Objective 4. Create a New Folder

Information you create in a computer program is stored in the computer's memory, which is a temporary storage location whose data will be lost if the computer is turned off. To keep the information you create for future use, you must save it as a file on one of the drives available to you. For example, a five-page term paper that you create in a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, when saved, is a file. Files can be stored directly on a drive, but more commonly are stored in a folder on the drive. A folder is a container for programs and files represented on the screen by a picture of a common paper file folder.

Use folders to organize the location of your programs and files so that you can easily locate them for later use. Folders and files must be created and stored on one of the drives attached to your computer. Your available drives fall into three categories: 1) the non-removable hard drive, also called the local disk, inside the computer; 2) removable drives that you insert into the computer such as a 3½ inch floppy disk, a ZIP disk, a flash drive, or a writable CD; or 3) a shared network drive connected to your computer through a computer network, such as the network at your college.

Activity 1.4. Creating a New Folder

In the following activity, you will create a folder on one of the three types of drives available to youthe local disk (hard drive), a removable drive (USB flash drive, a ZIP disk, 3½ inch floppy disk, or some other type of removable drive), or a network drive. If you are using a computer in a college lab, you may have space assigned to you on a shared network drive. You can create these folders on any drive that is available to you.

1.	Insert your USB flash drive or other removable drive. If an action dialog box displays asking what you want Windows to do, click Cancel. On the taskbar, click the Start button , and then click My Computer to open the My Computer window. In the My Computer title bar, click the Maximize button if the window is not already maximized. A dialog box is a window that displays, and which asks you to make a decision about an individual object or topic.
2.	On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the Folders button , and then compare your screen to Figure 1.22. If you do not see a list of drives, in the left pane, click My Computer.     Figure 1.22. The left pane changes to the Folders task pane. A task pane is an area within an Office application that provides commonly used commands. Its location and small size enable you to use these commands while still working on your files. The Folders task pane displays the drives and folders on your computer. This task pane is useful when navigating among the drives and folders on your computer. A flash drive, labeled G: (or another drive letter) is visible in both the Folders task pane on the left and in the pane on the right. You can display the contents of a flash drive, which is used in this instruction, using either icon.   More Knowledge: Computer Storage Devices The hard drive (local disk) is usually identified on your computer by the notation C: (and sometimes D:, E:, and so on for additional drives). A floppy disk drive provides storage on a floppy disk and is generally identified on your computer by the notation 3½ Floppy (A:). A Zip drive also uses a removable disk that holds more information than a floppy disk. Flash drivesalso known as USB drives or thumb drivesare small storage devices that plug into a computer Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, a connection between a computer and a peripheral device such as a printer, a mouse, a keyboard, or a USB drive. You may also have access to files on another type of storage device, a CD-ROM disc. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc-Read Only Memory. If you are using files stored on a CD-ROM, you will need to open a file from the disc and then save it to a writable drive or copy a file from the CD-ROM disc to another disk and then open it. CD drives can store information on one of two types of CDsa CD that can be written to but not erased (CD-R) or a CD that can be written to and erased many times (CD-RW).
3.	On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the Views button , and then, if necessary, click Tiles to select this view option. Notice that icons and a brief description display in the right pane.
4.	On the Standard Buttons toolbar, click the Views button , and then click Details. The drives and folders display in a list format, with more information about the hard drive(s), as shown in Figure 1.23. The columns displayed on your computer may be different.     Figure 1.23.
5.	In the Folders task pane, click the USB flash drive (or other removable media that you have inserted). For purposes of this instruction, the examples will indicate a USB flash drive, called LEXAR MEDIA (F:). The contents of the drive are displayed in the right panein the figure, the drive is empty; your drive may contain files and folders. Your drive letter may also differ.
6.	In the right pane, right-click in a blank area. In the displayed shortcut menu, point to the New command, and then compare your screen with Figure 1.24. Alternatively, from the File menu, click New.     Figure 1.24. A submenu displays, showing the various items that can be created using the New command.
7.	Click the Folder command, and then compare your screen with Figure 1.25.   Figure 1.25. (This item is displayed on page 30 in the print version) A new foldernamed New Folderis created with the name of the folder displayed in the edit mode. Edit mode enables you to change the name of a file or folder, and works the same in all Windows applications.
8.	With New Folder highlighted in blue, substituting your name where indicated, type Word Documents of Firstname Lastname and press . Then, click anywhere in the blank area of the right pane to deselect the new folder and compare your screen with Figure 1.26.     Figure 1.26.   Another Way: To Rename a Folder If you accidentally press before you have a chance to name the folder, you can still rename it. Right-click the folder, click Rename from the shortcut menu, type a new name, and then press . Alternatively, you can click the folder once, pause, and then click the folder again.
9.	From the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder. Type Pictures of Firstname Lastname and press . Compare your screen to Figure 1.27.     Figure 1.27. Two new folders have been created in your storage location. The folders are currently in the Details view. Notice the order in which the folders display.
10.	In the right pane, click the Name column heading several times to sort the folders and file names from a to z and from z to a. Notice that the arrow in the Name column heading points up when the folders are displayed in ascending (a to z) order, and points down when the folders are displayed in descending (z to a) order. Stop when the folders are sorted in descending alphabetical orderfrom z to aas shown in Figure 1.28.     Figure 1.28.
11.	In the right pane, move the pointer to the line at the right of the Name column heading to display the resize pointer , as shown in Figure 1.29.   Figure 1.29.
12.	Drag the resize pointer to the left about 1 inch. The column width is resized. You can resize all of the columns in the right pane using the resize pointer.

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Objective 5 Copy, Move, Rename, and Delete Files