For Seniors: How Microsoft Windows Organizes Data
When you work in a software program, such as a word processor, you save your document as a file. You can save files to your computer hard drive, removable storage media such as USB flash drives [more…]
For Seniors: How to Locate Files and Folders in Your Computer
Can’t remember what you named a folder or where on your computer or storage media you saved it? You can open the Computer window to locate it or perform a Search. [more…]
For Seniors: How to Choose a File or Folder View in Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer is a program you can use to find a file or folder by navigating through an outline of folders and subfolders. It’s a great way to view files on your computer, and you can even adjust how [more…]
For Seniors: How to Open a Recently Used File on Your Computer
If you worked on a file recently on your computer and want to make additional changes to it, Windows offers a shortcut to that saves you time. To open a recently used file on your computer: [more…]
For Seniors: How to Create a New Folder on Your Computer
You can store documents on your computer inside folders. To create a new folder, start by going to the folder or library that you want your new folder to be part of. [more…]
For Seniors: How to Rename a File or Folder on Your Computer
You can change the name of any files or folders you create on your computer. Becoming better organized and revamping your collection of electronic files is quick and easy. [more…]
For Seniors: How to Add a File or Folder to Your Favorites List
The Favorites list in the Start menu offers a quick way to access frequently used items. If you’re constantly downloading and editing photos or updating your shopping list in Word, those items are good [more…]
For Seniors: How to Copy a Computer File or Folder
You can copy a file or folder (or groups of files or folders at the same time) to another location on your computer. When you do, the original file or folder stays in the same location, but a duplicate [more…]
For Seniors: How to Move a Computer File or Folder
Sometimes you save a file or folder in one place on your computer but in reorganizing your work, you decide that you want to move the item to another location. Fortunately, in Windows 7, moving files and [more…]
For Seniors: How to Create a Compressed Computer File or Folder
To shrink the size of a computer file or all the files in a folder, you can compress them. Compressing a file or folder reduces a large file or folder to a more manageable size. Compressing a file is often [more…]
For Seniors: How to Delete a Computer File or Folder
If you decide that you no longer need a file or folder, you can clear up clutter on your computer by deleting it. Remember, though, that when you delete a file or folder in Windows, it’s not really gone [more…]
For Seniors: How to Back Up Computer Files
You’ve put a lot of work into creating your computer files, so you’ll want to remember to back them up. If you back up your computer files, if your computer is damaged or loses data, you’ll have a copy [more…]
For Seniors: Empty Your Laptop's Recycle Bin
When you delete a file on your laptop, it's placed in the Windows 7 Recycle Bin. Deleted files remain in the Recycle Bin until you empty it. Thus, until you empty your laptop's Recycle Bin or it reaches [more…]
For Seniors: Find Laptop Files with Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer is a great way to look for files on your laptop. Using Windows Explorer, you can locate a file or folder by navigating through an outline of folders and subfolders on your laptop. [more…]
For Seniors: Back Up Files to a Laptop's CD/DVD Drive
Make backups (copies) of important files on your Windows laptop onto a CD or DVD, in case it gets lost or damaged. The backup files on the CD/DVD can then be used instead of the originals you no longer [more…]
For Seniors: Understand Windows Files and Folders
In Windows, you save and organize your work using files and folders. Work you create such as letters or reports are saved in files; files are organized in folders. Files can be saved to your laptop hard [more…]
For Seniors: Access Recently Used Files on Your Laptop
If you worked on a file recently on your laptop, Windows offers a shortcut to finding and opening it again. Recently used files are displayed just off the Start menu, but if they are not, you can turn [more…]
For Seniors: Open a File on Your Laptop
Files contain data, and when you open them, you can make changes. One way to open a file is to locate it first in Windows Explorer/Computer (the file management program in Windows). [more…]
For Seniors: Search for a Windows File
Search for files you can't locate in the Computer window of Windows 7. Search can not only look through filenames, but also the contents of files to find a match. [more…]
For Seniors: Move a Windows File or Folder
You can move a file or group of files in a Windows folder from one location to another. You might want to move files or folders after reorganizing your work, or to make the files or folders easier to locate [more…]
For Seniors: Rename a Windows File or Folder
If a file is hard to identify, rename it. Likewise, rename folders if their purpose has changed or is hard to identify. By renaming Windows files and folders when needed, you can often make it easier to [more…]
For Seniors: Create Shortcuts to Favorite Files and Folders
In Windows, you can create shortcuts to your favorite files and folders to make them easier to open. Shortcuts to files or folders are placed on the Windows desktop where you can use them to open the file [more…]
For Seniors: Delete a File or Folder on Your Laptop
If you don’t need a file or folder anymore, you can clear up clutter on your Windows laptop by deleting it. Deleting unwanted files or folders clears up much needed hard disk space for files and folders [more…]
For Seniors: Compress a Windows File or Folder
Compress, or shrink, a file to reduce its size. You can compress a single file in Windows, or all the files in a folder. Compressing files makes them easier to send as an e-mail attachment because they [more…]
For Seniors: Add a File to Your Windows Favorites List
The Favorites list in the Windows Start menu offers another quick way to access frequently used files and folders. Add favorite files and folders to the Start menu and to the Navigation pane in Windows [more…]
