores all files used by NMC faculty and staff in the performance of their job duties. Even if you don't normally need to share files with anyone else at the college, you should store all your NMC-related files on S. This way, if you are suddenly absent, no one else in your department has to sort through your personal files, resume, jokes, and pictures of your family.

There is an S drive folder for each unit of the college. Inside S:\unitname, the staff and faculty of that office or discipline can store their files in any manner they wish. No one else in the college will have access to their files. However, if they need to share files with people outside their unit, ITS will create a folder called S:\unitname\public. Files and folders inside s:\unitname\public are accessible to all faculty and staff. So you might go to S:\Human Resources\public to find the procedures for hiring new staff, and in S:\Information Technology Services\public\forms you would find a form to get computer accounts set up for your new person.

Other network drives: you may see other drives listed, such as H, O, and R. These are used by ITS to store programs and the files you need to run those programs. You should not (and probably will not be able to) store any of your own files on these drives.

Folder and File Names

The words "folder" and "directory" are used interchangeably here. Every folder has a "path" to get to it. This path starts with a drive letter such as A, Q, or S. You can create your own folders as you like, and folders can go inside other folders. It is up to each user to decide on the best system for organizing his or her files and folders. Is it more convenient for you to have everything in one huge folder where you can find it by name, or do you group things by year, project, department, etc.?

Sharing Files and Folders

See the S Drive information above for sharing files with others inside and outside your department.

Naming Files and Folders

If you left NMC suddenly, would your coworkers curse you as they searched endlessly for files you had stashed in your own eclectic way? Do you spend hours looking through your own files for things you know are in there? Do you have hundreds of files all jumbled into a single folder?

If so, there are three keywords for you to remember: readable, meaningful and predictable. All folder and filenames should be all three of those things. There is no need to truncate filenames to eight characters, so go ahead and use long descriptions. Say what is actually in the file, so that three years from now you can look at a filename and remember what it is. You don't have to go back and rename all your old files in order to improve this; even starting today and using a better filing system will save you time and aggravation.

Create folders to organize your files. It is easier to click down through many layers of folders than it is to scroll through hundreds of cryptic filenames trying to find a file. Go ahead and create S:\My Department\My Project\Reports\Expenses\Travel\2002\January. Three years from now you'll be able to lay your hands on that file within seconds.

It is also helpful to use the default exensions that your programs will "tack on" to the end of your filenames. The extension is the part of the filename that follows the period, and it tells Windows how to open that file. Some common extensions are:

• .doc for Word documents,
• .wpd for WordPerfect documents,
• .pdf for Acrobat documents,
• .xls for Excel spreadsheets,
• .mdb for Access databases, and
• .gif, .png, or .jpg for some different graphic and clipart formats.

When a file is named with the proper extension, Windows won't need to ask you whether to open it with a word processor, spreadsheet, graphics editor, or whatever. People you send the file to can use it with much greater ease. If you're storing files and the program isn't adding a filename extension for you, contact ITS. We can help you fix it.

How do I know where my files are being stored?

Most programs have their own ideas on where to store your files, so it's always best to check. Just open a document and then click File, Save As and see what drive and folder the program thinks it should be saving in. If you need assistance interpreting what you see on the screen or changing where your files are stored, ITS can help.

Deleting files

You are in charge of cleaning out your own files, but please be aware of the following:

• If you have no idea what a file is, don't delete it. There are some configuration files out there that can make your life miserable by suddenly disappearing.
• If you have deleted a file and find you need it back, check the Recycle Bin on your desktop. If it's not there, contact ITS.

Searching for files

First be sure you can navigate a file dialog box. Most of them look something like this:

Clicking the down arrow (to the right "Public" folder above) will give you a list of all your drives so you can quickly see where you are and/or switch to a different drive.

Double-click on a folder in the list to open it. The folder icon on the toolbar, with an upward-pointing arrow on it, will take you to the folder or drive "up" or "back" from the one you're in.

If you want details on your files such as size and date last modified, click the Details button on the toolbar (far right).

Using Windows File Search Feature

This is a great file-finder. Click your Start button, then click Find, Files or Folders.

Under Named, put in anything you know for certain about the filename, using an asterisk (*) as a wildcard for the parts you don't know. For example, use *.mdb to find all your Microsoft Access databases, or p*.mdb to find only those databases whose names start with P.

Specify the drive or folder to start from under "Look in." If "Include subfolders" is checked, it will look at all the folders and files inside as well.

Use all three tabs in this dialogue box to narrow down your search wherever you can. If you don't find the document, broaden the search. And don't forget your C drive if it's not found on S or Q.