Creating and Renaming Files and Folders

The keys to organizing files and folders effectively within a hierarchy are to store related items together and to name folders informatively. Creating a new folder can help you organize and keep track of files and other folders. In order to create a folder, you select the location where you want the new folder, create the folder, and then lastly, name the folder. You should name each folder meaningfully so that just by reading the folder's name you know its contents. After you name a folder or file, you can rename it at any time.

Create a Folder

Open the drive or folder where you want to create a folder.

Click Make A New Folder in the task pane.

With the New Folder name selected, type a new name.

Press Enter.

Did You Know?

File names can be up to 255 characters . You can use spaces and underscores in names, but you can't use the following characters: * : < > ? " \ or /.

Rename a File or Folder

Click the file or folder to select it.

Click Rename This File or Rename This Folder.

With the name selected, type a new name, or click to position the insertion point, and then edit the name.

Press Enter.

TIMESAVER Right-click the file or folder you want to rename, click Rename, type a name, and then press Enter.

Did You Know?

You can rename a group of files . Select all the files you want to rename, right-click one of the selected files, click Rename from the shortcut menu, type a name, and then press Enter. The group name appears with numbers in consecutive order.