Files and FoldersTasks

Files and Folders Tasks

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Most of these operations on files and folders can be performed regardless of the underlying disk filesystem. For example, if you right-click on a folder, the same shortcut menu is displayed regardless of whether the underlying partition or volume is formatted using FAT, FAT32, or NTFS. Some tasks can be performed only on files and folders located on NTFS volumes , as indicated in the following descriptions.

Compress a File or Folder

Right-click on file or folder Properties General Advanced Compress contents

If you compress a folder, you will be prompted to choose between the following:

Apply changes to this folder only

Compresses the folder but doesn't compress any of the files in the folder. However, if you copy existing uncompressed files or save new files to this folder, they will be compressed automatically.

Apply changes to this folder, subfolders , and files

Compresses the folder, all files within the folder, all subfolders within the folder, and all files within these subfolders. Use this option if you want to compress existing files within a folder.

To compress an entire drive, select the drive in Windows Explorer or Disk Management and:

Right-click on drive Properties General Compress drive

To display compressed files and folders using an alternate color , open My Computer or Windows Explorer and select:

Tools Folder Options View Display compressed files and folders with alternate color

Copy or Move a File or Folder

Copying or moving files within or between NTFS volumes can affect their NTFS permissions, compression state, or encryption state.

Effect on NTFS Permissions

A file or folder inherits the NTFS permissions of its destination folder when it is:

• Copied from one location to another within an NTFS volume

• Copied from one NTFS volume to another

• Moved from one NTFS volume to another

A file or folder retains its NTFS permissions when it is moved from one location to another within an NTFS volume.

Finally, if you save a new file in a folder, the file inherits the NTFS permissions assigned to the folder.

Effect on Compression State

The effect on the compression state is the same as the effect on NTFS permissions.

Effect on Encryption State

The rules are different here:

• An unencrypted file or folder moved or copied to an encrypted folder becomes encrypted, whether the destination folder is on the same NTFS volume or not.

• An encrypted file or folder moved or copied to an unencrypted folder remains encrypted, whether the destination folder is on the same NTFS volume or not.

Finally, if you save a new file in an encrypted folder, the file is saved as encrypted.

If you copy or move encrypted files and folders to a remote computer, your encryption certificate and private key must be available on the remote computer or you will not be able to decrypt them from the remote computer. To avoid this complicated process, decrypt files and folders prior to copying them over the network. Otherwise, you will have to export your certificate and key from the local computer as a .pfx file to a floppy disk and then import it into your personal store on the remote computer. The exception to this situation is if you have a roaming user profile configured on the network. In this case your encryption certificate and private key are stored on the file server where your profile is stored, and they are available from any machine you log on to.

Effect on Other Attributes

Other file and folder attributes, such as Read-only, Hidden, and so on, aren't affected in this way but are always retained whenever files are copied or moved.

Effect of Copy/Move to FAT/FAT32 Volumes

Copying or moving a file or folder from an NTFS volume to a FAT or FAT32 volume causes the file or folder to lose its NTFS permissions, become uncompressed, and be decrypted.

Customize a Folder

Select a folder in the left pane of Windows Explorer and:

Right-click on a blank spot in the right pane Customize This Folder

You can customize the folder's appearance, icons, and other fun stuff.

Display Attributes of a File or Folder

Right-click on file or folder Properties General

On NTFS volumes, additional attributes are accessed using the Advanced button. You can modify attributes of files and folders on remote computers as follows :

• If the remote file or folder is in a shared folder, open Windows Explorer or My Network Places to find the share, and open the properties sheet for the file or folder.

• If the remote file or folder is not in a shared folder, first map a network drive to the hidden share name for the root of the remote drive on which the file or folder resides. Then when the window for the mapped drive opens, open the properties sheet for the file or folder.

This works with every attribute except encryption.

Encrypt a File or Folder

To encrypt a file or folder on the local machine, open Windows Explorer and:

Right-click on file or folder Properties General Advanced Encrypt contents

If you encrypt a file, you will be prompted to choose between the following:

Encrypt the file and the parent folder

This is the recommended choice, since files that are copied to or saved in encrypted folders are automatically encrypted.

