Working with files and folders

Knowing how to find and organize your files and folders is essential for using your computer successfully. This demo takes you through the basics. You'll learn how to get to frequently used folders, create new folders, save files to folders, and find your files quickly.

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Just like a filing cabinet, your computer allows you to store the files you create in folders. Those folders can hold not only files, but also other folders.

The Start menu provides access to several folders that you can use to organize your files, including the Documents, Pictures, and Music folders. Let's open the Pictures folder.

Notice how the Address bar identifies the folder we're in. The files contained in this folder are shown as icons here, in the file list. You can change the size of the icons using the Views button. Let's make them a little bigger.

When you select a file, you can see information about it in the Details pane, here. As your number of files increases, you might want to create new folders for your different projects. To create a new folder, click the Organize button, click New Folder, and then type a name for the folder.

To move a file to it, drag the file to the folder. Open the folder by double-clicking it. You can click the Back button to return to the previous folder.

If you think you'll use a folder frequently, drag it to the Favorite Links area. These links let you open folders quickly, no matter which folder you're currently in.

Now that you know how to work with folders, let's see how to save a file. When you create a file, such as a report, you can save it by using the File menu. This program saves files in the Documents folder, but you can pick another location if you prefer. Type a name for the file here, and then click Save.

To see the file we just saved, let's open the Documents folder. Here it is.

If you're having trouble finding a file, you can use this box to search the current folder. Type anything you can remember about the file, such as part of its name. Notice how the search results appear as you type. These first three files have names that contain the search term. This last file appears as a result because text inside the file matches the search term.

If you don't know which folder to search, you can use the Start menu to search instead. Type in the Search box, and then click a result to open it.

Now you know the basics of working with files and folders.