Operational Essentials: Files, Extensions, and Folders
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Written by Atila on July 27, 2008 – 3:38 pm
One other important function of a computer – laptop, desktop, or mainframe – is as a place to keep your stuff. Although we’re nowhere near the promised paradise of the paperless workplace, it’s also true that computers are a great improvement over a filing cabinet (or in my case, piles of important papers on the desktop, stuffed into bookshelves, or arranged in dusty clumps on the floor). For the convenience of humans (not the machine) Windows follows an electronic metaphor. Information of any sort, from word-processing documents to spreadsheets to graphic images, is stored as files. So too are programs, drivers, and settings.
Some files created by programs or the operating system have predetermined names; other files may be named by the program as they’re created, and others, when you save a file that you’ve created, give you the chance to give it a meaningful name. (If you don’t name it yourself, some programs apply generic titles like FILE001 or IMG001 or the like; just a little bit better are programs that attempt to name files based on the first line of text in the file, something that may or may not be meaningful to you.)
The operating system stores other information along with the name, including the date and time the file was last stored. Some other programs record additional information including the original date of the file’s creation, the number of revisions, and other details. And many programs automatically create a backup version of an existing file when you open it for revisions; in case of catastrophe (or if you decide that changes you have made since the last time the file was saved are not worth keeping) you can open the backup file and save it under a new name.
There are no right or wrong names for files, except for two things:
- Have a scheme that makes sense to you. The more consistent and logical you are in choosing names, the easier it is to search and find files if you forget where you placed them on the hard disk.
- Avoid using certain characters reserved for the computer. You’re somewhat protected here because the operating system will flat-out refuse to save a file that contains an “illegal” character. Just make sure to read the messages on the screen and don’t assume that a file has been saved until you see the action performed.
Filenames under current versions of Windows can be as long as 255 characters and include any letter of the alphabet and any number, plus spaces, and special characters including $ % ` – _ @ ~ ! ( ) ^ # & + , ; = [ ]. That said, I recommend you keep filenames simple and relatively short.
The computer also does two things to help you find and work with files: assigns a filename extension that identifies a file as being of a certain type (a word-processing document, a music file, a photo or drawing, and so on) and because Windows is a GUI, it also gives files an icon. Some programs come equipped with their own icons, while others leave it up to Windows to find an appropriate or generic picture.
Filename extensions and icons serve two very important purposes: They make it easy to quickly identify files of a particular type, and they make it easy for the operating system to associate a file with the program needed to use it. Because of this feature, Windows allows you to double-click a filename and open it within the proper program.
The final component of managing your stuff is to use folders. Think of them as file folders, filing cabinets, or boxes on the floor: Their purpose is to help you organize your stuff. Windows tries to help out by offering a folder called My Documents, but that’s only one level removed from just piling everything on the desktop.