Encrypt the file only

By selecting "Always encrypt only the file," you can make this the default choice.

If you encrypt a folder, you will be prompted to choose between the following:

Apply changes to this folder only

Encrypts the folder but doesn't encrypt any of the files in the folder. However, if you copy existing files or save new files to this folder, they will be automatically encrypted.

Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files

Encrypts the folder, all files within the folder, all subfolders within the folder, and all files within these subfolders. Use this option if you want to encrypt existing files within a folder.

To encrypt a file or folder on a remote computer, first configure the remote computer for file encryption by:

Active Directory Users and Computers right-click on server name Properties General Trust computer for delegation

Then open Windows Explorer on the local machine and:

Tools Map Network Drive select mapped drive right-click remote file or folder Properties General Advanced Encrypt contents to secure data

Decrypt an Encrypted File or Folder

To decrypt a file or folder that was previously encrypted:

Right-click on file or folder Properties General Advanced deselect Encrypt contents

Recover an Encrypted File or Folder

If you are a designated recovery agent (like the default Administrator account), then restore the user's lost file or folder using the Backup utility in System Tools under Accessories. Then use Windows Explorer to decrypt the file or folder using the procedure just described and return the unencrypted version to the user.

To guard against permanent data loss, a designated recovery agent should back up the default recovery keys to a floppy as follows:

Start Run mmc add the Certificates snap-in My user account open the new console Personal Certificates right-click the file recovery certificate All Tasks Export

The wizard then exports the certificate and its associated private key to floppy as a .pfx file. If you want to designate additional recovery agents for the local machine, do this:

Local Security Policy Public Key Policies right-click Encrypting File System Add Data Recovery Agent

To designate additional recovery agents for a domain, use Group Policy. New to WS2003 is the fact that you can configure domains so that recovery agents aren't requiredalso done using Group Policy.

Modify a File Association

Each file is associated with a default application that is used to open it. Double-clicking on the file opens the file using this program. To change the program that is invoked when you open the file:

Right-click on file Properties General Change select application

Changing the file association for a file changes the association for all files of the same type! For example, if you select a text file Test . txt and change its associated program from Notepad to Paint, all files ending with .txt will now invoke Microsoft Paint when you try to open them!

Open a File or Folder

To open a file using its default application or open a folder to display its contents, either double-click on it or:

Right-click on file or folder Open

If you want to open a file using a different program (for example, if you want to open an .html file using Notepad), do this:

Right-click on file or folder Open With

Secure a File or Folder

You can secure a file or folder using NTFS permissions (on NTFS volumes only, of course) by:

Right-click on file or folder Properties Security

See Permissions later in this chapter for more information.

Send a File or Folder

Right-click on file or folder Send To select destination

By default, there are four choices you can Send To:

3 1 / 2 -inch Floppy

Copies the selected file or folder to a floppy disk.

Desktop

Creates a shortcut to the selected file or folder and places this shortcut on the desktop so you can access the file or folder more easily.

Mail Recipient

Attaches the selected file or folder to a new email message in Microsoft Outlook Express and prompts you for the recipient. You should configure your Internet email settings using the Internet Connection Wizard before using this.

My Documents

Copies (doesn't move) the selected file or folder to the My Documents folder for the logged-on user.

There may be other Send To options available when WS2003-compliant applications are installed. You can also create a custom Send To option by editing your user profile (unless it is mandatory). To do this, first open My Computer and go to:

Tools Folder Options View Show hidden files and folders

Then browse your profile to locate the Send To folder. For example, if you are logged on as Administrator, open the folder C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\SendTo , right-click, and create a new shortcut to the program or location you want to send files or folders to. For example, to Send To Notepad, create a shortcut to C:\Winnt\notepad.exe ; to Send To the Pub share on Server12 , create a shortcut to \\Server12\pub .

Share a File or Folder

See Shared Folders later in this chapter for more information.

View Properties of a File or Folder

Right-click on a file or folder Properties